The first thing I usually do when playing a new sports game is go into various team rosters and check how my favorite players are rated. I do it every time without fail. However, upon getting into the roster, I always find that someone has been underrated or overrated.

Now think back to the last time you went into the roster and checked how, say, Shaq was rated. Now tell me, was your first reaction that he was overrated? How about Carson Palmer? What about Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, and how low he was rated, especially coming off his performance the previous weekend?

In any sports gaming roster, there will be guys at both ends of the spectrum. The problem is that rating players isn’t an exact science -- it’s more of an educated guess if you really want to put a term to it.

Now don’t get me wrong, companies may have a statistical system to actually figure out what each rating is for a player, but something tells me it’s still closer to a guess than an exact science.

The problem is nobody really knows how well a player is going to play once a fresh season begins. The best these companies can do is look at an athlete’s performance from the previous season, prognosticate a bit on the upcoming season, and compare stats with other players before letting loose.

Now so far, I’ve made it sound like most of the time, these companies get it wrong. And as much as a lot of people probably want to hear me say that, the videogame companies really don’t get it wrong (or at least blatantly wrong) all that often.

Most people like to make mountains out of molehills when it comes to rating players. During the previews, many people look through each roster and talk about players they think are overrated and which ones are underrated, and usually at least half the roster gets talked about.

The one thing I want to see this year when Madden hits isn’t for the complaints to go away, but six weeks into the season, let’s take a look back and see who we thought was wrong that turned out to be right. I think it would surprise a number of you.

The online factor also makes you wonder, do original rosters really mean that much anymore? Some companies are beginning to catch on that its players want frequent updates to the ratings. MLB 08: The Show has increased its frequency of roster updates to a weekly thing. Others, like Madden, have begun to follow suit by giving more frequent updates. Certainly some games like NBA Live, EA's NHL series, and NBA 2K still aren't as frequent with updates, but you have to think that will begin to change. The stigma will likely never dissipate as most gamers want their updates more often than is humanly possible, but companies are really going farther to improve the frequency of their roster updates.

Once the ratings for all the players are released this year, stop for a second before you complain about someone being rated wrong. Remember for a second that a player’s rating might be more right than you think. And if some ratings do end up being off, then give yourself a pat on the back and then go download some official or unofficial updates.