Going gaga for football season
<b>They live for the applause</b>
MTV's annual train wreck known as the Video Music Awards airs at 8 p.m. Sunday. Those Moonman statues mean next to nothing, but the show will inspire an avalanche of Twitter-snark that I'll gladly bury myself in.
The telecast isn't skimping on big names this year. Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke are all scheduled to perform, but they're all secondary to Lady Gaga, whose hip injury has kept her off the stage since February. Gaga's new single, "Applause," is a welcome treat for those of us who prefer "The Fame" to "Born This Way," and I'm anxious to see what absurdity she's cooked up for MTV.
But even Gaga would be overshadowed by an appearance from a certain robotic French duo. Daft Punk haven't been officially announced as performers for Sunday's show, but that Stephen Colbert flap a few weeks back made it pretty clear that the "Get Lucky" crew will make a "surprise" appearance.
If they really wanted to surprise people, they'd take their helmets off.
<b>Ready, down!</b>
Stock the fridge with beer and Mountain Dew and get the chips and pretzels - football season is here.
Oh, not real-life football. "Madden NFL 25."
Yes, the latest installment of EA Sports' flagship comes to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Tuesday, Aug. 27. And don't worry, you didn't wake up in 2025 - the game's title marks the 25th anniversary of the franchise.
Your wallet can part with $99 and "celebrate" that milestone with the anniversary edition of the game, which gives you one pack of cards for the Madden Ultimate Team mode for each of the NFL season's 17 weeks - and more importantly, access to the full 2013 regular season of NFL Sunday Ticket on your computer, tablet or mobile device. So for an extra 40 bucks, you can watch every NFL game played in 2013.
What will $59 get you? A game that boasts 30 new moves for ball carriers; a "more polished physics simulation," according to EA Sports; and hours and hours of frustration as you throw interception after interception. (At least, that's what happens when I play Madden. Your mileage may vary.)
<i>Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor, a tireless consumer of pop culture and a hopeless nerd. He writes about television and digital entertainment every Friday.</i>