Tecmo Sports News

December 30th, 2005. Links to some Tecmo player's personal websites (John Elway, Dan Marino, Walter Payton, and Karl Mecklenburg) posted up on the links page. Still searching for more.

December 26th, 2005. Moved the Tecmo Sports News from May through July 2005 to the News Archive.

December 23rd, 2005. Some KR stats I had to throw somewhere:
942 games, 65 KR TDs, 64 noted in the logs. 38 Home, 26 Away. CHI (16/11), CLE (14/7), LA (3/3), MIN (1/3). DAL, WSH, IND, DEN (1/0). SEA, SF (0/1).

December 19th, 2005. Added sub-directories for the Teams and the Game Plans. Shouldn't effect anything, except the File Manager, unless I screwed up the linking somewhere.

December 11th, 2005. Tecmo Legend Jerry Rice is going to be on Dancing With The Stars on ABC this January. Yahoo news link. I don't know what to think. We all know Jerry Catches, but Jerry Dances?

December 5th, 2005. Sean Landeta is back suddenly! The New York Giants Tecmo Bowl punter is playing in tonights Monday Night game with Philadelphia vs. Seattle. NFL.com even has his player page back up. Landeta will be the last Tecmo Bowl player to appear in a NFL game unless someone else comes out of retirement.

November 30th, 2005. Tecmo Legend Bo Jackson turns 43 today. And since just a Pro-Football-Reference link can't contain Bo, here's the link to his Baseball-Reference page. Tecmo's fastest and most famous player, Bo Jackson was drafted in 1986 out of Auburn in the 1st round 1st overall, AND in 1987 in the 7th round 183rd overall. The 1985 Heisman award winner, a 1-time Pro Bowler ('90), a College Fottball Hall of Fame inductee, 1989 MLB All-Star Game MVP, with 141 career home runs, Bo is Tecmo's biggest legend, combining unmatched speed and popcorn-making power at the runningback position. Real-life Bo Jackson is probably the greatest pure athlete ever and it's a travesty we didn't get to see what a Bo Jackson at the height of his power could do. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Bo Jackson.

Tecmo's retro compilation, featuring old-school favorite Tecmo Bowl, on the Xbox hits store shelves this week

LOS ANGELES, Calif. September 13, 2005 Tecmo announced today that Tecmo Classic Arcade for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, has shipped today hitting store shelves this week at retailers across the nation. Featuring one of the most popular football video games of all time, Tecmo Bowl, for the first time on Xbox, along with a plethora of other Tecmo Classic Arcade titles such as Rygar, Solomon's Key, Bomb Jack, Tecmo Cup, and more, Tecmo Classic Arcade is a must-have video game compilation for Fall 2005 with a low price point of $29.99. Bringing all of Tecmo's classic arcade titles back to life and on Xbox for the first time, Tecmo Classic Arcade is a must-have collectible for the nostalgic gamer who yearns for the yesteryears of gaming. Gamers that order it online at Tecmo's official site at www.tecmogames.com will also receive a collectible Tecmo Bowl sticker.

Tecmo Classic Arcade will have gamers everywhere getting nostalgic and wishing for the yesteryears of the arcade era when it hits store shelves nationwide this September and only on the Xbox� video game system from Microsoft. The compilation includes eleven of Tecmo's best arcade games including Tecmo Bowl, Rygar, Solomon's Key, Bomb Jack, Tecmo Cup, Pleiads, Senjyo, Star Force, Strato Fighter, Swimmer, and Pinball Action.

For the latest news and information on Tecmo Classic Arcade as well as old school screens from the compilation of arcade hits, check out the newly relaunched and totally awesome Tecmo Official Website at www.tecmogames.com

Tecmo, Inc., located in Torrance, California, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo based Tecmo, LTD. Tecmo, Inc. is a leading publisher of video games for next generation consoles, handheld hardware, and mobile devices including those manufactured by Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment America, and Nintendo. Tecmo has gained worldwide recognition with product lines such as Tecmo Bowl, Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, Fatal Frame, Monster Rancher, and Gallop Racer. More information on Tecmo can be found at www.tecmogames.com

Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

October 16th, 2005. Password Generator site. Brad sent along this pretty handy link, it will give the any password you need for 1-Player mode. More then good enough to get added to the links page.

October 9th, 2005. Nope this isn't the Tecmo Bowl, its the original arcade version. Almost had a heart attack when I saw it.

September 21st, 2005. The Shenango Valley League's 1st season is underway with some results already posted up. Make sure to check it out on their site. Screen shots of the game and everything. Very impressive. Allowing 55 points against LA with Washington, not impressive.

September 9th, 2005. The Shenango Valley league redisgned their site and are planning on trying their 1st season again, only online this time. Check out their site here.

September 7th, 2005. Fort Dodge drafted their teams and made the divisions for their upcoming Season 3. Here's how it went down:
1. NYG (Nate's keeper), 2. MIA (Brad's keeper), 3. CHI (Nate), 4. SF (Brad), 5. CLE (Nate), 6. IND (Brad), 7. LA (Nate), 8. DEN (Brad), 9. SEA (Nate), 10. DAL (Brad), 11. MIN (Nate), 12. WSH (Brad)

Definitely a few eyebrow raising picks there. But that's nothing compared to the randomly drawn divisions:
AFC EAST: NYG (N) CHI (N) WSH (B)
AFC WEST: SF (B) DEN (B) CLE (N)
NFC EAST: IND (B) LA (N) DAL (B)
NFC WEST: MIA (B) SEA (N) MIN (N)
Should be a wild season with this set-up.

September 5th, 2005. Tecmo Legend and The Greatest Of All-Times, Jerry Rice, retired today. Rice had signed with the Broncos but decided to retire instead of taking a reduced role with the team. EPSN has the story here. Unless Sean Landeta signs on with another team after having been cut by the Eagles there will be no more Tecmo Bowl players active in the NFL.

Jerry Rice was drafted by the 49ers in the 1st round 16th overall in the 1985 NFL Draft out of Mississippi Valley State. Rice spent 16 of his 21 NFL seasons with the 49ers, before moving onto the Raiders and Seahawks, piling up all kinds of receiving records. He finishes his career with 1,549 receptions (1st all-time), 22,895 receiving yards (1st all-time) and 207 TDs (1st all-time). It's sad to see this Tecmo Legend go.

September 2nd, 2005. Well that didn't last long. The Philadelphia Eagles cut Sean Landeta today after signing him on August 23rd. NFL.com has the story here. Unless Landeta signs on with someone else Jerry Rice will be the sole remaining player from Tecmo Bowl still active in the NFL.
Also moved the Tecmo Sports News from March and April '05 to the News archive.

August 29th, 2005. Tecmo Cup 2 reaches the halfway point of the regular season with 4 games today. Results are up on the Tecmo Cup 2 page.

August 23rd, 2005. Tecmo Legend Sean Landeta has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. NFL.com has the story. Hopefully he stays on with the team, as now only Landeta and Jerry Rice are the only Tecmo Bowl players remaining in the NFL after Tim Brown's retirement this off-season.

August 18th, 2005. Added 2 entries to the Legendary Games page. Also added a new nickname to the list. And moved the Tecmo Sports News for February to the News Archive.

August 17th, 2005. First Tecmo action in a while as Tecmo Cup 2 got underway, with Denver trying to defend their title. The details of the pools and schedule are posted on the site. In the biggest game of the day San Francisco upset the New York Giants 3-0. The Giants attempted a long field goal with time running out but it was blocked and San Fran used the momentum to march downfield and kick a 10-yard FG to win the game.

August 16th, 2005. Pictures of the Fort Dodge Season 2 play-offs have been posted on the Dee-Nee Forums by Brad. You can take a look at them by going here: Tecmo Bowl Playoff Pics.

August 15th, 2005. The 2nd season of the Fort Dodge League was completed yesterday, with many surprises. Here's a recap of the action from Brad:

Game 1 - MIA(B) @ DEN(N)
This game was owned by Denver in time of possesion, as MIA only saw the ball twice in the first half anf trailed 6-3 at the half. MIA tied it up in the 3rd with a FG, and then the defenses held till the 4th. Game goes into overtime and MIA gets the ball but punts. DEN punts and MIA gets in range for a kick from the 20 and wins 9-6 in OT. This game was brutal and DEN ran like mad on me. Many times I switched up to the right defender only to have Humphrey put a crazy ass move on me for some extra yards.

Game 2 - MIN(B) @ SF(N)
In the 1st I missed out on a sure INT (yards for tards) and it helped SF get a TD a few plays later (blocked PAT by Millard). A dumb pass in the 2nd lead to another SF FG. I got on the board late in the 2nd with a FG. In the 3rd or early 4th MIN crawled down and got a TD to take a 10-9 lead. Fkn' crazy, but there was still about a minute left. On a 3rd down nate used a jew route (2 a game are legal) to get a 1st down, and then with time winding down hit a FG for a 12-10 lead. Leo Lewis didnt get much of a return and the offense could get nowhere near FG range, and SF wins 12-10.

Game 3 - LA(B) @ NYG(N)
This was a tough game from the get go. NYG got on the board early with a FG. LA responded with a good drive and TD...made the PAT also. From there NYG countered and pulled to within 7-6. The 3rd qtr had some very critical series of events. With LA driving for a possible TD midway/late thru the 3rd, I toss and INT. However Simms throws one right back shortly afterwards. Early in the 4th LA gets another TD for a 14-6 (made PAT again!!!) lead. I go into a prevent defense but manage to get some playpicks in the mix as well, and NYG eats up a lot of time and has to settle for a FG pretty late in the 4th. I get the ball back and manage to convert a few 1st downs before punting to kill the clock. LA wins in a major....major upset 14-9. Nate is humiliated and very demoralized at this point. And very angry as well. 1st loss at home all season for them has to be the worst off all. At this point I can breathe a great sigh of relief cause the one team I fear the most is gone. Side note, LA has basically cost nate his best shot at a Tecmo Bowl championship for the second straight season......that loss with SF last season at the gun on a very long FG was the other incident, where SF had owned LA until that point.

Game 4 - CLE(N) @ CHI(B)
With NYG gone and basically only SF as the remaining super power I could face, I was feeling good about this game. On the 1st drive, I score a TD on 4 plays. The bears blcoking annhilates Nate's defenders on a couple runs, and Anderson is as fast as anyone not named Bo or Jerry. A stop and another quick TD makes it 14-0 and things are getting out of hand. The defense goes nuts for me and it's 28-3 at the half. I pour it on and walk away with an easy 42-3 win. Holy crap what a blow out. During the regular season CHI had some struggles with the defense of CLE but not tonight.

Game 5 - AFC Championship - LA(N) @ MIA(B)
This game starts with a bang as the MIA KRer runs 1 back to the LA 10. A few plays later and MIA has 7. LA counters with a FG. In the 2nd half MIA gets another FG for a 10-3 lead. The defense tightens and MIA cruises 23-6 behind a slew of FG's, and MIA awaits the winner of the NFC title game.

Game 6 - NFC Championship - SF(N)@ CHI(B)
CHI gets rolling early with a TD on the first possesion. A stop and another score makes it 14-0. In a mad scramble to get back into the game SF marches down the field and gets in FG range very late in the half inside the 20, but gambles on trying to get a TD and John Taylor gets tackled at around the 5 as time expires. In the 3rd QTR, SF starts driving but there was either an INT or a turnover on downs that probably saved the game. CHI had some serious issues stopping SF, but they proceed to get a FG midway thru the 3rd for what looks to be an insurmountable 17-0 lead. With SF needing some big plays in a hurry Montana goes back to the air exclusively but this results in many turnovers as SF tries to force the issue. CHI rolls over the 9ers 31-0....Nate cites the NYG loss as the demoralizing event that started the downfall....says that basically got him mentally out of the game and he couldn't do much after that. It didn't help that I had gotten back to my old QBing ways and hit everything in sight and made him pay every single time he tried to cheat up on a route. I got in the crazy groove and just didn't fear anything at all......everything seemed to go my way starting at about halftime of the LA/NYG game.

Season 2 - 2005 Tecmo Bowl
MIA(N) @ CHI(B)
Nate had some serious incentive here to win this game. A win saddles me with MIA as my keeper for Season 3. A win by me with CHI finishes off one of the most dominating post seasons we will ever see, and sets the stage for a possible long run of a CHI dynasty. Considering that I would get a strong CHI team with Season 3 (USA cart) then possible a 3rd term with them back with the Japan cart.

The game sees me go down early and take a 3-0 lead with a FG. Lots of prevent defense by MIA and it seems they are dead set on stopping the run. MIA engineers a very long drive that eats up tons of clock and results in a TD, but Singletary blocks the PAT. 6-3 MIA lead at the half. In the 2nd half MIA stalls but CHI goes 3-and-out. late 3rd/early 4th MIA gets a FG for a 9-3 lead, but CHI answers with a long drive and a TD midway thru the 4th for a slim 10-9 lead. MIA, which has caused fits for CHI all game, keeps avoiding playcalls and gets a huge 1st down conversion very late into CHI territory. CHI still has hope but needs a couple play picks. MIA however avoids the calls and gets down into FG range for a game winner as time expires and a 12-10 Tecmo Bowl championship win! I am demoralized by the loss to fricken MIA!?!? It puts a nice capper on the night for Nate as he does throw a wrench in my plans by ending CHI's run at a world title. Neal Anderson had been play-off mvp at that time blazing many a trail but MIA shut him down. Marino had a pretty solid game. Nate congradulated me on the great season, and said I was clearly the better player tonight, even if he snippered the last game.

August 14th, 2005. Since Tim Brown retired and Sean Leandeta is no longer listed on NFL.com I made the changes to the active Tecmo player list. Jerry Rice is the sole remaining player in Tecmo Bowl to still be playing in the NFL. Like it should be.

August 12th, 2005. Added to and fixed the Fort Dodge Season 2 week-by-week results. The final standings should be completed and updated soon.

August 11th, 2005. The Fort Dodge League Consolation Play-off results are in. Brad posted a review of the action and the play-off match-ups on the Dee-Nee forums, which you can read here. Miami meets Denver, LA goes to New York in the AFC, while in the NFC Minnesota travels to San Francisco, and Cleveland goes to Chicago. Sunday looks to be the big day to determine the Season 2 champion.

August 8th, 2005. Added a bunch of scores and the final standings for Fort Dodge Season 2. Missing a few details but they'll get posted up eventually. Expect the unofficial spreadsheet to be available soon as well.

August 3rd, 2005. The Fort Dodge League finished their 2nd regular season today. Brad posted a review of the action and some of the potential play-off scenairo's on the Dee-Nee forums, which you can read here. Big ups to the New York Giants for pulling out a clutch goalline stand in the dying seconds of their game, securing some big home field games in the play-offs. That's the power of the New York Giants.

July 22nd, 2005. Here's the link to the Wikipedia Tecmo Bowl page. Anyone can edit its content, so feel free to add stuff if you know what you're talking about. Added this link to the Links page as well.

July 7th, 2005. Looks like Tim Brown is getting set to retire as a member of the Oakland Raiders. ESPN has the story here. This will leave Jerry Rice as the only active Tecmo Bowl player on an NFL roster. Sean Landeta was released last season by the Rams, but could be back for the 2005 season.

Tim Brown won the Heisman Trophy in 1987 while playing at Notre Dame. He was drafted by the Raiders in the 1st round 6th overall in the 1988 NFL Draft (and is the only player to appear in Tecmo Bowl from the '88 draft). Brown spent 16 of his 17 NFL seasons with the Raiders, piling up all kinds of receiving records. He'll finish his career with 1,094 recrptions (3rd all-time), 14,934 receivnig yards (2nd all-time) and 101 TDs (T-3rd all-time). It's sad to see this Tecmo Legend go.

May 30th, 2005. The fourth of the game plan pages is up. It's Denver. You can read all 11 match-ups on the Denver Game Plans page.

May 25th, 2005. Jerry Rice signed a one-year contract today with the Denver Broncos. ESPN has the full story here. Rice, Tim Brown and Sean Landeta were the only players in Tecmo Bowl to play in the NFL in 2004. No official word yet on whether Brown or Landeta will be back.

May 9th, 2005. The third of the game plan pages is up. It's Miami. You can read all 11 match-ups on the Miami Game Plans page.
Also thanks to Brad for sending me the instruction book I added "How To Win" tips to the Hints & Tips page. The team introductions from the book are now all up together on the Teams page so you don't have to go through team-by-team to read them.

May 5th, 2005. Brad earned himself all kinds of Kornheiser dap by sending me a copy of the 1990 Japan bizarro version of Tecmo Bowl that arrived today. It looks very weird, about half the length and weight of a regular Nintendo game and covered in Japanese. He also photocopied the regular Tecmo instruction book and sent it along. Pretty cool to finally see after all this time. The little team introductions in the instructions are now posted up on each teams page.

April 25th, 2005. The Fort Dodge League is planning on setting up their very own Tecmo Bowl website sometime soon. Look forward to it.

April 23rd, 2005. The second of the game plan pages is up. It's Indianapolis. You can read all 11 match-ups on the Indianapolis Game Plans page.
Also, the Fort Dodge League is plowing through their second season. Weeks 8 and 9 are in the books. Updates coming soon, but until then here are the quick standings:

April 13th, 2005. Classic finish to a Week 7 Season 2 game of the Fort Dodge League. Nate (New York) provides the spirited recap of the action:
The game started with 2 league giants (pardon the pun) facing off in a collossal test of wills. Those wills being, will Brad score a point against my most dominant defense, and will I take it easy on his monkey carcus. Obviously for Brad's sake I let him hang in there for awhile till the very end. Previously in the night, about a half hour before the start of the battle I broke his computer chair, and 30 minutes later I broke his spirit as he could only watch helplessly as the cruel events of the night would unfold.

The game was a see-saw affair. In fact the last time there was this many twists and turns in a man's living room was when the Fat Boys and Chubby Checkers sweated to the oldies with Richard Simmons back in 1989.

The game was a defensive struggle with each drive the Giants gaining some yards only to find white gravy Charles Mann there to make a crucial 3rd and four play to stop the Giants drive dead in its' tracks. The Washington Redskins were able to amass absolutely zero offense against LT, Leonard and the boyz. In fact it might be the single greatest defensive performance by any team in the history of Fort Dodge Tecmo. Washington did not get its' first first down of the game until the very last drive of the game.

Speaking of that last drive. The final drive was filled with chicanery. Time and time again Washington was able to pull a rabbit out of the hat on third and fourth downs and very long yardages to go. There were more rabbits being pulled out of Washingtons butt than are present in the Gumbo at Brad's family reunion, and let me just say, that's a lot.

Finally, the most pivotal play in the history of tecmo. I don't think I'm overstating this. On the four yard line, with four seconds to go, and the Giants defense reeling at the debauchery that had preceded. Washington with all the momentum. The last time this much momentum was found on one side of the equation was when my 65 pound girlfriend in high school had to use the belly wheel to roll me out of the local buffet. All right so that's not true. Like I had a girlfriend in high school.

Anyways back to the game. Brad picks pass 2 a play which has worked for him this entire drive. I implement a dominant strategy as I pick "the curls" pass. I then choose who else, but the man, the myth, the legend, LT. LT might have ended up being the one with a drug problem but Brad was on crack when he thought he would beat me. LT in perfect symmetry circles the globe (errrrr the playing field) covering both the bottom receiver and the tight end as they curl. Brad had one choice as LT would have surely picked off a pass to the bottom wr. Instead Brad delivers a perfect pass to the tight end who at the time of the reception literally has his butt, back, legs, arms, everything but his head and the football in the end zone. But apparently the guy has a bigger butt than grand champion akebono, cause LT with his ridiculous speed did not let him move a morsal of his being from that location. LT tackled him on the goal line, and the Giants take their rightful place, atop the standings.

First I broke Brads chair, than I broke his spirit. In fact if Brad was pregnant I would have broke his dang water tonight. In fact the last time Brad had this much stuff broke in one night was the time he asked me to teach him the river dance. Now Brad at the end of the greatest night in Tecmo history knows what it's like to go winless. A big ZERO. NO WINS BABY! Even as bad of night as I've had, I've never had a winless night, whats it feel like Brad, HUH, HUH!!!!! LOSER, LOSER, LOSER!!!!!

BRAD now has fallen to the dominance that is NATE MERZ!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The associated press is reporting today that the once fearsome Chicago Penguin Kings are terrified to face a hungry Dallas team, and are doing whatever they can to delay the season. The news comes as no surprise to the Cowboys, who publicly stated the importance of this game several weeks ago. Dallas team officials told reporters that Dallas is mentally and pyschically ready to take on Chicago with their play-off lives potentially on the line.

The 6-1 Chicago "Chicken Kings," as Dallas fans have started to call them, and now a phrase echoed throughout the league, have appeared shaky ever since their Week 4 win over the Browns. The game was a back-and-forth field goal battle that went into overtime that saw Chicago luckily win the coin toss, and the game. Week 5 saw Chicago drop their first game of the season to Miami 13-10. A definite sign of trouble for the Penguin Kings, as they are reknowned for their ability to contain the Miami offense. Their Week 6 game at home against the Cowboys saw Chicago bailed out by a Mike Gentry kick return touchdown to win a hard fought game 10-3. In Week 7 Chicago, again at home, just barely held off the Eric Dickerson-led Indianapolis Colts 10-9, when Chicago was able to escape with a victory on a last second field goal by Chris Butler.

Chicago, purhaps out of an effort to save face on their tremendous start to the season, have brought out every trick in the book to delay their inevitable rematch with the Cowboys in Dallas. This has led many Dallas fans to believe Chicago must be scared of their team, and it's hard to blame them. The Cowboys have had a resurgent season in Season 9, holding a 4-2 record, and in a battle with upstart Washington for the final play-off position in the East conference. The 4 wins by Dallas this season have already surpassed their high from the previous 4 seasons. Dallas has been a struggling franchise from the beginning posting a 2-8 record in Season 4, a 3-7 mark in Season 6, a horrifying 0-10 campaign in Season 7, and a 3-7 record last season.

Veteran Dallas Cowboy defender Ron Francis commented to reporters "we know Chicago is a strong team, they beat New York twice this season! But that was a long time ago and the way we are playing this year, especially on defense, we know we can beat them." He added "the new defensive co-ordinator has made all the difference, we're stopping the run and doing the little things. This team can make the play-offs."

April 8th, 2005. Started a tournament today, featuring totally random teams and matches. Derek cleaned up during the drawing process, getting a hold of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland and Indianapolis. A few upsets have led to a final three of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles (who stunned San Fran 17-0 in the first round). A 4th team that was eliminated in the 2nd round will be added to make the Final Four. Notables from today: Cam played his 800th career game, losing to New York 7-6 with Seattle. LT blocked a PAT. The Giants also recorded their 100th shut-out in only 173 games played. They blanked Washington 9-0 in Game #926.

April 6th, 2005. Weird story today as Tecmo Legend Bo Jackson is suing a newspaper for saying that he used steroids. Everyone knows Bo knows he didn't need steroids. Hopefully this sinks the paper financially as that is the kind of shabby treatment they deserve for saying blasphemous things about Bo Jackson.
The Fort Dodge League played Week 6 of their 2nd season today. Expect scores and updates for Weeks 4, 5 and 6 soon.

March 30th, 2005. The first of the game plan pages is up. Keeping with Tecmo tradition, it's New York. You can read all 11 match-ups on the New York Game Plans page.

March 19th, 2005. Moved the Tecmo Sports News from January to the News archive page.

March 7th, 2005. The 12th, and last, of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Minnesota. In total the new team write-ups is over 8,000 words. Not bad.
Week 3 scores, notes and MVPs for Season 2 of the Fort Dodge League are up. Week 4 has been played as well so expect those updates soon.
Also the geocities hit counter thing appears to have gone RJ on me so that might be the end of the running update of site hits every 1,000 hits.

March 6th, 2005.The Shenango Valley League started their season today, they didn't get the whole week played but got a decent start. Read about it at the Shenango Valley page.

March 3rd, 2005. The 11th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Chicago.
Plenty of small updates over at Shenango Valley page as well.

March 1st, 2005. Three entries about the Tecmo Cup into the Legendary Game page.
Also Brad wrote-up some legendary game recaps for the Fort Dodge League, you can read them on the new Fort Dodge Legendary Games page.

February 27th, 2005. Denver finally got the monkey off it's back and won something, taking the 1st ever Tecmo Cup. They did it in fine fashion as well, going an impressive 6-0 on the way to the championship. John Elway gave Denver two huge last second wins in the play-offs and earned the Tecmo Cup MVP award. This win was the 400th of Derek's Tecmo Bowl career. Expect a couple of Legendary game entries in a few days.

February 26th, 2005. Tecmo Cup update: The regular season round robin is finished, setting up the play-off brackets. You can see the details on the Tecmo Cup page.

February 25th, 2005. The 10th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Dallas.
In other news there is a post on the Tecmo Repository about a potential Tecmo Bowl tournament in Chicago. Here's a link to the thread. Very interesting.
In other Tecmo Bowl news the Seattle Seahawks released Jerry Rice today. Here's a link to the story. This move leaves Tim Brown as the only Tecmo Bowl player currently on a NFL roster. Hopefully Jerry Rice, and Sean Landeta (released by St. Louis during the 2004 season) find new homes for the 2005 NFL season.

February 23rd, 2005. Made a couple of very minor changes to the Fort Dodge section of the site. Including adding a page for the Fort Dodge records that will probably be updated when they finish Season 2.
Also the 9th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about San Francisco.
And also some updates on the Shenango Valley site, as there is now a message forum and voting polls set up.

February 22nd, 2005. The 8th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Washington.
In sadder news Miami punter Reggie Roby died today. Here's a link to the story. He was a three-time Pro Bowler, and is one of the best punters in Tecmo Bowl.

February 19th, 2005. Shenango Valley has upgraded their site to version 2.0. It looks pretty impressive. Check it out.
In other news expect a Fort Dodge Season 2 update soon, and a slight reworking of the sidebar on the site.

February 16th, 2005. Added to the bizarro field goal blocking chart to the field goal blocking hints & tips. I might add some additional commentary about the players later.

February 15th, 2005. The 7th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Los Angeles.
Also a big addition to the Hints & Tips page, as now you can pick up all the tricks of the field goal blocking trade in just minutes. The charts there aren't 100% complete but this is basically everything you'll ever need to know about how to block field goals in Tecmo Bowl.

February 10th, 2005. Week 1 of Season 2 of the Fort Dodge League was wrapped up with 2 games getting played. The scores, game notes and MVPs for all the action is up on the Season 2 page. Remember Fort Dodge is using the 1990 version of Tecmo Bowl for their 2nd season.

February 9th, 2005. The 6th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Seattle.
Also the Shenango Valley site has updated its rules and regulations, and it may be a few days late but here's the Fort Dodge Season 2 preview newspaper:

February 7th, 2005. Season 2 of the Fort Dodge League is underway with 4 games getting played. The scores, game notes and MVPs for all the action is up on the Season 2 page. Remember Fort Dodge is using the 1990 version of Tecmo Bowl for their 2nd season.
Also, I cleared up some of the wording on the rules. No changes to anything, just a re-wording.

February 6th, 2005. Added the list of Tecmo Bowl NFL MVPs and Super Bowl MVPs to the Miscellaneous page.
Also, the site hits 13,000 views. It hit 12,000 on January 17th, 10,000 on December 2nd, 9000 on October 17th, 8000 on September 5th, 7000 on August 4th, 6000 on July 5th, 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st, and 3000 on April 2nd.

February 5th, 2005. Dan Marino became the 17th Tecmo Bowl player to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame today. You can see his HOF page here, and he's been added to the list on the Miscellaneous page. Congratulations Dan.

February 4th, 2005. Found another site about Tecmo Bowl called the Shenango Valley Tecmo Bowl League. It looks like they could mean business with their site but it doesn't look like the rules or seasons or anything are set yet. You can visit the site here and it has been added to the links page.

February 4th, 2005. Tecmo Legend Lawrence Taylor turns 46 today. Taylor, drafted in 1981 in the 1st round 2nd overall out of North Carolina, is a 10-time pro bowler ('81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90), is Tecmo Bowl's best defensive player, and is probably the greatest NFL defensive player of all-time. LT is a NFL Hall of Famer, and has helped the Giants to many Super Bowl and Tecmo Bowl titles. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Lawrence Taylor.

February 2nd, 2005. Tecmo Legend Dexter Manley turns 46 today. Manley, drafted in 1981 in the 5th round 119th overall out of Oklahoma State, is a 1-time pro bowler ('86) and is Tecmo Bowl's best right end. The Run Assassin is the star defender for the excellent Washington defense, and is their franchise player. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Dexter Manley.

February 1st, 2005. Moved the Tecmo Sports News for December to the News archive.

January 29th, 2005. The 5th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Denver.

January 24th, 2005. The 4th of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Cleveland.

January 21st, 2005. Real life Mike Singletary was just hired to be the new assistant head coach and linebackers coach for San Francisco. He was the linebacker coach for the Ravens for two seasons. You can read the whole story here.

January 19th, 2005. The 3rd of the new team write-ups is done, now you can read all about Miami.

January 17th, 2005. The site hits 12,000 views. It hit 10,000 on December 2nd, 9000 on October 17th, 8000 on September 5th, 7000 on August 4th, 6000 on July 5th, 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st, and 3000 on April 2nd.

January 14th, 2005. Moved the Tecmo Sports News for October and November to the News archive.

January 13th, 2005. Brad of the Fort Dodge League wrote up their Season 2 preview using RoboCop quotes. You can read it on the Repository forum or here:

Tecmo Bowl: Season 2. For this part of the season preview, I present famous quotes from the movie Robocop. It makes sense to have quotes from the greatest movie of all time for the greatest game of all time. It's shear genius, don't you think? In this segment, I will supply a quote for a specific team, then give a proper summary of how it relates. Further along, there will even be a few quotes for some players as they look ahead to the new season. We will start off with a little quote to refresh the memories of those who may have temporarily forgot what transpired in the playoffs lasts season, and then forge into the future. Just for kicks I even supplied a quote for each individual division as well.

-Recap
"That hurt. But life goes on, all fun and glory, huh Bob? It helps if you think of it as a game. And every game's got a winner, and a loser."

Near the end of the season, many thought SF was in line to win the title. Unfortunately in all games there is a winner and a loser, and SF went down to defeat in the playoffs against LA in a demoralizing loss of epic proportions. SF had previously swept the season series vs the Raiders, and another win was surely expected over LA. The anticipated Tecmo Bowl would pit SF against SEA for all the marbles. SEA eventually went on and captured the title that many felt should have belonged to 49ers. But life goes on, and SF is poised to make another run at a Tecmo championship.

-Looking ahead
"I had a guaranteed military sale with ED209! Renovation program! Spare parts for 25 years! Who cares if it worked or not!"

That's right ladies and gentlemen; Tecmo Bowl has been around a long time, and it will stay that way. However, as much as we love it we needed to forge ahead. When I got word there was a different version of it that was only released in Japan with many roster changes I knew we had to have it. In the name of parity, we will rotate from season to season which version of Tecmo Bowl we will use for league play. So without further ado, I present the league summaries for the Japan version of the greatest game ever made.

***NFC WEST - "You're gonna be one bad motherfucker!" Yes The NFC West is the official home of the Tecmo League ass-kickings. Take SF, add in the defending Champs in SEA, and then toss in CLE just for the hell if it. There's a very good chance all 3 teams finish above .500 and a very good team from this division will get the playoff shaft. Baring a major meltdown, this is the toughest division on the planet.

"It's back! Big is back, because bigger is better than ever! 6000 SUX: An American Tradition!" (8.7 MPG) and a second quote for good measure..."Ooh, guns, guns, guns."

This is designated to none other than the undisputed best team in the game. SF is back and better than ever with a revamped roster that's faster and more powerful than before. Add in John Taylor at WR and Brent Jones at TE, then just for the hell of it make Roger Craig faster, and you have many weapons for Montana's disposal. Or better yet, guns, guns, guns! And that's just on the offensive side of the ball. Add in a very capable FG blocker in Charles Haley, Ronnie Lott and his new bottom safety buddy Griffin and Mr. Carter, and you've got a hell off a lot of ammo on the defensive side of the ball as well. So to re-cap, best offensive weapons in the game, and most likely best overall defensive team. Prediction: 9-3, Division champs, and a Tecmo Bowl victory.

"Goddammit! Godammit! Listen to me! Listen to me, you fuck! There's another guy. He's OCP. He's the senior president."

Yes, there is another guy. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of other guys for that matter. Guys who have moved up the ladder in the SEA organization. Who you ask? John L. Williams, Brian Blades, and Rufus Porter. No other team exchanged out so much star firepower as SEA did. The best part is, they replaced their stars with very comparable talent as well. Out are Warner, Largent, and Fredd Young, but they should still be a team capable of knocking off anyone and having a one-way ticket to the post season. Prediction: 7-5, and a playoff berth.

Yeah, there are a few questions about the offense of CLE floating around. Will the running game be worth a shit? What now that they don't have McNeil returning kicks like a mad man? And so on and so forth. However, they still have a high-powered defense ready kick some teeth in, and Matthews is a guy who can block those longer FG attempts now. In Tecmo Land, if you can play defense, and even have anything that resembles an offense, you always have a shot. With that being said they will be hard to score upon, and Kosar has some fast targets. This will be an interesting season, to see just how good they are. Prediction 6-6, and makes the playoffs the hard way through the conso/invite tourney.

***NFC EAST - "Yes! Now that's how it's done in the big leagues, Johnson. You see an opening, you go for it!"

That opening that we are talking about is more like a gaping hole for CHI. This division is rounded out by DAL and MIN, and there looks to be no stopping CHI from claiming this division and a playoff spot. Yeah, you figured the Bears were going into the playoffs anyways, but give them a cream puff division and they should cruise in. Hell, they could go 6-6 and still probably win by a couple games. Lady luck was certainly on their side when the division placements got doled out.

"You're gonna have to kill it....well listen chief, your company built the fucking thing, now I gotta deal with it!"

Lost in all the excitement of LT and Elway is a team that might be better equipped to put the whooping to SF than anyone else. CHI, AKA the Penguin Kings! Da Bears return most all of their key defenders, and then replace Payton with Neal Anderson. CHI owns what is thought to be the most lethal running attack in the game, and they'll need it to thwart the evil plans of Montana and his henchmen. With SF so fast on defense, your best bet will be a powerful and reliable running game to put the clubberin to them, and CHI has an ample supply. Prediction: 8-4, and division champ.

"Something with reclining leather seats, that goes really fast and gets really shitty gas mileage!"

Something fast that guzzles a lot of gas, yet doesn't get you very far? Sounds like the new and improved MIN squad. MIN has a set of burners at WR/TE. A top notch KR, Herschel Walker at RB and a defense so fast that it'll make your head spin. Oh, and they also have the dreaded WR reverse, which makes the whole team go from 60 to zero in no time flat. MIN will kick a lot of ass this season, well on defense that is, but don't expect them to score a whole bunch. The piss-poor MPG, will compute to low PPG, so its all relative. Prediction: 4-8, and causing a fair share of problems in the Conso/Invite tourney

"Your client's a scumbag, you're a scumbag, and scumbags see the judge on Monday morning. Now get out of my office, and take laughing boy with you!"

Worst rushing attack this side of the WR reverse teams? Check. Slow WR's and poor passing attack? Check. No Defense? Check. Average kicking game? Check. Do the math and it all equates out to the DAL scumbags. What was once ruled by Herschel Walker and was actually an offense that could cause some serious fits now is just fodder for the wheels of about any defense out there on the game. There's no hope for these guys on Sunday's and sentencing is on Monday. Hopefully the judge goes easy on em. Prediction: 2-10, and first round exit from Conso/Invite

Call 911 folks, and do it pronto. Why? Cause this division has it all. For starters you got DEN and Elway, and John is the doctor, cause he's the most surgical QB on this game. He can slice and dice with his arm or his legs, and he's always a sick and twisted man glad to offer up some surgery with no anesthesia. Free of charge of course. Next up you have IND who despite the knocks against them, will still be in stable condition all season, as they still have a few pieces left to compete and "do some things!" Last and surely least, yah got WSH, who will inevitably be on life support all season. And when Elway and his boys make the playoffs, your definitely going to need an ambulance near by.

"I remember when I was a young executive for this company. I used to call the Old Man funny names. Iron Butt, Boner... once I even called him asshole. But there was always respect. I knew where the line was drawn. And you just stepped over it, buddy boy!"

There was some speculation that DEN is just not good enough to win a title against the evil empire that is known as the Japan version 49ers. Or that they don't have the offense to overcome LT and his cronies. There are even doubts that they can stop the run heavy offense of the Bears, and stand up to that powerful defense. There may have even been a statement flying around along the lines of..."Denver my ass". Well, I'm here to tell you that this is completely false. DEN has John Elway, AKA death on 2 legs along with a bit more speed at WR and a very serviceable RB in Humphrey. DEN also has a few upgrades on defense, and a badass kick returner just to add insult to injury. Prediction: 9-3, division champ, and trip to the Tecmo Bowl.

When your star player on offense holds out, and your best defender swaps positions to a spot far less beneficial to you keeping opponents off the scoreboard, it looks like you're in pretty serious trouble. Dickerson is no longer busting heads at RB for IND, and Bickett moves from BOLB to TOLB, which means he won't be blocking the long FG attempts anymore. Seems all the air has been taken outta the Colts balloon. They still have a great kicking game, and QB Trudea has a stronger arm, but there are many questions as to whether or not they'll be any good. However they are pretty balanced, and should be able to "do some things!". Prediction: 6-6, and putting up a good fight in the conso/invite tourney

Excuse me? Has anyone seen Dexter Manley? Yeah, you remember him. He was part of a little group called the Doom Combo. Yeah, that's right..they were from the 80's. Manley and Mann just clobbering all offensive teams in their path. With Dexter missing, or more specifically suspended for cocaine usage, the WSH defense suffers a rugged hit. Also who's this white guy pretending to be Wilbur Marshall? With the nastiest defense on the planet now disassembled there aint much hope for WSH. Hide the wife and kids and put away the fine china, this ones gonna get ugly. Prediction: 2-10, and an early exit from the conso/invite tourney

***AFC EAST- "Ah, still a little fight left. Well maybe you'd like to meet an old friend."

Yes its true! With Bizzaro Bo being faster, and Marino having a few more bullets in the chamber, once again things look pretty good for LA and MIA. But I think we should introduce them to an old friend, and his name is LT of NYG fame. Just when you thought they were about to make a comeback and start messing up defenses worldwide, a big looming crack head on the horizon appears to block FG's and make it near impossible to score. This was quite fitting don't you think? These once proud and powerful franchises trying to return to previous glory of the playoffs and such, but now once again relegated to being the underlings for LT and his cronies.

When it comes to making trouble, there's one team, or more likely one man who is a wrecking ball in a helmet and pads. That can only describe one man, LT and NYG. LT is the equivalent of the strong arm of law, just like Robocop. NYG has lost some speed on defense at other positions, and a couple key players on offense, but who cares when you got LT fighting crime in the battle of good vs evil. I guarantee, there will be much trouble! Prediction: 8-4, and division champ.

When the only shot you have rests on the shoulder, or more specifically the arm of an unholy monster, then you have some problems. All of MIA's hopes and dreams ride on the cannon arm of Marino. With no running game, and little defense, you'd figure they were dead in the water, but with Dan the man, they always, and I mean always have a chance. He can slice up any defense on a good day. However I've found that those good days are not always a sure bet, and even then will the defense hold up? Marino can scare the holy crap outta any team on the game, but if he screws up, they are toast, with a capital T. So MIA fans, lets get out the rosary beads and go to work. Prediction: 6-6, and playoff berth

"Hello, buddy boy. Dick Jones here. I guess you're on your knees right about now. Begging for your life. Pathetic. Don't feel so cocky now, do you, Bob?"

Surprise, surprise, surprise Dick, I guess you didn't get the memo...that's what everyone thought about Mr. Jackson and LA. Problem is even though they were left for dead on the US version with basically no hope of ever winning a Tecmo title, those crazy Japs brought Bo back from the dead and this time he's faster(!?!?) and stronger than before. That's right kiddies; Bo is back in action..Action Jackson! And there aint no fast TOLB anywhere in site. Granted the Raiders might be a bit up and down over the course the schedule, but they are once again a force to be reckoned with. So now they can get back to feeling cocky again. See yah at the coliseum buddy boy. Just win baby, just win! Prediction: 6-6, and makes the playoffs the hard way, through the conso/invite tourney.

So to recap all the divisions and such, things might just pan out this way:
NFC WEST
SF 9-3---SEA 7-5---CLE 6-6
NFC EAST
CHI 8-4---MIN 4-8---DAL 2-10
AFC WEST
DEN 9-3---IND 6-6---WSH 2-10
AFC EAST
NYG 8-4---MIA 6-6---LA 6-6

I'll take a SF/DEN Tecmo Bowl. SF because they should have good success over CHI, for a better seed, and will have a home game, when they meet up in post-season play.

DEN because they don't really have much competition in the AFC outside of NYG. DEN's defense matches up well against NYG, so it will be hard for either team to score. The KR games are roughly the same, and NYG has an edge in the kicking game, but Elway is the x-factor.

SF has all the pieces to win the Tecmo Bowl, and I will be surprised if they don't. Very surprised!

My darkhorse picks are as follows:
Tecmo Bowl Darkhorse: Of all the non-division winning teams that I see out there, Cle could be a team that sneaks into the Tecmo Bowl un-expectedly. Not a great running game, but they have very fast WR's and a very good defense. For them it's a cause of match-ups and probably getting some help in the playoffs, with some superior teams getting knocked off by someone else. However they can stop most any running attack, with Matthews and those 2 fast DB's. Now once they get into the game, there would be speculation that they had already shot their load just to get there, and would probably run out of gas.

Division Champ Darkhorse: MIA could be a team that could sneak by. Again, that unholy monster better not screw up. This would require NYG to have a fairly bad season of say 7-5 and to lose the tiebreaker to MIA but it's a possibility.

Great Expectations, and a Great Fall Darkhorse: LA is starting to get hyped up to really do some damage this season. However they seem to be on shaky ground one game, then look unstoppable the next. Totally inconsistent, and they have been able to own a few teams, but if MIA ever figures em out, they are in big trouble. In a horrible worst-case scenario, LA goes a poultry 4-8.

Consolation/Invitational Tourney Darkhorse: MIN is a team with so much defense, that they probably don't need much more than a Td or a couple FG's to get by some of the few lack luster offensive teams around here. With that being said, they should be able to get a win in the Conso/Invite tourney and make a little noise. If they manage to somehow get a bye in the Conso/Invite, they hold onto your hats folks, they could be playoff bound the hard way.

"First, don't fuck with me. I'm a desperate man! And second, I want some fresh coffee. And third, I want a recount! And no matter how it turns out, I want my old job back!"

Now who would want their old job back in Tecmo land? Well I'm going to go out on a limb and name these guys. Herschel Walker, gets the hose job by being traded to MIN, and then only gets 1 running play. Poor Hershel! Fredd Young goes from Monster, to Maggot as he swaps teams from SEA to IND. Speaking of IND, Bickett who was put on this earth to single handedly save the Colts defense gets moved to TOLB, and now is not a factor in blocking FG's.

"What are your Prime Directives? Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, up-hold the law."

LT baby! It's up to him to fight the forces of Evil also knows as SF. He's the man for the job!

What a perfect quote for the one and only, Bo Jackson. Just when everyone thought he was left for dead, along comes more speed and power to rescue the Raiders from the pits of hell.

"What the fuck are you doing? Do you know who I am? If you think you're going to get away with this..."

Perfect for the best computer controlled player on the planet. Ronnie Lott. He's so awesome the computer uses him to kick your butt. This frees you up to be Haley or carter and whatever you can't tackle in the running game, Lott swings in from the rooftops and nails.

January 11th, 2005. The list of Tecmo Legends birthdays is now on the Miscellaneous page. The Tecmo Sports News for September is now in the news archive. And the 2nd of the new team write-ups is up. It's Indianapolis.
Some other Tecmo notes for today, Fort Dodoge Season 2 could be starting very soon, as in tonight. The divisions and schedule are up on the Fort Dodge Season 2 page. And a few Tecmo guys are on the ballot for the 2005 NFL Hall of Fame induction. Dan Marino leads the way, but New York linebacker Harry Carson, Chicago lineman Richard Dent, and Washington offensive linemen Russ Grimm are all on the ballot as well.

January 10th, 2005. Lots of Bizzaro 1990 Japan Tecmo Bowl action in Fort Dodge yesterday. Brad provides the following recap of the action:

SEA (B) @ CLE (N) - Nate starts off the game with a decent drive and gets 7. I manage to counter with a FG, but fall behind 14-3. More of Nate's defense stifling me in the second half and CLE takes it 17-6. SEA got dominated pretty well this game.
CHI (B) @ NYG (N) - NYG takes a hefty 19-0 lead in the 3rd, which signals game over, but CHI races back for 2 scores and cuts it to 19-14. A Meggett KR TD then seals the deal as NYG wins 25-14. There was a spot in the early 4th where CHI actually had a chance, when Singletary got a INT as they trailed 19-7. He got tackled by a shoestring when he could of had a long return for a TD. CHI ended up scoring, but they ate up too much time, where as a big INT return could of gave them a shot, as Anderson and co. finally figured out the G-men D. Didn't matter though cause Meggett took it to the house very late.
MIA (B) @ LA (N) - Miami cannot, I repeat cannot stop LA. Bo runs for like 7-8 yards a pop vs. the TOLB. Play pick Run 1, and Bo is fast enough to sneak around the corner for a butt load of yards. He broke off some like 35 yard gain off a playpick to set up the first score, then did it again later in the game. Nate said I was better off to not call his play. LA keeps a step ahead and wins it 21-17, in which MIA scored a TD late in the 4th pull closer.
DEN (B) @ SF (N) - SF zooms down the field right away but settles for a FG. Then we play out a battle of field position for most of the rest of the game. DEN didn't really threaten to score all game as Haley stifled Humphrey repeatedly with awesome diving tackles, and when he missed Lott, and Griffen swept up the mess. Very frustrating game all around. DEN did once get close, but was too far out for a FG due to Haley and went for it on 4th down but didn't not convert at around the 30. SF wins 3-0. Not a typical score for our rules, but very good game all around...very tough! Over the first 4 games we played, I did not hold a lead once...not one fucking time, and Nate controlled time of possesion. I played pretty well in the 4 games, but he was always....always 1 step ahead of me.
MIN (B) @ NYG (N) - Ok, down 4-0 so far and this match-up comes about...things not looking good. On their first drive Simms tosses an INT to Millard, but near the goaline, Wilson returns the favor and LT gets the pick inside his 5. This was a classic defensive battle where NYG started pinned deep in their territory, and would punt, then MIN would not move the ball and punt, and so on and so forth, until Landeta's superior punting finally pinned MIN near thier endzone, as MIN was losing the field position battle, however late in the 2nd qtr, a first down and a few more yards bailed them out before a punt. MIN then got a decent return to start the 3rd qtr, and then after punting, the battle for field position started all over pinning NYG deep again. On defense Millard playing TMLB, couple with Doleman and lots of playpicks stifled NYG. It was one of those games where you don't even feel threatened at all on defense, and you just know that sooner or later the opponent will crack. Early in the 4th MIN gets a drive going, avoiding playpicks and getting Steve Jordan in the mix. On a 4th and 1 from the NYG 40, MIN converts on a pass to Carter, as NYG went for the playpick on Walker's run. MIN finally breaks into the endzone with a pass to Carter. An INTt by Millard leads to a short TD drive and MIN wins going away 14-0. Despite the score, this coupled with the previous game were 2 hotly contested defensive wars! Nothing like crapy MIN bailing me out and getting me my first win for the night.
CHI (B) @ SF (N) - Another rough battle that featured a back and forth battle where both teams had trouble stopping the other. SF mixed up the offense nice to move the ball, while CHI used mainly an exclusive passing attack to move the ball. Early in the 4th SF scores to pull within 14-13, but Singletary blocks yet another crucial extra point in this heated rivalry to keep the 1 point lead. Anderson then finally gets leash taken off of him, and he runs rampant on the 9ers, in a drive that concludes with the game winning TD and extra point...CHI wins 21-13.
LA (B) @ IND (N) - IND had no answer for Bo for they resorted to playpicking him to try and stop him, which opened the pass game. LA's defense destroyed IND from start to finish, and LA won easily 26-0.

January 8th, 2005. --- Breaking News --- With so many teams still in the hunt of the 1st ever Tecmo Cup, and only 3 games remaining, the tie-breaker situation is very important. Pool 1 has tons of possibilies as only Cleveland has been eliminated from championship round play. Pool 2 is much clearer as Los Angeles has been eliminated and the top three seeds are all locked in. Let�s break down the situation, starting with the much easier Pool 2:

The Giants have locked in the #1 seed in Pool 2, while San Francisco and Indianapolis have secured seeds #2 and #3. Indianapolis will go to San Francisco to play in the first round of the Tecmo Cup championship. Seattle or Dallas can capture the 4th seed and the intimidating trip to New York. Dallas needs to beat Los Angeles in it�s last game by more then 3 points to pass Seattle for the 4th seed. A loss or win by less then 3 points means Seattle is going to New York. If Dallas manages to win by exactly 3 Seattle and Dallas are tied and are looking at a one-game play-off situation.

Pool 2
1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Indianapolis
4. Seattle or Dallas
Dallas needs to win, and by more then 3 to pass Seattle.

Pool 1 is a lot messier as there are still plenty of combinations that can occur with 2 games left in the pool, and only Cleveland is mathematically eliminated. Minnesota plays Chicago, and Denver plays Washington. The most likely scenario of a Chicago and Denver win, results in Denver winning the #1 seed, Chicago #2, Miami #3 and Washington #4. Minnesota would be on the outside looking in. The other possible outcomes make the standings really messy and points for minus points against will play a huge role in determining who is in and at what seed. The only guaranteed play-off bound teams are Denver (who capture the #1 seed with a win), and Miami. Every other team has at least one scenario where they�ll be going home early.

If Minnesota and Denver win, Washington is likely to be eliminated (Chicago would have to lose by more then 12 points for Washington to not be eliminated), Denver is the #1 seed and PF-PA determines the rest. Chicago and Washington victories eliminates Minnesota, and PF-PA would determine the seeds. The most likely seeding in this scenario is #1 Chicago, #2 Denver, #3 Washington, #4 Miami. If a miracle happens and Washington and Minnesota win, Chicago is eliminated and PF-PA determines the seeds.

January 7th, 2005. 5 games of Tecmo Cup today. All the results and the up-to-date standings are on the Tecmo Cup page. Only 3 games remain in the regular season round robin, and a ton of teams still have hopes of qualifying for the play-offs.
Indianapolis' Albert Bentley finally puts a kick return touchdown on the board, leaving on New York's McConkney, and Miami's Pruitt as the only guys not to go Gentry on us. This return got the game legendary status.

January 6th, 2005. The first of the new team write-ups is up. Unshockingly it's the New York one. The rest could be quite slow in the making.
In other Tecmo news, Tecmo Legends Howie Long and Sean Landeta have birthdays today. Long turns 45, while Landeta is 43. Long, drafted in 1981 in the 2nd round 48th overall out of Villanova, is a 8-time pro bowler ('83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '89, '92, '93) and is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Landeta, Tecmo's best punter, was never drafted and played his college ball at Towson State, is a 20 year NFL veteran, who was just recently released. If he decides to retire it will leave only two remaining Tecmo Bowl players still active in the NFL. Happy birthday Tecmo Legends Howie Long and Sean Landeta.
And oh yeah, Merry Christmas.

January 2nd, 2005. Plenty of updates today. By popular demand the Season 9 standings are up. Games #777 through #904 are up on the game log page, two entries into the legendary games, and the links to the Hall of Fame Tecmo players have been fixed.
Also to recap some of yesterday's important Season 9 events: San Francisco's bid for a perfect 10-0 season was ended in Week 6 by Indianapolis, while Denver and Minnesota both ended their losing streaks and got W's on the board with big wins, avoiding the dreaded 0-10 season.
And to wrap up the 2004 year:
Number of Games Played: 293
Seasons Completed: 3
Tecmo Sports News entries: 138

January 1st, 2005. 2005 starts off properly with Season 9 getting back under way after a 154 day layoff. Results are up on the Season 9 page, as are spreads for Week 8. Updates to the legendary games later.

December 30th, 2004. Made some fixes to the ratings spreadsheet, hopefully catching all the errors that were in the old one. Also posted the info from the new spreadsheet to a ratings page so you don't have to have Excel to see it.

December 29th, 2004. Added the list of Tecmo sons in the NFL to the Miscellaneous page. The list is short with only 4 guys, and Jarret Payton (Walter's son) appears to be on the fringe as his NFL player page is blank now.

December 28th, 2004. Some Tecmo Cup action today, with 4 games getting played. You can see the results on the Tecmo Cup page. Miami finshed their round robin 2-1, while Cleveland wrapped up at a disappointing 0-3. The huge New York-San Francisco game is next on the schedule.
Also made a list of player nicknames and added to the miscellaneous page, while cutting a lot of the pretty useless writing stuff off of it. It's basically a page of lists now.

December 23rd, 2004. Changed the name of the Oddities page to the Miscellaneous page and added some stuff to it. Also added all the attribute (max, inital, power, etc.) definitions to the glossary and put the damn thing in alphabetical order. Also went through and hopefully caught all the mistakes in the legendary games page, the legendary game archive, and the hints & tips page.

December 21st, 2004. Fixed up the playbooks page so it isn't as ugly, and the teams are in the right order now. All the spelling errors and stuff should be gone, and I changed a few of the grades. Indy moves to A+/A+/A+ from A/A+/A+, Cleveland to B+/A/A- from B/B+/B+ for example. Quite a few other changes as well.
Also the Glossary has been put in alphabetical order with all, or at least hopefully all, the spelling errors and such fixed.

December 20th, 2004. Most of the team pages are set-up with the roster screen, the playbook, and a chart displaying each players skills. All the links are on the Teams page.

December 18th, 2004. Individual team pages are in the works, but they might take a while to get finished. The basic set-up will be like this New York page. The team write-ups will eventually be redone and put on these individual pages.

December 9th, 2004. Moved the Tecmo Sports News from August to the News Archive page.

December 6th, 2004. Decided to bring all the stats and records up to date. Only like 20 more games worth of stuff (up to Game #891) but you can see the updated stats here, new records here and player records here.

December 2nd, 2004. The site hits 10,000 views. It hit 9000 on October 17th, 8000 on September 5th, 7000 on August 4th, 6000 on July 5th, 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st, and 3000 on April 2nd.

November 30th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Bo Jackson turns 42 today. And since just a Pro-Football-Reference link can't contain Bo, here's the link to his Baseball-Reference page. Tecmo's fastest and most famous player, Bo Jackson was drafted in 1986 out of Auburn in the 1st round 1st overall, AND in 1987 in the 7th round 183rd overall. The 1985 Heisman award winner, a 1-time Pro Bowler ('90), a College Fottball Hall of Fame inductee, 1989 MLB All-Star Game MVP, with 141 career home runs, Bo is Tecmo's biggest legend, combining unmatched speed and popcorn-making power at the runningback position. Real-life Bo Jackson is probably the greatest pure athlete ever and it's a travesty we didn't get to see what a Bo Jackson at the height of his power could do. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Bo Jackson.

November 26th, 2004. Punter Sean Landeta got released today. If he fails to sign on somewhere else we'll officially be down to just 2 Tecmo Bowl players still in the NFL; Jerry Rice and Tim Brown.

Also added the answer to a trivia question to the FAQs. What Tecmo Bowl players have won the Heisman Trophy? Hint: There's 5, and 3 of them are on the same team.

November 23rd, 2004. A big day of Bizarro Tecmo in Fort Dodge; here's the recap of action brought to you by Brad.

Game 1 - SEA (B) @ IND (N)....Rufus Porter goes INT crazy again...he�s got like 4 in 2 career bizzaro games, and SEA races out to a 21-3 halftime lead. Sea holds on to take it 28-9.

Game 2 - CHI (B) @ SF (N)...this was a much anticipated match-up and a lot of bizarre crap happened all game.... Tillman takes the opening kick off for SF and returns it to the CHI 30.... a few plays later and SF has 7-0 lead. CHI stalls and punts, but the CHI D comes up big and gets the stop. CHI then goes on a long drive with ties things up. Later Tillman takes a kick to the house, and CHI goes on yet another very long td drive. Late in the 4th CHI takes a lead, but since they missed an earlier extra point thanks to a fast defender they hold onto a slim 20-14 lead. Tillman then proceeds to return his 3rd huge one, as he gets down to roughly the CHI 20 again (that fucking bastard!) SF scores a td with Montana to Taylor for the win. NOT! Singletary gets fast penetration and SF misses the extra, and we're going to overtime. In OT CHI wins the toss and goes on a 65/70-yard drive keyed by huge runs by Anderson. CHI gets the TD, cause its hard to kick FG's on Charles Haley...final score CHI 27- SF 20....crazy game, 1 of the all time great finishes.

Game 3 - MIA (B) @ CLE (N) MIA picks off Kosar 3 times in the first half and blows them out as Marino slices and dices and makes thousands of Julian fries of the CLE D. CLE did play well in the 2nd half with the final score of MIA 31-CLE 10.

Game 4 - DEN (B) @ LA (N) Still smarting from the 45-3 drubbing the Broncos gave his Raiders the other day, Nate comes to play. LA scores first on a FG, but finds them in a 10-3 hole in the 3rd, but a long drive to pay dirt ties things up at the coliseum.... however, Ken Bell strikes with a KR for a TD late in the 4th, then Simon Fletcher returns 1 to the house before the final gun...DEN 24- LA 10.

Game 5 - SEA (B) @ NYG (N) SEA strikes early but LT causes a PAT miss.... NYG gets a TD then piles on another score for a 14-6 lead late in the 3rd qtr. Things look very bleak as u don�t come back from an 8-point deficit when playing NYG. However Jefferson takes the kick-off and returns it to the NYG 30. SEA motors in with a furious passing attack and trims the lead for NYG to only 14-13. With roughly 45/50 seconds left SEA gets a stop on D and forces NYG to punt from about their 45-yard line. Fearing the amount of time left, Nate opts to cycle thru before punting one too many times and Landeta gets handed a puntsack. SEA has the ball at roughly the 37. In a mad fury of offense, SEA motors back down on the now hapless and demoralized G-men and scores with roughly 25-30 seconds left for a 20-14 lead. Meggett gets the KR and runs it back to about the 30 before he�s caught by the kick returner, however a blocker comes and pancakes my guy springing Meggett. A few hapless dives occur and Meggett takes it to the house. Jefferson gets one last return and cant make anything happen. NYG 21 SEA 20.... with the bizarity of the night, we figured somehow NYG would miss the extra, but it didn�t happen.

Game 6 - SF (N) @ DEN (B) DEN starts with a fury with a quick TD drive fuelled by Elways arm and legs. SF Counters as the 1st qtr expires and it�s tied at 7. DEN scores again for a 14-7 lead, but SF promptly counters with a FG late in the 2nd qtr to make it 14-10. To start the 3rd SF motors down field but inside the 10 Montana throws an INT in the end zone. DEN hits a FG to take a 17-10 lead. With it late in the 3rd desperation starts to set in for SF, as the running game is non-existent and the passing game is starting to dry up. Montana goes onto throw 2 more INT's the rest of the game and bobby Humphries runs like a mad man, even leaving a computer controlled Ronnie Lott in his dust play after play. Final score DEN 31- SF 10.

Game 7 - LA (N) @ MIN (B) LA stifles the MIN offense and takes a 10-0 halftime lead on a last second FG. LA then drives back down for another chip shot and a 13-0 lead. Leo Lewis then uncorks a huge kick return inside the LA 20, and a few plays later MIN scores to get on the board and trails 13-7. LA then gets stopped and punts, but MIN cannot move the ball and punts. LA then goes 70+ yards for the TD late and wins 20-7.

November 13th, 2004. Tecmo "Legend" Jack Trudeau turns 42 today. Tecmo's WORST quarterback, Trudeau was drafted in 1986 out of Illinois in the 2nd round 47th overall. A 0-time Pro Bowler, with 0 career play-off victories in real life, Trudeau's women arm and overall suck gives the Tecmo Colts a big handicap when it comes to offense. Trudeau's main job is completeing ultra easy dump-offs when he isn't handing the ball to Dickerson. If Indy had a real quarterback the possibilites would be endless. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Jack Trudeau.

November 3rd, 2004. Tecmo Legend Phil Simms turns 50 today. One of Tecmo's most solid quarterbacks, Simms was drafted in 1979 out of Morehead State in the 1st round 7th overall. A 2-time Pro Bowler ('85 and '93), Simms' veteran leadership and reliability gives the defense-first Giants exactly what they need when it comes to offense. Simms has led the Giants to 5 Tecmo Bowl championships, including 2 in the modern era. Real-life Simms threw for over 33,000 yards and finished with 199 career touchdowns. Phil's son Chris is currently in the NFL as a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Phil Simms.

October 26th, 2004. Finished adding links the individual player pages on Pro-Football-Reference to the Draft Info page. 97 of the 249 players don't have a page; mostly offensive linemen, lesser known defensive players, and punters.

October 25th, 2004. Twin Galaxies, trackers of video game records, released their official settings for biggest blow-out in a game of Tecmo Bowl against the computer. You can read the settings here. You have to capture your performance on video tape and send it in to them to verify. My record would be my 105-0 win with Minnesota over New York in a Week 1 game.

October 20th, 2004. Started adding links the individual player pages on Pro-Football-Reference to the Draft Info page. Some players, mostly offensive linemen and defensive players, don't have a page and are left without a link.

October 19th, 2004. Jerry Rice, one of the three remaining active Tecmo Bowl players in the NFL, was traded today. The Raiders sent the Greatest of All-Times, who plays top wide receiver for the 49ers in Tecmo Bowl, to Seattle for a conditional draft pick. The story on espn.com can be read here. It's a sad day for Tecmo fans everywhere. Rice, along with Tim Brown and Sean Landeta are the only players in Tecmo Bowl still active in the NFL.

October 17th, 2004. The site hits 9000 views. It hit 8000 on September 5th, 7000 on August 4th, 6000 on July 5th, 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st, and 3000 on April 2nd.

October 14th, 2004. Moved July's Tecmo Sports News to the News Archive Page.

October 13th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Jerry Rice turns 42 today. Tecmo's elite wide receiver, The Greatest Of All-Times was drafted in 1985 out of Mississippi Valley State in the 1st round 16th overall. A manly 13-time Pro Bowler ('86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '98, '02), Rice's unmatched speed and ability at wide receiver in Tecmo is a critical part of the San Francisco impressive offensive attack, as defenses are forced to keep the ball out of Jerry's dangerous hands, allowing teammates like Roger Craig and Ass Wilson to make plays. Real-life Rice is the greatest wide receiver of all-time and arguably the greatest football player period. Rice holds virtually every receiving record in the books, including the marks for touchdowns, receptions, and yardage, and he's still playing, making him one of only three remaining active Tecmo players in the NFL. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Jerry Rice. Jerry Catches.

October 9th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Mike Singletary turns 46 today. One of Tecmo's elite linebackers, Singletary was drafted in 1981 out of Baylor in the 2nd round 38th overall. A 10-time Pro Bowler ('83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91, '92), Singletary's LT-like speed and power helps anchor the intimidating Tecmo Chicago defense despite being misused in their 4-3 defensive scheme. Real-life Singletary was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in Chicago's Super Bowl year, 1985, and he received the honour in 1988 as well. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1998, and is currently the Linebacker coach for the Baltimore Ravens. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Mike Singletary.

October 5th, 2004. Added a column for my highest single game score during a 1-Player Season. The highest belongs to Minnesota at 105, the low to Indy at 66.

October 2nd, 2004. One game of Tecmo Cup action tonight. Indy took a hard fought 13-10 road win over Dallas in over-time after winning the toss and making it count. Eric Dickerson played a strong over-time and was named game MVP.

September 20th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Eric Dickerson turns 44 today. One of Tecmo's elite runningbacks, Dickerson was drafted as part of The Class of 1983 out of South Methodist in the 1st round 2nd overall. A 6-time Pro Bowler ('83, '84, '86, '87, '88, '89), ED is by far Indy's best and most dangerous player. Real-life Dickerson holds the NFL record for rushing yards in a season with 2,105. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Eric Dickerson.

September 15th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Dan Marino turns 43 today. Tecmo's best throwing quarterback, Marino was drafted as part of The Class of 1983 out of Pittsburgh in the 1st round 27th overall. A 9-time Pro Bowler ('83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '91, '92, '94, '95), Marino is by far Miami's best player. He's a lifetime Dolphin, and owner of numerous NFL passing records, including the marks for Completions, Yards, and TDs. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Dan Marino.

The Fort Dodge schedule for Season 2 is now up here. The season hopes to kick-off in a couple of weeks with Seattle trying to defend their title.

September 14th, 2004. Tecmo Bowl Coaches: (Or The Guys Coaching Their Respective Teams in 1988.)
Indy - Ron Meyer, Miami - Don Shula, Cleveland - Marty Schottenheimer, Denver - Dan Reeves, Seattle - Chuck Knox, Los Angeles - Mike Shanahan, Washington - Joe Gibbs, San Francisco - Bill Walsh, Dallas - Tom Landry, New York - Bill Parcells, Chicago - Mike Ditka, Minnesota - Jerry Burns.
A pretty impressive list, with four guys still holding head coaching jobs in the NFL.

September 7th, 2004. The Fort Dodge League has set-up their Pre-season tourney brackets.

September 5th, 2004. The site hits 8000 views. It hit 7000 on August 4th, 6000 on July 5th, 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st and 3000 on April 2nd.
Also some Tecmo getting played for the first time in over a month. Two exibition games and the start of a "Tecmo Cup" of sorts.

September 5th, 2004. Added a page for Tecmo Bowl Links. Not a ton of them but there's a couple of decent sites.

September 1st, 2004. Tecmo Legend Karl Mecklenburg turns 44 today. One of Tecmo's best Top Middle Linebackers, Mecklenburg was drafted as part of The Class of 1983 out of Minnesota in the 12th round 310th overall. A 6-time Pro Bowler ('85, '86, '87, '89, '91, '93), Mecklenburg is Denver's best defensive player and a lifetime Bronco. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Karl Mecklenburg.

August 31th, 2004. Added a page for all the Tecmo Bowl Spreadsheets. It's got the Player Rating sheets for the normal version, the Japan version, a combined sheet of both of them, a draft info sheet, and Seasons 6, 7, and 8. And as an added bonus the old school Season 2 spreadsheet.

August 29th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Carl Banks turns 42 today. By far Tecmo's best Top Outside Linebacker, Banks was drafted in 1984 out of Michigan State in the 1st round of the supplemental draft 3rd overall. A 1-time Pro Bowler ('87, good timing), Banks is LT's running buddy and gives the Giants the best 1-2 defensive punch in Tecmo, allowing them to control the game and rack up the championships. Happy birthday Tecmo Legend Carl Banks.

August 27th, 2004. Made a few updates to the spreadsheet comparing the different player skills in the two versions, such as adding in which position everyone plays (Top WR, Bottom Outside Linebacker, etc.) Remember the bizarro Japan version players are in blue and their in-game stats (TDs, Sacks, etc.) are based on 1989 real life totals. I did the same changes for the normal ratings spreadsheet as well.
I added a chart comparing the best player at each position in the two versions to the Oddities page as well.

Also Derek pointed out that another Son of a Tecmo-er is trying to make the NFL. Quincy Wilson (son of Otis Wilson) is trying to make the Atlanta Falcons this pre-season. He would join Chris Simms (son of Phil Simms), Ryan Nece (son of Spider-Man) and hopefully Jarret Payton (son of Walter Payton) in the exclusive group of Sons Of Tecmo Guys in the NFL.

August 26th, 2004. Did some checking of this "1990 Japan only" version of Tecmo Bowl and created a spreadsheet comparing the different player skills in the two versions. The bizarro Japan version players are in blue and the in-game stats (TDs, Sacks, etc.) are based on 1989 real life stats. If you want to see the differences in the rosters you can see that here or download the rom from the bottom of this page. Added this stuff to the FAQ and the Oddities page.

August 25th, 2004. Brad of the Fort Dodge League brought it to my attention that different music plays depending on whether Player 1 or Player 2 has the football. I couldn't believe it at first (having not noticed it after literally playing the game a thousand times) but I checked and it's true. Totally shocking development. I really don't know what to say or do.

August 24th, 2004. Brad of the Fort Dodge League brought it to my attention that 12 teams in Tecmo never did make the play-offs all together, and thus can't be the reason they were picked to be included in the game. I made the appropirate changes to the FAQ. Anybody got any new theories?

August 14th, 2004. Washington Top Safety and Kick Returner Darrell Green was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame today. Link to the ESPN.com story about it.

August 13th, 2004. Slight revision to the Fort Dodge Rules and a couple of more terms added to their glossary, including a term for the clock-killing ploy of letting the Kick Meter run an extra time or two on punts.

August 11th, 2004. If you want to see the screen captures of the rosters as they scroll by during the title sequence you're in luck, you can see them all right here. Since I finally figured out how to change very large bitmap pictures into very small gif ones I can finally post up good stuff like this. This page is linked on the Rosters page. The most noteworthy thing you'll probably find is that Dickerson is listed as "Dicker" even though there is room for "Dickerso" since the maximum is eight letters. Very strange, I mean it says Dicker for god sake.

August 10th, 2004. The last Tecmo Bowl player still with his original franchise is switching teams. Tecmo's Los Angeles Wide Receiver Tim Brown has been released from the Raiders and looks to be signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's a sad day for Tecmo fans everywhere. Brown, along with Jerry Rice and Sean Landeta, are the only players in Tecmo Bowl still active in the NFL.

August 5th, 2004. Ever wonder what Washington Left End Charles Mann is up to these days? Well you needn't wonder no more:

August 4th, 2004. The site hits 7000 views. It hit 6000 on July 5th, 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st and 3000 on April 2nd.
Added a question to the FAQs.

August 3rd, 2004. Added a Players page to the Fort Dodge section. It has Brad's Tecmo bio up there and hopefully we'll get the other guys on there soon. Eric's bio is now up as well.
Despite a low rate of Tecmo playing the News has been piling up, Tecmo Sports News for June has been moved to the News Archive.

August 2nd, 2004. An in-depth recap of a instant classic Fort Dodge Miami vs. San Francisco exhibtion game, courtesy of Brad. I make a couple of comments throughout in blue text.

As few notes before hand...7 TD's scored, 3 kick returns past the 50 (1 on account of a bad kick off), and an INT by each team in opponents territory that lead to a score.

Pruitt takes the opening KO and gets a block or 2 and returns it up to MIA's 42, leaving Thunder Dan with great field position. Marino takes of on a couple scrambles on the first drive to get a feel for the defense and the gameplan and then unleashes a few laser beams, one of which Carter just misses picking off, as he started to run with out the ball......the end result, a TD to Clayton. Carter makes amends and blocks the PAT. Crawford, then promptly gets a huge KR all the way to the MIA 37 allowing (Crawford doing something!?!?), Joe Cool and co. to start in FG range without even running a single play. Montana converts a couple of 3rd and short situations and then hits craig out of the back field for the TD, and a 7-6 lead.

Pruitt gives MIA decent position as he returns the KO to the MIA 27. Marino, now having a good feel for the game goes pass happy, firing lasers, and threading needles. MIA scorches down the field in no time, and he hits Clayton once again for the TD. Carter blocks yet another PAT and MIA leads 12-7.

Somebody musta wound up Crawford again on the side-line, cause he propmtly returns another KO into MIA territory (Unbelievable), as he is tackled at the 44, making things very hard on MIA's D. Craig gets going on the drive and then caps it off with a 28 yard TD run...something thats nearly unheard of from that distance, but SF caught Offerdahl in no mans land, and he was forced to try to make a diving tackle or get popped by a blocker. (Craig getting a run for more then 5 yards, I haven't seen one of those in hundreds of games. Right End boys, Right End.) Extra point is thru the uprights, and SF takes a 14-12 lead very late in the 2nd Qtr. Pruitt can only return to the 21 and Marino goes shotgun for the final 2 plays of the half, but cannot get into FG range before the gun sounds.

With the game in the balance and Crawford returning everything insight, things look gloomy for MIA in the 2nd half. However, Crawford gets handcuffed at the 18 and then MIA gets new life, as their back is not against the wall for once. Possibly sitting in the locker room got Montana off his game, as he hesitates on a throw to Wilson for just a nano-second, and Offerdahl makes up for his mistake on the Craig TD run and swipes off Joe Cool's pass at the 32, and rumbles to the 26. Marino un-corks a couple throws to get the defense on its heals, then MIA sneakily runs Hampton from 9 yards out, as Lott gets blocked on a juke, and MIA takes the lead. Carter gets blocked on the PAT and MIA is up 19-14 over the Bay Area Bashers.

With the way the return game had been working for SF, things remained crazy, as MIA botched the KO which Crawford caught as his 36, and picked up 15 yards to MIA's 49, giving SF spectacular field position on 3 of thier 4 drives. Craig gets 12 yards rushing on the opening play, and a stop later Wersching hits a FG to cut the MIA lead to 19-17, with :35 remaining in the 3rd Qtr.

Pruitt does what he can to keep up his end of the KR's with a decent return to MIA's 37. However Marino hesitates on a pass to Duper, and Carter is there with an INT and runs out of bounds at MIA's 43. SF once again starts in MIA territory for the 4th time in 5 drives, but ironically is still trailing by 2. Craig still on a tear breaks off a 23 yard run, putting MIA's D in a pickle, as they havent been able to stop Montana, and on top of that Craig has been a monster all day as well. SF unleashes the full brunt of the arsenal as Russ Francis hauls in a 9 yard TD for a 24-19 lead early in the 4th Qtr.

Pruitt flops as he runs back to MIA's 19, and Marino and co. come on for possibly thier last chance to get the job done, vs their bitter rivals. Marino winds up, then unleashes a surgical operation at the helm. 8 yards here, 12 there, finds MIA right on the cusp of FG range with a 3rd and 6 facing them from the SF 43. As they did previously for a TD in a key spot, Hampton gets the handoff, but Carter is ready and drops back a couple yards thens Cattle Herds Hampton into a diving tackle and only a 2 yard gain. With 4th and 4 from the SF 41, and :57 still hanging on the clock, MIA decides that the possibility of a FG, a defensive stop and getting into Fg range again might not be a reality, so they gamble. Marino hits Duper in rapid fashion for the 1st, as Carter got there a milli-second too late. Marino then blazes thru the defense, with confidence that he will single handedly win this game with his arm. From the 11, Marino fires to Clayton, as Lott was forced to try and keep tabs on both Duper and Clayton. Carter swings a bit too wide on the PAT and its good. MIA leads 26-24.

Conventional wisdom tells you that here is where Crawford will find a hole and once again burn MIA, but the special teams hold and SF is forced to start on offense from thier 17 with only :28 left. Montana being cool under pressure uses his legs on the first couple plays to get a 1st down and move the chains, but eats up a few too many ticks for his liking. MIA on this drive is in a prevent defense, and willing to give up small Craig runs in exchange for running down the clock. From the 36, Montana hits Craig out of the back field, and Craig outruns the defender to the corner and is tackled at the 50 with just under 10 seconds left. Craig then takes the handoff and runs out of bounds at the 43 with the defender closing in with :02 left. SF mulls over the possibility of a quick out or something on offense, but realistically needs about 2/3 more seconds to run a play, so Wersching comes on in what will be about a 61 yarder into the road wind. The snap comes, and the LB runs free and tackled the holder, preventing Ray from ven getting a kick off, in what most likely would have fell short anyways. (Definitely, Wersching's maximum distance is from the 41 yard line, and not to mention the dreaded mysterious road wind in his face.)

FINAL SCORE MIA 26 SF 24 Among the notes that I outlined above....Carter missed out on blocking 2 extra points, which was the difference, and the 2 drives where SF started in thier own territory, they were unable to score. (All PATs can be made against any player in the game, only the error of going for too much power can stop you from making a PAT. Tecmo's perfect that way.)

The 50 combined points will probably be a record for a very long time according to Fort Dodge Tecmo rules. The previous documented high score record was a Jeff and Nate match-up where nate guided SF to a 28-15 win, totaling 43 points. The huge kick returns, the 2 turnovers, and 2 of the best passing offenses on the planet, made for the high scoring affair.

July 31st, 2004. With Season 9 at the half-way mark let's take a look at the current standings, the upcoming schedule, and potential season records.

WEST	W	L	PCT	HOME	AWAY	PF	PA	PF-PA
SF	5	0	1.000	3-0	2-0	45	19	26
CLE	4	1	0.800	4-1	0-0	59	26	33
IND	3	2	0.600	1-0	2-2	35	33	2
LA	2	3	0.400	2-2	0-1	41	29	12
DEN	0	5	0.000	0-3	0-2	27	68	-41
MIN	0	5	0.000	0-2	0-3	3	51	-48

EAST	W	L	PCT	HOME	AWAY	PF	PA	PF-PA
CHI	4	1	0.800	2-0	2-1	59	19	40
DAL	4	1	0.800	2-0	2-1	39	6	33
NYG	3	2	0.600	1-1	2-1	26	23	3
MIA	2	3	0.400	2-1	0-2	30	39	-9
WSH	2	3	0.400	0-1	2-2	25	39	-14
SEA	1	4	0.200	0-2	1-2	15	52	-37

Remaining Schedule:
San Fran: @IND, @SEA, vs.LA, @MIN, vs.DEN
Cleveland: @MIN, @NYG, @DEN, @LA, @IND
Indy: vs.SF, @CHI, vs. MIN, vs.DEN, vs.CLE
Los Angeles: @DEN, @WSH, @SF, vs.CLE, @MIN
Denver: vs.LA, @MIA, vs.CLE, @IND, @SF
Minnesota: vs.CLE, @DAL, @IND, vs.SF, vs.LA

Chicago: vs.DAL, vs.IND, @DAL, vs.MIA, @WSH
Dallas: @CHI, vs.MIN, vs.CHI, vs.WSH, @MIA
New York: vs.MIA, vs.CLE, @WSH, vs.SEA, @SEA
Miami: @NYG, vs.DEN, @SEA, @CHI, vs.DAL
Washington: vs.SEA, vs.LA, vs.NYG, @DAL, vs.CHI
Seattle: @DAL, @WSH, vs.SF, @NYG, vs.NYG

San Fran, Cleveland, and Indy all look to be right on track to make the play-offs in the West with no real threat to track them down, especially with Denver suffering through it's worse season in Tecmo history. Their fine tradition of never missing the play-offs looks like it will come to a disappointing end this year. John Elway is going to be pissed come Season 10. San Fran will look to take advantage of one of the easiest schedules in Tecmo history and take a run at the illusive undefeated season. The only real threats left are Week 6 at Indy and Week 10 vs. Denver. With San Fran likely running away with the division, Indy and Cleveland will battle it out for home field in 1st round. Cleveland has played all 5 of it's home games and now goes on the road for the rest of the season. Indy will not have an easy time passing them however as they will play San Fran and Chicago in the 2nd half. Los Angeles has played tough so far but they don't look to be a threat in the West.

Dallas has surprised everyone in the East, leaving Miami in a bad position. The Fins will have to really have to put the hammer down in the second half to catch the Cowboys and make the play-offs. The schedule looks to be slightly in their favour as Dallas has 2 games with Chicago left and they go to Miami in the final week of the season in what could be the deciding game. Miami still has the dreaded @NYG and @CHI left, and they will likely need one of the those games to give themselves a chance, so it won't be easy for Marino and the boys. The New York Giants will look to run the table the rest of the way (vs.MIA, vs.CLE, @WSH, vs.SEA, @SEA) to finish 8-2 and give themselves momentum and possibily home field heading into the play-offs. Chicago's 2nd half schedule is considerably easier then it's 1st half where they played very strongly, beating the Giants twice giving them any tie-breaker over New York. The Penguin Kings have vs.DAL, vs.IND, @DAL, vs.MIA, and @WSH left on the sched, they could easily win all 5 of those games.

Now let's take a look at some On-Pace Fors.
San Fran of course is on pace to go 10-0 and set the record for most wins in a season. Besting the 9-1 mark held by 2 teams.
Denver and Minnesota are both on pace to go 0-10, which would tie the exsisting record. Denver should easily avoid this, but Minnesota has a real shot.
Seattle's Season 4 record of Points For of 160 looks to be safe as Chicago is the highest socring team this season and yet are only on pace for 118 points.
Dallas of all teams is leading the way in the Points Against department with 6, giving them a pace of 12, which would break the Giants' Season 7 record of 14. Of course with 2 game vs. Chicago left Dallas doesn't stand a chance.
Minnesota is on pace for another record of futility by only scoring 3 1st half points. Their pace of 6 would shatter the exsisting record for fewest points scored in a season of 22 set by Washington in Season 4.
Player-wise Derek is on pace to topple Cam's Season 7 mark for best record in a season by going 26-14, which would beat the record by 1 game. Cam is right there with him however with a current pace of 24-16.
Kyle has struggled badly with teams not named Chicago this season and is on pace for a dismal record of 10-30 which would "best" his Season 4 mark of 14-26.
The only other player record in danger is the record for Fewest Points Allowed. Cam is on pace to allow 182 points this season which would beat his Season 6 record of 198 by 16 points.

It should be an exciting 2nd half of the Tecmo Bowl Season, assuming that is, we don't string it out for months on end with delays.

July 31st, 2004. The long awaited Tecmo Bowl Power Rankings are up, complete with classy logos, seperate charts of our league and Fort Dodge, and comments and analysis from Nate and Eric of the Fort Dodge league.

July 30th, 2004. Stunningly some Season 9 progess today. Weeks 4 and 5 are in the books. Some good games today but nothing legendary-worthy comes to mind. On second thought I put up two legendary games. San Fran remains the only undefeated team at 5-0 despite two close games with Dallas and Los Angeles. Added a long overdue term to the Glossary, and expect the unveiling of the Tecmo Power Rankings soon.

July 30th, 2004. Updated the Fort Dodge Rules after they did some slight revising in the off-season.

July 28th, 2004. I think I'm going to try to get that handy sidebar that's on the main page on to every page of the site. Could be a lengthy and drawn out process. I got to work pretty good on the Season Archive Page after some playing around. You can add the Hints & Tips, Teams and Glossary to the list. Added a handful of others, no need for links.

July 27th, 2004. Classed up the Fort Dodge section of the site. Now there's a Home Page, a Rules Page and a page for the Glossary. Hopefully it gets some nice additions soon.

July 27th, 2004. Time for some stats. Here are the Tecmo Bowl players in the Top 20 All-Time in each of these catergories:

Rank	Touchdowns	No.	Rank	Passing Yards	No.
1	Jerry Rice	205	1	Dan Marino	61,361
3	Marcus Allen	145	2	John Elway	51,475
7	Walter Payton	125	8	Joe Montana	40,551
12	Tim Brown	104	10	Dave Krieg	38,147
13	Steve Largent	101	18	Phil Simms	33,462
15	Eric Dickerson	96
17t	Tony Dorsett	91	Rank	Passing TDs	No.
			1	Dan Marino	420
Rank	Rushing Yards	No.	4	John Elway	300
2	Walter Payton	16,726	7	Joe Montana	273
4	Eric Dickerson	13,259	8	Dave Krieg	261
5	Tony Dorsett	12,739
8	Marcus Allen	12,243	Rank	Sacks	No.
			4	Chris Doleman	150.5
Rank	Interceptions	No.	5t	Richard Dent	137.5
6	Ronnie Lott	63	7	Lawrence Taylor	132.5
10t	E. Robinson	57	13	Sean Jones	113
17	Darrell Green	54	14	Jim Jeffcoat	102.5

July 27th, 2004. Got the official glossary of Fort Dodge Tecmo terms off Brad and added it to the Fort Dodge page. (Which is hopefully just a nice little temp until they get their own site set-up.) My personal favourites include "I Hate You", "Gang Banged," and of course, "Diving is Awesome."

July 26th, 2004. Added a Fort Dodge page to the site. (The link is on the bottom left of the home page.) I figured since they actually, you know, PLAY Tecmo that they should get some web page recognition. It's pretty basic and not exactly overfollowing with content, but I hope to change that soon with the help of the Fort Dodge League players. I'll try to put on anything you guys would like to see on the there.

July 25th, 2004. The Fort Dodge Tecmo League finished their inaugural season today. After getting through the consolation bracket Indy fell to San Fran 28-0, Minnesota (another consolation team) got by Chicago 13-10 in the first round, but fell 16-7 to Cleveland in the 2nd round. San Fran put the hammer down on Indy getting a 28-0 win, setting up a big match-up with LA. In a classic Tecmo finish LA won on a last second field goal, to take the game 9-7. Cleveland put up a good fight but lost 19-12 to regualr season champs Seattle allowing them to reach the Tecmo Bowl finals. Dallas lit up LA 35-0 to make a surprise trip to the finals to face a heavily favoured Seattle squad. Seattle left no doubt in anyone's mind as they plastered Dallas 24-3 and captured the first ever Fort Dodge Tecmo Bowl Championship. Dave Kreig was awarded the game MVP.

Seattle will look to defend their championship when Season 2 kicks-off, but will face tough competition from an improved Giants squad, the always powerful Penguin Kings, and a San Fran team out for revenge. Until then Seattle has bragging rights and the Hansen trophy.

July 25th, 2004. Tecmo Legend Walter Payton would have turned 50 today. 'Sweetness' was drafted in 1975 out of Jackson State in the 1st round 4th overall. Payton is a top flite running back in Tecmo Bowl, giving the Penguin Kings a deadly ground attack. He has the most rushing yards of all the backs in the game with 1852 and helped lead his team to a Tecmo Bowl championship in Season 6. In real life he won 2 NFL MVP awards, went to 9 Pro Bowls, and won a Super Bowl in 1985 with the Bears. Payton died in November of 1999 but he still gets a happy birthday here for being a Tecmo Legend. (And interestingly enough Tecmo Bowl is the only video game Walter Payton ever appeared in.)

July 22nd, 2004. Dallas Quarterback Danny White was fired today from his head coaching job of the Arena League's Arizona Rattlers after 13 (13!!) years as head coach. You can't put a price on that kind of comedy. You can read the full story here: End of an era in Arizona.

July 22nd, 2004. Now Tecmo legend Tim Brown turns 38 today. Tim Brown was drafted in 1988 out of Notre Damn in the 1st round 6th overall. Brown is a very rare guy in Tecmo Bowl; he's the only player included from the 1988 draft, one of three players who pull double duty (both wide receiver and kick returner), his in-game stats are possibly the most underrated in the game, and he's one of only three Tecmo players to still be playing in the NFL today. So happy birthday to Tecmo Legend Tim Brown.

July 18th, 2004. We just can't get it together enough to play some damn Tecmo Bowl. This time Derek had stuff come up and it looks like another week of 0 Tecmo. Not good times. At least I have the Fort Dodge Tecmo League season updates (that is about to start it's play-offs) to help keep my sanity during this shamefully long delay.

July 15th, 2004. Where Are They Now? - Quite a few Tecmo Bowl players are currently coaching in the NFL. I'm probably missing one or two but here's the list of NFL Tecmo coaches:

Player Name - (Tecmo Bowl Team and Position) - Coaching For - NFL Coaching Position
Dwaine Board - (San Francisco Defensive Lineman) - Seattle Seahawks - Defensive Line coach
Russ Grimm - (Washington Offensive Lineman) - Pittsburgh Steelers - Assistant Head coach, Offensive Line coach
Carl Hairston - (Cleveland Defensive Lineman) - Kansas City Chiefs - Defensive Line coach
Ricky Hunley - (Denver Linebacker) - Cincinnati Bengals - Linebacker coach
Jim Jeffcoats - (Dallas Defensive Lineman) - Dallas Cowboys - Defensive End coach
Pepper Johnson - (New York Linebacker) - New England Patriots - Defensive Line coach
Keith Millard - (Minnesota Defensive Lineman) - Denver Broncos - Assistant Defensive Line coach, Pass Rush specialist
Ron Rivera - (Chicago Defensive Line) - Chicago Bears - Defensive coordinator
Mike Singletary - (Chicago Linebacker) - Baltimore Ravens - Linebacker coach
Doug Williams - (Washington Quarterback) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Personnel Executive
Mike Wilson - (San Francisco Wide Receiver) - Arizona Cardinals - Tight End coach

July 14th, 2004. I just found out that Cleveland Tight End Ozzie Newsome is the General Manager and Executive Vice President of the Baltimore Ravens, formerly the Cleveland Browns. Not a bad showing from Ozzie, he certainly has Danny White beat.

July 11th, 2004. I redesigned the Home page a little bit. It might appear messed up if you use Internet Explorer, luckily I use Mozilla Firefox and it looks good.

Marcus Allen (Los Angeles Running Back, Class of 2003)
Eric Dickerson (Indianapolis Running Back, Class of 1999)
Tony Dorsett (Denver Running Back, Class of 1994)
John Elway (Denver Quarterback, Class of 2004)
Dan Hampton (Chicago Defensive End, Class of 2002)
Mike Haynes (Los Angeles Cornerback, Class of 1997)
Steve Largent (Seattle Wide Receiver, Class of 1995)
Howie Long (Los Angeles Defensive End, Class of 2000)
Ronnie Lott (San Francisco Safety, Class of 2000)
Joe Montana (San Francisco Quarterback, Class of 2000)
Ozzie Newsome (Cleveland Tight End, Class of 1999)
Walter Payton (Chicago Running Back, Class of 1993)
Mike Singletary (Chicago Linebacker, Class of 1998)
Dwight Stephenson (Miami Center, Class of 1998)
Lawrence Taylor (New York Linebacker, Class of 1999)
Randy White (Dallas Defensive Tackle, Class of 1994)

This list will certainly grow as Dan Marino is going to get inducted next year, and Jerry Rice and Tim Brown are both going to make the Hall of Fame once their playing days are over, but for now the list is at 16.

July 8th, 2004. Updated the Home/Away record chart to bring it up to the current games played.

July 5th, 2004. The site hits 6000 views. It hit 5000 on June 2nd, 4000 on May 1st and 3000 on April 2nd.

July 4th, 2004. All right, I was going to do this after Week 5 when the season is half over, but with this long delay making that seem years away I might as well do this now. Yes it�s time for a Sports Guy movie quote style Season 9 Review and Preview with help from the movie Rounders. We�ll be handing out 20 quotes, including a few edited ones, from the movie to each team, and some other important things.

To the Cleveland Browns, owner�s of a 3-0 record thus far with wins over Minnesota, Los Angeles and Indy. Things will get tougher the rest of the way however with games vs. Chicago, New York, Denver (x2) and Indy. Cleveland is in great shape in the West right now and just has to get through the rest of the season all right to be in good position for the play-offs. They just need to grind it out, like they�ve done for years.

2. �No, fifteen grand in five days, I can do that. I�ve gone on runs like that before.�

To the Denver Broncos of course. Sitting at 0-3 tied with Minnesota and Seattle for dead last in the league Denver will have to go on a big run if they want to continue their New York Giant-esque streak of being only one of two teams to make the play-offs EVERY SEASON. It�s not going to be easy (games against New York, San Fran, two against Cleveland, and an Indy game will make it tough) but if any team and any QB in Tecmo can do it it�s the Denver Broncos and John Elway.

3. �I want him to think I�m pondering a call, but all I�m really thinking about is Vegas and the fucking Mirage.�

To the San Fran 49ers and their shot at Tecmo Bowl history. At 3-0 with one of the easiest schedules in Tecmo history Joe Cool and the boys have a very realistic chance of attaining the illusive 10-0 record and put themselves in terrific position to take a run at achieving back-to-back Tecmo Bowl championships. San Fran doesn�t want to get ahead of itself but these thoughts have to be looming large.

To of course Bo Jackson and the 2-1 Los Angeles Raiders. Bo has looked pretty good so far, helping to nerf LA�s defective playbook, and some defenses have been scrambling around instead of sticking to the proven LA stopping game plan. Things could change heavily down the stretch as their schedule toughens but LA will make teams work.

5. �I wasn�t unlucky, I got outplayed. I got outplayed that time. But I know I�m good enough to sit at that table.�

Seems fitting for the Indianapolis Colts, owner�s of a disappointing 1-2 record, after getting thoroughly outplayed by San Fran in Week 1, and then suffering a tough beak in their Week 3 game against Cleveland when McNeil an one back. However, Indy�s record in season play is well proven and they know deep down they are good enough to go on a run to get them into the play-offs with a shot at landing a home field game in round one.

Well this has to go to the lowly Minnesota Transformers. What a sorry franchise.

7. �Put a guy like me in a game like that, and the cards don�t even matter. I could play it blind.�
AND
8. �Ain�t a good idea to add insult to injury. That shit will come back to haunt you.�

To the 3-0 Chicago Penguin Kings of course. League powerhouse Chicago really can just spank the living hell out of a lot of teams without even putting in the effort, and as their schedule eases up down the stretch (it includes two games against Dallas and a game at Washington) Chicago is in prime position to steal the East division title away from the heavy pre-season favourite Giants. Speaking of the Giants, they�re the reason why advice like quote #8 exists.

9. �Hanging around. Hanging around. Kid�s got alligator blood.�
AND if they do the impossible and can hang on long enough:
10. �They all know me as small-time. But that�s about to change.�

Yes this is going to the shockingly 3-0 Dallas Cowboys, who have not only tied their franchise record for wins in a season but have a realistic shot at the play-offs if they can just hang on for dear life as Miami tries to make their run down the stretch. Games against San Fran and Chicago are certainly going to hurt their cause, but it could all come down to the Week 10 game against Miami.

To those who believe diving is awesome. No nothing to do with Season 9 but I needed an extra quote to get to 20, and this fits well.

12. �You keep grinding out that rent money, Joe. It�s noble work you�re doing.�

To the Washington Redskins, who have no choice but to do the noble thing and grind it out with teams in hope of stealing victories. With games against Minnesota, Dallas, Seattle and Los Angeles still left the Doom Combo might be able to grind out a few more W�s.

13. �It hurts doesn�t it? You can�t be-leeeeve what fell. All your hope down the fucking drain.�
AND because what the hell this one has to go somewhere might as well go to these guys;
14. �Listen, here�s the thing. If you can�t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.�

Well what limited hope they had anyway. The 0-3 Seattle Seahawks that is. With losses to the likes of Dallas, Miami and Washington, Seattle is in for one long miserable season. Get out the booze.

15. �If you�re too careful, your whole life can become a fucking grind.�

To the Miami Dolphins and their live and die at the hands of risky passes offense. Either you play carefully and lose in miserable fashion or let Dan Marino loose and hope the defense holds up. Miami needs to make their play soon as their schedule gets pretty difficult in the second half (NYG, two CHI, Denver) and they are two games back of the team they will likely need to catch to make the play-offs in Dallas.

16. �Nyet! Nyet! No more!�
AND
17. �Let�s play some fucking Tecmo.�

Ok so I edited that last one from cards to Tecmo but it had to be done. To the New York Giants. Owner�s of a tremendously disappointing 1-2 record after 3 weeks, the Giants have had enough losing and enough not playing to want very badly to go on a 7-0 run to end the season and get their much needed revenge over the Penguin Kings. There�s no more fooling around for the Giants.

18. �Life is on the wire. The rest is just waiting.�
EDITED to:
�Life is Tecmo Bowl. The rest is just waiting.�

19. �You know what cheers me up when I�m feeling shitty? Rolled up aces over kings. Check-raising stupid tourists and taking huge pots off them. Playing all-night high-limit hold �em at the Taj, where the sand turns to gold. Stacks and towers of checks I can�t even see over.�
EDITED to:
�You know what cheers me up when I�m feeling shitty? Playing Tecmo Bowl. Play-calling in big situations and making big plays with big players. Changing it up on defense just enough to throw your opponent off his game, throwing it deep when you don�t know whether its going to be caught or intercepted, deciding between 3 points and the glory of a touchdown, side stepping an ill-fated dive and taking it to the house, totally shutting down the run because you decide you just aren�t losing a game that way, calling Run 1 on 4th and goal with the game on the line, and winning the Tecmo Fucking Bowl. That�s what.�

To Tecmo Bowl, the greatest achievement in the history of the world. Name me one thing that�s better.

20. �In the poker game of life, women are the rake.�
EDITED to:
�In the Tecmo game of life, Kyle is the rake.�

June 28th, 2004. From the Stuff You Couldn't Make Up pile: Danny White (Dallas' quarterback) is head coach of an Arena Football League team. And not only that his team, the Arizona Rattlers, just lost in this year's Arena Bowl. I find this to be strangely hilarious.

June 28th, 2004. Tecmo legend John Elway turns 44 today. The best NFL QB Ever was drafted in the class of '83 out of Stanford 1st overall. He won 2 Superbowls and made the most 4th quarter comebacks in league history. Elway is one of the "Big 3" QBs in Tecmo, along side Marino and Montana. The only thing missing on Elway's resume is a Tecmo Bowl, but it's just a matter of time.

June 23rd, 2004. Made the Stats page a little easier to read. Updated it by 19 games to get it up to speed as well.

June 20th, 2004. Consider the Records page classed up. The gray charts for the 100 games played and home field records are gone, replaced by the ripped excel verisons.

June 19th, 2004. Classed up the Players page by taking out the orange charts of doom and replacing them with the excel ripped verisons. The 1-Player page also got the same treatment.

June 19th, 2004. Added games #517 to #776 to the Game Log page. When the most current sheet is filled (about 30 games away) I'll put it on.

June 18th, 2004. Added games #387 to #516 to the Game Log page. Also made a lot of the pages have the blue background like on the main page.

June 18th, 2004. Classed up the Season Records page a little bit. No more orange chart thing.

June 18th, 2004. Games #127 to #386 now on the Game Log page. The rest should be on soon.

June 17th, 2004. Added a Game Log page that shows the final score and important game notes of every game we've played. Ripped directly from the master Excel spreadsheet file. Games #1 through 126 are up now.

June 11th, 2004. Tecmo legend Joe Montana turns 48 today. Joe Cool was drafted in 1979 out of Notre Damn in the 3rd round 82nd overall. He won 4 Superbowls and captured a Tecmo Bowl title in Season 8. Montana is one of the "Big 3" QBs in Tecmo and gets to throw passes to Jerry Rice. It's good times when you're Joe Cool.

June 6th, 2004. Very slight main page update, and added a few more questions to the FAQ page.

June 5th, 2004. The main Tecmo Bowl page hits 2000 views. It hit 1000 in March '04.

June 3rd, 2004. Even more records added to the Season Records page. Player Points For, Player Points Against and Player Shut-Outs. These are the combined stats for a human player's 4 teams of that season. Cam leads all three catergories. The Player Points For mark is 429 set way back in Season 4. The 2nd highest total here is Derek's 397 points scored, also in Season 4. The Player Points Against record is 198 from back in Season 6. The 2nd best here is Kyle's 235 allowed in Season 8. Finally, Player Shut-Outs stands at 15 from Season 6. 2nd place here is 12 by Derek in Season 7, including a record 8 from the Giants.

June 2nd, 2004. The site hits 5000 views. It hit 4000 on May 1st and 3000 on April 2nd.

June 2nd, 2004. Added the record for most Shut-Outs in a season to the Season Records page. Of course the Giants have it with 8 blanks in Season 7.

June 1st, 2004. --- Breaking News --- For the first time since the inception of the Tecmo League the people of Dallas are talking about their team in a positive light, and many are thinking play-offs. The Cowboys have never reached the play-offs, not even in the pre-modern era. Always associated with losing the Cowboys have jumped out to a franchise record start, going 3-0 in the first three weeks of the new season, temporarily shedding their laughing stock label.

There is a definite buzz about the team in Dallas this year, as fans have been saying things like "It's different this year" and "We're gonna make the play-offs!" The excitement about the club's great start has boosted ticket sales tremendously; the Week 5 game against Seattle is expected to sell out days in advance, unheard of for this franchise. Season ticket says also jumped dramatically after the team's Week 3 win over Miami, a team that has historically embarrassed the Cowboys. With four home games left fans will have a good chance to check out their hometown team.

Cowboy players are happy with the teams start but the team's star player Hershel Walker isn't to happy about all the play-off talk. "We've played three games. Three. Don't talk to me about records or play-offs until late in the year. We've got to take it game by game and be ready to play our best every week. Now get the hell out of here."

The team's defensive leader Ron Francis has noticed a big difference in the clubhouse; "The guys have been playing hard this season. It's been good. We're showing a lot of heart out there. It all goes back to getting new management I think. It's been good for the club. We're not the most talented team in the league but when we play hard and show heart we can beat teams. Anything is possible when you show heart."

Looking back at the "Modern Era" of Tecmo seasons Dallas is already way ahead of their past performances. They've already tied the franchise record for wins with 3, and the offense and defense are both on pace to set new records.

Dallas Riding High
Season	Record	Start	PF	PA
4	2-8	0-3	39	129
6	3-7	0-3	43	128
7	0-10	0-3	54	126
8	3-7	1-2	30	79
9	3-0	3-0	83*	10*
* Current Pace

Dallas' remaining schedule: @ San Francisco, vs. Seattle, @ Chicago, vs. Minnesota, vs. Chicago, vs. Washington, @ Miami. Most expect Dallas' winning streak to be derailed in a big way next week against a strong 49er team, but with their hot start and weak division the play-offs are a good possibility.

No one believes the Cowboys will keep their current pace up, especially as their schedule toughens, but the renewed optimism in Dallas has a lot of Tecmo fans excited for the very first time.

June 1st, 2004. The Tecmo Bowl Main Page got 385 views in May setting a new record. The previous high was 354 in April '04.

May 29th, 2004. Weeks 2 and 3 of Season 9 today, we should have gone for 4 and 5 as well. San Fran, Cleveland, Chicago and Dallas!?!? are the remaining undefeated. Two more games entered as Legendary.

May 24th, 2004. Put the Team Records in the proper order. I don't know why I didn't do that when I last updated them.

May 23rd, 2004. The entire Season 9 Schedule is up now. In classy format too.

May 22nd, 2004. Season 9 kicks off with 1 week of games. A huge upset and Home Teams making a statement. Should be a good season. 2 games enter the Legendary Games Archive . Also notable is the fact that all 6 Week 1 games featured a shut-out, a very crazy week of Tecmo action.

May 20th, 2004. Season records for all the Teams are now on the Season Records page. Indy shockingly 2nd overall. LA and Miami are are still high from they're strong early seasons but have already started to fall.

May 19th, 2004. With Season 9 getting delayed (likely because of Cam with NYG intimidation) I put together the career records and stats for the 4 full season we've played so far. On the Season Records page.

May 14th, 2004. Just had a very interesting conversation with some fellow Tecmo Bowl players about diving, and how they consider it "awesome". I really don't know what to say. Maybe some exhibition games are in order to test their wild and crazy theory.

May 8th, 2004. Today is Tecmo Legend Ronnie Lott's 45th birthday. Yeah Ronnie Lott can do it all, stop crime, stuff the run, turn 45, win championships...there's nothing he can't do.

May 8th, 2004. --- Breaking News --- Linebacker Lawrence Taylor signed a 20-year contract extension with the New York Giants today, believed to be worth $2.4 billion dollars. The deal comes just days before the regular season kicks-off and the Giants eyeing the continuation of the their Tecmo supremacy. Team officials told reporters that this contract extension with the league's best player is "well worth the money" and that this will "allow the team to focus on their goal of a perfect season."

Taylor has been with the Giants since 1981, his rookie season. He is a 10-time Pro Bowler and is widely known as the premier defensive player in the league. The North Carolina product, drafted 2nd overall in the 1981 draft, has posted incredible numbers in his illustrious career, including a record high for sacks with 21, and has brought a record 5 Tecmo Bowls to the New York franchise.

The deal is the richest in league history, both in total ($2.4 billion) and average yearly salary ($120 million). This surpasses the leagues previously highest paid star, San Francisco Safety Ronnie Lott who signed an 8-year $96 million dollar deal late last season. Taylor, whose contract will never be matched, told reporters that he was "due for a renegotiation" this off-season, and "equally due for a perfect season." Many believe the deal will motivate Taylor into allowing zero points all season, including his teammates, coaches and the team's front office.

Although full details have not been disclosed it is believed the contract sees Taylor receive $12 million per regular season game (matching Lott's yearly salary), and has a huge pay bonus for allowing zero points all season. The deal is also believed to contain "Get a Shut-Out/Get a City Monument" clause. The deal gives LT a substantial and well-deserved pay raise over his existing contract, as well as a large increase in his city monument inflow.

The Giant GM told reporters that he was "happy to make the deal" and that cap space is a "non-issue" at this point. Teammate and fellow superstar Carl Banks was glad to hear about Taylor's deal telling reporters that "he's our team MVP this season, and every season. I've very happy for LT and the organization. We can focus on that perfect season now, so look out league." Banks also told reports that Taylor is going to share the wealth of his new contract with his teammates based on strong play. "I got a lot of money to earn this season, I'm very excited" Banks said. Giant Quarterback Phil Simms, who won the Season 8 Regular Season MVP Award, is also said to be very excited about the upcoming season, revealing he has been "practicing winning exorbitantly" this off-season.

With his new contract, Taylor nicknamed God by teammates and fans for his being God, will be able to focus his energy on bringing the Perfect Tecmo Season to New York for the first time. LT said the deal is "fitting", that he will "bring perfection to this fine organization" and "do it with style."

May 7th, 2004. Season 9 should be starting up soon. The schedule is made and everything is set except for deciding on who gets what teams. Cam is eyeing getting the Giants for the first time, and Kyle's evil Cleveland monopoly will come to an end.
A new, long overdue LA write-up is up also thanks to Derek.

May 5th, 2004. Adding to the impressiveness of Brown, Landeta and Rice still playing in the NFL, sons of Tecmo legends are playing in the NFL now. Including Chris Simms, Ryan Nece (Son of Spider-Man) and hopefully Jarret Payton makes the NFL too. Also worth a mention is The Son of the Guy That Played Huggy Bear.

May 1st, 2004. More stat updates with the Stats Page getting an overhaul and an update to 853 games played, the end of Season 8.
Also the Site as whole reaches 4000 views. It hit 3000 on April 2nd.
We're down to 3 players still active in the NFL: Tim Brown, Sean Landeta and Jerry Rice. Who will be the last remaining Tecmo Bowler?

Apr. 30th, 2004. Minor stat update. The Records page now has the Overall Team Records updated to 853 games, the end of Season 8. Now in handy Excel spreadsheet format.
Also the Main Page set a new record high for views in a month with 354, beating the old record of 342 in February 2004.

Apr. 30th, 2004. Thanks to the handy listings on drafthistory.com all the NFL draft info you could ever want about the 249 players in Tecmo Bowl (Year, Round, Selection, and School) is now here: Tecmo Draft Info..

Apr. 29th, 2004. San Fran has captured the coveted Tecmo Bowl VIII trophy. The 49ers overcame Indy in a tight game, featuring 2 big missed FGs, and then layed the hammer down on a demoralized Giant squad in the Tecmo Bowl. Lott's $96 million dollar contract was worth every penny, as the 49ers have their 1st championship. Jerry Rice was named Play-Off MVP for his strong play vs. the Giants.

Apr. 29th, 2004. Some clutch surgery and part switching has the main Player 1 controller back at 100% with new non-ripped cord. Another controller sacrificed it's circuit board like a man for the good of NES players everywhere.

Apr. 29th, 2004. After a little research I think I have found all the Tecmo players that were selected in the epic draft that was 1983. THE Class of '83 boasts no less then 25 players in Tecmo of about 250. Seems like a pretty great ratio to me.

Apr. 28th, 2004. The main Player 1 controller seems to be no longer working properly after hundreds of games of service, thanks to everyone except me. This is not good at all, as that controller has been through many battles and world record attempts. Also a shocking discovery, as you can see Baylor's draft history reveals they had both Mike Gentry AND Gerald McNeil. They must have returned hundreds of kicks in their college days.

Apr. 27th, 2004. Weeks 9 and 10 of Season 8 today, wrapping up the regular season. The Giants had their 10-0 campaign dreams derailed by Miami in Week 9, but they still set a record for most consecutive wins in a season with 8. The play-off matches are set. Denver goes into Indy in the East match-up and Cleveland goes into dreaded Penguin King Stadium to play in the West quater-finals. The Giants and 49ers receive 1st round byes.

Apr. 24th, 2004. --- Breaking News --- Safety Ronnie Lott signed an 8-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers today, believed to be worth $96 million dollars.

The deal comes with 2 weeks remaining in the regular season and the 49ers eyeing a strong play-off run. Team officials told reporters that this contract extension with the team's best defensive player is "well worth the money" and that this will "allow the team to focus on their play-off run."

Lott has been with the 49ers, 6-2 so far this season, since 1981, his rookie season. He is a 10-time Pro Bowler and is widely considered the premier secondary player in the league. The USC product has posted incredible numbers in his illustrious career, accumulating records highs in interceptions by a secondary player (10) and in average interception return with a gaudy 30 yards per pick.

The deal is the richest in league history, both in total ($96 million) and average yearly salary ($12 million). This surpasses the leagues previously highest paid star, New York Football Giant Linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Taylor, who has a lifetime deal with the Giants, told reporters that his contract is due to be "renegotiated" this off-season. Many believe a Taylor deal will surpass the $100 million barrier.

Although full details have not been disclosed it is believed the highly unique contract sees Lott receive no signing bonus, but the contract is not back-loaded as most are, and Lott is expected to receive a uniform $12 million per season. The deal is also believed to contain a no-trade clause. The deal gives Lott a substantial and well-deserved pay raise over his existing contract.

The 49er GM told reporters that he was "happy to make the deal" and that cap space is a "non-issue" at this point. Teammate and fellow superstar Jerry Rice was glad to hear about Lott's deal telling reporters that "he's our team MVP this season, and just about every season. I've very happy for Lott and the organization. We can focus on the play-offs now, so look out league."

With his new contract Lott, nicknamed Spider-Man by teammates and fans for his amazing play, will be able to focus his energy on bringing the Tecmo Bowl trophy to San Francisco for the first time. Lott said the deal is a "relief", that he hopes to "bring many championships to this fine organization" and "do whatever a spider can."

Apr. 23rd, 2004. --- Breaking News --- Seattle's Dave Krieg is behind bars tonight after local police apprehended the quarterback after a Seattle Seahawk practice this afternoon. The Cheif of Police did not want to reveal the details but a source close to the team say Krieg was extremely drunk in practice, slurring his speech, stumbling around and throwing interceptions.

Krieg has a well documented history of his bout with alcohol, even forcing the Seahawks to take action during Season 7 with the infamous Passing of the Bill of Call Run to help contain his drunkness. A teammate of Krieg's who wishes to be unnamed told reporters that Krieg's drinking problem has severly affected the team's play this year and that he has been a major distraction for the entire organization.

Rumor has it that the club tried to trade the troubled quarterback to a "playoff contender" earlier in the season but Krieg's agent has been less then cooperative with the front office. With the season lost and Seattle looking to rebuild a once solid franchise, Krieg and his alcohol-endused poor play is not a welcomed site in Seattle, but with the Tecmo League's strict cap penalities for releasing players, Krieg will likely be back in Seattle next season.

Thanks to the unnamed teammate The Tecmo Sports News has been able to obtain the following photograph taken at this afternoon's practice.

Krieg appears to have consumed and then discarded several alcohol containers onto the practice field, and then is reported as to having thrown several helmets, pads, and gatorade containers at teammates when they attempted to confront him. All the thrown items were caught however, and taken to the house. The equipment house. No teammates or equipment were harmed.

Kreig is expected to be released in time for his team's Week 9 game against Minnesota , but the team's head coach refused to comment on his current quarterback situation or how Krieg's drunken stupor has submarined the Seahawk's season. Seattle fans we talked to today are hopeful that a renewed verison of the Bill of Call Run will be institued by team leader Steve Largent in time to revive the team and have it carry over to next season.

Apr. 17th, 2004. Week 8 of Season 8 today. No shocking upsets, but the Giants have moved to 8-0 and are eyeing the first ever 10-0 season. Only Miami and Seattle stand in their way.

Apr. 14th, 2004. Added a Season Archive page just to keep the front page from piling up Season links. Plus it's a good place to put all the Newspaper pictures.

Apr. 10th, 2004. Mass Season 8 delays have everyone, well almost everyone, disappointed. Until then read about the glory days when Tecmo actually got played.

Apr. 8th, 2004. Finally added the FG Blocking Rule to the Rules Page. It's been a rule since Game #157, but was kept off the Rules list for various reasons.

Apr. 2nd, 2004. The site as a whole reaches 3000 views in 13 months since starting the website. (March 2003)

Mar. 27th, 2004. More Season 8 today, as it is now down to the final 3 weeks. There will be some battles down the stretch. I'm not linking the Season 8 page again because I've done that enough. New York has tied a Season Record with 7 straight victories but they will be waiting until after the season is over to get added to the record page.

Mar. 20th, 2004. Season 8 hits the halfway mark. NYG are 5-0 leading the West, and San Fran at 4-1 are leading the way in the East. Season 8.

Mar. 16th, 2004. Updated the Home/Away Records to 803 games played. That's 80 more games then it was before. Home/Away Records Chart .

Mar. 15th, 2004. Updated the Team Records to 803 games played. That's 130 more games then it was before. Team Records Chart .

Mar. 13th, 2004. 2 weeks of Season 8 today. The New York Football Giants are the only unbeaten team, and Seattle is the only team without a W on the board. The 800 game barrier is offically broken on this day.

Mar. 4th, 2004. The main page reaches 1000 views in exactly 1 year since starting the website. (March 2003)

Feb. 28th, 2004. Season 7 is finished. The Giants, as expected captured the title. Losers of a shocking 2 regular season games, the Giants of Football played a strong post-season amid much play-off contraversy. The Giants path to the Tecmo Bowl was pretty smooth, with only Chicago standing a legitamate shot at stopping the powerful Giants. LT is already starting talks of repeats and dynasty.
A number of new season records set which you can see here: Here.

Feb. 22nd, 2004. Someone's lucrative lifetime, incentive laden contract with the Ball Droppers of Canada has derailed the finishing of Season 7 until the 28th at the earilest. Good times.

Feb. 20th, 2004. The pressure mounts as the last week of Season 7 is still waiting to be played. Some suspect Chicago is too terrified to play. A related sidenote regarding Season 7; the overall #1 seed tie-breakers work out as follows: LA > NYG, MIA > LA. Who will and the overall #1 seed? Hopefully we find out tomorrow.

Feb. 18th, 2004. Down to 1 week left in Season 7. The West play-off teams are decided, but the East is coming down to the final week, with Seattle on the outside looking in. Seattle needs help from arch-rival Denver and a win over a Washington team that beat them way back in Week 2.

Feb. 15th, 2004. Don't look now but it SEEMS as if Kick Returns have gone back to normal for some reason unknown. Also Season 7 now has only 3 weeks left. NYG, MIA, IND have the inside track in the West, with LA, CHI and DEN leading the way in the East.

Feb. 13th, 2004. Updated the Home/Away Records chart to 723 games played. Here.

Feb. 11th, 2004. Kick Returns are running wild in Tecmo recently, prompting serious concern across the board and Tecmo experts worldwide scratching their heads as to what needs to be done. Anyone? Also Washington and Minnesota are showing serious signs of life.

Feb. 10th, 2004. Updated Human Player Skills, even though a lot of it is tough to decide on and added a Rosters page. Lots of updates at NES Tecmo Bowl also

Feb. 7th, 2004. 2 weeks of Season 7 today. Kyle is reeling and threatening boycotts, Derek is down on his play and Cam is ripping it up. Dan Marino is in a QBing zone few have ever been to before and Kick Returns by marginal guys is out of control. There is talk of devising an Kick Return Defense Evolution to nullify things.

Feb. 6th, 2004. Courtesy of the Skank Mongers at Mohawk College Tecmo Week is reeling. Some ad wizard decided that most programs should have Reading Week not during Reading Week and instead have it on another non-Reading Week week. This severly damages Tecmo Week plans.

Feb. 6th, 2004. Redesigned the sites main page courtesy of Kyle and his template at www.geocities.com/kww68
If I was Tony Kornheiser I'd give out some dap, but since I'm not Tony Kornheiser my dap supplies are low and I can't spare any.

Jan. 23rd, 2004. There is celebrating in Chicago tonight for the Penguin Kings have captured the coveted Tecmo Bowl 6 trophy, after defeating SF 20-3 in the the final game. Mike Gentry returned the kick off on the opening play and Chicago controlled from there. Mike Gentry was named play-off MVP.

Dec. 27th, 2003 10:41 pm. Game #604 - Cleveland vs. Seattle. The first game of Tecmo Bowl since June 14th, 2003. Close game, with lots of rust, saw Seattle miss a FG, and CLE win on a last second FG. Tecmo Fucking Bowl, Baby.