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As most of you know, and can see, this year's Madden 10 cover is graced by two athletes for the first time: Troy Palomalu from the Pittsburg Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald from the Arizona Cardinals.

Does this mean double the curse for these co-cover athletes? Well, for sure we know that it has hit 1 of 2.

Yesterday, at the Pittsburg Steelers' season opener, Troy Palomalu sustained an injury which forced him to leave the game just before the half. Now, if this were something minor, I wouldn't be here writing about it, but it wasn't. Palomalu has sustained a sprained MCL which usually has a player benchwarming for 3 - 6 weeks, a large chunk of the 17 week regular season. The Madden curse seems to be in full effect, and sharing the cover athlete role has not softened its effects. If anything, it has been angered and decided to take out someone in the first game of the season.

It's time for all of us to be on "Fitzgerald watch." Waiting to see if the curse will strike the co-cover athlete.

For now, Troy Polamalu joins Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Shaun Alexander in the list of players who have been injured by the curse.

If you haven't signed up for our Xbox 360 Online Franchise league, you have until Monday to do so. We're offering up a ton of cool prizes, so click here and check it out.

Well, Brett Favre fooled us again. After proclaiming his retirement a few weeks ago, yesterday we learn that Brett Favre has officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings for a two year $25 million deal. So what does this mean? This means the circus is over…for at least 2 years…maybe.

From a football standpoint, Favre’s inclusion on the Vikings makes for a good fit but it is still a gamble. Several current Vikings seem a little annoyed by the Favre circus, especially the QB who is now getting bumped into a backup role. Can Favre win them over and fix the team chemistry? On the Jets last year, Favre was doing decent before his injury, so, while nothing is guaranteed, he likely will be an upgrade in the QB position for the Vikings. He also has a solid running game with him and a domed stadium to keep him in ideal conditions. If Favre is going to succeed at age 40, it would be with the Vikings.

More after the jump

Michael Vick is an Eagle.

Chad Johnson A.K.A. Ocho Cinco, is the latest athlete to go Twitter crazy.

Ocho Cinco is at it again. This time he has vowed to update his Twitter from the sidelines during the upcoming season. First Shaq, Charlie Villanueva "Tweets" during half times of Milwaukee Bucks games, and now Chad Johnson prepares us for a Tweeting frenzy this season. 

What do all these guys have in common?... Oh yeah, they play for sub par teams that didn't do so hot in their respective seasons. Could the rise of Twitter be to blame for players distractions and their teams inevitable downfall? Maybe not, but that is quite a coincidence. Perhaps Ocho Cinco is just trying to alleviate some of the boredom he encounters while watching his team, the Cincinatti Bengals, play after staggering, sloppy,  play.  This story begs for the question: WWJHD? What would Joe Horn do.

What do the experts think? My extendend commentary is after the jump.

Arland Bruce, a CFL wide receiver must have been deeply and profoundly affected by the untimely death of Michael Jackson. So much so, that he knew that given the chance, he would pay homage to the legend in the most appropriate and tasteful way he knew how…by playing dead on the field after scoring a touchdown.

It really sucks when the athletes and  celebrities we idolize get taken from us by disease. It is even more painful when they are stolen by the conscious actions of another individual. Today, it pains me to report that former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair was found dead in Nashville, Tenn, he was 36 years old. 

There are still a lot of questions surrounding the situation and I'm sure many of the details will come out over the next week or so as the authorities do their due dilligence. But for all of us fans of the game and people playing it the right way this is a tremendous loss. Today, when I heard the breaking news, someone next to me compared McNair to Allen Iverson. Not his character but his commitment to the game, playing when his teams' needed him the most. The kind of athlete and gentleman you want your children to grow up to be like. 

While he may have come up a yard or two short of winning the Super Bowl, McNair proved that hard work, dedication and above all a positive approach to the game will get you far in life. I just hope that in the coming weeks this stellar reputation isn't torn down by what could become an ugly situation. 

We here at GP Sports offer our condolencse to the families and friends of McNair as while we like to joke about sports, we feel the pain and anguish of losing a great all the same. McNair's 13 superlative seasons will not forgotten in the history books, and most importantly in our hearts and our minds. 

This is the second post in a two-part series using recent events to examine the dichotomy of celebrity's — particularly pro athlete's — run-ins with Johnny Law.

I discussed the first of two perfect high profile NFL stories on Tuesday. Ryan Moats was held outside a Texas hospital for running a red light while his mother-in-law was inside dying.

Today's post focuses on New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress' story. Here's a synopsis to get you started:

Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh with an unlicensed gun he'd stuffed into his waistband at a Manhattan nightclub last year. He was in court yesterday but “both sides agreed to adjourn the case to June 15 following a brief hearing before Judge Michael Yazinsky. Burress' bail was continued,” according to a ESPN report.

This is the first post in a two-part series using recent events to examine the dichotomy of celebrity's — particularly pro athlete's — run-ins with Johnny Law.

There have been two perfect high profile stories in the past few days showcasing NFL athlete's predicaments with the law: Texans running back Ryan Moats and Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. This post will focus on Moats' story.

For those who haven't heard what went down here's a short synopsis:

Moats and his wife Tamishia were driving to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano in Plano, TX, a suburb of Dallas. Moats' mother-in-law was in the hospital dying and only had minutes to live so Moats' used his discretion when rolling through a red light before being chased down by Dallas police officer Robert Powell.

The five-time Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams was released today after seven seasons with the Cowboys, who seem to be running around their club with scissors as they had just also cut Terrell Owens earlier today.

Williams being cut doesn't really come as a surprise since it was rumored, this week, that he would either be traded or released . Although, he is one of the hardest hitters in the game, when Dallas switched up their defensive package his lack of coverage had stood out.

So, cheer up T.O., you've got a friend to carpool with away from Dallas.