T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s ego has him boycotting Madden '10

Yahoo! Sports

Tue Jul 21 03:09pm EDT

T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s ego has him boycotting Madden '10

Until EA Sports releases "Sports Blogger Pie Eating Contest '10," I'm never going to know what it's like to be in a video game. I'm never going to know what it feels like to pop a disc in the ol' XBox 360, turn it on and see what rating I've been assigned.

I'd imagine that most guys think they should be rated above where they are, because that's just human nature, and professional football is a profession that lends itself easily to a large ego. Everyone wants a high ranking. Everyone lacks perspective when judging their own abilities.

That said, I think T.J. Houshmandzadeh (notes) is being particularly unreasonable here. The man's rated a 91, and he's going slightly bananas over it. He said on the Colin Cowherd show today that he's boycotting Madden '10 until they show proper respect for his abilities.

"I understand I averaged 10 yards a catch, but it's the offense, not me. I'm not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right. ... I used to be the best in the world at Madden. I'm going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I'm not playing it any more."

And he's a 91! What did he want to be, a 114? Does he insist that little polygonal T.J. Houshmandzadeh be bathed in a warming, angelic glow of pure white light at all times? It's a 91, man. I hope I'm not shattering any illusions when I suggest that T.J. Houshmandzadeh should be pretty happy with a 91.

As for EA Sports, I don't know how they're going to cope. A player who likely got the game for free anyway now refuses to play. I hope the company is able to rebound from the setback.