Latest news with #RoadToGlory
New York Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The best part of ‘College Football 26,' plus some hilarious trading cards
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Time to hit the sticks. Over the last few days, The Athletic has paid me to play a video game, EA Sports' 'College Football 26.' It's a great game, and seems like a vast improvement on last year's re-debut. It was also strangely emotional. Before I get to my review, let's start with the latter point: I asked The Athletic's Chris Vannini, a reviewer and in-house expert on the game, why it's important: 'Video game culture is pop culture, and a lot of people got back into watching real college football through the video game. For any sport to survive and thrive in the future, it always needs a new generation of fans. This helps.' Now, about the game: It has an obviously similar gameplay to last year's game, with noticeable small improvements. Motions are smoothed a little bit. College coaches are now in the game. But I want to focus briefly on the new Road to Glory mode, inspired by Jason Kirk's excellent review earlier this week, because I had a blast with it. Four things that happened: I am biding my time behind Dylan Raiola, but sad to report the game does not think Nebraska will be good. I plan to transfer four times, though. It's a good game. Let's keep moving: More NBA funny money Chet Holmgren and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a five-year max extension yesterday that could be worth up to $250 million. It comes eight days after the franchise signed MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a $285 million supermax extension, and Jalen Williams' payday is coming soon, too. Next year is the last season before this team becomes prohibitively expensive, as our experts wrote. It's Sinner vs. Djokovic Poor Ben Shelton. The last remaining American man at Wimbledon bowed out in the quarterfinals yesterday against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, which gives Shelton an unfortunate streak: The only two players to defeat him in Grand Slams this year are Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have combined to win the past six slams in all. Awaiting Sinner in the semifinal: Novak Djokovic, who outlasted the upstart Flavio Cobolli yesterday. Their rivalry is … eerie. Advertisement More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. Scores of trading cards are printed every year and shipped around the world. Some have value. Most don't. The cards that earn status do so mostly through the feats of whatever player graces the front. Others are valuable for their mistakes. I could not stop cackling through this roundup of unflattering cards yesterday, inspired by a recent sale of a Bronny James card that accidentally has 'LEAVE' printed across the front. Thus, Brooks Peck went and found the 17 'worst' cards to ever exist. I'd like to share the two that earned guffaws from yours truly: Blake Griffin was past his prime at this point, but that didn't mean Mosaic had to make him look like a disproportionate cartoon character. Why is head so big? Why did they pick this facial expression to blow up? Sorry, Blake, but this is hilarious. And then there's Bill Pecota: Fleer Baseball should be prosecuted for this. Hey Bill, here's your card! It looks like you're striking out! The card does, however, add to Pecota's unique place in baseball lore, as the nine-year journeyman finished with a .249 career average and inspired the name of the projection model PECOTA, which projects player output every year. See all the cards here. I would like someone to print an unflattering card of me one day. OK, almost done: 📺 Wimbledon: Sabalenka vs. Anisimova 8:30 a.m. ET on ESPN The No. 1 seed takes on the last remaining American in this semifinal matchup. The other semi, Iga Świątek against Belinda Bencic, follows directly after. Another good morning of tennis. 📺 MLB: Mariners at Yankees 7:05 p.m. ET on MLB Network Aaron Judge vs. The Big Dumper. Two good teams. Just watch it. Get tickets to games like these here. I was floored by this feature on Jojo and Jacob Parker, the identical twins who could be first-round picks in next week's MLB Draft. They couldn't play catch with their dad, but Jop Parker got his sons here anyway. Make time for this. Sam Amick wrote a fascinating notebook about the scene in Los Angeles, where both the Lakers and Clippers have prioritized flexibility this offseason with the future in mind. The question is: Who ends up with the star at the end? Advertisement To hear the Astros talk about rookie star Cam Smith is to get secondhand goosebumps. He was special from his introduction to the team. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Tim Graham's story on the Bills' uneasy political dance with Canada. Read it here. Most-read on the website yesterday: The story on Christian Horner's shock firing yesterday, which had all of F1 talking.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
When do College Football 26 player, team ratings come out? When is game's release date?
(Editor's note: EA Sports released its deep dive into Road to Glory mode for College Football 26 on Friday, June 27.) College Football 26 is coming out soon, and EA Sports has been busy sharing details this past week with highly anticipated deep dives into Team Builder and Dynasty mode. The next big one that fans are dying to know: What are the player and team ratings? Advertisement We already know a few players' ratings (well, we think). Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was shown to be part of the 99 Club in the Dynasty deep dive on the Orlando-based video game company's website. His fellow cover athlete, Alabama receiver Ryan Williams, was shown to be a 97 overall (though his Elusiveness was a maxed-out 99). And there were a couple others revealed in the deep dive, including Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander (86), Georgia linebacker C.J. Allen (94) and Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer (94). Last year for College Football 25, the team ratings came out fresh off the tail of EA Sports' announcement of the 25 toughest places to play, which were released for CFB 26 on Tuesday, June 24. Player ratings waited until July 10, a week before the game's release date. We are still waiting on one last deep dive into Road to Glory and its high school football component, so keep an eye out for updates. Here's what we do know so far about College Football 26, including its release date, prices, platforms and cross-play ability: When does College Football 26 come out? College Football 26 will have its wide release Thursday, July 10. Early access will be available for those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle on Monday, July 7. Advertisement How much is College Football 26? The Standard Edition of College Football 26 will cost $69.99. The Deluxe Edition costs $99.99, and the MVP Bundle, which includes the Deluxe Edition of both CFB 26 and Madden 26, is $149.99. CFB 26 Dynasty deep dive EA Sports shared new information about gameplay, presentation, the Team Builder function and Dynasty mode over the past week. Here's a look at the changes to the popular Dynasty mode in a video narrated by Kirk Herbstreit: Looking for more details? We've got you covered. Will high school be in College Football 26? The Road to Glory mode will allow a created player to start as a high school football recruit, building a recruiting tape for colleges, earning scholarships, announcing their college decision in a hat ceremony and even decommitting if a better offer comes up. There is also a high school football stadium template available in Team Builder. Advertisement Here's a rundown of the new features as announced by EA Sports: Dynamic and auto subs for quick substitutions and unique formations Real-world coaches and new playbooks, formations and positions In-game traditions such as Georgia's spiked shoulder pads to celebrate turnovers Crowd songs such as "Seven Nation Army" and "Enter Sandman" Wear and tear for player injuries over the course of a season Cross-play between consoles for Online Dynasty Mode A high-school component in Road to Glory Stadium pulse will get louder during primetime games Return of Trophy Room to showcase awards to other players What's the difference between the College Football 26 editions? The Deluxe Edition of College Football 26 includes more bonus features and three-day early access to the game. The MVP Edition's main bonus is its bundle with Madden 26. Here's a look at the different pre-order benefits for each edition: Standard Edition: includes All Hands Ultimate Team pack, Dynasty coach points and Road to Glory skill points. Deluxe Edition: includes Standard Edition bonuses, plus early access, 4600 College Football points, early access Ultimate Team solo challenges and Top Prospect Ultimate Team pack (for orders before June 19). MVP Edition: includes Deluxe Edition bonuses, plus Deluxe Edition of Madden 25 and Exclusive Elite Player Ultimate Team pack. Like CFB 25, College Football 26 will be available to play only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. There are no known plans to make it available for PC gamers and those on previous-gen consoles such as Xbox One and PS4. Advertisement Will College Football 26 have cross play? Yes, those playing College Football 26 on PS5 will be able to take on those playing on one of the Xbox consoles. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: EA College Football 26 release date, team and player rating schedule
