This Tuesday, Madden 2009 was released, and with it came hours of endless fun, slipping grades, losing/never having girlfriends, and more reasons to talk about Arizona sports. We have already discussed how NCAA 2009 provides the perfect opportunity for Wildcat fans to bask in the glory of National Championships and air it out against nine year olds on XBOX Live, but some people are Madden gamers to the death.  Worry not Maddenites, there are plenty of Arizona Wildcats in the Madden ranks for you to wreck havoc with. So without further adieu, your 2009 Arizona Wildcat Madden Ratings:

• Antonio Pierce, New York Giants, LB, 95 Overall
• Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears, LB, 95 Overall
• Chris McAlister, Baltimore Ravens, CB, 94 Overall
• Nick Folk, Dallas Cowboys, K, 89 Overall
• Tedy Bruschi, New England Patriots, LB, 86 Overall
• Bobby Wade, Minnesota Vikings, WR, 81 Overall
• Dennis Northcutt, Jacksonville Jaguars, 81 Overall
• Antoine Cason, San Diego Chargers, 79 Overall (Rookie of the Year!)
• Edwin Mulitalo, Detroit Lions, G, 79 Overall
• Chris Henry, Tennessee Titans, RB, 78 Overall
• Mike Bell, Denver Broncos, RB, 78 Overall (this is what Madden has, even though he is a free agent now)
• Michael Johnson, New York Giants, S, 77 Overall
• Brandon Manumaleuna, San Diego Chargers, TE, 76 Overall
• Joe Tafoya, Arizona Cardinals, DE, 76 Overall
• Copeland Bryan , Free Agent, DE, 70 Overall (he is on Bills in real life)
• Wilrey Fontenot, Free Agent, CB, 68 Overall (he is on Falcons in real life)
• Spencer Larsen, Free Agent, LB, 67 Overall (he is on Broncos in real life)
• Lionel Dotson, Miami Dolphins, DE, 67 Overall

(Note: Unfortunately Syndric Steptoe, Louis Holmes, and Marcus Smith did not make the Madden Cut. Hopefully they will make their NFL teams and be part of the first Madden update.)

Imagine what you can do with all of these guys. Change the Arizona Cardinals to the Arizona Wildcats, move them to Tucson, trade away the whole team for the above Wildcats and start dominating. Can you imagine a line backing corps of Briggs, Pierce, and Larsen, a secondary of Cason, McAlister, Fontenot, and Johnson, and a defensive line of Bruschi (1994 Desert Swarm!!), Tafoya, Dotson, and Bryan? That is one powerful defense right there. Then on offense you got Wade and Northcutt split out wide, Manumaleuna at tight end, Henry and Bell in the backfield, Mulitalo and some randoms on the offensive line (you never see their names anyways), and … Cason at QB? Ok so maybe it is not a perfect situation (you would never win a game), but you get the point. There are plenty of Wildcats in Madden to star with, and think about the All-Arizona-Madden team next year after Willie Tuitama wins first team Pac-10 honors and the Rose Bowl (fingers-crossed). For now enjoy playing with two of the best linebackers in the game.

(Photo: John Madden/Electronic Arts)