• ON Networks announces its second season of the 5-Minute Drill online fantasy football show.
• The average primetime rating for Olympics coverage is stronger than any non-U.S.-hosted Games since 1976.
• FanSoft Media takes football notebooks online with the Cheatsheet Creator.
• Despite not having begun play yet, Women’s Professional Soccer is already planning expansion.
• The NBA is partnering with AEG to run and sell naming rights to arena in China.

The 20th edition of the world’s most popular football video game officially went on sale Tuesday (just in case you hadn’t heard) and the early response seems to be quite strong.

PC World labels this the best Madden release yet, which I would imagine is the primary goal each year.

George Mathis of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls it the most challenging football game ever and breaks down what he likes and doesn’t like about this edition and what is new.

This MTV gaming blogger goes into greater detail about the new “Test” feature meant to determine how strong a Madden player you are so that it can adapt the game to your needs and abilities.

Speaking of gamers, USA Today delves into how Madden has changed to try to court the more serious gamers.

Finally, amid all the excitement and praise, this blogger for the Detroit Free Press says Madden ‘09 is not the best sports video game ever. “Mike Tyson’s Punchout” is.