Some little bits of Madden info for you today:

• A complete ranking of the best teams in the game. The Patriots, predictably, are first. The Raiders are last, and the Buzzsaw is in the top 10!

• Here are some rejected covers.

• A Madden naysayer!

• Don't forget to buy Salisbury 08!

The official player ratings have been released, and even though we don't have Ethan Albright's rating, we still can play around with them. The top position guys are obvious — Manning, Tomlinson, Chad Johnson — but some guys are higher than they should be (Randy Moss) and some guys are lower (Thomas Jones). And yes, Favre is still in the top 10.

Matt Leinart is less than pleased with his rating.

"Last year I had a fumbling problem where if you breathed on my character he dropped the ball. This year my strength rating is awful. I'm going to get my butt kicked in the game."

Well, this is what you get for hanging out with Robin Williams.

Madden 08: By The Numbers [GameTap]

Multiple industry sources have told me that Tomlinson, in fact, was asked of his interest, was presented with an offer, and told Electronic Arts he was not interested. Tomlinson's turning down of Electronic Arts, we're told, doesn't have much to do with the highly publicized curse, which has been attributed to the recent misfortune of Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander. It has more to do with the fact that the people at Electronic Arts know that, for many, their cover is seen as the "Wheaties box endorsement" — in that athletes are usually so honored they are willing to do it for less than market value. Tomlinson wasn't.

The deal usually pays the cover athlete $100,000 to $200,000 and requires multiple appearances to pump up the game. Since the Madden game sort of sells itself, the athlete on the cover doesn't really matter that much, but expect more NFL stars to turn down the cover in the future, not because of the curse, but because the price is just too low.

Eventually, if the asking price remains too low for big stars, we're going to see a kicker on the cover. Or maybe Ethan Albright!

Tomlinson Turns Down Madden [CNBC]
Begin Preparing For The Vince Young Injury [Deadspin]
Ethan Albright Strikes Back [The Phat Phree]

Young will be announced as the cover boy on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" tonight, where the host will corner him and basically be a sanctimonious ass about heel-snippers trying to take down world class celebrities like himself. While this is proof that the Wonderlic rating will never be a major factor on Madden, it's also telling that Peyton Manning didn't make the cover. No matter how many kids he pegs in the head with footballs, he'll just never be hip enough to make it. Maybe, someday, he'll make Kenny Chesney Guitar Hero.

Young To Grace Cover Of Madden 08 [Nashville City Paper]

Some San Diego Chargers fans are doing what they can to cut the curse off at the pass, launching the newfangled Save LT From Madden Web site, designed entirely to keep the MVP from suffering the same fate as his predecessors. ESPN says Peyton Manning is the early favorite, but we would have thought LT was more likely, actually. We think they should put Favre on there; maybe he'll actually retire this time.

Save LT From Madden
Taking Madden Curse Into Their Own Hands [Lion In Oil]
The Contenders [ESPN Video Games]

"That's just about the best thing you could have told me," Hester said with a huge smile, when informed of his new Speed rating. "It's an honor — I don't know what to say, really."

Yep: A professional football player taking the most joy from his imaginary rating in an imaginary video game. We absolutely love sports sometimes.

Perfect Score [Chicks Dig The Long Ball]