SI for Kids’ The Video Game Issue Features Magic Star Dwight Howard
NEW YORK, October 5, 2009 – The October 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated Kids, on newsstands now, is SI KIDS second annual video game issue and features Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, on the cover. This month’s issue gives readers the opportunity to see what are Howard and Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew’s favorite video games of alltime.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
DWIGHT HOWARD PUTS ON HIS GAMEFACE AND TALKS ABOUT HIS TWO BIGGEST PASSIONS: VIDEO GAMES AND BASKETBALL: Coming off of a career year, Dwight Howard has changed his approach to conditioning over the off-season. Maintaining his physique and increasing his strength takes up a lot of Dwight’s day, but the 23-year-old center always makes time for video games. Now that he is on the cover of NBA Live 10, Dwight has reason to play even more during his free time. Growing up, Dwight would spend his days like most children, running around plying basketball. But during the nights, when it was too dark to be outside, Dwight would play video games. So, after being asked to appear on the cover, Dwight was ecstatic. “Man, I played [NBA Live] all the time. And I used to think to myself, I would love to be on the cover of NBA Live one day.” Nine years later, Howard’s dream came true (page 18).
TOP SECRET- PROJECT NATAL: Next year, Microsoft is set to release an upgrade to XBOX360 that will advance video game technology into 3-D. Project Natal is the “new system [that] ditches the traditional remote control and turns your body into the controller.” While the system will not fit all types of games, it will have a tremendous impact on sports games. (page 40).
MAURICE JONES-DREW IS READY FOR THE BIG TIME: In high school, Jones-Drew’s team never lost a game, and after leading UCLA in rushing for three straight seasons, he envisioned playing on Sunday’s.
Jones-Drew has always surprised people with his ability given he only stands at 5’ 7”. Although he became the number one running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars this year, Jones Drew still practices and prepares as though he is the last running back on the depth chart. “Train as if you’re not the best –- train as if you’re trying to become the best.” Madden NFL and Tiger Woods PGA Tour are among Jones-Drew’s favorite video games (page 26).
THE SPORTS GAMER’S 10 BEST GAMES OF THE YEAR: SI KIDS’ gaming expert Scott Jones reveals his top titles of 2009. EA Sports’ NHL 2010 is rated #1 with new features such as precision shooting controls, the ability to box players out along the boards as well as first-person fighting (page 34).
THE GAMER GANG: SI KIDS spent the summer searching for the charter members of the Gamer Gang video game review crew. This year’s members include Nick Bougades, 11, from Whippany, NJ; Erik Willis,
13, from Great Falls, Mont.; Margaret Fleck, 10, Emmaus, Penn.; Malik Pitchford, 9, Milwaukee, Wisc., and Jamal Martinez, 14, Lawrence, Mass. (page 44).
ASK THE ATHLETES: SI KIDS asked some famous athletes which video game character they would want as a teammate (page 46).
Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers center: “Sonic the Hedgehog’s speed would be amazing on a fast break. I could get a rebound and pass it all the way up the court. He could catch it and use his jumping ability to make a great dunking highlight.”
Joey Logano, NASCAR Driver: “If I could add one video game character to The Home Depot team, I would say John Madden from Madden NFL 08. I wouldn’t want him as my tire changer, but how cool would it be to have Madden as my spotter on the roof? Every time there’s an accident he’d yell, ‘Boom!’ That would be hysterical. And think about the play-by-play I’d get [from him].”
PLAYBOOK 2.0: SI KIDS went behind the scenes to find out why some of the top college football teams are ditching the chalkboards and game film and beginning to teach X’s and O’s on a virtual platform. (page 36).
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED TEEN—REVVED UP: Motocross sensation Ashley Fiolek is not an ordinary teenage girl. While most girls her age are concerned with make-up and boys, Fiolek was focused on winning an X-Games gold medal in motocross. At 17 Fiolek had won nearly all of the 12 races on the Women’s Motocross Association circuit en route to the 2008 Championship. Coupled with her competitive drive is another characteristic that separates Ashley from her counterparts; she has been deaf since birth (Bonus section T1).
NHL PREVIEW 2009-10:
* As the hockey season approaches, the experts weigh in on some of the things to look forward to in the upcoming season, including the 2010 Olympics (page 31). * Also featured is the expert’s playoff prediction in which the Washington Capitals will defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.
SPORTSKIDS OF THE MONTH: Thomas Hong, 12, from Laurel Maryland won the 2009 National Short
Track Championships for speedskating; Joshua Meka, 12, from Washington, D.C. has earned himself the chance to play against the best youth soccer players in the world for ten days in Vienna, Austria; Leah Wis, 11, from Towaco, New Jersey has won four medals in her division at the 2009 AAU Junior Olympics; Anna Sue Gay,9, from Winter Garden, Florida has won the overall and trick titles in her division at the U.S. Waterskiing National Championships (page 16).
NEW YORK, October 5, 2009 – The October 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated Kids, on newsstands now, is SI KIDS second annual video game issue and features Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, on the cover. This month’s issue gives readers the opportunity to see what are Howard and Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew’s favorite video games of alltime.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
DWIGHT HOWARD PUTS ON HIS GAMEFACE AND TALKS ABOUT HIS TWO BIGGEST PASSIONS: VIDEO GAMES AND BASKETBALL: Coming off of a career year, Dwight Howard has changed his approach to conditioning over the off-season. Maintaining his physique and increasing his strength takes up a lot of Dwight’s day, but the 23-year-old center always makes time for video games. Now that he is on the cover of NBA Live 10, Dwight has reason to play even more during his free time. Growing up, Dwight would spend his days like most children, running around plying basketball. But during the nights, when it was too dark to be outside, Dwight would play video games. So, after being asked to appear on the cover, Dwight was ecstatic. “Man, I played [NBA Live] all the time. And I used to think to myself, I would love to be on the cover of NBA Live one day.” Nine years later, Howard’s dream came true (page 18).
TOP SECRET- PROJECT NATAL: Next year, Microsoft is set to release an upgrade to XBOX360 that will advance video game technology into 3-D. Project Natal is the “new system [that] ditches the traditional remote control and turns your body into the controller.” While the system will not fit all types of games, it will have a tremendous impact on sports games. (page 40).
MAURICE JONES-DREW IS READY FOR THE BIG TIME: In high school, Jones-Drew’s team never lost a game, and after leading UCLA in rushing for three straight seasons, he envisioned playing on Sunday’s.
Jones-Drew has always surprised people with his ability given he only stands at 5’ 7”. Although he became the number one running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars this year, Jones Drew still practices and prepares as though he is the last running back on the depth chart. “Train as if you’re not the best –- train as if you’re trying to become the best.” Madden NFL and Tiger Woods PGA Tour are among Jones-Drew’s favorite video games (page 26).
THE SPORTS GAMER’S 10 BEST GAMES OF THE YEAR: SI KIDS’ gaming expert Scott Jones reveals his top titles of 2009. EA Sports’ NHL 2010 is rated #1 with new features such as precision shooting controls, the ability to box players out along the boards as well as first-person fighting (page 34).
THE GAMER GANG: SI KIDS spent the summer searching for the charter members of the Gamer Gang video game review crew. This year’s members include Nick Bougades, 11, from Whippany, NJ; Erik Willis,
13, from Great Falls, Mont.; Margaret Fleck, 10, Emmaus, Penn.; Malik Pitchford, 9, Milwaukee, Wisc., and Jamal Martinez, 14, Lawrence, Mass. (page 44).
ASK THE ATHLETES: SI KIDS asked some famous athletes which video game character they would want as a teammate (page 46).
Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers center: “Sonic the Hedgehog’s speed would be amazing on a fast break. I could get a rebound and pass it all the way up the court. He could catch it and use his jumping ability to make a great dunking highlight.”
Joey Logano, NASCAR Driver: “If I could add one video game character to The Home Depot team, I would say John Madden from Madden NFL 08. I wouldn’t want him as my tire changer, but how cool would it be to have Madden as my spotter on the roof? Every time there’s an accident he’d yell, ‘Boom!’ That would be hysterical. And think about the play-by-play I’d get [from him].”
PLAYBOOK 2.0: SI KIDS went behind the scenes to find out why some of the top college football teams are ditching the chalkboards and game film and beginning to teach X’s and O’s on a virtual platform. (page 36).
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED TEEN—REVVED UP: Motocross sensation Ashley Fiolek is not an ordinary teenage girl. While most girls her age are concerned with make-up and boys, Fiolek was focused on winning an X-Games gold medal in motocross. At 17 Fiolek had won nearly all of the 12 races on the Women’s Motocross Association circuit en route to the 2008 Championship. Coupled with her competitive drive is another characteristic that separates Ashley from her counterparts; she has been deaf since birth (Bonus section T1).
NHL PREVIEW 2009-10:
* As the hockey season approaches, the experts weigh in on some of the things to look forward to in the upcoming season, including the 2010 Olympics (page 31). * Also featured is the expert’s playoff prediction in which the Washington Capitals will defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.
SPORTSKIDS OF THE MONTH: Thomas Hong, 12, from Laurel Maryland won the 2009 National Short
Track Championships for speedskating; Joshua Meka, 12, from Washington, D.C. has earned himself the chance to play against the best youth soccer players in the world for ten days in Vienna, Austria; Leah Wis, 11, from Towaco, New Jersey has won four medals in her division at the 2009 AAU Junior Olympics; Anna Sue Gay,9, from Winter Garden, Florida has won the overall and trick titles in her division at the U.S. Waterskiing National Championships (page 16).
