the buzz log

There's a new high holy day on the calendar for sports fans and gaming freaks. August 22 marks the release of Madden NFL '07, and EA is ready to slake the rapacious appetites of button pushers everywhere. Searches on "madden 07" are up 51% over the last week and buzz is forcing some electronics retailers to stay open 'til midnight for eager consumers.

Football fans eager to dissect the relative strength of the pixelized players within the game have gang tackled searches on "madden 2007 rosters" and "madden 07 rosters." Serious gamers looking for competition are busy searching for information on "madden challenge" and "madden challenge 2007."

Riding the spiraling hype, EA has made the bold move of declaring 8/22 a Maddenoliday. We know dudes will use EA's declaration as the perfect excuse to skip work, but we doubt a boss will accept a diagnosis of "madden fever" as a reason for absence. If you are planning an all-night Madden marathon, here are some other noteworthy searches bounding through Buzz...