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Those who love their college hoops had to cringe at the sight of today’s fiscal year 2011 calendar from EA. If the omission of NCAA Basketball 11 from the list means the end of the franchise (or at least a suspension), then fans could be without a college basketball title in 2010.

It’s obvious the NCAA Basketball series has struggled to overtake 2K’s College Hoops franchise despite the last iteration of College Hoops coming out over two years ago. College Hoops, much like NFL 2K and EA’s MVP Baseball, continues to have a legion of followers who even go so far as to meticulously update the rosters to reflect the current season. EA has struggled winning over 2K basketball believers with Live (though they’ve made advancements) and considering the lesser status of the college title, the title is likely underperforming – especially considering the current economic status. It’s no secret that EA put a lot less marketing effort in last November’s release than in previous years as well.

If this is true, then what happens next? Does EA put the title in reboot phase for a triumphant 2012 return? Does 2K relaunch it’s College Hoops line now that EA is out of the way? Does another company pick up the NCAA license? or does college basketball  go the way of NASCAR for awhile.

Needless to say, this is (potentially) quite disappointing. I’ve always been a fan of the college game, and despite NCAA Basketball’s gameplay drawbacks and relative lack of features when compared to other sports franchises, the series did show some promising improvement this year – enough to warrant a top 10 appearance on my sports games of the year. I truly believe that a college basketball franchise could be a top selling, must buy sports title. With all the passion, the atmoshpere and the uniqueness that is the NCAA Tournament, it’s amazing that one of the greatest spectacles in sport may not be represented on consoles in the years to come.

So I decided to cobble together a little video for you guys spotlighting the release calendar for February 2010. Somehow, even in the deadest of months for gaming, I managed to find a some 7-8 new games that will appeal to a variety of sports and racing gamers. I figure my on-the-fly commentary for the monthly previews is more interesting than reading some long-winded essay detailing games I may or may not know very much about at the moment.

One thing I plan on doing – especially in the case of the region free PS3 and PSP – is branching out a bit and spotlighting European and Asian sports releases for those consoles. The ease of importing them and not needing to buy a separate console altogether appeals to me. I’m always open to suggestions, so let me know if covering the import scene would interest you as well.

Anyway, if you haven’t entered our World of Outlaws Xbox 360 giveaway, what are you waiting for? Do that first, then you have my permission to view the video… Enjoy.

There is no better way than to kick off our next week’s coverage of Big Ant Studios’ latest sprint car racer, World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars for the Xbox 360 than a little giveaway contest.

The World of Outlaws series is the premier sanctioning body of dirt track, winged sprint car racing. It may be most known for the fantastic crashes that have seen some of the cars flip over the retaining wall. Next to drag racing, it may be the most dangerous sport for racers and spectators alike, but it is certainly exciting and fun to watch.

Developer Ratbag first brought the World of Outlaws to life with the similarly titled World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars for the PS2 back in 2002. The game achieved moderate success and was generally well received among the fan base. While this is Big Ant Studios first go-around with the license, it is by no means a slouch in the field of sprint car racing, having released Sprint Cars: Road to Knoxville and Sprint Cars 2: Showdown at Eldora for the PS2 in the last few years.

THQ will be shipping the game soon for the Xbox 360 at the generous price of $19.99. As of now a PS3 release is being planned as a PSN download. A few of our lucky readers can hold onto that twenty as THQ and Big Ant were gracious enough to hook us up with a few copies to give away to our loyal fans. The rules are about as easy as can be. Reply to this post and explain why you want a copy of World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars (remember to enter your e-mail in the comment form). The two best answers win, with a third prize being a random draw of all the entrants and commentators on all of our World of Outlaws posts next week. Contest ends Thursday, Feb. 11 at midnight pacific time.

Watch for more launch coverage next week. I’ll be reviewing the game and showcasing the features as well as diving into the online play. Also watch for a Q&A with THQ’s Peter Armstrong and Big Ant’s Ross Symons and, of course, our contest winners.

EA seems to be rolling right along with their browser-based gaming plans, as EA has unveiled it’s plans to bring the world’s most popular sport to the world wide web.

That’s right, FIFA Online will launch in beta later this year and will feature all the teams and players that you’ve seen in the current iterations of the game. The game will be scaled down for wider accessibility (think FIFA 10 for PC running on a low-end machine).

According to the FIFASoccerBlog, EA obviously sees this as a great opportunity to real in the other 99% of the soccer fan base that doesn’t own a FIFA title. This would allow for greater access and – with expected micro-transactions – could be quite a boon for the company.

The biggest drawbacks? Well – the free-to-play browser games are good, casual fun (I’ve had a great time with Tiger Woods Online), but if EA strays from it’s PC crowd entirely and goes browser-based, you’d likely lose all the customization that made the PC version such a hit with players. I wasn’t one of that crowd, but I know of many who are and probably wouldn’t be converting any time soon to the new format.

Overall I see no harm in the idea and am looking forward to seeing what EA does with this release while I cross my fingers that PC users will still see a traditional FIFA 11. For the hardcore FIFA-ites, the serious gaming will probably stay on the console, but if they get a good community emphasis around this that beckons gamers to come back for more, I’m all for it.

The Sony Playstation blog dropped six gorgeous screens of the six historical stadiums that will be included in MLB 10: The Show. Sony also stated that while the stadiums will be unlocked from the get go for those that pre-order the game through Gamestop and Amazon (via a code), that the content will be included on the disc and is unlockable after earning every trophy in the game.

Since that’s bordering on impossible, I imagine nearly everyone who wants these retro parks will be dishing out the dough before the release date.

Judging from the screen shots, these fields look quite sharp. I am quite disappointed that Sony decided to go with modern advertising instead of keeping with the retro theme. What’s your take? Check out the screenshots after the jump…
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