Cleveland Rocks

Congratulations to Peyton Hillis, the official Madden '12 cover boy. Hillis made a surprise run through the first 4 rounds of the ESPN / SportsNation voting, defeating Ray Rice, Matt Ryan, Jamal Charles, and #1 seed Aaron Rogers en route to the finals. Today, Hillis beat Michael Vick in the championship to claim his place on the new cover.

Just a few years ago, the RB was five or six spots down on the Denver Broncos' depth chart. After being traded to Cleveland for Brady Quinn (oops), Hillis got a fresh start. He made the most of it, rushing for 1,177 yards and turning himself into a local superhero.

I'm very glad to see Michael Vick lose. Aside from the fact that he's already enjoyed a season on the cover, the fact a good portion of the public is still struggling to embrace Vick could have spelled problems for EA Sports.

There may not be football next season, but there certainly will be Madden. And Peyton Hillis will be taking his talents to cyberspace.