How many of you are taking a sick day to play as much Madden NFL as you possibly can?

There has to be at least one person reading this who is doing just that today. Madden NFL 17 hit store shelves today, so productivity around the nation is expected to drop a little bit today as the battle to be the next great Madden star begins now. It is amazing just how long this series has been going, and how far it has come. I’ll probably get my hands on a copy for the PS4 soon, but I tend to get into the game more when football season is over. I know, it’s weird, but I have enough real football going on to focus on that keeps me from getting too invested in the digital version.

Sponsors abandon Ryan Lochte

Ryan Lochte

Perhaps not too surprisingly, American swimmer Ryan Lochte saw some of his endorsement deals vanish as the Olympics closed up and the saga involving Lochte in Rio continued to be examined. The most notable endorsement deal lost by Lochte was Speedo. Other sponsors ditching Lochte included Ralph Lauren, a skin-care firm (Syneron-Candela) and a Japanese mattress maker (Airweave). In all, Lochte reportedly lost anywhere between $750,000 and $1 million. Speedo announced it will be donating $50,000 that would have gone to Lochte to Save the Children.

Lochte’s focus has quickly shifted to his future with the United States Olympic Committee, who could strip Lochte of any chance to compete in the next summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

If Speedo is looking to fill the void left by Lochte, one late night comedian is making his case…

NBA 2K17 trailer has video game hoops fans excited

Screen shot via @NBA2K17
Screen shot via @NBA2K17

The new Madden NFL game is being released today, but basketball fans are counting down the days until 2k Sports releases its next NBA game, NBA 2k17. This year’s title is scheduled to be released next month for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, XBOX One, XBOX 360 and PC. Sorry Nintendo fans. You’re out of luck once again. The trailer is gorgeous.

As you can see, we get our first glimpse of some familiar faces in new places (Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose) and some of the top new players in the league (Ben Simmons). NBA teams took advantage of the brief footage where they could.

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.