OK, for those of you who heard the tail end my NPR interview yesterday know I got 0wn3d by the host on a fourth and long play. I've really got no excuse for this outrage, except my own hubris. Let me break it down for you on a play-by-play basis.

First of all, it's important to note that what you heard on the radio was spliced pretty heavily. A lot of the "gameplay" footage was taken in the Madden tutorial mode, as I was showing the host some basic offensive sets, how to run the ball and how to pass. In fact, there's only two clips from our actual game, a big fumble I caused on the very first play of the game and the shameful TD I gave up at the end. Because our time in the studio was limited, we only played one posession; once that TD was scored, we had to shut down the XBox and move on so I had no opporunity for revenge.

Anyway here's how it broke down:

1) Steve Inskeep chose the Colts and I chose my beloved Chicago Bears. He won the toss and elected to receive. After a decent return, he began his first posession.

2) Deciding to teach him a lesson early, I called an all-out blitz on the very first snap which, luckily for me, caused a fumble deep in his red zone. I recovered the fumble and prepared to score quickly.

3) After a running play or two of moderate success, I was threatening his goal line and decided to get a bit fancy on him. Instead of continuing with my solid run game behing Thomas Jones, I called a half back pass into the end zone. As you might expect, the coverage in the end zone was excellent and Inskeep's Colts picked me off in the end zone. Colts ball back on their 20 yard line. No need to panic, I told myself, I'll just stuff him again.

4) The next three plays were basically fruitless for Indy. I can't remember the exact plays as they happened but I seem to remember one pass being batted down and dropping Peyton Manning on another play. Regardless, Inskeep was stuck with a fourth and long, deep in his own territory. As you heard in the segment, I asked him if he would like to punt or go for it and, being a baller (or is that a cheeser?), Inskeep decided to go for it, despite the near-insurmountable odds.

5) Now, the thinking man would have simply called a zone coverage and waited for his desperate toss in the air, batted it down and taken over possession with a great opportunity to score. Unfortunately, I am not a thinking man. In that instant, I became the exact opposite: I was the Cheeser Avenger, determined to take out my revenge on Inskeep as punishment for the never-punting, always-bombing, cheesers who dominate NFL online games these days. I decided to bring a massive blitz against him, including my safeties. Dreams of sacking Peyton in the endzone and grabbing a safety dancing in my head.

Worst of all, I even called my shot on the air, "I'm bringing the house against you, too!" Obviously, I was stunned when he completed his pass to a streaking Brandon Stokely, even more so when I realized I didn't have a safety anywhere near him to chase him down. All I could do was shake my head and laugh as Stokley took what was basically a dump pass 80 yards for a score.

A friend of mine , after hearing the show, said he thought I LET Steve score that touchdown at the end, trying to be a nice guy. Unfortunately, that could not be further from the truth, as my competitiveness is second only to my pasty white skin as my most dominant genetic trait.

Karmic retribution, that touchdown was. It made for great radio but, as I reflect on it a few weeks removed, I know there are some important personal lessons to be learned there. Humiliation is not the point of victory, no matter the setting. Victory is its own reward and all those other Vince Lombardi-ish proclamations. Karmic freakin' retribution.

Next: Part 3 -- Are you wasting your life?