Microsoft Teams Up with ESPN "SportsCenter"

Gamers looking for a free Xbox 360 or a trip to ESPN's Bristol, Connecticut headquarters need to tune in to tonight's "SportsCenter" at 8 p.m. or one of its reruns. Microsoft is sponsoring the broadcast tonight and is showing seven minutes of ads, including a new "Cops and Robbers" spot and "Gears of War." The broadcast kicks off a three-week online sweepstakes that will ask gamers five questions about the ads. Anyone who gets three answers correct will be entered into the sweepstakes.

"The Ultimate Xbox 360 Entertainment Experience" runs through December 18 and prizes include that trip to Bristol, Xbox 360s and entertainment centers, and Xbox 360 games. If you miss the original broadcast, you can always catch the ads online to enter for your chance to win.

ESPN has ramped up its videogame coverage in recent years. ESPN.com, which I write for, now has its own videogame section with lots of news, previews and athlete interviews. If you haven't checked it out yet (it's not that easy to find on the home page), here's a link.

The second season of "Madden Nation" debuts December 13 on ESPN2 at midnight and it will rerun throughout the week. Gamers go for $100,000 in cash over the course of this show, which pits the best "Madden NFL 07" players against one another.