Every year, a new Madden game is released. And every year, at least two things happen. 1) I purchase the game and then don’t get the full value out of it because I end up not playing it enough. And 2) several athletes complain about the fact that they are not rated high enough in the video game.

This year, that athlete is T.J. Houshmandzadeh. “Teej” (if you will — and you will, because I’m not writing Houshmandazdeh 30 times in the next several hundred words) is so cheesed off, in fact, that he’s going to boycott the game until EA Sports fixes his rating, according to an interview he had with everyone’s fav shockjock, Colin Cowherd.

“I understand I averaged 10 yards a catch, but it’s the offense, not me. I’m not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right. … I used to be the best in the world at Madden. I’m going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I’m not playing it any more.”

How did they do Teej an injustice? Well, they ranked him — *gasp* — a 91 overall. What exactly does that mean? Well, it means he’s just as good as Terrell Owens.

And not as good as the following people: Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne, Anquan Boldin, Roddy White, Brandon Marshall, Calvin Johnson and TO. Which, for the most part, seems pretty fair.

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Yesterday, I wrote rather quickly about the Bears and their wide receiver options. (Actually, I wrote slowly and uninformed. But let’s not split hairs.) Specifically, there was some chatter that Amani Toomer might be on their radar, but Jerry Angelo quickly turned that down by saying the Bears were in a “holding pattern” in their quest for a new receiver, meaning perhaps something would be done, perhaps something will not be done.

We’ve long been proponents of going after one of the older free-agent receivers around these parts, but according to ESPN’s John Clayton, there really isn’t much for the Bears to do in that regard.

This might sound strange, but there wasn’t a lot the Bears could do at wide receiver. They weren’t going to get Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards without a first-round choice. The free-agency options weren’t great either. The best option for them was T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but they didn’t want to pay $8 million a year for a receiver. They might regret that. I don’t know if any other receiver would have fit. Lovie Smith wouldn’t want Terrell Owens in his locker room. Torry Holt might not be the right fit. Marvin Harrison hasn’t attracted anyone’s interest this offseason. Brandon Jones, Jabar Gaffney and David Patten didn’t make much sense. Laveranues Coles might not have the speed to fit. The Bears’ big acquisition was Cutler, but it left them in a tough spot to do much else.

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Chad Ochocinco is, at this point, well past the proverbial dorsal fin in terms of being “interesting” or “relevant.” His offseason shenanigans so far this year, too, have been the very definition of weak sauce compared to last year’s ridiculousness.

At least it appears that way until you hear that Thursday night, Ochocinco called up his old teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh and lamented the fact that he couldn’t get traded. Except by “lamented” I mean “cried like a little baby.”

“Chad Johnson called me today. Crying. He wonders why everyone can get traded but him.”

Seriously, that’s what Housh said on the NFL Network on Friday. The irony, of course, is that Ochocinco is doing the very thing that makes him untradeable — crying. He’s a whiny, self-involved showboat and his production has tailed off recently (albeit with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center). Teams don’t want him because he’s a pain to deal with and nearly every one of his touchdowns results in a 15-yard penalty.

The reality is that Ochocinco/Johnson will continue to be off the trading market until he not only improves his play, but also his attitude. His talent alone forces the Bengals to command more than he’s actually worth. Oh, and also, he’s a BIG BABY. Hey, everybody, look at the BIG BABY. (Sorry, I still DVR “Seinfeld.”)

Quick recap on the Bears’ offseason so far: Besides some small signings, the Bears have done nothing. They need a good receiver. They passed on T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the top free agent at that position. There is, however, some interest in Torry Holt. The Bears currently have no starting offensive linemen left on the roster. They have not done anything at the quarterback position, which was apparently a concern of Jerry Angelo. Maybe this changes if they make a play for Jay Cutler, maybe it doesn’t.

So yes, there has been nothing much of consequence done as we sit here halfway through March. But, is this such a bad thing?

The short answer is, of course, yes. This is bad. Bad because there are holes to be filled and they have yet to be filled. Bad because the longer the Bears make no moves of consequence, the more meathead Bears fans will call into talk radio and scream: “WHY HAVEN’T THE BEARS DONE ANYTHING?!?!”

But, I think if you step back here, and think logically, the Bears are in OK shape. Houshmandzadeh probably wasn’t worth the money the Seahawks paid him. Or, at least, he wasn’t worth that much to the Bears. He was a No. 2 receiver in Cincinnati. Just because he was the best thing going, doesn’t mean it was worth it. We’ve all learned this lesson the hard way at 2 a.m. on a Friday night.

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Yesterday’s Waddle and Silvy interview of T.J. Houshmandzadeh was a treasure-trove of ridiculousness. From his inability to really say anything about his interest in the Bears, except that he was interested in everyone, to his quote that he “likes Rex Grossman” — it’s all good stuff. Can’t really get the old noggin around that last one, but yeah. Good stuff.

Despite all that, the following by far took the best-quote-of-the-day prize. If we can expect more of this with Housh in a Bears uniform, I’m all for it:

On whether or not it matters to him if he is signed right away once the free agency period begins at the end of this month:

“No, no. If I get an offer from a team that I’m interested in, it’s a done deal. You don’t need to wine and dine me, so to speak. I’m not a woman. I don’t need to be taken out and go out at… no; I don’t need none of that, man.”

For a moment I’m going to ignore how insanely sexist that quote is. (Not all women need to be wined and dined, T.J., and hey, what’s wrong with wining and dining a male? This is 2009, man! Break down those gender barriers and be free!) Instead, let’s treat this with a clinical eye. Ladies and not-ladies, I give you … the T.J. Houshmandzadeh Venn Diagram:

See? Totally not a woman. That simple, really.