Chad Pennington's ego took a massive blow Tuesday, when millions of Madden 2009 players released him from his contract with the virtual New York Jets.  The current Miami Dolphins quarterback, who remained a class act throughout his eight years with the Jets, was cut after the team traded for future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.  In order for gamers to keep an updated roster, they were forced to release Pennington as one of their first actions after purchasing the game.

"I've got nothing against Chad personally," said Matt Stein, 22, of Cleveland.  "But I like for the game to be as accurate as possible.  At least until I create myself with a 99 rating."

The usually upbeat Pennington seemed to be lacking his positive outlook when speaking to reporters.  "It was bad enough to get released when that washed up, arrogant gloryhound got traded to New York," Pennington stated.  "But to have to relive that over and over and over again?  Come on...I mean, that didn't even happen to Rex Grossman."

Still, loyal Madden enthusiasts everywhere decided that cutting Pennington was the right move to make.  "When you play a game like Madden '09, you're faced with a lot of tough choices," said Darrell Stevens, 19, of Missouri.  "You've got to make some unpopular decisions.  Like when I moved my team from Kansas City and renamed them the 'Queefs'.  Or when I made Bobbleheads cost 30 bucks."

While in real life, Pennington was quickly signed to a two-year deal by the Miami Dolphins, some Madden fans don't have plans to sign Pennington to the virtual team of the same name.  Greg Wilson, 25, of Dallas, called the process "exhausting".  Wilson, a diehard Cowboys fan, didn't care much about the goings-on of the AFC.  "I just want to play.  The last thing I care about is the AFC East.  I seriously couldn't think of a bigger waste of time than trying to make sure Miami's roster had Chad Pennington in it."  When asked why he would bother to relase Pennington, then, he responded, "Well, you've obviously got to make sure Brett Favre has somewhere to play."