Madden '13 Cover Winner to be Announced Today: Newton or Johnson?

Cleveland Browns fans will not nearly be as emotionally invested in this year's unveiling of the Madden cover as they were last year, but it is still something non-draft-related you can look forward to before getting swarmed with three non-stop days of draft coverage.

SportsNation on ESPN will begin their broadcast regarding the Madden '13 cover starting at 5:00 PM. The voting for the contest does not actually stop until 5:45 PM, so the official winner probably won't be announced until just before 6:00 PM. Both Calvin Johnson and Cameron Newton should have a chance for one last campaign push, and it might actually be a difference maker: according to ESPN's Zack McCann, Newton had a "small but vulnerable" lead as of Tuesday.

Over at Pride of Detroit, the comments that fans are making seem similar to the ones that Browns fans were making last year: "heck with the 'curse' shenanigans, we want the Madden cover for Megatron!" They also feel that Newton is undeserving. The Panthers fans over at Cat Scratch Reader don't seem to mind the Madden curse either, although at least one fan was concerned:

Still do not support this. Guys, every single madden cover athlete had something bad happen to them in the last decade. It amazes me so many of you want him to win. I hope Derek Anderson is getting in a lot of reps.

The Madden curse forcing Derek Anderson to be your team's starting quarterback? Man, that is a curse I wouldn't wish on anybody.