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Toucher & Rich: Gronkowski Talks Madden Cover, Ankle Injury

BOSTON (CBS) - New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was very excited about the prospect of being on the cover of the new Madden video game.

That is until 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich explained the famous "Madden Curse."

Michael Vick played in just five games when he was on the cover in 2004. Ray Lewis just six games in 2005. Bret Favre and Peyton Hillis had the worst seasons of their career while gracing the video games' cover. It even got to players like Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald.

"I really never thought of it like that. I was just having a little fun with it," he said of a video he made with his brothers earlier this week, campaigning for the cover. "I was just honored to be on it."

Gronkowski is currently going up against Patriots receiver Wes Welker in the early rounds of the Madden cover bracket. If he gets by Welker, he will have 29 other NFL stars to contend with.

"It's such a slim chance of even getting on, there are so many great players I'm going against; great quarterbacks and receivers, it's hard to get on," he said.

In his campaign video, Gronkowski was sitting on a couch with his ankle in a cast. The All Pro tight end is still recovering from surgery he had on his left ankle, which he injured in the AFC Championship game against the Ravens. The injury hampered him in the Patriots Super Bowl XLVI loss to the Giants, but Gronk does not like to talk that, or if he would have would have even seen the field that Sunday if it was a regular season game.

Gronkowski did say he is working his way back though, and hopes to be ready for training camp.

"Usually you're 100-percent in about three months but I'm just taking I day by day," he said of the injury. "I really don't want to predict how long it takes. I just really just go week by week and hopefully within three months I'm ready to go."

"When you have just one leg it's hard to train hard," he said of his rehab. "You do as much as possible; just a little core work, sit ups, push ups. Nothing too big. Just relaxing and getting healthy is the big point so in a few months, a few weeks, I can start training hard. Get back into it, get into the start of things and get ready for training camp."

Gronkowski is also raffling off a chance for fans to attend a Bruins game with him against his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres. The winner gets two tickets to the April 7 game at the TD Garden, dinner with Gronk at Tresca in Boston, and a two night stay in the city. Tickets can be purchased on NetRaffle.org up until March 30, with proceeds going to the Celebrities for Charity Foundation.

While Gronkowski admits he grew up a Sabres fan, he's now a big fan of the Bruins.

"I've hung out with them before at a couple of charity events up in Boston and they all seem like cool guys," he said. "It's going to be a fun time and to a great cause. All the proceeds go to the boys and girls club, cancer, kids in need, just to name a few It's a win-win situation even if you don't win the raffle because you're donating to charity."

Also, what are Gronk's favorite Zumba pants? And what's the percentage of him taking his shirt off while out with friends?

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