My power brick doesn't get all that hot, and its on a plastic egg crate. I'm on my 3rd copy of Madden... all three do the same thing, so I think its safe to say its hardware.
Proving that to MS however, is hard. They seem to think that if the XBOX is malfunctioning, it always displays the warning lights on either the system or the power brick. Mine stays normal through the freezes with green lights.
I'll try checking out what I have that widescreen thing set at tonight.
Thanks man- worth a shot.
PS: NBA 2K6 is friggin incredible. HIGHLY underrated game. Don't believe Gamespot or IGN, its a total gem.