Eehh, don't know if it's the same, but with X-Box, you can hook up with LIVE just by using the ethernet cable, then networking it.

i just plugged the "cord" into my ps2 and had it automatically do what ever it needed to do. to work.. and it does.. i dont think i have a router.. y u ask, cuse i have no clue what it is..lololol

A router is just for spitting your internet connection between your PC and your PS2. If you don't want to buy one, just take the ethernet cable out of your PC and plug it into your PS2 network adapter when you want to play online.

Alright I'll explain it to you. If you follow the cord from your cable modem it most likely goes straight into your computer since you say you don't have a router. Your solution for this is to unplug the cord from your computer and plug it into the PS2. Now if you have two computers online in your house then chances are you have a router, you might just not have an open port on it to plug an additional cable.
The reason for this is because high speed internet isn't as simple as say, hooking up a $3 cable splitter and putting cable tv on two tvs. The "splitter" for computers is in fact a router, and depending on where you go you can find them very cheap (as little as 20 bucks). Anyways the way this shit works is everytime your computer, or ps2 in this case needs information online it sends out packets. Without some hardware sorting through these packets, the receiving end would not know what you were requesting, because the sending end would not be sending the packets to the appropriate places.
So without a router, you are going to be forced to take the ethernet cable from your computer, unless your cable modem has two ethernet ports (which I highly doubt) or save up some more cash for a router.

Thanks knowlege. I dont have a job and all of my money comes from babysitting so i cant afford it.

I only have one computer in my house hooked up to comcast. But everytime I plug it from my computer to my ps2 it can never make a connection. So do you know why that's happening to me?

Before you plug it into your PS2...
1. Power Off the cable modem (Unplug from wall)
2. Connet network cable from cable modem to PS2.
3. Wait a minute.
4. Plug in cable modem. Turn on Modem.
5. Wait for all lights to become ready.
6. Power on PS2.