#like Griffin has a reputation that he's at least 18 but he's most certainly not

[spotlightstudios]

P101 oc lore ramble beneath the cut!

Sooo Corwin, right?

He was born a pirate, but escaped to Krokotopia after his parents were found doing magic by the Armada and killed. He's been in Krokotopia learning fighting and magic, but I like to think that he was one of the few students of the Balance school who managed to study there, even before the yw recovered the school for Ravenwood.

Leech chose to spread his balance knowledge with the rest of the Spiral, hense why he was caught and imprisoned by the Armada, but after that point he wants nothing to do with them. He just wants to go back home. To Krokotopia.

He studies under Madam Vadima for a few years (he's lurking around when Ryan and Griffin bring in the Wizard they found) but ultimately he realizes he never wanted to be a Witchdoctor. He was a balance wizard.

So, when Ryan and Griffin have hold of Blueflower, the yw, he insists on trailing them in the shadows, and when the yw returns home, he's left to ponder if he should follow them or not.

For now Leech is remaining as a pirate, his ship is pretty well cloaked and he usually only steps in when he needs to, but his plan is to simply find a way to Wizard City and return to his Balance Studies. Unfortunately, the Armada is always in the way of that progress.

[bigyack-com]

Golden Globes Nominations: What to Watch For

Will Netflix dominate with ‘The Irishman’ and ‘Marriage Story’?

LOS ANGELES — It is Netflix’s world. Hollywood just lives in it.When nominations for the 77th Golden Globes are announced Monday morning, Netflix is expected to dominate the film categories to a jaw-dropping degree. The streaming giant has only been a competitor on the film side of the Globes since 2016, when it received a sole nomination for Idris Elba in “Beasts of No Nation.” This time around, handicappers at Gold Derby, an entertainment honors site, predict that Netflix will receive at least 18 nominations in the 11 film categories alone.“The Irishman,” Martin Scorsese’s lavish gangster yarn, and “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach’s unnerving portrait of divorce, will almost certainly receive best drama nominations, with Fernando Meirelles’s Vatican succession dramedy “The Two Popes” possibly taking a third slot. Those Netflix movies and others from the service, including the Eddie Murphy vehicle “Dolemite Is My Name,” are expected to monopolize the actor, supporting actor and screenplay categories.Sprinkle in expected nominations for films from Amazon Prime Video (“The Report,” “Late Night”), and a cascade of TV entries from Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV Plus and possibly even Disney Plus (“The Mandalorian”), and it could be the year that streaming services and their seemingly bottomless checkbooks topple the Hollywood power structure: Out with the old.Or not.The group behind the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has shed some of its reputation for eccentricity, but it still makes calculated choices — spreading nominations far and wide to ensure that every studio boss attends; honoring younger stars in an attempt to boost ratings. Members continue to split their top film prize into two categories, drama and comedy-musical, often in bewildering ways. Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” will compete as a comedy, perhaps landing a nod alongside the Nazi-themed “Jojo Rabbit.” Because what is funnier than the Manson murders and the Holocaust? In another puzzler, especially for an awards contest adjudicated by journalists from overseas, foreign-language films are ineligible for the marquee best-picture categories. So don’t look for much guidance on the Oscar hopes for Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” one of the few bright spots in indie cinema this year ($17.6 million in ticket sales), or “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho’s acclaimed tale of economic inequality ($18.3 million).In truth, the Globes do not predict much. The press association only has about 90 voting members; roughly 9,000 film industry professionals vote on the Academy Awards. The top winning films at the Globes have only gone on to win the Oscar for best picture 50 percent of the time over the last decade. (They matched last year, however. “Green Book” was the big winner at both ceremonies.)NBC will broadcast the Globes on Jan. 5. Organizers decided to bring back the British comedian Ricky Gervais for a fifth time to host. Here are five more things to consider before Globes nominations are unveiled starting at 8 a.m. Eastern time.

The nominations could give films a shot in the arm.

The Globes are mostly coveted as marketing tools. Studio advertising executives will immediately roll out new TV commercials and digital billboards based on the nominations. Multiple nods for Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” could help Sony generate interest in the film’s Christmas Day release in theaters. Ditto for Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” which looks at the bombing at the 1996 Olympics and arrives from Warner Bros. on Friday.As a stop on the road to the Oscars, the Globes could focus fresh attention on Taron Egerton, who seemed like a lock for the best actor race in the first half of the year for his risk-taking performance as Elton John in “Rocketman.” But now that heavy hitters like Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro have entered the fray, he finds himself in the middle of the pack. Similarly, Globe voters could push Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”), Alfre Woodard (“Clemency”) and Lupita Nyong’o (“Us”) deeper into the Oscar conversation.

The male acting races will be competitive.

Ahh, the year of the man. It seems strange given the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.But take a look at this year’s films. The number of notable male performances is rather staggering. Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), De Niro (“The Irishman”) and Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”) are favorites for best actor in a drama, but where does that leave Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”), Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”), Adam Sandler (“Uncut Gems”), Christian Bale (“Ford v Ferrari”) and Paul Walter Hauser (“Richard Jewell”)? Best actor in a comedy or musical is only slightly less competitive. Murphy is a lock for a nomination for his outrageous “Dolemite” performance, as is DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time ��� in Hollywood”). Egerton (“Rocketman”) should nab a nod. Vying for the remaining two slots are Daniel Craig (“Knives Out”), Himesh Patel (“Yesterday”), Shia LaBeouf (“The Peanut Butter Falcon”) and Roman Griffin Davis, the young “Jojo Rabbit” star.

Get ready to scratch your head over the best comedy and best drama categories.

Remember when the press association deemed the Matt Damon stranded-in-space odyssey “The Martian” a comedy? This kind of thing happens when studios try to game the system, submitting films and stars in categories sized up as more winnable. The press association received so much ridicule when “The Martian” was named best comedy in 2016 that members amended the rules to state that “dramas with comedic overtones should be entered as dramas.”That didn’t stop A24 from submitting its jeweler thriller “Uncut Gems” as a comedy this year. The press association bounced it to the drama group. But Sony’s submission of “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” as a comedy was allowed to stand.

A nomination for ‘Cats’ could be a boon for the movie.

“Cats,” set for release by Universal on Dec. 20, should be a shoo-in for best comedy or musical. But the filmmakers have been scrambling to finish the movie … err, make the fur visual effects less traumatic than they were in that infamous trailer. To make the movie eligible for consideration, Universal showed voters a rough version last week.Does the foreign press association go out on a limb and include “Cats” in the (meow) mix? It could certainly boost ratings to have Taylor Swift walking the red carpet, even if she leaves her Bombalurina tail at home. But voters could also be opening themselves up to disparagement.

The TV contenders include Baby Yoda.

The big question in the television categories is whether two new streaming services, Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus, can break into the best drama race.Globes voters have never been very keen on the “Star Wars” franchise, but Disney Plus hit a critical and cultural nerve last month with “The Mandalorian,” which introduced Baby Yoda. Apple’s centerpiece series, “The Morning Show,” received middling reviews from most critics, but there has recently been a backlash to the backlash. The soap, which stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, has a 94 percent approval rating among Rotten Tomatoes users.Globes voters have a habit of falling in love with new shows — they like to be seen as cultural arbiters — but more established series may be impossible to resist. “Succession” wrapped up its rapturously reviewed second season on HBO in October. “Game of Thrones” has never won best drama at the Globes — it has won a record-tying four times at the Emmys — and it will have one final Globes shot this year. “The Crown,” which won best drama at the Globes in 2017 and has adroitly reimagined itself with a new cast, is also a favorite. And don’t count out “Killing Eve,” “Big Little Lies” or “Pose.”On the comedy front, Amazon’s “Fleabag” and its creator and star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, are the heavy favorites. The show already won big at the September Emmys ceremony. Not that many people noticed: the Emmys hit a new ratings low, attracting just 6.9 million viewers. Honoring “Fleabag” would also be a redemption move for Globes voters; last time around they inexplicably named “The Kominsky Method” best comedy.Best actress in a drama is another category to keep an eye on. It could shape up as a battle of the titans: the Oscar winners Olivia Colman (“The Crown”) and Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”), the Emmy winner Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), the singer-actress Zendaya (HBO’s druggie “Euphoria”) and Aniston, who last won a Globe in 2003 for “Friends.”John Koblin contributed reporting from New York. Source link Read the full article

[jodyedgarus]

Zion Williamson Is The Best College Basketball Player In At Least A Decade

Ten games into what will almost certainly be his lone season in Durham, Duke’s Zion Williamson has treated college basketball like a rim on a breakaway. Which is to say, he has left it trembling.

On game days, the anointed freshman effectively has a residency on “SportsCenter,” his highlights the fantasy-come-true of any sports-radio personality or TV show producer. Need to fill time? Just discuss the comical absurdity of an 18-year-old throwing down midgame windmills with ease or opine that he’d be unable to handle the scrutiny if the Cleveland Cavaliers were to select him in the NBA draft.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski shepherded in one of the most heralded recruiting classes of the modern era this summer, an embarrassment of riches featuring the top three prospects in the country. Unsurprisingly, the Blue Devils rank among the top teams in the nation, their lone loss coming against the veteran-laden Gonzaga Bulldogs in Maui. RJ Barrett, the consensus top-ranked player from the 2018 class, leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring. Yet it’s Williamson who most often elicits the shock-and-awe moments that keep Instagram’s highlight-reel accounts fully stocked. It’s Williamson who draws comparisons — again and again and again — to the incomparable LeBron James. It’s Williamson who is appointment television.1

That’s because college basketball has never seen a player like him.

With a 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame, Williamson looks more like a linebacker than he does a forward. The Wall Street Journal, with the help of a university physicist, found that attempting to draw a charge on Williamson is akin to colliding head-on with a Jeep. Among all active players in the NBA, only Boban Marjanovic outweighs him. And at 7-foot-3, Marjanovic is more than half a foot taller than Williamson. The build of the former South Carolina Mr. Basketball is certainly unorthodox.

At Duke’s practice combine, Williamson’s vertical leap exceeded 40 inches. He corrals rebounds and defends the paint with the unadulterated violence of a center, runs the floor with the fluidity of a modern wing, possesses touch with both hands and has a shooting stroke that stretches to the perimeter. Relative to his size, Williamson’s athleticism doesn’t compute. He’s the Refrigerator Perry of the hardwood.

In the one-and-done era of college basketball, Duke is no stranger to dominant freshman — players like Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker and Jayson Tatum. But what Williamson is doing in his first year at this level is downright historic for any player, let alone a freshman.

One way we can assess a player’s contributions to his team is Box Plus/Minus, a metric that estimates the number of points per 100 possessions a player contributes above (or below) average using stats found in the box score. BPM has never seen a college player like Williamson. Among players who qualified for the points per game leaderboard at Sports-Reference.com and appeared in at least 10 games since 2010, the first year for which data for all players is available, Williamson’s mark of +20.4 ranks first among 25,793 individual seasons.

Another way to evaluate a player’s contributions is using player efficiency rating. Williamson’s PER of 41.9 is the best mark by any player who saw action in at least 10 games since 2009, the earliest year for the data.

It happens that Williamson is emerging at a moment in which the NBA is putting a premium on positionless players. A decade ago, Williamson might have been relegated to the post, his skill set withering away against taller opponents on the blocks. However, Krzyzewski doesn’t need to shoehorn Williamson in anywhere; ostensibly, he has free reign to roam the backside of the defense like a safety and run the floor in search of rims to pulverize.

On one of the nation’s deadliest offenses, Williamson is likely the team’s most versatile player, dropping in a team-best 1.18 points per possession,2 according to data provided by Synergy Sports. Because of his size and speed, Williamson has been a nightmare to defend in transition, where he contributes a team-best 1.48 points per possession.3 It doesn’t get any easier for the opposition in the half court, where he ranks in the 91st percentile in scoring.

Fronting Williamson in isolation is a fool’s errand. He pours in 1.31 points per possession in those situations, good enough to rank in the 95th percentile nationally, with an adjusted field-goal percentage of 70 percent. Factor in his uncanny court vision and passing abilities, and the equation gets scarier. On isolation plays that include passes, Williamson is scoring 1.37 points per possession, which ranks in the 96th percentile.

Allow him to find a spot on the interior of the defense, and you’re asking for more problems. Williamson scores a team-best 1.14 points per possession on post-ups, which ranks in the 89th percentile. When the opposing defense doesn’t send an additional defender, Williamson scores a robust 1.44 points per possession, which ranks in the 99th percentile.

Williamson is adept at setting a pick in a pick-and-roll set, but he can also run it. On six pick-and-roll possessions as the ball handler, he scored 10 points.

Defensively, Williamson is more than serviceable. As the primary defender, he allows 0.72 points per possession, which ranks in the 73rd percentile. Duke’s defense has improved considerably from a year ago, when Krzyzewski was so fed up with the team’s performance that he instituted a zone defense. This season, the Blue Devils are playing a zone base on just 3 percent of minutes and rank in the 97th percentile in points allowed per possession. Some of that certainly is attributable to the switchable Williamson, who averages two blocks and two steals per contest.

His numbers already stack up well against the last five players to go No. 1 in the draft — and many draft projections indeed suggest he’ll go first overall.

Zion sure looks like a No. 1 overall pick

How Williamson’s scoring prowess compares with previous top NBA draft picks based on their national percentile rank in points per possession

Points Per Poss. Percentile Draft Player School Overall Off. Transition Half-Court ? Z. Williamson Duke 95% 93% 91% 2018 D. Ayton Arizona 98 93 98 2017 M. Fultz Washington 71 52 70 2016 B. Simmons LSU 80 66 74 2015 K. Towns Kentucky 96 100 94 2014 A. Wiggins Kansas 77 85 68 2013 A. Bennett UNLV 97 93 94 2012 A. Davis Kentucky 99 94 99 2011 K. Irving Duke 99 90 98 2010 J. Wall Kentucky 63 56 48 2009 B. Griffin Oklahoma 94 88 92 2008 D. Rose Memphis 76 62 75 2007 G. Oden Ohio State 88 94 87

Source: Synergy Sports

Williamson is averaging 20.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest, with a true-shooting percentage of 67.5. Only three other players since 1992 have hit those benchmarks, and each was an upperclassmen. And let’s not forget to factor his defense into the comparisons: No player in the past 25 years has averaged 20 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals per contest. But that’s where Williamson is.

At its roots, basketball is a sport largely defined by the exploitation of mismatches. Williamson is a mismatch for virtually every player tasked with defending him, and he’s putting up numbers that haven’t been seen in at least a quarter-century. Williamson garnered a reputation as a high flyer by punishing rims and opponents at the high school level, but his first — and likely only — season at the college level has revealed a more polished game that extends to every area of the court, not just above the rim.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/zion-williamson-is-the-best-college-basketball-player-in-at-least-a-decade/

[buddyrabrahams]

Ranking the 10 best pure shooters in the NBA

There is one bit of ecletic wisdom that has truly stuck with me over the years. Perhaps it is from the Bible. Perhaps it is advice that was given to me by my fifth-grade teacher. Or perhaps I once saw it tattooed on Nick Young’s left arm. In any case however, it is an adage that has helped guide me through times of uncertainty, self-doubt, and offensive stagnancy alike, and it is this: [clears throat for dramatic emphasis] … shooters shoot. Yes, this is the foundational principle upon which I choose to live my life, and here are the NBA players who best embody it in its purest and most unadulterated form.

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference*

10. Jodie Meeks, SG, Washington Wizards

The veteran sharpshooter missed 125 games over the past two seasons due to injury, but let’s not forget what he’s capable of when healthy. Whether he’s hedgehogging around screens or springing free for spot-up opportunities, Meeks changes the geometry of the court as defenses contort to cover him. His reputation has been well-earned. A 2013-14 season where he netted 2.1 treys a night for the LA Lakers on 40.1 percent shooting offered a window into his upside, and it’s only a matter of time before he recovers his pre-injury form now that he is playing with a world-class creator like John Wall in Washington. Blessed is the Meeks, for he shall inherit the earth.

9. Joe Ingles, SF, Utah Jazz

It’s never too early for some Jingles Bells. At least the Jazz certainly don’t think so; they have reaped the benefits this season of Ingles’ team-leading 2.4 threes a game at a 43.7 percent success rate to go along with his supremely underrated passing and ball-handling skills. Sure, the name isn’t sexy. But the southpaw stroke certainly is.

The Australian is putting together quite the follow-up to a 2016-17 campaign where he clocked in fourth in the league in three-point percentage and had All-Star Weekend knocking at his door. Now all that’s left for Ingles to do is to start letting his opponents know just how disrespectful his game really is … oh wait, he’s already got that covered too.

8. Kevin Durant, SF/PF, Golden State Warriors

To many, Durant’s reputation is either that of a scorer, a Twitter troll, or a snake. But his talent as a straight shooting specimen can often be overlooked.

Perhaps it’s the “modest” 38.1 career three-point percentage, but nobody (other than perhaps a certain superstar teammate who we will get into later) strikes as much fear into the intestines of the opposition as Durant does as soon as he crosses halfcourt. And though it’s early, this is shaping up to be the four-time scoring champion’s best season dialing long distance yet (pouring in 2.9 triples a night with 46.7 percent accuracy, both career bests). If aliens invade our planet and they allow us one specific shot from one specific player to salvage our species, give me a Kevin Durant pull-up three from the wing and I’ll see you at the “We Saved The World” parade.

7. Troy Daniels, SG, Phoenix Suns

Daniels may have the least name recognition of anybody on this list, but he still shoots flames out of his fingertips no less. The VCU product catapulted onto the scene with the Charlotte Hornets in 2015-16, posting a league-leading 48.4 percent shooting from deep. For his career, Daniels actually has a higher career conversion rate on three-pointers (40.8) than he does on two-pointers (38.1). He is raising his usual raucous from long-range in Phoenix this season, hitting 3.7 treys per 36 minutes at a 42.6 percent clip. Rumor has it that if you say his name three times fast while staring into a bathroom mirror, Daniels will appear with a bloody basketball and splash a three right in your grill.

6. Luke Babbitt, SF/PF, Atlanta Hawks

Babbitt is the textbook definition of a three-point specialist. He has never averaged more than eight points a contest in a single season, he doesn’t really impact the game as a rebounder or a playmaker, and he often plays defense like he has two left feet. But Babbitt’s left hand is golden, and that’s all that matters. 2017-18 is on track to be the journeyman forward’s fourth-straight season connecting on at least 40 percent of his attempts from distance (topping out at a batty 51.3 percent for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2014-15). That has helped Babbitt produce a higher career three-point percentage than the likes of Ray Allen, Mark Price, and Peja Stojakovic on the all-time list. It’s clear that he has made the most of his lone discernible NBA skill.

5. CJ McCollum, SG, Portland Trail Blazers

The CJ technically stands for Christian James, but it might as well stand for Cash Jumpers. Coming into the league shooting a respectable 37.5 percent on treys as a rookie, McCollum has upped that figure in every single career season since. His 42.1 percent in 2016-17 was ninth-best in the Association, and he has skyrocketed to 52.2 percent through 11 games this year (tops among players with at least 50 three-point attempts). For a guy who regularly flirts with 200 made threes a season and who is just as sugary from the midrange (45.2 percent from 16-24 feet last season), the ex-Most Improved Player McCollum sees dollar signs every time he steps onto the hardwood.

4. JJ Redick, SG, Philadelphia 76ers

I am HERE for Redick’s transition from reviled Duke alum to beloved elder statesman. And to be honest, perhaps the single biggest impetus behind that transition over the last dozen or so years has been the consistency and the accuracy with which he has avalanched in threes during his NBA career. Aging like a fine pinot grigio, the 33-year-old Redick has nailed 44.5 percent of his three-balls over the last four seasons combined. He’s hardly missed a beat whether it’s a Chris Paul-Blake Griffin pick-and-roll that he’s scurrying around on the weak side of or a Ben Simmons-Joel Embiid one. Death, taxes, and JJ Redick making it rain from the perimeter. Case in point.

3. Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors

Klay Thompson is all of our spirit animals for he is everything that is good and right in the sport of basketball. Mind you, it’s not just his off-court escapades: traveling to China and finding ways to more effectively absorb the energies of the universe, suddenly spacing out in interviews as he attempts to discover the upper limits of human consciousness, or otherwise. But it’s also that he has turned the three-point line into his own personal sniper’s nest. Wielding the catch-and-shoot J as his primary weapon of mass reckoning (scoring 11.5 of his 22.3 points per game last year via that avenue for reference), Thompson has submitted seasons of 211, 223, 239, 276, and 268 made threes the last five years running. And here’s the kicker: this season may very well end up being his magnum opus. The three-time All-Star is finding the bottom of the net on 51.4 percent of his overall shot attempts and 47.1 percent of his attempts from deep, hauling his career triple percentage up to a pristine (wait for it) 42.0 percent. At this rate, we may just have to start petitioning for the addition of an eighth day of the week: Klay Day.

2. Kyle Korver, SG, Cleveland Cavaliers

Korver, who is 36 years old and now in Year 15 of his NBA journey, is hardly a legacy pick. Though he is sure to leave behind an immaculate legacy as one of only 20 players in league history to post a career true shooting percentage north of 60 percent (with 11 of those being frontcourt players to boot), King Kyle has maintained his sizzling pace well into his twilight seasons. He has led the NBA in three-point percentage in three of the last four years, and his 47.9 percent on triples through 48 regular season games in Cleveland is easily the best number he has put up for any one of his teams. Yes, scientists love Korver for hardly any player better proves the theory of gravity. Well except for…

1. Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors

Surprise. Who else could it be but the man who turned the sport that Dr. Naismith founded with a peach basket and a stitched-up leather ball in the late 19th century into a nightly display of all-out aerial combat? Yes, Curry has not only achieved the unfathomable, he has normalized it. 400 threes in a season? Piece of cake. 50/40/90 for an entire year with over 11 three-point attempts a night? No problemo. Old NBA record was 12 treys in a single game? Pfffshhhhh, please. At just 29 years old, Chef Curry could retire tomorrow and go down as the greatest shooter in basketball history by leaps and bounds, and nobody knows what he’s gonna be cooking up next. Just sit back and behold the beauty, folks. Cats like this don’t come around too often.

from Larry Brown Sports http://ift.tt/2iRUDT4