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misterewrites · 5 years

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The Detective and the Crook (Sherlock AU)

Hello everyone, Mr.E here and kinda back from my retirement! I hope you’re all doing good!

Sorry for disappearing like that, I had a lot of things come up and some more personal responsibilities i have to take care of but hopefully I can get back into steadily writing again. Also I apologize if this is a little off because I am rusty but hopefully you still enjoy it.

So this is a birthday gift I owe someone and I really hope they like it. They asked me for a sherlock au and I decided to go with the guy Ritchie movie series the one where Robery Downey Jr. is Sherlock. I really enjoy those movies and I feel it is a great balance mystery and action.

In this AU, set in the 1800s like the movie and the books, Marco is naturally Sherlock with his Waston being Janna because that felt like a fun dynamic I wanted to explore. They’re called in to investigate a crime scene and Marco suspects there’s more to it than meets the eye. Yes Star is Irene Alder because I could not resist.

Warnings! There is a crime scene, suspected suicide. Very tame scene, not graphic but still giving a warning just in case. There is cussing because they’re all in their mid-20s but I think that’s about it.

Well I hope my friend enjoys this gift. I am so sorry it took so long and I hope you had a great birthday. Thank you all for reading it, please let me know what you think if you enjoyed it and I hope you all have a great week! See you all soon with another story!

A thin misty veil of fog blanketed the city of Echo Creek as the frosty winter air kept most of its residents within the cozy confines of their homes. Only the unfortunate and determined would dare to brave such a chilly morning.

“What kind mad loon commits crimes during the winter?” Janna asked with a hint of annoyance, tucking her uncovered fingers within her gloved palms “And in the morning no less! It’s been scientifically proven that the winter mornings are psychologically bull.”

“And I suppose your source for this scientific research is the University Of Janna says?” Marco replied sarcastically.

“We both know I’m not going to answer that.”

“You know when I told you the Yard called that they had found a body this morning and that they requested my...”

“Our” Janna corrected, rubbing her hands for warmth.

“...our services, it was greatly implied they meant right away. Hence the whole walking towards the crime scene now. Why on earth did you cut off the tips of your gloves if you knew it was going to be cold out?”

Janna scratched her chin thoughtfully for a moment “I like being fashionable and let me tell you fingerless gloves are going to be huge. Wait and see.”

“I’ll take being warm over being fashionable”

Janna scoffed with a roll of her eyes “And that’s why you’re boring safe kid.”

The pair’s footsteps echoed dully against the thick foggy air with towering, massive warehouses on one side and the murky ocean on the other.

Marco was sensibly dressed for the weather: A large thick travel coat hung over his frame with his finely pressed black dress pants and slightly muddied loafers scraping across the ground with his white collared shirt tucked underneath the layers.

Janna was not as prepared as her partner: Though a green scarf was wrapped snugly around her neck to keep it warm, her dark blue dress jacket, green blouse and knee length yellow skirt did not help. The black ‘fingerless’ gloves were equally ineffective for warmth and her dirtied, frayed riding boots thudded loudly against the cobbled streets. And in true Janna fashion, the cap she had stole from an unsuspecting paper boy sat unevenly on her head.

“So what are we looking today?” Janna asked quizzically, unable to handle the silence for another moment.

“Someone jumped from their office building.” Marco answered matter of fact.

“Uggggggggh then why are we here?!”

“We both know the police have less than an unbiased eye for these types of matters. I simply wanted to confirm their claims.”

“And you couldn’t do it by yourself? I could be wrapped up nice and snug as bug in my bed right now.’

“Shouldn’t you be studying for your final exam?”

Janna fidgeted nervously “I...well it’s on the 5th so I have time.”

Marco’s stare was completely deadpanned “Today’s the 3rd Janna”

“Ah shit.”

Marco shook his head tiredly as the pair reached their destination.

It was a secluded building surrounded by thick, lofty brick walls clearly meant to keep people out, the floor was muddy from the moist ocean air with the squish of dozens of police boots bustling this way and that filling the air. In the center, surrounded by cracked wood and shattered glass was a man, arms outstretched and unmoving, the earth underneath soaked a dark red.

“I suppose that’s our bloke huh?” Janna chimed “Rather peaceful scene. Was expecting more gore, more grisly. Nice change of pace speaking honestly.”’

“I just cleaned these loafers” Marco whined quietly, trying to shake the mud from his feet.

“Oi!” a nearby police officer shouted “Show some respect for the dead!”

“I do!” Janna shot back “Especially more so than you fine folks. Messed up any more crime scenes McNab?”

The officer shifted uneasily before quickly making his escape.

“Mhm, that’s what I thought”

“Janna, stop picking on the police.”

“I will if you don’t.”

The two chuckled softly as a familiar person approached.

“Marco!” Detective Ferguson yelled with unrestrained glee “JANNA BANANA!”

“Don’t call me that” Janna murmured.

“I’m glad ya’ll had the time to come down here though I’m afraid it might be for nothing.”

“Always happy to help you Ferg.” Marco shook his best friend’s hand “More so than the other yard’s detectives.”

“I’ll count myself lucky and show you to the vic.”

The trio trudged through the thick mud over to the lifeless corpse laid across the random debris.

“What happened?”

“Well” Ferguson scratched his neck “Some random bloke on the street saw the guy laying here and figured he was drunk. Called us right away. His name is Andrew Willingham. Accountant that works for building we are currently standing in front of. We don’t have much to go on given that we haven’t been here long. So far we gathered he tossed himself out the 5th story window. Must’ve been stress or something.”

Marco pursed his lips, his instincts screaming at him that there was more here than seemed.

“Mind if I check the body?” Janna piped up.

“Got your medical license yet?” Ferguson cheekily responded.

“My test is in two days….” Janna mumbled darkly.

“Then officially you know I’m not allowed. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to go for a walk. A loooooong walk.” and with a wink, Ferguson strolled away, whistling unusually loud.

Janna and Marco sighed in unison.

“Could he be any more obvious?”

“Of course he could, he’s Ferguson.”

“What do you think?” Janna muttered softly as she began to circle the corpse carefully.

Marco stretched his arms towards the sky, mumbling under his breath “I suspect foul play. I’ve been investigating this company. There’s been some known associates of various crime lords visiting this location lately.”

“Fuuuuuuuuun and already proven correct. Ugh, it’s so annoying.”

Marco watched the scattered police cautiously “What is it?”

“Bruises on the knuckles.” Janna cracked her neck “So unless he’s a bare knuckle boxer….”

“Impossible. With his build, he’d lose. Consistently”

Janna rolled her eyes “Obviously captain. Probably was assaulted before thrown out the window. Fought back but lost.” Janna frowned at the body “Well clearly.”

Marco opened his mouth to respond when another, unfriendly voice cut in

“What are you two doing?”

A random officer approached the two, eyes narrowed in suspicious irritation.

“Hello officer!” Marco gave a cheerful wave “I am sure you know who we are. I am Mr. Diaz and this is….”

“Like you said, I know.” The officer gritted his teeth “And I am afraid civilians aren’t allowed in crime scenes.”

“Detective Ferguson...”

“Is not here” The officer crossed his arm threateningly “And when he comes back, I’ll be happy to let him know where you’ve gone.”

“Oi! What’s going on here?”

The trio’s attention snapped towards Ferguson madly rushing their way.

“What seems to be the..” Ferguson huffed, his breathing heavy as he doubled over “Oh boy. That….mud...very hard to walk across….”

“Detective” The officer started “I know Mr. Diaz is a friend but regulations...”

Marco gave a loud sneeze, causing the two officers to jump in surprise.

“I am very sorry I...” Marco let loose another sneeze “Oh, I guess I’m allergic to something here.”

“You have allergies?” Ferguson asked quizzically.

Marco nodded before sneezing once more “I...I think I should go.”

“Okaaaaay” Ferguson nodded slowly “I hope you feel better? I’ll let you know if we find anything else out.”

Marco wiped at his nose with his coat sleeve “Thank you Ferg. Janna?”

Janna snapped to attention mockingly “Coming boss man!”

Marco ignored the glare of the peeved officer as he and Janna made their way out of the murky courtyard.

_____________________________________________________________

The pair walked in a careful silence until they were sure the police were out of earshot.

“What did you find?” Marco asked nonchalantly.

Janna reached into her pocket and brought out an elegant pin: It was a beautiful, well crafted butterfly shaped pin inlaid with varying shades of blue gems.

“A blue butterfly pin. Fine piece of jewelry, worth a pretty pound.” Janna answered with a hint of boredom “It was tucked inside his jacket pocket. Good call on checking his clothing. Should we tell the bobbies?”

Marco shook his head “No. I’m afraid this is beyond their reach. I think the man that called it in was involved somehow though I doubt he was the murderer.”

A brief tense silence.

“Do you think she’s involved? It’s not really her cup of tea offing random, supposed criminal accountants.”

Marco bit his cheek anxiously “No. I don’t think she murdered him but I believe he knew her. I suspect he’s part of the same organization as Star. The pin is most likely a subtle way for the members to reveal their identities to one another in public. I’ve seen this pin on her person and its general shape and color seems to indicate it was custom made.”

Janna let out a sigh of relief “Oh thank the queen. Not going lie, I was going to be very disappointed in her if she started offing random blokes.” Janna paused “I mean innocent blokes. Well...presumably innocent blokes. Seriously, can you figure out if he’s a crook or not? I don’t like feeling conflicted. Morality is annoying.”

“We need to find her.”

“Because you want to see her ooooor she’s a target?”

Marco coughed, tugging at his collar nervously.

Janna snickered “You could’ve just said both. Both is good. I miss her too.”

“I do not miss her” Marco firmly growled.

“And how bout those pictures of her you have hanging on the wall? Oh I’m sorry, your case board.”

“You never know when the police...might want to reexamine her case and….I just wanted to be prepared. She is a rather tricky criminal.”

“Mhm” Janna smirked mischievously “You know where she is, don’t you?”

Marco flushed a bright red, coughing coolly “No….but I know where she will be.”

“Awesome!” Jana beamed cheerfully.

_______________________________________________________________

“Oh bloody hell” Janna pouted, openly glaring at the rundown state of pub that towered before them “You couldn’t have told me we were coming to this shitehole? I lost money here. Repeatedly.”

Marco ignored his partner’s whining “Perhaps you should stop gambling on games of chance.”

“Perhaps you should mind your own business.” Janna huffed “Ugh, are you sure she’s here? Maybe she’s round at the nice corner store. I should go check it...”

Janna frowned as Marco held the back of her coat tightly.

“Fine fine safe kid but I want the record to show I protest this whole adventure.”

“Mhm”

“I mean it Marco. I want a voucher” Janna gestured threateningly as the duo began making their way towards the building “One adventure where I get to stay home and do nothing.”

“Let’s get this over with Janna. You have a test to study for.”

“Oh shut up” Janna snarled, angrily pulling the bar door open.

The detectives flinched as the silence of night was broken: Cheers of triumphant joy and sorrowful cries filled the air. The smell of cheap alcohol and thick smoke wafted all around them as an unbearable heat engulfed the pair.

“Open a damn window!” Janna shouted into the crowd, waving the smoke away from her face.

“Go outside if you don’t like it.” A cigar smoking patron answered from a nearby table.

Janna shook her head “That’s going kill you. Painfully.”

The patron made an obscene gesture before returning to his drink.

Janna growled furiously, clenching her fist in righteous fury.

“Janna” Marco stepped between his friend and her victim “Janna, he’s drunk. He’s not worth it.”

She gritted her teeth “Just once. Just once and I’ll be good.”

“Janna, we’re here on a mission.”

“You suck” Janna grumbled, adjusting the cap on her head “I need a drink….”

And with a sudden turn, Janna stomped her way over to a waiting bartender.

“Don’t forget why we’re here!” Marco yelled after only to have his partner respond with a lazy wave.

Marco sighed tiredly, his gaze searching for the elusive trickster Star among the drunken patrons.

No, not Star. Don’t use her name. If he uses her name, that humanizes her and he was here on a case. He was not here to see her. He was here to question a suspect and nothing more. Not at all. Nothing beyond that. Why was his heart racing? There was no need to be nervous. None whatsoever. It was just….Star. Her.

Marco jumped at the soft tap of his shoulder. He whirled around with his fist closed, his stance guarded from the interruption of his thoughts.

He was expecting some sort of muscular goon or drunk trying to stir up trouble. What he found was a barmaid with a tray in one hand and a smug knowing grin on her lips.

“Looking for a fight darling?” She teased.

Marco flushed, dropping his hands to his sides “N-no. Sorry, I was..distracted. “

“I bet” she gave a flirty wink “Can I get you anything?”

Marco narrowed his eyes “No though I suspect you have for me.”

The barmaid’s grin widened as her voice dropped to a whisper “She’s waiting for you. Upstairs in the office. It’s the room just above the bar love.”

Before Marco could ask any further questions, the barmaid gave a cheeky grin and giggled joyfully before vanishing into a thick crowd of customers.

“Of course….”

________________________________________________________________

Marco took a deep breath, his nerves further frayed and on edge as he stood on the second floor landing. The rowdy shouts and cries of the bar below could be scarcely heard over the thundering of his footsteps in his ears, each step he took brought him closer to the office door across the way. Marco noticed Janna giving a hearty laugh at the counter, playfully nudging a sailor before making her way towards card game in the back.

Marco felt oddly exposed making his way across the second floor. He told himself it was due to being in such a vulnerable location: Everyone below had an excellent unobstructed line of sight to the detective with little to no cover if someone decided to take a shot at him even though none had any reason to suspect who he was.

Of course that’s only what he thought. With each step his heart raced more, the idea of seeing Star tugged at his heartstrings and morals.

Marco gulped anxiously, gently running his fingers across the weathered, ancient door that separated the outlaw and himself.

He took a deep breath, gripping the doorknob firmly for a moment….two….three before he steeled his nerves and quietly pushed open the door in hopes of catching Star unaware.

“My heart is pierced by cupid”

Marco flushed, pausing as Star’s voice caught him off guard instead. It was sweet and soft with a gentleness she hardly spoke with.

“I disdain all glittering gold”

The floor creaked under her steps, back and forth in time almost as if she was dancing with someone but he could hear no other person in the room and Star never sang while there was an audience.

“There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.”

Marco knew there was no point in waiting. Either she had taken a moment to relax before his arrival or, more likely, knew he was listening. He entered the room, eyes downcast as to avoid Star’s Cheshire gaze. He closed the door behind him with a subdued thud.

“Okay” Marco thought to himself “Let’s get this over with”

Marco’s cheeks burned a bright red as he slowly took in the sight of Star.

She was as beautiful as the last time she escaped from him: Her long blonde hair tied in a braid slung over her shoulder with various colored flowers weaved within. She wore a brown long sleeved blouse with matching fingerless gloves holding tightly onto some invisible partner. Her skirt was not the current bell shaped dresses most woman preferred nowadays but rather a slim, knee length skirt that seemed rather practical. And of course, in true Star fashion, weathered yet well kept riding boots completed the outfit.

Her blue irises were hidden behind her closed eyes, her body swaying back and forth to some unheard music. She hummed softly, a melodic sound Marco could’ve listened all day if he were a weaker willed man.

He coughed hesitantly.

Star’s eyes slowly opened, blue meeting brown as a soft warm smile danced on her lips.

“Good evening my sailor bold.” She spoke sweetly “Which storm are you chasing today?”

Marco stayed still, ignoring Star gestures to sit.

“This isn’t a social visit Star.” Marco struggled to keep his voice neutral.

“It never is” Star responded sarcastically “Always business with you. Why can’t you ever come just to see me?”

“If you found a permanent residence I’d visit more often. I think the local jail is very lovely. Perfect for you.”

Star chuckled, an intoxicating sound to his ears.

“How’s our Janna? I heard she’s been going on the straight and narrow now.”

“Good” Marco played with a random globe on Star’s desk “She’s almost a real doctor now. Her medical exam is in two days. I think she’ll pass with flying colors but don’t tell her that. Pride is quite the sin.”

Star beamed proudly “I am so happy for her. Please pass along my congratulations, will you sweetie?”

Marco answered by clearing his throat.

“Marco, Marco, Marco” Star sighed tiredly “Enough flirting. Why are you here?”

Marco strolled across the room, glancing at everything that wasn’t Star.

“Andrew Willingham. You know him.”

It wasn’t a question.

Star’s grin faltered for a moment “He’s dead isn’t he?”

“Jumped out of a building this morning.”

Star scoffed “Like you really believe that.”

“We both know I wouldn’t be here if I did.”

Marco made his way to the window, staring at the busy street below.

“And what?” Star put her hands on her hips “You think I killed him? For shaaaaame Marco. You know me better than that. Or at least I thought you did.”

Marco rolled his eyes “I don’t think you killed him but I believe the murderer is coming for you next.”

Star looked unconvinced “I run with a very secretive and, frankly, shadowy organization love. I haven’t done anything...” Star pursed her lips “Lately to anyone. Who would want to kill me?”

“How many of you are in town?”

Star scratched her chin thoughtfully “If Andy’s dead, then just me but that hardly seems like any sort of proof that I’m in.….”

Creak.

The roof groaned unhappily as bits of dust fell from the ceiling, the building shudder slightly while the wind howled outside.

Marco and Star stared at one another in understanding.

Star moaned unhappily “That’s not the building settling, is it?”

Marco shook his head.

Star glared openly at the detective “I hate it when you’re right.”

Silence.

CRACK!

The window shattered, glass scattering everywhere as a dark robed figure sailed into the room, knife drawn. He lunged directly at Star, his blade glimmering in the soft light of the room.

But his attack struck air as Marco pulled Star closer, wrapping her in a protective embrace.

“Woooow, we are bold today aren’t we Mr. Diaz?” Star teased.

“Not now Star!” Marco shot back, cheeks tinged pink.

The assassin skidded the across the floor, gracefully raising to his feet before pivoting on and charging at his targets.

Star slipped her hand into Marco’s, trying to ignore her skipping heartbeat when Marco firmly held her waist.

The assassin slashed wildly, striking with a finesse only a master of their craft could muster.

The assailant’s single minded pursuit was mired with confusion as the two did not assume any defensive stances to fight off his assault but rather began swaying back and forth, their feet gliding effortlessly across the aged wooden floor as if in a dance.

He thrust forward, tumbling forward when Marco spun Star, gracefully twirling the thief out of harms way. The assassin whirled around, attempting to slash the detective but Marco dipped his partner and as Star fell backwards in Marco’s arms, her leg shot up and caught the assassin in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards.

“This reminds of Paris.” Star grinned slyly as Marco brought her back to her feet

“You and I remember Paris quite differently Star.” Marco shot back, spinning her away from their foe’s lunge.

The assassin roared with a savage fury and plunged his blade towards the couple but with a gentle shove, Star broke away from Marco, dropping into a respectful bow before glancing upwards towards the detective.

“Could you…?” Star gestured towards the assassin.

“Right.” Marco awkwardly nodded in agreement before giving Star a steely glare “Don’t go anywhere.”

Star gives a cheeky grin “Would’ve dream of it love.”

Marco rushes forward, grabbing the assassin’s shoulder but before he could react, the assassin lashed out, elbowing the unprepared Marco.

Marco staggers to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade as it scrapes across the wall. Marco jabs at the assassin, his fist connecting with his chin.

The assassin staggers back, weapon and hand wildly flailing to keep Marco at a distance.

“Who do you work for?” Marco yelled, not really expecting an answer.

“Death” The assassin mumbles darkly.

“Such a bloody edgelord” Marco clicked his tongue in disappointment.

The assassin lunges at Marco, hand reaching for his throat. Marco grabs at the man’s wrist but the assassin throws his weight forward, knocking Marco off balance. Marco stumbles uneasily as the assassin goes in for the kill.

Marco tackles into his opponent, slamming him into the bookcase. The assassin winces in pain, kneeing Marco in the stomach before shoving him away.

The two caught their breath for a moment, the falling books thudding loudly onto the floor.

The assassin yells with a hope of startling Marco. He swings with crazed fervor: Left right, thrusting forward.

Marco dodges and weaves the blade, hopping side to side to avoid the weapon. The assassin rushes at him, trying to drive the blade into his chest.

Marco flails for a moment, not used to facing such a skilled opponent.

The assassin smashes into Marco and sends him sprawling onto the desk. With a confident grin, he raises the blade high before bringing it down with all his might.

Marco reaches for the closest thing he could find and uses it as a desperate shield. The blade sinks into a leather bound book he grabbed. Marco winces at the force of the blow, sweat beads forming on his neck as he struggles to fight off the assassin.

“Soooo love.”

Marco frowns, glancing towards to door, not at all surprised to see Star giving him a cheery wave.

“You got this right?” Star asked hopefully.

“Don’t go anywhere STAR!” Marco shouted, wildly kicking at the befuddled assassin.

“Right! I’ll get Janna”

“STAR!”

But it was too late. She vanished beyond the doorframe.

“Ugh” Marco growled, shifting his focus back onto the problem at hand.

The assassin snarled furiously: He yanks back with all his might, pulling the book free from Marco’s grasp. Marco sits up but the assassin is ready for him. He strikes at Marco’s stomach with an open palm, knocking all the air out of his lungs.

Marco gasps in a panic but the assassin doesn’t go for the kill. Instead he rips his blade from the book and races for the door.

There’s a loud thud that no one hears as the assassin kicks open the door. His eyes narrow at the sight of the fleeing Star. He grins to himself, gingerly holding the edge of his blade. His arm pulls back, his gaze focused solely on his target’s back. He takes a deep, calming breath and….

“Shit!” The assassin howls as his blade his knocked out of his hand by a book. He turns around in time to see a charging Marco.

He pulls his fist back but its too late: Marco slams into him, pressing him against the second floor railing and holding him place.

The assassin grabs at Marco but Marco lays into him, driving his fist into the assassin’s side over and over again.

The sounds of the bar are overwhelming though it doesn’t seem like anyone has noticed the two combatant fighting directly above them.

“Janna!” Marco shouts, flinching as the assassin knees his side but still managing to keep his hold on him “JANNA!”

Janna chuckles, swaying drunkenly as she yells in victory, hastily collecting her winnings from the disgruntled losers.

“JANNA!” Marco tries again.

The assassin jabs at Marco’s side, nearly getting free but Marco slams him against the railing again.

“DAMNIT JANNA YOU SUCK!”

Janna’s head snaps towards the source of the insult, her dull eyes slowly growing in realization.

“Ah shit!” she exclaims, raising to her feet “Da hell going on brav?”

“Janna, Star!” Marco gestured with his head towards the fleeing Star.

“Right” Janna gave an intoxicated salute.

“Oi” One of the players stood up “Sit back down. I wanna win my cash back.”

“Srroy.” Janna slurred “But I gotta go. Duty calls.”

“You ain’t going nowhere till I win back my money. Now sit.”

“No man” Janna glared “You sit”

Before anyone could react, Janna grabbed her winnings and tossed them into the air. There was a pause for a moment as the bills rained down across the bar.

“MINE!” A cry called out from nowhere, breaking the spellbound customers of their stupor and sending them frantically towards the fallen cash.

Janna shook her head disappointingly “So weak willed….right Star? Star….gotta stop Star...” Janna scratched her chin, glancing left and right in search of the elusive criminal.

Meanwhile, the assassin strikes furiously at Marco, each blow attempting to break his grip on him but Marco holds fast, blocking where he could and simply taking the less painful attacks.

“Tell me who you work for!” Marco shouted, pulling the assassin closer by his collar

“I’m a professional!” The assassin screeched before headbutting Marco.

Marco winced, stumbling backwards and loosening his grip on the assassin.

The assassin reached into his pocket, drawing another dagger as he straightened up.

“Ugh, of course you would have another one.” Marco gritted his teeth through the pain.

“Professionalism.” The assassin sneered as he moved his blade back and forth.

“Okay” Marco thought to himself “This is bad. Close range, nowhere to move with my opponent has a dagger, about 4 inches. Maybe if I retreated back into the room and get more space, I could fight him off. He’ll lunge at me and it’ll be the only shot I have to dodge him. Okay, I got this. Just wait for an opening and….”

The assassin took a step forward, prepping himself for his attack when….

A sharp whistle cut through the brawling symphony below, causing the assassin to flinch in surprise.

He turned in time to catch a frying pan directly to the face. He flailed uncontrollably, backing up against the wooden railing for support.

“What the…?” He growled, noticing a grinning Star waving at him with the kitchen utensil before pointing to the left.

Confused, the assassin followed the direction and found Marco racing at him full speed. He rose his arms to protect himself but it was too late: Marco tackled into him, cracking the railing behind him and sent him plunging to the room below. There was a thud and the sound of wood crunching as the assassin broke through a table.

“Nice of you to come back” Marco huffed, leaning on his knees for support.

“What? I needed a weapon.” Star motioned the pan in her hand.

“Star….I...”

Screams and the breaking of glass caught Marco’s attention. The two glanced downward only to find the assassin nowhere in sight.

Marco and Star shared a concerned glance before sighing tiredly.

________________________________________________________________

“3 minutes to boarding! 3 minutes to boarding!”

Marco shifted uneasily alongside the train car, conflicting emotions tugging at his resolve.

Since the unknown assassin had escaped into the night, Star felt it best to leave Echo Creek until the threat died down.

The trio stood outside the waiting train, the star twinkling over head. The train platform was nearly deserted though Marco kept a careful eye out in case their assailant decided to trail them from the bar.

“It was nice seeing you again Star.” Janna hiccuped, rubbing at the splitting headache she was nursing.

“Aww, it was great to see you too Janna Banana. You’re going do great on the test and you are finally going to be a real doctor.”

“Legal doctor” Janna corrected, smiling brightly at the blonde before tightly embracing her in a hug “Be safe.”

“Only for you.”

The two broke apart, Janna standing awkwardly between the detective and the outlaw.

She coughed uncomfortably “Right, I’m just gonna go….not be here.”

And with a cheery wave, Janna walked towards the station entrance.

“So...” Marco began

“Thank you” Star said with a loving softness “You still owe me two.”

“Two?” Marco scoffed “You owe me for Paris.”

“You owe me for Washington.”

“No, you caused Washington. I helped clean that up so really you owe me two.”

Star smiled playfully at him “Fine. I owe you two my sailor bold.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Marco whispered, unable to keep the plea out of his voice.

Star cupped and caressed his cheek fondly “Marco, I know you’ll keep me safe but it’ll be easier if I go away for awhile. Besides, you’ll know where I am. You always do.”

“Yeah….”

Star leaned forward, kissing Marco with softly Marco wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

“Train leaving the station! All aboard!”

The two parted slowly, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.

“Goodbye my sailor bold.” Star grinned mischievously.

“Goodbye princess.” Marco smiled sorrowfully.

Marco stood there in silence, watching the train shrink into the distance.

“So...” Janna cleared her throat “You ready to go home?”

Marco gave a simple nod before following Janna back onto the street.

“It’s too bad Star didn’t give you any leads to anyone who might want her dead. Would’ve been helpful”

“Right. Helpful.” Marco reached into his coat pocket, unsurprised to find a certain item missing from within and instead finding a small folded up piece of paper Star had placed there. He unfolded it, eyes narrowing at the word that she scrawled across its surface.

Toffee.

A lead but a dangerous one.

________________________________________________________________

“Excuse me miss, may I see your identification please?” The usher asked politely.

“Of course!” Star beamed, passing both her ticket and the false identity card she swiped from Marco’s pocket “I’m sorry, I was just deep in thought. I’m about to spend some time away from my husband and I already miss him.”

“Oh” The usher shifted uncomfortably “I’m sorry to hear that...” He squints at the card “…. Mrs. Diaz. I hope you see him soon.”

Star’s cheek flushed as she took back the card, her heart skipping at the sight of Star Diaz written on the paper.

“Me too.”

She sighed longingly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the item Marco had snuck in. She smiles gently at the simple sliver wedding band with a note that said “For your disguise.”

She slipped the ring onto her finger, playing with it absentmindedly as she stare out the window, Echo Creek shrinking in the distance.

“Me too.”

#Star vs au #Sherlock AU

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auskultu · 7 years

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The Ten Best Films of 1967

Bosley Crowther, The New York Times, 24 December 1967

THIS was the year in which Hollywood—or the home-grown film, if you please—made a remarkable emergence from the shadow of eclipse into which it had been cast by foreign imports and the weakness of its own energies in the past several years. Suddenly, against a record that showed a consistent decline in numerical representation since 1961, the Hollywood moviemakers have landed on my “10 best" list this year with no less than four solid entries, and with a respectable sprinkling on the honorable mention list.

Unstinting credit for this rebound to critical respectability must be given to those producers and directors who have finally responded to the cry for pregnant themes in the contemporary span of social tensions, rather than drift with a flat escapist tide. But it must also be acknowledged that a certain lessening was evident this year in the quality of foreign-language pictures, punctuated only by the emergence of individual, isolated surprises from young directors scattered from Sweden to Spain.

This was a year marked by ugly explosions of violence and sadism in many films, much of it meritricious and generated merely to shock. There are some elements of violence in films on the forthcoming list. But they are artfully restrained and developed to make valid and socially meaningful points. I am happy to conclude that the entries on this last year-end balance that I’ll draw up are as brilliant in their way and as impressive as those on the first I ever did.

So here they are, put down in the order in which they opened in New York:

La Guerre Est Finie (The War Is Over), screenplay by Jorge Semprun; directed by Alain Resnais; produced by Sofracime of Paris and Eu-ropa-Film of Stockholm; released by Brandon Films. This reflection of two days in the life of an aging Spanish left-wing agitator on a secret trip to Paris to visit his mistress and make contact with the Communist leaders there embraces a complex of emotions, memories, loyalties, and is ono of the finest comprehensions of growing old in today’s world yet filmed. Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin and Genevieve Bujold play it beautifully.

Ulysses, screenplay by Joseph Strick and Fred Haines, based on the novel by James Joyce; directed by Mr. Strick; a Walter Reade, Jr.-Joseph Strick Production, released by Continental. A faithful and brilliant screen translation of Joyce’s classic novel, done with taste, imagination and cinema artistry. Most notable and commendable are the candor and clarity with which Joyce’s ribald language and erotic images are presented to achieve understanding and the rhythm and ring of poetry. Maurice Roeves as Stephen Dedalus, Milo O’Shea as Leopold Bloom and Barbara Jefford as his wife, Molly, are superior in an excellent cast.

The Hunt, screenplay by Angelino Fons and Carlos Saura; directed by Mr. Saura; an Elias Querejeta Production, released by Trans-Lux. In this brilliantly expanding drama of four men on a seemingly innocent rabbit-hunting trip in a barren area fought over in the Spanish Civil War, Mr. Saura vividly presents us with a bitter and horrifying expose of the spiritual poverty and frustration of middle-aged men who were involved in that war—on the side of the Falangists. One of the rare Spanish films released here, it acquaints us with a strong young directorial talent and new, bold spirit in Spain.

In the Heat of the Night, screenplay by Stirling Silli-phant, based on the novel by John Ball; directed by Norman Jewison; produced by Waller Mirisch of the Mirisch Company for United Artists. The hot surge of racial hate and tension as it has been displayed in many communities this year is fictionally isolated and put forth with realism and point in this strong drama of a Northern Negro detective up against a mystifying murder and an antagonistic white sheriff in the South. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger give Oscar-worthy performances.

Father, screenplay by Istvan Szabo; directed by Mr. Szabo and produced by Ma-film Studio III of Budapest, Hungary; released by Continental. Again, an exciting creation from a fresh talent on the European scene is manifest in this study of a young Hungarian's heroic fantasies of his dead father, wherein are reflected his emotional insecurity and his need for a sense of heritage in a changing world. Fine performances by several young people and a fluid, forceful cinematic style distinguish what might be considered a significant achievement of a Hungarian “new wave.”

Elvira Madigan, screenplay by Bo Widerberg; directed by Mr. Widerberg, and produced by Janco/Europa Film; released by Cinema V. A new, young Swedish director swims impressively into our ken with this pictorially exquisite and dramatically absorbing story of a pathetically doomed love affair between a young married Swedish cavalry officer and a beautiful circus girl, all in the serene long ago. Thommy Berggren and Pia Degermark fairly break one’s heart in the principal roles. The creative use of color and of Mozart’s music is memorable.

Closely Watched Trains, screenplay by Bohumil Hrabal and Jiri Menzel, based on a story by Mr. Hrabal; directed by'Mr. Menzel, and produced by Film Studio Bar-randov of Prague, Czechoslovakia; a Sigma III release. In the naturalistic tradition of several recent fine Czechoslovak films, this humorous, revealing and poignant drama of a hopeful, immature young railway-station attendant at a country station in World War II is richly cinematic and full of humanity and tenderness. Vaclav Neckar as the young hero and Jitka Bendova as an older attendant are delightful in a fine cast.

Cool Hand Luke, screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank R. Pierson, based on a novel by Mr. Pearce; directed by Stuart Rosenberg, and produced by Gordon Carroll for Warner Brothers-Seven Arts. This tough convict-camp melodrama about a cryptic, alienated young chap, caught between the heroization of his fellow prisoners and the ruthless deflating of the guards, is a good, solid chunk of raw meat, cinematically and otherwise, in a year in which films of brutality and violence have too often been overdone. Paul Newman as the hero, George Kennedy as a fellow con and Jo Van Fleet in a small role do especially well.

In Cold Blood, screenplay by Richard Brooks, based on the novel by Truman Capote; directed and produced by Mr. Brooks for Columbia. Here, in this starkly realistic and electrifyingly illuminating film, based on the classic in-depth study of an actual Kansas quadruple murder case, Mr. Brooks brilliantly provides us with a comprehension beyond the scope of this one case of the harrowing hazard of random crime and senseless violence in our communities. Excellent performances by two comparative newcomers, Scott Wilson and Robert Blake, in the roles of the neurotic killers, and a strong, expressive musical-sound score by Quincy Jones are among the several Oscar-worthy efforts in this film.

The Graduate, screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, based on a novel by Charles Webb; directed by Mike Nichols, and produced by Lawrence Turman for Embassy Pictures. This sharply incisive and funny picture about the social and amorous problems of a young man fresh out of college is thematically and cinematically one of the best American social satires that has come along in years, and it offers in the title role a new young actor, Dustin Hoffman, who is nothing short of superb. Anne Bancroft as a restless older woman and Katharine Ross as her daughter also shine.

There are my ”10 best” selections. But I would like, as I did last year, to note several films that were contenders for places on this list. They may be classed as Honorable Mentions, with no gradation among them—and here they are:

Persona — Ingmar Bergman’s superb, disturbing study of a clashing dual personality, beautifully played by Bibi Andersson and Liv Uilmann.

Marat/Sade — A brilliant cinematic enactment of the powerful Peter Weiss stage play about insanity and revolution, directed by Peter Brook.

The War Game — A hypothetical study, done in tele-vision-documentary style, of a nuclear bombing of Britain, directed by Peter Watkins.

Up the Down Staircase — The “blackboard jungle” broadened, with particular emphasis upon the devotion of a new high school teacher, played exceedingly well by Sandy Dennis.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner — A delightful, icebreaking drawing-room comedy about mixed marriage, charmingly played—and talked—by Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier.

The Battle of Algiers — Here is a scorching example of the old reenacted documentary-type film, directed with new vitality by Gillo Pontecorvo and played by a first-rate cast.

Privilege — What happens when a British “pop” singer is exploited for the benefit of The Establishment; highly suppositional but strong, also by Peter Watkins.

The Jokers — New British director Michael Winner satirizes the impatience and recklessness of younger members of the upper class.

The Tiger Makes Out — Murray Schisgal’s comedy-satire on New York loners, played delightfully by Eli Wallach and Arne Jackson.

There, that’s enough.

Here’s hoping for even better in 1968!

#bosley crowther #film #movies #1960s #sixties #60s #1967

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junker-town · 4 years

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Western Illinois, Year 21, 2027-2028

The Western Illinois Leathernecks try to defend their latest national championship in our College Hoops 2K8 sim dynasty.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies.

Before we start Year 21 of Coach Rick’s tenure at Western Illinois, here’s a recap of everything that has happened so far last season:

Western Illinois entered the season seeking redemption after losing to Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament the previous year. We struggled against a difficult non-conference schedule before sweeping the Summit League and again capturing the conference tournament championship. We entered the NCAA tournament at 24-6 overall.

We earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament. We defeated No. 5 seed Minnesota, 89-72, in the first round. We beat No. 4 seed Ole Miss, 116-85, in the round of 32 as senior wing Wilky Henry set a program record with 46 points. We defeated No. 1 seed Dayton, 109-82, in the Sweet 16, and then we beat No. 2 seed Indiana in the Elite Eight, 105-69. You can read a full recap of our road to the Final Four here.

We defeated No. 2 seed Pepperdine, 93-70, in the Final Four. We then beat No. 5 seed Villanova, 97-67, to win the national championship. Read a full recap of our Final Four performance + the offseason here.

We recruited for one scholarship and landed five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe after the season.

It’s our third national championship since I arrived at Western Illinois. Hang the damn banner!

Absolutely historic, hilariously dominant run for our ‘Necks, winning by an average of 27.3 points per game during our six-game sweep of the tournament. Did I mention that we were a No. 12 seed? We’re the lowest-seeded team ever to win the national championship — breaking our own record as a No. 10 seed in 2015 — and we did it with easily the largest margin of victory for any national champion ever.

When I took over at Western Illinois as a fresh 25-year-old head coach, I knew the school (read: the game) had a mandatory retirement policy after 40 years. We have now crossed the halfway point of the dynasty. A few numbers to contextualize our accomplishments here so far:

Overall record: 531-126

Summit League regular season championships: 18

Summit League tournament championships: 15

NCAA tournament appearances: 17

Sweet 16 appearances: 8

Final Four appearances: 4

NCAA tournament record: 36-14

And three ‘ships. The goal is turn the worst college basketball program ever into the best college basketball program ever. We’re coming for you, Coach K.

The best news? We return four starters from last season. While our stud small forward Wilky Henry is off to the NBA, everyone else is coming back, including iconic power forward Allan Cunningham. In the previous two times we won a national championship, we lost in the first round the very next year. We can’t let that happen again this season.

We’re running it back.

Here’s a first look at our roster heading into Year 21.

Back-to-back national championships is one thing we yet to accomplish during our time at Western Illinois. We want national title No. 4 and we have the team to do it.

Let’s meet the starters. If you click the link on their name it will reveal their full attributes.

PG Tron Whaley, redshirt senior, 90 overall: Whaley is everything we want out of a point guard. He has great size at 6’4, he’s the team’s best three-point shooter with an 87 rating from behind the arc, and he’s been less turnover prone than some of our lead guards in the past. He also has a sick name. Tron famously scored 21 points in the first half of our Sweet 16 win over No. 1 Dayton last season before leading us to a national title. He already feels like a top-three point guard in program history, but another title could have him going down as the best to ever play the position for the ‘Necks. Former No. 128 overall recruit with C+ potential.

SG Mathew Alloway, redshirt sophomore, 87 overall: Alloway was a rare freshman starter for the Leathernecks last season and provided a steady scoring presence on the perimeter. He’s grown an inch to 6’7 over the offseason and projects as a burgeoning two-way force at shooting guard. Alloway has improved to an 81 rating in three-point shooting with promising defensive playmaking ability. He still needs to work on his awareness at both ends. The former Mr. Basketball out of Minnesota was once the No. 31 overall recruit and has B- potential.

SF Wilbur Ager, redshirt junior, 91 overall: Ager is our only new starter, and he has big shoes to fill at small forward after Wilky Henry’s legendary NCAA tournament run last season. A 6’7 wing, Ager is a bit shaky as a three-point shooter (75 rating), but has a well-rounded skill set and no glaring weaknesses in his game. Former No. 110 overall recruit out of Chicago with C+ potential.

PF Allan Cunningham, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Cunningham has a chance to go down as the greatest player in program history as he enters his senior season. The 6’11, 292-pound power forward is a consistent scorer with a damn near unstoppable skill set. Ham uses his massive size advantages to bully opposing fours down low, but also can step out and rip three-pointers. He has proven time and time again that he is one of the most dependable players we’ve ever had during streams. We can’t wait to see how he closes out his legendary career. Former No. 67 overall recruit and projected top pick in the NBA draft.

C Pat Giddens, redshirt senior, 94 overall: It’s shocking to see Giddens return for his senior season after being projected as a lottery pick last season. Giddens starts the year as the second highest rated player in America. While he struggled to live up to his lofty overall rating for much of his career, Giddens proved his worth anchoring our title run in the middle last year. Giddens’ lack of height (6’9) could still be a problem against the wrong matchup, but he is hilariously large at nearly 300 pounds. Last year’s tournament run should silence any lingering questions about his game.

We’re going to be playing five guys off the bench for a 10-man rotation. Sophomore center Kevin Brazzle will be our sixth man as a 7’2 big man already projected as a first round pick by NBA scouts. He’ll be joined in the front court by fellow sophomore L.F. Neal, a 6’10, 201 pound string bean who flies all over the court whenever he’s in the game. 6’10 wing Jitim Dupre will get minutes at small forward as a freshman, while legendary recruiting bust Vitor Andrisevic gets a handful of minutes at the two in his senior year, and sophomore Jamie Burke runs backup point.

We also welcome one new recruit this year, five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe from Federal Way, Washington. Wolfe comes in as a 70 overall with C+ potential, which is for sure disappointing. He’ll redshirt.

Recruiting

This isn’t just a huge season because we’re trying to repeat as national champions — we also have four scholarships to recruit for to ensure the future of the program is as bright as the present. Power forward is the biggest position of need, because we have four players who will be redshirt sophomores next year with a hole at the four. I considered going after a five-star JUCO power forward, but ultimately think it’s most important to focus on getting good guards.

After surveying the available options, I decide to use my early visits on the following players:

PG Alexis Willingham out of Chicago, No. 68 overall and No. 28 at his position

SG Jeromy Perry out of Atlanta, No 55 overall and No. 16 at his position

I also offer center Dick Copeland, ranked No. 113 overall and No. 2 at his position, and power forward J.J. Bracy, ranked No. 24 overall and No. 2 at his position, on first day we’re allowed to extend scholarships.

We also have a player to create for the winner of last year’s bracket challenge: reader Gavin. His created player requires a little explanation because it’s a reference to one of the most infamous moments in the history of our Twitch stream. A few years back, we lost an assistant coach during the offseason. As I went to hire someone new, the Twitch chat was going wild telling me to hire a man named Rudolpho Butt. I hired a different coach instead, and the chat turned on me quick. It remains a running joke to this day. The created player reader Gavin created is choosing to make? 6’11 power forward Rudolpho Butt Jr. As a reminder, we don’t go after the players we recruit to preserve the integrity of the game, but we’ll follow Butt Jr. throughout his career.

It’s time to begin the regular season. We start the year rated as a 99 overall. Let’s run it back.

First game: @ Dayton

It seems like only yesterday we were creating Matt Boswell as the winner of our first ever bracket contest. Now he’s a senior power forward at Dayton and one of the best players in America. Can’t believe it’s been four years! While many are saying Boswell’s reputation took a hit after he predicted he would be ‘dropping 28’ on Giddens in the Sweet 16 last year only to get completely demolished, we still respect what he’s accomplished during his college career. Now let’s send him out as a loser.

Loss, 89-81. Man, not how we wanted to open the year. We just fell apart in the second half offensively. Giddens had a nice night scoring the ball, but he also gave up 28 points to Dayton’s starting center. Boswell had 11 points as he was limited to 18 minutes because of foul trouble. More troubling: our shooting. It’s going to be tough to win any game when you only hit four three-pointers. Henry was our most prolific shooter last season so we’ll have to prove we can still rain threes without him.

Next we’re in the Hawaii Invitational tournament aka We Couldn’t Get the Rights To Call It The Maui. Win a championship and we take you to Hawaii, those are the rules. Our first game is against Harvard.

Win, 91-65. Ham going ham with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks on 11-of-13 shooting at the foul line. Love to see Tron with nine dimes to one turnover.

Next up, we face Michigan State, who is unranked but enters at 4-0 on the season.

Win, 101-82. GIDDENS, what a game. A cool 25 points, seven rebounds, and four stocks. Big is beautiful. Nice to see Ager consistently force his way to the line and give us some scoring on the wing. Bench brought it, too. Now we’re in the title game of the tournament against No. 21 Alabama.

We streamed the simulated game on Twitch. It should tip off when you press play.

youtube

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Win, 105-82. Maui Hawaii Invitational champs! This felt very similar to our streams last season, when we turned every game into a blow out shortly after halftime and it never felt like there was any chance we were going to lose. We had six scorers in double-figures, and I was really impressed with Ager and Giddens in particular. Our Stream Team just keeps whooping ass. Let’s keep that energy going.

As we sim to the next week, I see that my shooting guard recruit Perry gets an offer from Troy that he likes better than ours. Bummer, but that means I can start visiting Bracy, who still doesn’t have any other offers and already has significant interest in our Leathernecks. Landing Bracy would be huge because he would get us two coaching points that have alluded us for the first 20 seasons: a) landing a five-star recruit in season, and b) signing an All-American. He’d also be the highest-rated recruit in program history. Here’s hoping. I also offer a scholarship to Skip Clemmons, a 6’6 shooting guard ranked No. 38 overall, to replace Perry.

Next up we have No. 17 LSU. The Tigers have quietly been a consistent winner in this simulation and might have their best team yet this season. This will be a big test.

Loss, 96-60. Woof. LSU just blew the doors off us from the opening tip. What an awful shooting night outside of Ham. That’s why he’s an icon. I’m hoping this is an instance of us being a better stream team than a sim team.

Next we have Louisville. The Cards beat us in a regular season game that we streamed last season and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. It seems like they’ve lost a lot of talent off that team and enter this game at 3-1 on the year.

Loss, 75-73. Man, that’s a tough one. Giddens was excellent, everyone else was just okay, and we coughed up the ball way too much with 10 turnovers. I need more out of my wings Ager and Alloway, who are way too talented to be combining for 11 points

As we sim to the next week, we have some news: J.J. Bracy is a Leatherneck!

YUGE. Bracy is the highest-rated recruit in program history at No. 24 overall, according to reader Evan’s Leathernecks Recruiting Database. He gets us the two coaching points as our first All-American and first five-star to commit in-season. He also plays a position of need and will likely slot into the starting power forward spot as a redshirt sophomore playing with four other seniors. It will be interesting to see how good he is during the stream games because he’s definitely undersized for a power forward at 6’6 and his numbers don’t blow you away. Hopefully he grows. Always great to land the Mr. Basketball in Illinois either way.

More news: Rudolpho Butt Jr. has signed with South Florida!

I feel like he’s going to be the most dominant create-a-player we’ve made yet. Can’t wait to follow his college career.

We’re also in position to land Alexis Willingham, who is at 100 percent with no other offers as we head into the second week of the early signing period.

We play this week Charlotte and then have our two early conference games

Win, 85-67. Wooo. Charlotte is also perennially excellent in this simulation, so it’s pretty great to beat them by 18. Our offense was spread around evenly to like every player the roster; no one with more than 10, everyone on the bench chipping in with a bucket or two. Then we win both of our early conference games big and that pushes us to 6-3 on the year.

As I sim to the next week, Alexis Willingham commits!

Willingham is a great get as the No. 68 overall recruit. He already has good size at 6’2 and will hopefully grow once he gets into school. I love his scoring ability (16.3 points per game) and his accuracy from three-point range (45.8 percent from deep). Turnovers are high, but that’s okay. It’s big-time to get any four-star recruit at the early signing period. It is really rare that we land multiple recruits at the early signing deadline, so I am thrilled by this.

We are also in great position for both of our other targets: center Dick Copeland and shooting guard Skip Clemmons. We lead by far for Copeland, and he doesn’t have any other offers. He’d be our highest-rated center recruit ever (No. 2 at his position) though he’s also short for a five man at 6’8. Clemmons has elite size for a shooting guard 6’6, 226 pounds and is also a 47.2 percent three-point shooter. Would be our best class ever if we can land both in the spring.

We have two games this week: home against Illinois and on the road against Kansas at Phog Allen. Let’s keep the momentum going vs. our forever rival the Illini.

Loss, 68-67. Ugh. Illinois is decent this season but they don’t have anyone close to 90 overall, so this is a big upset. Throw out the record books when these two programs meet, I guess. Our wings really let us down. How are Alloway and Ager only combining for three shot attempts on the night? On the streams it feels like Alloway averages three shot attempts himself every two minutes.

Now Kansas. Jayhawks are in something of a rebuilding year but are still talented af. Please show that Illini loss was an aberration.

Win, 89-69. Hell yeah. Look at our 7’2 backup center Kevin Brazzle go to work: 22 points in 24 minutes. That’s how you get on the NBA’s radar as a redshirt sophomore. We’ve never had anyone leave that early, but it would be kind of awesome to see him do it even if hurts us in the short term. Ham was great as well with 23 points. We only have one regular season game left and it’s against No. 2 Florida.

Florida is totally stacked and has one of the best rosters in the country. This is measuring stick game.

Loss, 82-78. Tough loss, but I like that we competed. Giddens has put together a really solid non-conference season and is taking a big jump up in production as a senior to help fill the scoring void left by Wilky Henry. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Florida again in March.

We enter conference season at 7-5 overall. Can we run the table the rest of the way? Yes we can. We sweep the Summit League once again and enter the conference tournament as the top seed at 23-5 overall. Here’s a look at our end-of-season stats.

Our big men just wrecked everything in their way this year. Giddens took a big scoring leap as a senior (19.2 points per game) to lead the team, Cunningham continued to prove he’s one of the most reliable performers in program history, and Brazzle showed why he’s a projected first round draft pick by becoming our third leading scorer despite being our sixth man. Pretty nice to have a 7’2 backup center with that type of ability.

Here’s a look at the shooting percentages. My first thought: Giddens better than 35 percent from three on respectable volume??? I’ve never seen him hit a three with my own eyes. Also this team needs to be jacking way, way more threes. We have shooters everywhere. That will be nice to have in our back pocket come tournament time.

Now it’s time for the Summit League tournament

2028 Summit League tournament

Time to lock down the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Our first game is against IUPUI.

Win, 91-43. Ham, Giddens, Brazzle, all wonderful. I love my big, beefy boys. How is anyone supposed to matchup with three bigs so huge and so skilled? Next game is against Southern Utah.

Win, 101-59. Throwing Giddens and Brazzle out there against Summit League centers is just unfair. Now we face UL-Calcutta for the conference tournament title and the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Let’s go!

Win, 95-57. We’re going dancing!

I am fascinated to see what seed we get this time around. There were a few impressive wins on our resume, but also a couple bad losses in the non-conference slate. I’m thinking we could get anywhere between a No. 8 seed and a No. 12 seed. Avoid that 8-9 matchup might be for the best just so we don’t have to see a top-seed in the second round.

2028 NCAA tournament

Welp. We get a No. 9 seed and a first round matchup with No. 8 Michigan. If we win, top-seeded Xavier will be waiting in the round of 32. The quest to repeat is going to get very interesting in the first weekend.

Here’s a look at our roster heading to the tournament:

There’s a strong case to be made that this is our best roster ever.

All five starters are rated as a 90 or above. We have nearly 600 pounds and 190 overall points in the front court. Knock down shooters in the backcourt. Another 90-rated player off the bench and oh yeah he’s 7’2.

I’m also shocked to say Giddens is our highest-rated center ever. At 96 overall, he’s tied with Ime Terrell, Bert Draughan, Billy Assel, and Vernard Fulton as the highest rated player in program history, per reader Evan’s database. There’s so much depth on this team, too. There’s only one question: who will fill Henry’s void as our go-to perimeter scorer? Ager, Alloway, and Tron are all talented enough to do it, but someone will need to step up if we’re going to repeat.

We’ve never streamed a game against Michigan before, so this is going to be a fun matchup. Here’s a look at how the two teams stack up:

We are a 100 overall in every category but coaching — and the two bonus points we just got for landing Bracy will help with that in the offseason. Here’s a look at Michigan’s roster.

I’m feeling great about our chances at repeating, but the first weekend is going to be a massive test. We’re streaming the first weekend of the 2028 NCAA tournament on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. More info on that in a second. But first, let’s get to this year’s bracket contest.

Bracket contest

We’ve been running a bracket contest for the last few seasons, and it’s been a ton of fun. We’re opening it up to anyone who wants to enter as long as you turn in your bracket before we stream our first NCAA tournament game on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.

Here’s a look at the full NCAA tournament bracket.

This is everything you need to know:

How does scoring work?

We use a standard scoring format. You get one point for correctly guessing the winner in a first round game, two points for correctly a winner in a round of 32 game, four points for correctly guessing a winner in a Sweet 16 game, eight points for correctly guessing a winner in an Elite Eight game, 16 points for correctly guessing a winner in the Final Four, and 32 points for correctly guessing the national champion.

Can I see the rosters for the other teams?

Yes. You can find the rosters for every team on the right side of the bracket in the East and West regionals here. You can find the rosters for every team on the left side of the bracket for the South and Midwest regionals here. Just arrow over to scroll through the rosters.

How do I enter?

1. Click this link to open the interactive bracket.

2. After opening, in the top left select File > Make a Copy

3. Make your picks

4. In the top left, select File and either “Share” and share with [email protected] or “Email as attachment” and email as an Excel file (not PDF please!) to [email protected]

Once your picks are entered, you can track scoring with Sean’s Blog Team app that works on desktop and mobile.

What does the winner get?

The winner gets to create themselves or a character as a five-star recruit ahead of next season. We won’t go after the created recruits at Western Illinois to preserve the integrity of the game, but we’ll follow the career of your character throughout our series.

Please enter the bracket contest and join us on Thursday, because it’s going to be really fun. Here’s how you can watch Western Illinois vs. Michigan in the NCAA tournament.

No. 9 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 8 seed Michigan, first round, 2028 NCAA tournament

Game: No. 9 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 8 seed Michigan, first round, 2028 NCAA tournament

How to watch: My Twitch channel. You don’t need to sign up for anything to watch, but you do need to register for an account to comment. Do it, it’s fun.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.

Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. ET

If we win: We’ll face the winner of No. 1 seed Xavier vs. No. 16 seed South Carolina State in the round of 32 immediately following the first round game. I’m also thinking we’ll stream the Sweet 16 game too if we win. Why not?

A few links before I get out of here.

Reader Luke started his own spin-off series in NCAA Football 14 with Akron. He’s doing his first stream on Friday night. Catch up on Coach Luke’s series here and and subscribe for updates.

Reader Thanh wrote an e-book on the first eight years of Coach Rick at Western Illinois. It’s super fun and adds a new layer of depth to our project.

Continue the discussion on our subreddit.

I’ll see you Thursday on Twitch. Go ‘Necks.

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