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fusioncomics · 5 years

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Blaze the Cat #01

By Charty/Fuse/Eggy(Different names for one person)

Important notes: NB means 'Narration Box', and TB means 'Thought Bubble'

PAGE ONE AND TWO - TWO PAGE SPREAD A two page spread shot of a very large city, looking similar to Pre-SGW's New Mobotropolis, only, slightly more advanced looking, with a slight bit of spanish architecture style.

NB Note: Solus, Capital City

1. Blaze(NB): I have to admit, its been a while since I've been back here.

2. Blaze(NB): Between the various searches for the Sol Emeralds, and having to deal with the doctors, just haven't really had the time.

3. Blaze(NB): Though, after the battle with Cap'n Metal, I seem to have more than enough time to come back recently.

4. Blaze(NB): Something that hasn't really been lost on the seer...

PAGE THREE - THREE PANELS

PANEL ONE A head and bust shot of a somewhat tired looking Blaze, walking along the sidewalk, with a few background characters around her.

1. Blaze(NB): Lahlee...

2. Blaze(NB): Never really talked to her much. Didn't really used to be all that social, to be honest.

PANEL TWO A zoom in on Blaze's face, which starts taking on a concerned expression

1. Blaze(NB): But, then again, I'd like to think I'm better than that now.

2. Blaze(NB): And, from what it sounds, she might have had it a bit hard herself...

PANEL THREE A side shot of Blaze walking along the sidewalk, with multiple background characters around her.

1. Blaze(NB): After all, the life of seer has never sounded all that pleasant to me.

2. Blaze(NB): All the legends and stories make it sound like a grueling task overall.

PAGE FOUR - TWO PANELS

PANEL ONE A shot of Blaze standing infront of a rather nice, pleasant looking, cottage like small house, with her back turned toward us.

1. Blaze(NB): Then again...

PANEL TWO A close up of Blaze's face, eyelids slightly lowered, with an expression that suggests she regrets her concern.

1. Blaze(NB): I suppose with me as her princess, she's had it a bit easier than others.

PAGE FIVE - THREE PANELS

PANEL ONE A shot of Blaze knocking on the door 1. Blaze: Lahlee, are you in there? I hope I've come at a good time.

PANEL TWO Same shot, but, now Blaze is waiting infront of the door looking slightly impatient. 1. Lahlee(From inside): Come in! Tea's almost done!

PANEL THREE Same shot, now with Blaze opening the door and heading in, looking less than thrilled. 1. Blaze: Oh, joy. Tea...

PAGE SIX - ONE PANEL SPREAD PANEL ONE A page spread shot of the inside of the house, with a tarot reader's table in the middle, a small reading room to be a left, and, a partial shot of a kitchen to the right, only showing the back of an egyptian blue(The color) cloak from behind in terms of what we can see of Lahlee. Both Blaze's expression and body language convey surprise as she looks around.

1. Blaze: Woah! This- This is your new home...? 2. Lahlee: Well, its not as new as you'd think! 3. Lahlee: I actually moved in here about a couple of months ago. 4. Lahlee: I'm still having to get used to it a bit, but, its honestly pretty nice so far!

PAGE SEVEN - FIVE PANELS

PANEL ONE Blaze is looking to her left, body turned slightly, with an expression of curiosity, and slight wonder on her face.

1. Blaze: It is very nice. I think I would hope to have a place just as nice in the near future. 2. Lahlee: Ha! Well, I do wish I could see as you do-

PANEL TWO Same shot, but, now Lahlee's in it, still obscured, and, we can only see her blue cloak, and, her holding a simple white tea kettle. Blaze looks at her with a slight bit of curiosity, but, mostly confusion. 1. Lahlee: But, enough about me! Why don't we go ahead and sit down, and have some tea?

PANEL THREE Lahlee sits down in a plain wooden chair at the far end of the table, and, her head isn't visible, but, now we can see her arms, and, an echidna dread/quill, and, she seems to have a pink lavender coat, with somewhat darker flame-shaped markings on her dreads/quills.

PANEL FOUR Blaze sits down at the chair at the end closer to the door, her head also not really visible, or, at the very least, only slightly visible from the bottom.

PANEL FIVE A wide shot of the table, with Blaze closer to the viewer, but, we can now see that Lahlee seems to be an echidna girl, about a couple of years older than Blaze, with a white face wrap covering her eyes, and, she seems to be wearing a plain egyptian blue robe from inside of the cloak. She has a smile on her face, and is pouring some tea into a cup, while Blaze has a somewhat unenthused look on her face. 1. Lahlee: Now, tell me, how is this 'Marine' I've heard about doing? 2. Blaze: Eh, she's fine. She's a bit trying at times, but, I know she means well. She's still learning.

PAGE EIGHT - Four Panels(All wide shots)

PANEL ONE Lahlee's pouring a second cup of tea, looking a bit amused. Although, you can kind of tell, its the kind of expression that might look slightly smug for someone we could actually see the eyes of. Blaze looks a bit embarrassed, though. 1. Lahlee: I see! Well, if we're being honest, I think we both know what that's like~ 2. Blaze: H-heh, I'm not quite sure what you mean...

PANEL TWO You can't see her eyes, but, you can tell Lahlee's giving Blaze a bit of a knowing smile. Blaze is drinking her tea, mouth obscured by the cup, and, she's clearly trying to avoid looking in Lahlee's direction. 1. Lahlee: Well, I don't know about you, but, I remember a bit of a princess who was constantly asocial, and, didn't think she needed to get close to anyone. 2. Blaze: I-I'm not sure I follow.

PANEL THREE Blaze makes a disgusted face, looking at her tea cup, and, Lahlee just sort of has a neutral expression. 1. Blaze: Ugh! Is your tea always this bitter? 2. Lahlee: Funny, I knew you would say that...

PANEL FOUR Lahlee has a *very* knowing smirk on her face, and, Blaze is sweating a bit, making the kind of embarrassed grin face someone like Tracy Yardley might draw. 1. Lahlee: Which is why I specifically used a blueberry blend from Plant Kingdom, instead of my usual one. 2. Lahlee: You've just had it ingrained as a habit by now to consider my tea bitter, haven't you? 3. Blaze: I, uh- Well, uh-

PAGE NINE - THREE PANELS

PANEL ONE Lahlee covers her mouth, while Blaze is just sort of watching, looking slightly bemused. 1. Lahlee: Heh! Oh, don't mind me, I'm sorry, I'm just having a little bit of a giggle at your expense! 2. Lahlee: I really shouldn't be. Its just a part of you I haven't really gotten to see much of in the past...

PANEL TWO Lahlee's expression isn't visible, we're once again just seeing her from behind. Blaze's expression is a bit bemused.

1. Lahlee: Now, before we get started, why don't you tell me some of whats happened to you? 2. Lahlee: We've barely talked before now, and, I really would like to know about what's been going on with you in recent times. 3. Lahlee: That is, if you wouldn't mind?

PANEL THREE Blaze sighs, looking down, eyelids half shut in contemplation.

1. Blaze: Well...I guess a lot has changed, honestly. I used to be a lot more energetic when I was younger, but, I think I was also a bit spoiled too, since that was before I knew what I would have to do. 2. Blaze: When my parents disappeared, and, your father started training me to become guardian, I know I started shutting myself off from others. I knew the kind of responsibilities that ultimately fell on me. I thought I could handle them all alone... 3. Blaze: Even when Dr. Eggman came, and took all of the Sol Emeralds, I didn't think I needed anyone. 4. Blaze: ...But, then, after going to Mobius-Sonic's World-I started to meet all sorts of new people. I- I began to open up a bit more, ask others for help. Cream, Sonic and the others really started to open my eyes. 5. Blaze: Even when I invited Sonic here, I still had a lot more to learn. Not just from Sonic and Tails, but, even Marine too. She has her flaws, but, so do I. 6. Blaze: And...During the Wisp incident, I met another new person. I didn't think I had ever met him before, but, he still seemed familiar somehow. And...He was nice. Naive, but, nice. 7. Blaze: I don't think I'll ever stop learning how to be a better person and friend, but, I don't think anyone ever does.

PAGE TEN - THREE PANELS

PANEL ONE We can see Lahlee from behind, sipping tea, and, Blaze on the other side, just watching curiously.

1. Lahlee: Well, I'm not really surprised. I knew you'd find people who could find your softer spots inside one of these days. 2. Lahlee: It was always going to be a matter of when.

PANEL TWO A shot, now its Blaze we're right behind, and, we can see Lahlee facing in her general direction, with a wry smile on her face, while Blaze is blushing slightly, and looking down at the table to avoid looking in Lahlee's direction again.

1. Lahlee: Honestly, I'm mostly curious about this hedgehog girl with a hammer. 2. Lahlee: I understand you two work pretty well together? 3. Blaze: W-well, Amy is...Very motivated when it comes to helping her friends. 4. Blaze: I should honestly consider myself glad that I number among them.

PANEL THREE Lahlee has an expression of genuine curiosity on her face, while Blaze is looking upwards in contemplation.

1. Lahlee: Is there anyone from Sonic's World you'd like to get to know more? 2. Blaze: Hmmmmm...Well, I've only seen the princess of Acorn in passing, and, I've heard about a few of his other Freedom Fighter friends. Honestly, I think I'd like to meet all of them eventually, if possible.

PAGE ELEVEN - FOUR PANELS

PANEL ONE Lahlee looks both impressed, and pleased as punch, as she starts pulling out a Solian style tarot deck, with the top of all the cards having ornate purple patterns, with flame markings in the certain, and around the decorated parts of the cards.

1. Lahlee: Well, that is definitely an admirable and respectable goal! I'm glad you're wanting to make more friends these days! Now, I guess we should go ahead and start this, considering its supposed to be the main reason you're here.

PANEL TWO An overhead view, Lahlee goes ahead and places a card down ontop of the table.

1. Lahlee: Now, I don't know what everyone's told you, but, this is a perfectly valid of making a prediction. My father, and all his ancestors before him had various different ways of doing this, and, I have my own way. 2. Blaze: Well...I don't think I would judge, really. Amy has a bit of an interest in tarot cards herself. 3. Lahlee: Oh? Well, it sounds like she's very openminded to things that can't always be explained.

PANEL THREE Lahlee places her gloved hand ontop of the card.

1. Lahlee: Now, let us see what the first one is.

PANEL FOUR Both of them are *looking* at the card, making it debateable of whether Lahlee 100% blind or not.

1. Lahlee: Is that- I-is that what I think it is? 2. Blaze: Yep...

PAGE TWELVE - THREE PANELS

PANEL ONE A close up shot of what seems to be a massive bunch of vines, covering a tower shaped structure, with the words 'The Tower' on the bottom.

1. Blaze: I've been around Amy enough to know a tower card when I see it.

PANEL TWO Lahlee looks to her right, which is on Blaze's and our left, with a look that indicates that she is trying to wrap her head around this.

1. Lahlee: I- I don't know how this could have happened

PANEL THREE Lahlee grabs two more cards, placing them both to one side of the Tower card. Her hand is obscuring them though.

1. Lahlee: But, I know two more drawings should clear this up.

PAGE THIRTEEN - ONE PANEL SPREAD

PANEL ONE Lahlee's standing to the left wondering what could have happened, while Blaze is looking on with suspicion, seeming to already have an idea as to what this could mean. To the right of the Tower Card, the Emperor, represented by a tall feline mobian in Golden Armor, with a giant ornate golden gear right behind him, and, the Sun, with all seven Sol Emeralds around it in the picture.

1. Lahlee: I- I'm the one who drew this, but, I don't even know what it means? How could a Tower, Emperor and Sun be in the same drawing...? 2. Blaze: Well...I think I might have a bit of an idea

PAGE FOURTEEN - FOUR PANELS

PANEL ONE Lahlee looks at Blaze in confusion, who seems to be pondering on something.

1. Lahlee: I- Wait, what...? 2. Blaze: I- My mother used to tell me about legends of the past. Fables and stories about those who supposedly used to live in our universe...

PANEL TWO Blaze looks at the viewer, while in the background, we can see a shining sun, and three obscured shadowy feline figures standing infront of it. The tallest one looking forward, and, the two others facing toward the sides.

1. Blaze: Once upon a time, there lived a Great King, blessed with great knowledge and strength, and power over the sun itself. 2. Blaze: And, as the young king's reign continued, and he grew older and married, he had two children

PANEL THREE A bust shot of a male jaguar, facing directly to the left, wearing a small golden crown, and aztec/mayan style jewelry over his chest, grinning arrogantly.

1. Blaze: The first was his older son. 2. Blaze: He was blessed with the vibrant passion and fire of the sun, and, was considered both handsome and beautiful by many of his subjects and lovers.

PANEL FOUR A bust shot of a female caracal, looking directly to the right, with a red forehead jewel looking similar to Blaze's, and a fancy aztec/mayan style outfit, with her eyes partially closed, and a subdued yet warm smile on her face.

1. Blaze: The second was his younger daughter. 2. Blaze: She was blessed with the majestic, life giving sol energies of the sun, that were reflected in the gems of that era. She was considered not only very beautiful, but, very kind and wise as well. 3. Blaze: Both of them had the same powers from the sun of their father, just used in different ways.

PAGE FIFTEEN - FIVE PANELS

PANEL ONE A shot of the two together, but, younger, playing with each other in the throne room(With a bit of a technologically advanced clockpunk Aztec/Mayan asthetic), looking rather happy and excited, with a taller, more well muscled jaguar watching from the throne with a warm smile.

1. Blaze: When the two were younger, they were just about inseperable! There was only about a year and a half's age difference between them, and, no matter what anyone did, they couldn't be separated for long.

PANEL TWO A shot of the two as teenagers, the male jaguar being surrounded by both attracted male and female feline mobians, laughing a bit, clearly enthused from all the attention, while his sister seems to be reading from some sort of holographic scroll nearby, rolling her eyes a bit.

1. Blaze: Even as the two grew older, and their interests clearly differed as time went on-He enjoyed basking in the attention of others', and, she had an interest in both lore and history-They still remained close.

PANEL THREE A shot of some sort of ceremony, both standing at center of a crowd, with the two sticking their hands into some sort, and not being harmed.

1. Blaze: And, of course, both were blessed by the sun, and, possessed great power over fire and other magics!

PANEL FOUR The male Jaguar shows off, creating rings and cubes, and different shapes out of fire, to an awed crowd.

1. Blaze: Some would say the brother preferred the destructive side of fire, but, he was very creative, and, could bend the shape of fire more easily than his sister and most others.

PANEL FIVE The female caracal creates flames of different colors close to the crowd, who don't seem to be as fearful as they are curious.

1. Blaze: The sister, though, was more entuned with the life nature of fire, and, recognize that fire and heat were a part of life, and, so, could create flames with many beneficial effects, including healing.

PAGE SIXTEEN - THREE PANELS

PANEL ONE As the crowd cheers for the both of them, they face toward each other, and just sort of smile knowingly at each other.

1. Blaze: They were beloved by both their parents, and their people. As long as they remained together, the two siblings were practically unstoppable.

PANEL TWO The brother watches from the back, as a male cat in ornate robes, similar looking in appearance to Blaze, kisses the hand of his sister, who seems to be smiling.

1. Blaze: But, as they grew older, and became adults, one of the king's mages took an interest in, and began courting the princess, who quickly started to reciprocate his feelings.

PANEL THREE A close up shot, the brother's face is a mixture between anger and concern, with his teeth bared to a degree.

1. Blaze: The prince did not like this, and, was furious that someone would try to court his only sibling, but, at the same time, he loved his sister, and wanted her to be happy.

PAGE SEVENTEEN - FIVE PANELS

PANEL ONE The brother points accusingly at the male cat mage infront of his father, sister, and the father's staff and advisors.

1. Blaze: Soon enough, though, it became more than he could bear. One day, he outright challenged the mage to a magic duel, that all the people would see. He would not let this one take his sister.

PANEL TWO The Sister grabs her brother's arm, with tears streaming/flooding out of her face, and a horrified look on her face.

1. Blaze: The sister begged him, pleaded with him to stop! She did not want either her brother or her beloved to be hurt. But, he would not listen. He was filled with jealously, and a fury that not even she could quell.

PANEL THREE The brother and mage face other at opposite sides of a small-medium sized arena.

1. Blaze: And, so it was that the prince and the mage would fight each other the next day.

PANEL FOUR A fiery, yet shadowy aura surrounds the mage, who has both of his eyes closed, and his hands together as he's obviously preparing some sort of offensive spell.

1. Blaze: But, as much as the mage did not want to fight the beloved prince, he could not let himself die either. And, to lose would be to die for him. So, he decided that he would use a lesser known spell, of a type of magic that was consider taboo by many a magic user-

PANEL FIVE The mage sends a blazing, shadowy torrent of fire, right at the prince from his hands, knocking the prince down, with the prince facing away from the audience.

1. Blaze: And, so, he cast a curse on him, one that would force the prince into an eternal slumber.

PAGE EIGHTEEN - FIVE PANELS

PANEL ONE The king(Tall, muscular male jaguar) is shouting at the mage in rage, with tears streaming down his eyes. The princess is trying to calm her father down.

1. Blaze: The king was outraged. He demanded the mage cure his son, but, since the type of magic wasn't well studied, no one really knew how to cure it.

PANEL TWO The king, face obscured, but still streaming with tears, simply points away, basically telling him to go.

1. Blaze: So, since he had taken his beloved son from him, the king ordered the mage banished. He was exiled, ordered to leave through the gates to wander the worlds, with pain of slow death awaiting him should he ever return.

PANEL THREE The princess watches her father the other side of the room sometime after the mage has left, with an expression of clear concern.

1. Blaze: The princess was worried. Knowing her father, he might try just about anything, including using the power of their great sun gems to seize other worlds, so that he might find a way to cure her brother. And, there would be no telling how many he would hurt or kill to that end, in this state of mind.

PANEL FOUR The princess, followed by a number of other members of her feline people, sneaks through the night.

1. Blaze: And, so, one night, while her father was asleep, and the gems were unguarded, she took all seven, and, then, she and a number of her loyal followers snuck through the night, leaving their world behind through the gate, to the first planet her lover had taken. Then, she broke the gate on their side, preventing her father from following. She would make sure the rest of the gates on their new planet were smashed as well.

PANEL FIVE The king sits on his throne, most of the top half of him obscured in shadow, though, he's obviously wearing some sort of golden armor.

1. Blaze: Her father, stuck on his own world, simply bided his time, his rage slowly turning into cold calucation.

PAGE NINETEEN - ONE PANEL SPREAD

PANEL ONE A mosaic of Blaze's world, with the picture of the princess, now a queen, on top of the world, with symbolism of not only grandeur, but, peace and benevolence as well.

1. Blaze: And, so, the princess, who became known as the queen of her new world, ruled in benevolence for two centuries, tethering the sun gems to their new world. She brought a golden age of peace, which remained until she died.

PAGE TWENTY - FOUR PANELS

PANEL ONE Blaze is standing, contemplating on her story, and what she's been told when she was young, and, what she's read since.

1. Blaze: Although...According to legend, after Queen Arteia's death, a cult rose up, and, reassembled the gate leading back to the original Solian homeworld. There's been enough evidence to suggest that the cult is indeed real, and, that we've had to war with the old Solians multiple times over the millenia.

PANEL TWO Lahlee seems to realize something important, which Blaze nods to.

1. Lahlee: Hold on. Queen Lahlee? But- She was the original queen of the Sol dynasty! That means that- 2. Blaze: Yes, it means that we've been fighting those we share ancient ancestors with, for longer than any of us care to remember.

PANEL THREE Blaze has a serious look on her face, which seems to indicate she knows what this means.

1. Blaze: And, if some of these legends are true...

PANEL FOUR A bobcat woman, in technologically advanced, golden colored aztec/mayan style armor, kneels before the throne.

1. Blaze(NB): We might still be facing the old king himself. 2. Bobcat: Sir, our mystics have been contacted by the cult. We should be able to go through the gate in two days time. 3. King: Well, then-

PAGE TWENTY-ONE - ONE PANEL SPREAD

PANEL ONE We can see the king from the story, and, he's wearing some sort of ancient looking, but, still pretty advanced, golden-colored armor. In the bottom right corner, there's a 'TO BE CONTINUED' comic box.

1. King: I suppose its finally time I get to see the measure of my newest descendant...

#Archie Sonic #Post-SGW #Blaze the Cat

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junker-town · 7 years

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The best and worst of everything from March Madness Day 3

For those of you complaining that the 2017 NCAA tournament had yet to produce a major upset, day three gave you that and much, much more.

Sometimes, non-stop college basketball action featuring the best teams in the country for two days straight isn’t enough to please people. Sometimes people want everything stated above along with results that surprise them and dramatic finishes that make them jump out of their seats.

The first two days of the 2017 NCAA tournament may not have provided that, but Saturday’s slate of second round action certainly did. The third day of the big dance gave us our first No. 1 seed going down, our first double-digit seed advancing to week two, and our biggest officiating controversy to date.

As is the case with any day in the big dance, there was a lot of good, a lot of bad, and a little bit of weird. Let’s take a look at it all.

THE BEST DAY THREE GAME

(8) Wisconsin Badgers 65, (1) Villanova Wildcats 62 (East)

There will be a new national champion in college basketball this year, because the reigning king of the sport and the 2017 tournament’s No. 1 overall seed is no more. Villanova was sent home before the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in eight years thanks to a tremendous effort from a Wisconsin team that wanted to remind the country that no team has won more March Madness games since 2014 than the Badgers.

A back and forth affair resulted in the contest being tied at 62 in the final seconds. With the game on the line, Wisconsin’s most experienced player, Nigel Hayes, made a tremendous move to score what would prove to be the game-winning basket.

Vitto Brown then scored a clean strip of Villanova’s Josh Hart on the other end to seal the victory and send the Badgers to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. There is no other team in the country that can make that claim.

THE TEAM THAT WON IT BEST

West Virginia

On paper, Notre Dame seemed like the worst possible second round matchup for West Virginia. The Mountaineers win games by using their trademark pressure to feed off of opponents’ mistakes. The Fighting Irish don’t make many mistakes. They entered Saturday’s game ranking second in the nation in fewest turnovers per game, and were leading the nation in both assist-to-turnover ratio and team free-throw percentage.

Somehow, the Mountaineers still forced a team with that makeup to play right into their hands. West Virginia forced Notre Dame into 14 turnovers (six above their season average), and held them 10-for-28 shooting from beyond the arc, and to 40.7 percent overall from the field as a team.

Because of plays like that, the Mountaineers are moving on to San Jose to face Gonzaga in the Sweet 16.

THE TEAM THAT WAS THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Florida State

Sure, Villanova was the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and got beat in the second round, but at least they were competitive. Florida State was playing a team seeded eight lines below (more than the differential between ‘Nova and Wisconsin) and was blown out from basically the opening tip to the final horn, which occurred with the scoreboard showing 91-66. The American public didn’t seem to have a whole lot of faith in Leonard Hamilton’s team heading into the tournament, and on Saturday the Seminoles proved all their detractors correct.

THE ALL-DAY THREE TEAM

Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin

The senior hasn’t had the All-American season that some were predicting four months ago, but he was at his best when his team needed him the most. Hayes grabbed eight rebounds and scored 19 points, including what proved to be the game-winning basket with 11 seconds to play.

Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga

The All-Day Three Team loves Nigels. Williams-Goss didn’t have his best shooting day of the year, but he scored a team-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists in Gonzaga’s 79-73 win over Northwestern.

Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame

The Bonz almost single-handedly kept Notre Dame within striking distance of West Virginia, scoring 27 points and drilling 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. Unfortunately he was the only Fighting Irish starter who shot better than 50 percent from the field.

Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Every time Notre Dame started to mount a rally, Carter was right there to drill a back-breaking three-pointer at the end of the shot clock. The junior guard finished with a team-high 24 points and connected on four of his five attempts from deep.

Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

The Musketeer star continued his monster March by dropping 29 points in Xavier’s demolition of Florida State.

THREE DAY THREE JEERS

1. The missed goaltending call on Gonzaga

After trailing by as many as 22 points, Northwestern had whittled Gonzaga’s lead all the way down to five with just under five minutes to play. The Wildcats had the ball and all the momentum in the world and an apparent uncontested lay-up to cut the lead to three. Instead, Derek Pardon’s dunk attempt was blocked by Gonzaga’s Zach Collins, who had appeared to come up through the rim for an obvious goaltend. No goaltending was called.

Yeah, that’s supposed to be two points.

Chris Collins ran onto the court and went ballistic, prompting a technical foul call and stopping Northwestern’s momentum dead in its tracts. The Wildcats fought during the game’s final minutes, but could never get any closer than they were before the missed call.

Collins’ reaction after the game when he was told that a missed call had in fact taken place was pretty priceless.

There’s no guarantee that the final outcome would have been different if the proper call had been made, but there’s also no doubt that the sequence completely changed the direction that the game was heading.

2. Defending national champions continuing to disappoint

As the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, Villanova had appeared to be in prime position to become college basketball’s first back-to-back national champion in a decade. Instead, the Wildcats became the latest victim of a troubling trend. Not only were the 2006-07 Florida Gators the only defending national champion since 1992 to retain their crown, but they’re the only defending national champions in the last 16 years to even make it back to the Elite 8.

Heavy is the head.

3. Verne Lundquist getting hit in the face with a basketball

When 99 percent of the world gets unexpectedly drilled in the face with a basketball, it’s hilarious. When Uncle Verne does, it’s an act of terrorism.

I don’t care if it was intentional or not, the guilty party must be brought to justice.

Thankfully, Verne is a pro’s pro who played through the pain and even made light of the incident during the West Virginia-Notre Dame broadcast.

THREE DAY THREE CHEERS

1. Upsets!

Look, I would have settled for something as simple as a top two seed being pushed to the brink. Kudos to the tournament for going above and beyond and giving us the No. 1 overall seed bounced in a thriller and a No. 3 seed getting run off the court by a No. 11. Even the way West Virginia-Notre Dame was a bit of a surprise.

You’re keeping us on our toes now. We appreciate that.

2. Dancing usher

Not, like, Usher Usher ... this usher

So better.

Seriously, shoutout to this guy for being the only thing remotely entertaining about Xavier-Florida State for non-Musketeer fans.

3. Vitto Brown’s singing voice

You may have known that Vitto Brown helped Wisconsin knock off Villanova with his 10 points and his defense on Josh Hart in the final seconds. But did you know he had pipes like this?

Vitto Brown of @BadgerMBB gives one smooth rendition of "One Shining Moment" http://pic.twitter.com/RvimOEBTJj

— March Madness TV (@MarchMadnessTV) March 18, 2017

The next time CBS elects to switch up “One Shining Moment” (side note: please don’t do this), I would be fine with Vitto Brown being the one who goes into the booth.

THE BEST DAY THREE DUNK

Vic Law’s put-back dunk came at the height of Northwestern’s run against Gonzaga.

THE BEST DAY THREE PICTURE

A terrific shot here of the no-call that changed it all.

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

THE BEST DAY THREE QUOTE

“They play on ESPN every game, so I’ve just seen them play a few times. But it’s nothing special, nothing we can’t do. We’re not scared to say any team on this planet earth so we’re ready and we’ll be ready to play tomorrow.”

—Wichita State’s Darral Willis Jr. discussing his team’s second round game against Kentucky on Sunday

FULL SUNDAY SCHEDULE

We’ve got one more day left of the weekend that makes March mad. Soak it up, because it figures to be fantastic.

No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan, 12:10 p.m.

Midwest region | Indianapolis, IN

TV: CBS | Announcers: Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson

No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Wichita State, 2:40 p.m.*

South region | Indianapolis, IN

TV: CBS | Announcers: Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 9 Michigan State, 5:15 p.m.

Midwest region | Tulsa, OK

TV: CBS | Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 8 Arkansas, 6:10 p.m.

South region | Greenville, SC

TV: TNT | Announcers: Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, Lewis Johnson

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 11 Rhode Island, 7:10 p.m.

Midwest region | Sacramento, CA

TV: TBS | Announcers: Spero Dedes, Steve Smith, Len Elmore, Ros Gold-Onwude

No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 11 USC, 7:45 p.m.*

East region | Tulsa, OK

TV: truTV | Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 7 South Carolina, 8:40 p.m.*

East region | Greenville, SC

TV: TNT | Announcers: Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, Lewis Johnson

No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Cincinnati, 9:40 p.m.*

South region | Sacramento, CA

TV: TBS | Announcers: Spero Dedes, Steve Smith, Len Elmore, Ros Gold-Onwude

*start time is approximate. Will tipoff shortly after first game ends

0 notes