Latest news with #YPC
The Spinoff
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Review: Choir Games goes inside ‘the Olympics of choral singing' on home soil
Choir enthusiast Ben Fagan reviews a new local documentary series following what happens when the biggest choir competition in the world comes to Aotearoa. New to Sky and Neon this week, director Leanne Pooley's Choir Games follows the journey of two choirs, one local and one American, as they prepare for 'the Olympics of choral singing' for the very time in Aotearoa. Held last June, the World Choir Games attracted 11,000 singers, 250 choirs, from 42 countries to perform, compete, share their culture and, in all cases, sing some songs. From Aotearoa we meet Dr Opeloge Ah Sam, musician, teacher and choir director of the Kaitaia Community Voices, a singing group from Northland. Opeloge has entered them in the big competition to expand their horizons and challenge the group, which has the full spectrum of ages and backgrounds. He has been driving five-and-a-half hours from his home in Auckland to Kaitaia to lead their monthly rehearsal, and their appearance at the World Choir Games will be his final concert with the choir. Their journey unfolds alongside a crew from the Big Apple. The Young People's Chorus of New York City is led by Francisco Núñez, founder and artistic director, alongside his wife and the choir's creative director Elizabeth Núñez (I've often wondered the difference between an artistic director and a creative director, but unfortunately this is not addressed). Francisco, Elizabeth and their team are preparing their inner city choir of 95 (!) teenagers for their big trip to Auckland. They're the ones to beat, having won gold at the previous games in South Korea. Across Choir Games' four episodes, the many barriers to being in a choir on both sides of the world are laid out. Apathy, grief, overcommitments, weather, rising costs, logistics, sickness, family pressures. In live performance, sometimes it feels like the whole world conspires against people coming together to make a thing happen. 'Bringing YPC to New Zealand is going to cost over a million dollars', Núñez says at the start of their fundraising journey, wide-eyed like he can't quite believe it. Being a Canadian-New Zealander, director Pooley (The Topp Twins: Untouchable, Beyond the Edge) is well placed to balance the scenes from North America with the characters from Northland. There are some real gems from the Kaitaia singers in particular: 'I'm not serious about many things. But I'm actually serious about music and cars', says 17 year-old singer and self trained mechanic Kees. Over the series the two choirs work their way towards the big show, rehearsing while keeping their grades up or getting leave from work, all the while experiencing personal breakthroughs. The energy and commitment of the two choir directors, Núñez and Sam, made me tired just watching them. Working hard both musically and administratively to keep the show on the road, while being mentor to their singers, we see them take the time to follow up personally with those who need extra support. Research quoted on the games website boasts the local tourism spend above average for an event its size, with $20 million going into the local economy, $14.5 million of which into the Auckland region. But as with all arts-based competition, some vibe with it and some do not. While the event was happening, local chorister and academic Dr Gregory Camp questioned why choral music couldn't be championed without picking winners and losers. 'But what message do we want to send to our young singers', Camp asks '…that music is a competitive space with concrete awards in monetary or social capital?' As the documentary shows, the competition clearly focuses the minds of all involved, and the series finds its strength when it compares the two choirs so closely that you feel they could be just down the road from each other. 'Singing together brings nations together' is the motto of the organisation running the games, and the latter episodes are full of wholesome scenes of singers bigging each other up after the concerts. When the singers have a meaningful connection to the music, group singing is next level, and Choir Games beautifully charts the personal stories playing out behind the scenes. You could sum the show up like an understated Kaitaia teen reviewing a life changing concert: 'It come out alright. People seemed to enjoy it'.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Notre Dame Commit Profile: Running Back Javian Osborne
Notre Dame picked up a huge commitment when Forney (Texas) High School star Javian Osborne pledged to the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame was looking to make a big splash at running back and they did that by landing Osborne. JAVIAN OSBORNE PROFILE Hometown/High School: Forney, Texas/Forney Advertisement Height/Weight: 5-10, 190 IB Grade: 4.5 (Top 75 caliber prospect) Upside Grade: 5.0 (Top 25 caliber prospect) Player Comp: JK Dobbins, Ohio State Recruited By: Ja'Juan Seider 2024 Stats: 184 att., 1,234 yards, 6.7 YPC, 25 TD 2023 Stats: 290 att., 2,231 yards, 7.7 YPC, 41 TD 2022 Stats: 144 att., 977 yards, 6.8 YPC, 8 TD Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Florida State, Texas A&M, Oregon, USC, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin, UCLA, TCU, Arkansas, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, Boston College, Kentucky, Texas Tech, Pittsburgh, SMU, Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Arizona, Houston, Stanford, Utah and UCF. RECRUITING RANKINGS ESPN: 4-star – No. 81 overall – No. 6 RB Rivals: 4-star – No. 89 overall – No. 6 RB 247Sports: 4-star – No. 130 overall – No. 10 RB On3: 4-star – No. 157 overall – No. 15 RB 247Sports Composite: 4-star – No. 90 overall – No. 6 RB On3 Consensus: 4-star – No. 106 overall – No. 8 RB NOTRE DAME FIT Notre Dame's run game is down hill based, with Inside Zone, Duo and Counter being their primary runs. Even the Outside Zone in the Notre Dame offense is more of an off-tackle run than a true vertical stretch. Osborne's combination of explosiveness, vision and cutting ability perfectly suits the Irish offense. He can bounce the Duo and cutback the Zone at a very high level, and he has the home run hitting ability that Notre Dame's current backfield duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price possess. Osborne has the kind of well-built frame, power and physicality to be an every down back in the Irish defense. FILM ANALYSIS Osborne is a well-built back that has the frame, size, power and running style to be an every down back. As a runner he has all the tools Notre Dame wants and needs, and he's shown the ability to be just as effective as a high carry, pound it back as he has as a big play back. He can take and deliver punishment in a way you wouldn't expect from a back his size. Advertisement Osborne has an outstanding first step, which is crucial for a college running back. He explodes out of his stance when working downhill and also shows the ability to plant and explode vertically when working stretch plays, on counter runs where he has to be patient and let his blocks set up, and when working in space. He doesn't look to have the same kind of acceleration of a back like Jeremiyah Love, but the long speed he does have combines with his initial explosiveness to make him a legit home run back. The Forney star is an impressive all around athlete. He is a sudden athlete that changes direction with ease, and his contact balance is elite. Combine that with his strong frame, leg drive and natural power and you see why he's such a hard back to tackle, especially in space. There aren't many backs who are able to cut and run with the kind of power he does. He's able to explode on back cuts on the zone and he can bounce outside, quickly accelerate and get to the corner. His efficiency and explosive running style is incredibly impressive. Athleticism only takes you so far. What makes Osborne one of the nation's best backs - and top players - is that he also shows an elite feel for the position. He's patient when he needs to be and takes off when he needs to. His vision and second level anticipation from the backfield is elite, and he does an excellent job setting up defenders in space. Combine that with his top-level agility and he's a nightmare to bring down in the secondary. My only technical issue with Osborne is that he doesn't always put the ball in his outside arm. That eliminates any chance to use a stiff arm and keep defenders. I'd like to see him correct that. In the pass game he isn't used much by Forney, but in limited opportunities he shows good hands and he's a major weapon in the screen game for all the same reasons he's dynamic as a runner. Advertisement Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge Irish Breakdown Content 2025 Scholarship Chart 2025 Football Schedule Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense 2025 Commit Rankings - Defense 2024 Recruiting Class 2023 Recruiting Class 2022 Recruiting Class ——————— Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more. BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time! Join the Irish Breakdown community! Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178 Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is this former top RB pick on the trade block?
Photo byIs Breece Hall better than Kyren Williams? The stats say no, but as 2022 draft prospects the two running backs were separated by three rounds, with Hall ranked as the consensus best player in the class at his position. With rumors circling on Sunday that the New York Jets will look to trade Hall, potentially to open the door for Ashton Jeanty at pick 7, could a deal impact the L.A. Rams at all? Advertisement According to Jets beat writer Rich Cimini, usually a great source for intel on the team, New York wants to lean towards a running-back-by-committee and may not be able to extend Hall with classmates Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, and Jermaine Johnson also due new contracts. Drafting Jeanty would not only upgrade the position, but reset the timeline on extending their starting running back. Hall's career started in 2022 as being called one of the best running back prospects of the last five years, having rushed for 3,933 yards and 50 touchdowns over three seasons at Iowa State. He also has receiving ability, totaling 734 yards through the air. Hall led the country in rushing touchdowns in 2020 (21) and 2021 (20). Then at the 2022 combine, Hall weighed 217 and ran a 4.39 40-yard dash and posted a 40' vertical with a 10'6 broad jump. He was both the most productive and probably the best athlete among all running backs that year, with Kenneth Walker being the only player in his vicinity. Advertisement The Jets had an embarrassment of riches in the draft, picking fourth, tenth, and 26th, which is where they landed Gardner, Wilson, and Johnson. All three have had their ups and downs, but are still three of the best players that the Jets have drafted in a very, very long time. Hall's story is no different. After missing 10 games as a rookie (but averaging 5.8 yards per carry), Hall has played in all but one game in the past two seasons. He has been on the field, but hasn't been the most productive runner by any means: 2023: 994 rushing yards, 4.5 YPC, but 591 receiving yards 2024: 876 rushing yards, 4.2 YPC, 483 receiving yards One of his other issues is fumbling: 8 fumbles in the past two seasons, including 6 of them in 2024 alone. Advertisement Of course, Breece Hall plays for the Jets, so he isn't getting the best offensive line or coaching that money can buy. How productive would Hall have been for Sean McVay if he had Kyren Williams' job instead? Tell me your answer to that question in the comments. If Hall and Williams both become free agents in 2026, the truth is that Breece Hall might still get more money despite Williams rushing for over 2,400 yards and 26 touchdowns in the past two years. If Hall is healthy — injuries and fumbling are also issues for Williams, who also has 8 fumbles in the past two seasons — teams will likely still value his athleticism more than Williams' talents. Of which he has many, but nobody's ever going to teach him to be .2 or .3 seconds faster in the 40. Advertisement Imagine if the Rams offered Williams to the Jets straight up for Hall, who would say no? Believe it or not, the Jets might be the ones to turn it down. Of course, we know that they might turn it down because if they're not going to pay Hall, they're not going to pay Williams either. But if both running backs were on the trade block right now, the Jets might still get more for Hall than the Rams would get for Williams. Ultimately, the Rams insist that they want to extend Kyren Williams this year and that's probably what they will do. If Hall hits the trade block and is traded to a division rival — the only that really makes any sense is Arizona, but could Hall be insurance for Christian McCaffrey? — the results may not impact L.A. at all or he could become one of the most dangerous opponents to defend in the NFC West. Is Williams someone who the 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals fear the same? Maybe they do. But we might not see the real Breece Hall until AFTER he's been traded from the Jets. Advertisement More from
