Will College Basketball’s Best Team Please Stand Up!

February 12, 2013 NCAAB

With just under a month before March Madness makes its way to the national spotlight, the college basketball enthusiast are still scratching their heads trying to figure out who is the country’s top team, lets take a look at some possible candidates.

Could it be the Indiana Hoosiers?

Victor Oladipo has been a big reason why the Hoosiers are the favorites to win the title.

Victor Oladipo has been a big reason why the Hoosiers are the favorites to win the title.

Everyone’s title favorite seems to be hitting on all cylinders as the season reaches the home stretch. They are currently ranked #2 in the USA Today poll, as well as #1 in the AP poll. The Hoosiers have been far from perfect though, as they have been on the losing side three times this season, all to teams who were unranked coming into the game. Although Center Cody Zeller leads the team in scoring and rebounding, he has not lived up to the lofty expectations of being the nation’s top player, which many had anticipated coming into the season. However, 6’5″ Junior Victor Oladipo has been a pleasant surprise for the Hoosiers, offering energy, and a defensive pest, while moonlighting as the team’s second leading scorer. The Hoosiers may not be the nation’s best team, but they are certainly the most talented, and when playing to their potential, the most difficult to beat.

Are the Blue Devils going to hang their 2nd banner in 4 years?

The injury to Ryan Kelly has been costly for the Blue Devils

The injury to Ryan Kelly has been costly for the Blue Devils

 

Few have as impressive a resume than the Duke Blue Devils. They have quality wins over Kentucky, Ohio State and Louisville, all of which were top 5 teams at the time. However, this was before Duke lost Senior Ryan Kelly to a foot injury. Since Kelly’s absence, the Blue Devils have been a far cry from the nation’s top team. They were absolutely pummeled last month when they made the trip to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes, and showed just how weak they can be inside when they were defeated by an inconsistent N.C. State team. Although Duke has certainly shown promise of being the nation’s best team, unless they don’t get Kelly back, don’t expect to see another Final Four Banner being put up in Cameron Indoor.


Will the Miami Hurricanes prove they are more than just a football school?

The Canes are the nation's most surprising team

The Canes are the nation’s most surprising team

Everytime I see that #3 ranking next to the Miami Hurricanes, I always have to do a double take, because that is just how rare it is to see the ‘Canes in national discussion. However, Miami deserves all of the recognition, as they are the only team in a BCS conference, who still has not had an in-conference blemish. While the ‘Canes have been mightily impressive in the ACC, their out of conference record indicates a bi-polar team. Yes the highs are high, with an impressive win over a top 15 team in Michigan State, but losing to Florida Gulf Coast and Indiana State are some really troubling losses. However, neither of those losses were in 2013, and in a “What have you done for me lately” kind of world, none have been more impressive than the Hurricanes. If 6’11″ Senior Kenny Kadji’s injury isn’t serious, Miami is a legitimate National Title contender.

Is this the year the Syracuse Orange pull through and make it back to the Final 4? » Read more..

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SABRES VS BRUINS

February 10, 2013 NHL

When the Boston Bruins come to town everyone in Buffalo knows there is going to be a war on the ice.  The Bruins are as tough and skilled a team as there is in the NHL.  This was true of the first period tonight as the Bruins and Sabres battled hard and it was punctuated with first period brawl between Buffalo’s own Patty Kaleta and

Kaleta beating Campbell's ass

Kaleta beating Campbell’s ass

Boston’s Gregory Campbell, of which it appeared Mr. Campbell bit off a little more than he could chew.  Kaleta is not the biggest of heavyweights but man can he throw.  In regards to actual game action the first period, while scoreless, was an absolute joy to watch.  There was hitting, big saves, and tons of scoring opportunities.  Ryan Miller picked right up where he left off Saturday with numerous big time saves.

As the second period rolled around you could easily tell which team was playing back to back and which was fresh.  The Bruins really took it to the Sabres but Miller again stood on his head and the teams traded goals and took it to the 2nd intermission 1-1.  The Bruins goal was a nice snap shot from Brad Marchand and Sabres tally was a very patient Tyler Ennis dipsy do in front.

The same story in the third as the Sabres appeared to be skating in cement.  The Bruins took the lead for good on a bad bounce on off the boards on a Bruins power play that bounced right back to Patrice Bergeron and he didn’t waste time sniping it into the top corner.  The Bruins added a late empty netter by Lucic and there you have it the Sabres fall to 5-7-1 on the season.  All in all a much better team effort however, which hopefully carries over to Tuesday’s match-up in Ottawa.

It will be interesting to see if Tyler Myers is back in the lineup in Ottawa as well.  My view is that 2 games should be enough to prove the point to Myers that he needs to tighten his game up and fast.  If it isn’t then we could be in for a long season for the young phenom.

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SABRES VS ISLANDERS

February 9, 2013 NHL

Sixty minutes are in the books and the Sabres are victorious on Long Island.  The summary of this game can be said in two words….RYAN MILLER.  With the shots a staggering 43 to 15 in favor of the Islanders Miller played out of his mind.  This game also saw Thomas Vanek continuing his torrid scoring pace.

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MILLLLLLLEERRRRR WITH THE SAVE!!!

The big news prior to the puck drop was Tyler Myers taking a seat in the press box.   While everyone in Western New York saw this coming a mile away it didn’t really do much to tighten up a porous defensive unit.  While I am hopeful the kick in the ass will be just what the doctor ordered for Myers it isn’t a certainty.  Either way something needs to give if the Sabres hope to climb out of last place of the Northeast division.  The beauty of all of this is that even after a disastrous start to the Seasons the Sabres are literally tied with 3 other teams for 8th place with 11 points and are only 2 points out of 6th.

Now back to Thomas Vanek.  Sabres fans haven’t witnessed an force on the ice like this since the days of Lafontaine and Mogilny.  Vanek is on a different level and we can only hope it lasts just a little bit longer as it is so fun to watch.  Vanek had a goal and an assist and could EASILY have had 3 or 4 more points.

The focus now shifts to another huge showdown with the Boston Bruins at the First Niagara Center Sunday night.  It will be interesting to see if Ruff goes with Miller on back to back nights.  I can’t see how Enroth could possibly get the call between the pipes the way he has been playing.  Also will there be a Scott/Thorton round 2?  Lets hope so.

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Duke vs Syracuse

February 8, 2013 NCAAB

coach k

It is time to put an end to this discussion. A former colleague of mine, Dave St. John was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and is of course a die hard Syracuse basketball fan. Nothing wrong with that, glad he supports his hometown team. The only thing he doesn’t understand is that Duke University not only produces better NBA players, but runs a better program as well. If you cannot tell by now, I am a Duke fan myself. Why you ask? Duke is only 14 hours away from Buffalo. Well there was a Buffalonian on a certain Duke squad back in 1992, and on my 4th birthday party, Christian Laettner hit the game winning shot against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. It was only meant to be.

So where should I begin? Lets start in the NBA. Syracuse has produced 39 NBA players carmeloand the most notable player is Carmelo Anthony who left Syracuse after leading the Orange to a National Championship during his one year there. The only other notable player who attended Syracuse is Hall of Famer Dave Bing, who played in the league from 1967-1978. Currently in the NBA, Syracuse has four alum along with Carmelo (Dion Waiters, Hakim Warrick, Fab Melo and Wesley Johnson). And no Andy Rautins, the NBA-D league does not count. Fab Melo just played in his second career NBA game last night after playing 19 in the D league. Carmelo is a superstar, but has nothing to show for it. Instead he gets coaches fired, and can’t help his team advance in the playoffs.

Duke on the other hand has produced 57 players in the NBA, with currently 19 of them in the league. That is right, 19. Sure none of them compare to Carmelo, but Kyrie Irving sure is making a name for himself in Cleveland as one of the young stars in the game. Don’t forget that Shane Battier won a ring last summer with the Heat, which gives him one more ring than Carmelo. Duke has produced players such as JJ Reddick, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Austin Rivers to name a few. I would love to see the five from Syracuse take on Irving, Deng, Reddick, Carlos Boozer, and Miles Plumlee. The Duke squad would win by 15 points….easily.

Enough with the NBA talk, lets move back to the college game. With these two historic programs, we have two of the greatest college coaches of all time in Mikecoach k Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim. Coach K has 947 wins, along with 13 ACC tourney championships, and 4 National Titles. Coach Boeheim, who joined coach K in the 900 win club this year, has 909 career wins to go along with just 5 Big East tourney championships, and just one National Championship. Coach K, and coach Boeheim both have two gold medals which they won together in 2008 and 2012, the only difference is, is that coach K was the head coach, and Boeheim just one of the assistants. Don’t tell me they are both deserving, because only one got the head coaching gig.

Another difference between the program is that Duke runs a clean one, and Syracuse not so much. For christ sake, Jim Boeheim hid a pedophile in Bernie Fine. You don’t see any of that kind of stuff with Coach K’s staff. Syracuse has players such as James Southerland suspended indefinitely because of academic purposes. You barely ever see that at Duke. When will Boeheim control his players? Fab Melo got in trouble after he was arrained in court after an incident when he became physical with his girlfriend and broke one of her tail lights. At Duke there are no such issues.

So the point of this post, if you have a son who is considering playing basketball at one of these schools, which you probably don’t, you might want to send them to Duke over Syracuse.

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SABRES VS CANADIENS

February 7, 2013 NHL

With 11 games in the books there are few things that I know for certain about the Buffalo Sabres, Thomas Vanek is great, the Defense is terrible, and the Goalie play is shaky at best.  With that said and on the heels of a big comeback victory against the Rival Montreal Canadien’s let’s discuss all three and more.

I would like to start with the positives here in Thomas Vanek.  He has been a borderline great player for this team going on 8 seasons now.  All the guy does is give up his body to score goals.  He also has some of the best hands and instincts in the game.  The roll he is on currently is MVP worthy.  Chances of him keeping this pace up are slim but even half the production is top 10 scoring territory.  I just hope fans can finally appreciate what he is doing out there on the ice.  Fans for years have taken him for granted.  The dummies that call the WGR whiner line claim he is lazy and slow.  I have always wondered if we were watching 2 different games with such different views, but then I always remember that 99% of WGR550 whiner line callers are complete fools who sound like they barely made it out of 10th grade.  I think a lot of the hatred comes from the mega contract the Sabres where forced into after losing Briere and Drury but that is hardly his fault and he is more than earning it now.  In any event enjoy the ride he is on now.

Now to reality…… the defense, led by Tyler Myers, is off to one of the worst starts I can remember in my 25 plus years of being a Sabres fan.   For the life of my I can’t decide which defensemen is worse.  I suppose the answer is Myers here although he has been playing slightly, and I mean slightly better in the past couple games.  The D corps needs to go back to basics.  They need to stop with the risky passing and take the body rather than the poke check.   To add to this the Forwards need to be available for the outlet pass.  Too many times do I see the Forwards not ready or in position to receive the outlet passes leading to turnovers.

Now to the goalies, or goalie since our backup cannot be trusted to even let in less than 4 goals.  Ryan Miller needs to be Ryan Miller.  I realize the D and Forwards are not helping AT ALL but that is why Miller gets paid the big bucks.  He is our superstar and he needs to work out of this funk and fast if the Sabres are to have any hope of the playoffs.

OTT TALKING SHIT AFTER THE GAME TYING GOAL

OTT TALKING SHIT AFTER THE GAME TYING GOAL

You would think with the tone of this article the Sabres would have lost yet another game and not had a great comeback victory.  The fact remains that unless the things above are turned around there will not be many big wins like tonight.   I absolutely loved Steve Ott’s play in the third.  While Vanek scored the goals Ott was the spark plug, drawing a 4 minute double minor and being a bully in the crease for the game tying goal.  I am loving the trade for him more and more.  The fans are calling for Lindy Ruff’s blood and I can’t say I disagree with him.  He continues to run retreads like Hecht and McCormick out there with less than 3 minutes left in the game while letting young phenom Mikhail Grigorenko rot on the bench.  It is maddening and can’t continue.  If the team doesn’t get back on the winning track Ruff should most certainly be evaluated by management to decide if he stays as coach.

Look for our Sabres VS Islanders recap Saturday.

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National Signing Day

February 7, 2013 NCAAF

As all you college football fans know, yesterday was National Signing Day – college football’s “draft” I guess you could call it. Just as there are in the NFL Draft, there too are surprises on National Signing Day. I think we can all agree that the biggest surprise comes at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels. If you can think of a bigger one, I’m all ears. You can possibly put forth an argument that the biggest surprise is Vonn Bell, the nations #2 safety (depending on the recruiting site you use), signed with Urban Meyer at Ohio State instead of Tennessee or Alabama as it was predicted, but I’ll just ignore you. You can also possibly put forth an argument that Clemson stealing 5-star CB Mackensie Alexander from Auburn and Alabama is the biggest surprise, but I’ll just question your fan hood.

As I said, the biggest surprise, Ole Miss, should have no objections but should stir up MatthewThomas_crop_exactsome head-scratchin’, question-makin’, and a whole lot of NCAA investigatin’ controversy (I came up with that all by myself – definitely have to tweet that @NotWaltFrazier). The signings are old news. They corralled the #1 overall recruit DE Robert Nkemdiche, the #1 OT Laremy Tunsil, the #1 WR Laquon Treadwell, and depending on which recruiting site you look at, the #2 S Tony Connor (I say that because I have Vonn Bell as the #2 S above). These four guys headline a recruiting class with 12 more 4 to 5-star recruits and some 3-star prospects littered in. Overall, according to Rivals, they signed the 7th best class.

All this from a team who hasn’t been relevant since God knows when. Since Eli? Since the 60′s? If it weren’t for their 30 for 30, I would have completely forgot they even had a football program. Everyone’s saying they cheated; everyone’s saying they took a page out of University of Colorado’s recruiting playbook and persuaded them with strippers; everyone is saying Ole Miss paid their top-ranked hottest female population to have sex with the recruits.

Erroneous! Erroneous on all accounts! No. The real reason Ole Miss landed such an unprecedented recruiting class is the signed prospects were truly sold on the vision head coach Hugh Freeze has for his football program. They believed, with their help, they would return to SEC and National prominence as they had in the mid-1900′s despite the fact no one and their mothers even knew they had a football team until yesterday. They felt Ole Miss provided them with the best chance at graduating and landing a full-time job right out of college. They saw Ole Miss as the best campus to broaden their horizons with student organizations such as the Volunteer Ministry Club, the Asian Student Union, and the Students for Peace and Justice.

Yeah, sounds about right.

P.S. Alex Collins’ recruiting debacle was not included in my decision process simply because it is not yet done. I have a good feeling it’s going to get more ridiculous, so once it is finally over I’ll post about it.

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Gronk To Star In New Role? (NSFW)

February 7, 2013 NFL

Pictures at the bottom of this post are not safe for work

Reports have come out that Sex.com has offered to pay New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski $3.75 million dollars if he is to star in a porno with Bibi Jones. If I was Gronk I would take this deal and run with it. Gronk has probably already slept with Jones so the only difference is he would be on camera and his bank account would be growing. We have all witnessed that some players do not last long in the NFL due to injuries, and Gronkowski has already suffered two serious injuries. Who says he will be able to keep up with the beating for as long as Tony Gonzalez has. But then again we are talking about Gronk.

If you can make $3.75 for doing work for two hours and thurougly enjoy it, then why not. Blah, blah, blah Bill Belichick and then Patriots front office would not be happy about it. Ok, double the mans contract and then we’ll talk. Seriously though, what are the Patriots going to do if Gronkowsi decided to become a porn star….cut him? Fine with me. The Bills better overpay him and let him make as many videos as he wants to.

Here is the offer from Sex.com, » Read more..

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Super Bowl 47 Recap

February 4, 2013 NFL

Ravens overcome power outage, survive rally to win Super Bowl

Well I was wrong once again in my prediction. Shit happens, no one is perfect. The Baltimore Ravens proved that thay are the best team in the NFL and pulled off one of the greatest playoff runs in NFL history. Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs put it best,

“We beat the future in Andrew Luck. We beat the past in Peyton Manning. And we beat the present in Tom Brady. And then we beat the best show in offense in the 49ers and Colin Kaepernick. Just think, the toughest road in these playoffs, and we did it.”

For as outspoken as Suggs is, he sure did put it all into perspective. And for all of you that disagree with him when he says that Manning is the past, you are all crazy. Sure he had a fantastic season with the Broncos after coming back from multiple surgeries, but he choked in the playoffs, something he is used to. Manning is washed up, great regular season stats, but shits the bed when it matters most, sort of like Matt Ryan.

The opening ceremonies were nice. Jennifer Hudson looked stunning and was nice to see students from Sandy Hook performing. Publicity stunt or not, the NFL did a nice job with that one. Alicia Keys should never be allowed to sing at a sporting event ever again, and that is all I have to say about that. The game had started and before you knew it, the Ravens were up 21-3. Joe Flacco threw three touchdowns in the first half, including a bomb to Jacoby Jones. Dumbass Chris Culliver of the 49ers who made headlines with his homophobe comments during the week, got burned and then decided not to touch Jones when he was on the ground. Luckily for San Fran David Akers was on his game and gave them some life heading into halftime.

beyonceHalftime, a time when there is a musical performance that is just supposed to blow your mind. Like many years, this did not happen. Beyonce was awful. Yes she looked amazing, but where was all the signing, especially after she lipsynched the Star Spangled Banner. You would have hoped she would have put on a show. Instead she danced, took off some clothes, and then danced some more. Personally I thought it was a drag. Twitter thought otherwise.

The second half started, and bam, Jacoby Jones scores his second touchdown of the game with a 108 yard kickoff return to the house. Ravens 28 49ers 6. Then the craziest thing happened….a power outage. How this happens during the Super Bowl is unexplainable. A 34 minute delay was 34 minutes too long. Some people say it was not a big deal, but in reality it was a huge deal. Just made the city of New Orleans look bad. The only positive that came out from it was Kaepernick was able to calm himself down. The 49ers went on to score 17 straight points to cut the Ravens lead to 28-23 and all of a sudden we had a ball game.

Rookie kicker Justin Tucker connected on a 19 yard field goal to push the Ravens lead back up to 8. The next drive, Kaepernick was finally able to use his legs and scored on a 15 yard touchdown run. Down by 2, 31-29 the 49ers decided to go for two. On a quick route to Randy Moss, the self acclaimed greatest wide receiver to ever play the game, ran a quick slant while Kaepernick seemed to throw it torwards the corner of the end zone. It looked like Moss was right on this read as he beat the opposing corner to the inside position. Tucker connected on another field foal with 4:19 left in the fourth quarter to give the Ravens a 34-29 lead.

It was time for the drive. Steve Young, and Joe Montana had done it before. The 49ers had never lost in a Super Bowl, and up until Kaepernicks second quarter interception, had never thrown an INT in a Super Bowl game. » Read more..

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Lions Getting Hot

February 4, 2013 High School
Moziah Townsend (Far Right) Colin Dougherty (Front Right), Ryan Lawrence(Back)

Moziah Townsend (Far Right) Colin Dougherty (Front Right), Ryan Lawrence(Back)

The Lockport Lions Boys Basketball team is very young, which is quite evident as their rotation is made up of all Juniors, and it showed early in the season. They were stagnant on the offensive end and would have far to many defensive lapses.

 
Coach Dave Gilson was able to work his magic and get his team to grow up quicker than many anticipated, as they are now winners of 5 straight.
 
Much of the change can be attributed to the emergence of Phil Krenshaw into the starting line-up. Krenshaw and Moziah Townsend bring energy and defensive intensity that just wasn’t there in the beginning of the season.
 
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Charlie Sobieraski, who I always accused of being soft, has been everything but, as he has been a force on the glass for Lions, and has taken his game to a whole other level. Both Colin Dougherty and Daniel Bronson, have been able to overcome sluggish starts, and become the guards of which many expected. Ryan Lawrence is the most talented Lion of the group, but has been able to put his ego to the side, and sacrifice for the team by being the spark-plug off the bench. Everyone expects the Lions to be on of the top teams in the area next season, but Coach Gilson already has some special brewing this season.
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Super Bowl XLVII Preview: 49ers vs Ravens

February 1, 2013 NFL

super

The Mercedez Benz Super Dome will host Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, Louisiana for a record 10th time. In 2013 it will be host to the San Francisco 49ers versus the Baltimore Ravens, or as some are calling it, the “HarBowl” as brothers Jim and John Harbaugh will be the first brothers to coach against each other in the big game. The 49ers are an incredible 5-0 all time in the Super Bowl while the Ravens are 1-0 with their only appearance back in 2000 when Trent Dilfer and company defeated the New York Giants.

Both teams are very similar when it comes to their personnel. The Ravens and 49ers both have versatile running backs in Frank Gore and Ray Rice, solid pass catching tight qbaends in Dennis Pitta and Vernon Davis and solid group of wide receivers. On the defensive side of the ball, both teams are led by their captains, Ray Lewis for the Ravens, and Patrick Willis for the 49ers. Both are physical but also fast, probably two of the best defenses in the league. The only real difference between these two teams are their quarterbacks and their play. With Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers have run a more option read type of offense which can be very confusing for a defense. Kaepernick has the ability to run 80 yards without being touched, or can throw a 60 yard bomb. Now on the other hand, Joe Flacco may have the best arm in the league, especially when it comes to the deep ball…just ask the Denver Broncos and Rahim Moore. Don’t be surprised by his 6’6” frame, but the man can move when needed.

Both teams have had to overcome some challenges this year like all great teams do. For the 49ers it was the quarterback change. For the Ravens, it was dealing with the loss of Ray Lewis for a couple of weeks. In week 10, Alex Smith suffered a concussion against the St. Louis Rams and since then has never seen the field. Smith has been honest with reporters, saying that it sucks to now be a back up, but from all the reports out there, it seems that he is very supportive of the second year player from the University of Nevada. For Ray Lewis, the first ballot hall of famer, or murderer, however you want to take it recovered very quickly from a torn tricep. Reports have surfaced during media week that number 52 has taken deep antler spray to help with the recovery, which is a banned substance.

Alright, onto the game now. This could be an entertaining game. It could be high scoring, or an offensive struggle. These teams have proven they are the best two teams and on Sunday we will find out what team is the best. Joe Flacco has defeated both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road. Quite the accomplishment and now the Delaware grad has a point on being one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. For the 49ers, they defeated Aaron Rodgers and the packers, and then went into Atlanta and took down the overrated Matt Ryan, who choked, like every other big game he has ever played in.

I will get right to the point. The San Francisco 49ers win this game. Why? Colin Kaepernick. The extra dimension he brings to the game will cause havoc for thelewis Ravens defense. Not only does he have the most underrated running back in the league in Frank Gore with him in the backfield, but he can break runs as well. It does not hurt when you have targets such as Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss, who is not the best wide out to ever play the game, and Vernon Davis. Even though the Ravens may have the advantage in their wide receivers with Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, having Kaepernick at quarterback opens the field up that much more.

Joe Flacco has finally done it. He is now in the Super Bowl. Since Flacco has been in the league, it has been the Ravens defense that has carried this team. Now Joe Flacco and the offense may have to carry the Ravens to a win. Both running backs, Rice and Gore will have over 125 total yards, and Kaepernick will run for over 70 yards. Both quarterbacks will throw for over 250 yards, and Boldin will have at least 5 catches. Kaepernick wins MVP.

San Francisco 49ers 27 – Baltimore Ravens 21

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