Monthly Archives: December 2011

December 31, 2011

Sal’s Top 5 Sports Stories of 2011

By nalstradamus

My final post of 2011. It’s been a great year for me personally and I’m looking forward to making 2012 even better. I made a few resolutions for 2011 and I hit them all. I ran my first full marathon, I completed P90X, got a new job and started a blog. I’m having a hard time picking goals for 2012, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out in the next few days. Anyway, enough about me. I’m going to end 2011 with a short review on my top 5 sports stories of the year. I know there have been many stories to choose from, but this is my list and if you have another top 5 feel free to share them in the comments section. Have a safe and happy new year! All the best to you and your families for 2012.

1) Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Playoff Run

This many people crammed in a small space...probably a bad idea

There was an unreal buzz in downtown Vancouver during the long Stanley Cup playoff run by the Canucks. I live right in the middle of downtown Vancouver so I experienced the mayhem after each game. I will never forget game 7 against the Blackhawks. The nervousness we all felt watching that game was amazing and the yelling and cheering that lasted all night was incredible. Of course it all ended badly as the Canucks lost game 7 at home and we all know what happened after. I was walking down Granville after game 7 and left just in time before the tear gas started. A dark night, that has forever scarred this city.

2) The St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series

Photo by REUTERS

The Cardinals played the best 3 months of baseball I’ve ever seen. Coming back from a double digit game deficit late in the year to make the playoffs was a ridiculous feat in itself. They followed that up by beating the World Series favourite Phillies on the road against the best pitcher in baseball. The improbable feats continued in the World Series where arguably the best game in playoff history took place in game 6 with the Cardinals coming back twice while being down to their final strike of the season. It was a season that you couldn’t script any better in Hollywood. It was also an end of 2 eras in St. Louis with Tony La Russa riding off into the retirement sunset and Albert Pujols becoming a gazillionaire with the Angles via free agency.

3) Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL

The Packers led by arguably the best QB in football have been dominating the competition in 2011. They started off the year with a Super Bowl win and continued their winning ways in this year’s regular season. They almost went a full year without a loss going undefeated from Dec. 19, 201o to Dec. 18, 2011. Aaron Rodgers has solidified his place among the best QB’s in the game with MVP type numbers: 4643 yards, 45 TD, 6 Int, 68.5% comp. pct and 122.7 QB rating. The Packers are the favourites to win it all again this year and it looks like the only thing that can stop them is themselves.

4) Sidney Crosby and Concussions in the NHL

Will Sid the Kid have to retire early if his concussions continue?

The biggest story in the NHL season is the absence of the best player in the league Sidney Crosby. Crosby was able to return for a few games, but after a seemingly insignificant bump has now found himself in the press box again suffering from lingering concussion symptoms. There is a significant fear in hockey circles that possibly Crosby may permanently be hampered by concussion symptoms. Crosby means so much to the league and having him not playing is a loss for all hockey fans. Crosby may be the best player not playing due to a concussion, but there have been many others that are missing time or have missed time due to concussions: Chris Pronger has been lost for the season and possibly for his career, Shea Weber, Jeff Skinner, Simon Gagne, John Michael Liles, Colby Armstrong, the list goes on. Many people have offered potential solutions to the ever growing problem including the re-addition of the centre red line, bigger ice surface, softer pads, better helmets, more clutching and grabbing, no touch icing, etc. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution.

5) Lokomotiv Plane Crash

(AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Tragedy struck on September 7 when the entire Lokomotiv KHL hockey team was killed in a plane crash. Several former NHL players were on board including the head coach Brad McCrimmon. I attended a pre-season Canucks game shortly after this crash and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place after an emotional video montage was played highlighting each player killed in the crash. The Lokomotiv team plans on playing in the KHL again in 2012-2013.

 

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December 24, 2011

Sal’s Week 16 NFL Picks: Happy Holidays

By nalstradamus

Last week: 6-9-1

Season: 106-108-1

I missed Thursday’s game this week, but I probably would have lost that one as I would have picked Houston. Looks like it’s 20 minutes before halftime so I better hurry up and get to the picks.

New England -9

The Pats destroyed the Dolphins earlier this season and they still want to lock down the #1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Baltimore -11

Similar to the Pats pick above. Baltimore still has something to play for and will try as hard they can to keep up with the Pats.

Arizona +4.5

Both teams desperate for the playoffs. I expect a close game.

Minny +6.5

AP angry from last weeks ugly loss. Washington coming off big rivalry win…letdown coming

Denver -3

Tebow and friends need this one bad to stave off the hot Chargers

Pittsburgh -10

I don’t love this pick, but I can’t back the Rams…ever

NYJ -3

This will be a bruising battle. The Jets are better at home, the Giants seem to stink it up in NYC

Carolina -9

Cam Newton gone wild. Tampa just playing out the string.

Titans -8

Slim slim playoff hopes, but still there so expect an all out effort

KC -2.5

Orton looks good under centre and the Raiders are in pure free fall mode.

San Diego +1.5

The Chargers are going to make the playoffs…they are money in December

Eagles +1

Dallas has a bunch of banged up stars and may rest them if NYG lose earlier in the day.

Seattle +1

Seattle is desperate and San Fran is coming off a monster win. Can Marshawn keep his TD streak alive against a team that doesn’t allow rushing TD’s?

Green Bay -11

Josh McCown starting for the Bears…that’s all I need to know.

 

Good Luck everyone and have a safe and merry Christmas!

Don’t blow all your money on those ridiculous boxing day deals either!

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December 22, 2011

Haters Still Gunna Hate?

By nalstradamus

If you missed last nights Vancouver Canucks vs. Detroit Red Wings game you missed the game of the year in the NHL so far. The game had it all, big hits, big saves, beauty goals, feistiness, you name it. With the win the Canucks are now 1 point out of the Northwest Division lead. It’s likely we will see them take over the lead as early as Friday as they face a Flames team they have dominated over the last few years. The win last night also has shut the mouths of the notorious Canucks haters for at least a week. These same “fans” were calling for the trading of their #1 goalie for any price including a used bag of pucks and a few half eaten Tim Horton donuts. I want to ask those “fans”…what now? Still wanna hate? Still think Luongo should have stopped those 2 goals he let in last night because Cory Schneider would have obviously stopped those 2 unstoppable shots? It’s time to look in the mirror wearing your $300 Canucks jersey, raise your right hand and swiftly sack yourself as hard as you can. As I predicted here, the mini hot streak Cory Schneider had was going to light a fire under big Lu and we were about to see a dominating streak of play from the #1. Well that streak is in full effect now as Lu is 7-0-1 in his last 8 starts, including a shut out.

The hate has cooled for at least a couple games.

I can’t give Lu all the credit for the Canucks recent hot play: the Sedins are rolling on all cylinders, Kesler is back being a dominating force in both ends of the ice, Bieksa and the Hammer are locking down top offensive units, Raymond and Hansen are burning up the wings creating all sorts of chances, the PK and PP are back to elite levels, the face-off dot is being owned by the centres, Salo somehow is staying fairly healthy, it goes on and on and on.

The Canucks will win the Northwest, there’s no doubt there. Their true obstacle will eventually be another match up against their hated playoff rivals the Chicago Blackhawks. We’ll have to wait 4 or so months for that to play out, but until then enjoy the Lu hot streak.

 

 

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December 21, 2011

Yu Who?

By nalstradamus

Photo by Reuters

The Texas Rangers were announced as the big winners of the Yu Darvish bid-off on Monday. The Rangers coughed up $51.7 million bucks to acquire just the rights to negotiate with the star Japanese pitcher. It likely will take another $75 million or more to get Darvish under contract. That’s a whopping $120+ million bucks to sign a guy who’s never thrown a pitch in the MLB. It’s a big gamble, but after losing staff ace CJ Wilson in free agency and with their division rivals in the Angels blowing all their money, the Rangers couldn’t just stand pat.

It was a bit of a surprise that Texas were the eventual winners of the bidding war because it was widely thought that the Toronto Blue Jays were going to be the winners. The Blue Jays rumoured victory and subsequent loss has caused a raucous within a growingly impatient Blue Jay fan base. Message boards have been littered with angry fan rants about how the Blue Jays have failed yet again to improve the team via big ticket free agent talent like others in their division seem to do year in and year out. Whereas others are now pleading for AA and the Blue Jays brass to use the Darvish money they were going to blow and go after Prince Fielder.

Losing out on Darvish was a winning scenario for the Jays. $120+ million on a player that’s never played in the bigs is just too risky. Darvish isn’t the first hyped pitcher to come out of Japan. Recent examples of Dice K and Kei Igawa are prime examples of pricey additions that have not worked out as advertised. Actually, can you name one Japanese star pitcher coming over to the MLB that has been worth the price? Hideo Nomo you say? Probably not a good choice, his average season in the bigs worked out to 13-12 and a 4.24 ERA.

Who didn't try and copy this wind up in Little League?

The Blue Jays cannot afford to have a $120+ million failure, especially with attendance numbers still not up to snuff. The Blue Jays do need front end of the rotation help and if the rumours are true it appears AA has his claws in other possible starters such as Gio Gonzalez and Matt Garza. I would take either of those 2 starters over Darvish in a heartbeat. Both are proven winners, both are fairly young, and both have reasonable contracts.

As for Prince Fielder…it would be a dream to have him and Bautista in the middle of the order. Unfortunately, it will only ever be a dream. The price tag is astronomical and I doubt Fielder has Toronto circled on his list of must have destinations. I still have a gut feeling that AA will be adding a big bat via the trade route. The Jays fans need to stay patient. I know it’s hard, but the team is headed in the right direction…In AA we trust.

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December 14, 2011

Sal’s Week 15 NFL Picks

By nalstradamus

Last Week: 8-8

Season: 100-99-8

Really pressed for time this week so just going to list the picks with no commentary. Good luck.

Atlanta -11.5

Dallas -7

Cincy -6

Buffalo (no line available)

NYG -6.5

Tennessee -6.5

Seattle +3.5

GB -13.5

Houston -6

Minny +6.5

Detroit -1

Arizona -6.5

NYJ +3

NE -6

San Diego +1.5

Pittsburgh (no line available)

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December 13, 2011

Perfection or Protection?

By nalstradamus

Mr. Perfect says perfection...obviously

The Packers are 3 wins away from a perfect regular season. Their last 3 games shape up well for them to run the table: at the struggling Chiefs, at home against a depleted Bears offence and at home against the Lions. The question is, should they continue to run their starters out each week striving for perfection and risking injury or should they do what the 2009 Colts did and protect their starters for the playoffs. I don’t think there’s much of a debate to be had here. I say they should go for the gusto and try and run the table and go for a true perfect season to join the 72 Dolphins as the only team to be perfect both in the regular and postseason. Why you ask? There’s a few simple reasons.

Resting stars and virtually giving away games creates an atmosphere of losing in the locker room. An atmosphere that hasn’t been present in 19 games. The Packers currently have an air of invincibility about them, why ruin this by allowing lesser teams to defeat them? Think of it from the opposing teams point of view, would you rather face a team that comes in to the playoffs after a few losses to inferior teams or a team that hasn’t lost since December 19, 2010? The latter is much more intimidating.

Going for the true perfect season also keeps the players on the team extremely motivated. They wouldn’t just be playing for a perfect season, they’d be playing to be known as the best team in history. Packing it in and losing a few games in the regular season will take some of that edge off and likely will create some what if scenarios in some players heads.

The Packers are coming off a Super Bowl win last season so if there was a perfect time to risk it all for immortality this would be the year. If they were 20 years between championships or something then maybe more caution should be served in respect for a championship starved fan base. The Cheeseheads would go ballistic for a perfect season and would love to further cement the legendary status of their franchise in the history books.

The obvious risk of course is injury to key players. However, I bet if you asked any of the Packer stars they would tell you they want to play every game and go for history. They’ve proven they were the best team last year and so far this year no other team has even been close. Lets see if they can do what no other team has ever done and go 19-0 and be the best team that ever lived. Brett Favre would freak out in his Wranglers if it happened…I hope it does.

Can they run the table? I think so

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December 8, 2011

I Guess Baseball is Recession Proof

By nalstradamus

The Angels went on a shopping spree to end all shopping sprees today. Their biggest signing was the signing of the best player in baseball Albert Pujols to a whopping 10 year $254 million dollar contract. They followed that up by signing CJ Wilson to a 5 year $77.5 million dollar contract. So in one day they’ve committed $331 million on just 2 players.

$254 million dollars richer

Those are mind boggling numbers. As we’ve seen many times in baseball, spending big money doesn’t  guarantee championships. Just ask the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees how that strategy fared last season. Do the 2 signings make the Angels better, yeah obviously adding the best player in the game will make you somewhat better. However, I’d still take the Rangers winning the AL West over the Angels right now. I’ll take Hamilton, Beltre, Kinsler, Young, Cruz over Pujols, Wells, Abreu , Trumbo and Hunter any day. However, you never know, this opinion could change quickly if the Angels continue to go bananas and end up buying a new bullpen staff to shore up a pen that blew the most saves in the AL or maybe somehow swindle Hanley Ramirez off the similarly financially psychotic Marlins. Speaking of the Marlins, they signed Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle for a combined $191 million. Add that to the Angles totals and that equals $522.5 million bucks on just 5 players. Yikes!

I’m not a huge fan of the 10+ year contracts. Have there been many where you can confidently say it was worth handcuffing your teams finances to lock up one player forever? There’s still another big fish…I mean really big…floating out there that will no doubt get one of these monster 10 year contracts. That fish is of course Prince Fielder.

Show me the $$$

There have been rampant rumours flying around that the Blue Jays are major players in the Fielder bidding war. I’d be shocked if AA and the Jays go against their philosophy and building plan and throw serious Rogers dough at Fielder. Would I love to see him hitting in front/behind Joey Bats? Hell yeah, but I also don’t want a Vernon Wells, Alex Rios remix to occur. I might be thinking too old school, but I prefer the way the late 80′s, early 90′s Jays built their winning teams. They groomed and developed their own talent and then when they were ready to contend, opened up the purse strings and added the high priced talent with their peaking youngsters to take them to the top. It is tough though to sit back and be patient when you look around at the teams surrounding you burning endless amounts of $ to continually restock their roster. However, Jays fans just need to look at their fellow AL East rivals in the Tampa Bay Rays to see how a team with a smaller budget and home grown talent can make it to the top. Just be patient…it’ll come.

 

 

 

 

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December 7, 2011

Sal’s Week 14 NFL Picks

By nalstradamus

Last Week: 8-8

Season: 92-91-8

Ho hum of a week last week. I honestly expected worse with the lack of time spent thinking about picks. It’s coming down to crunch time for teams with playoff aspirations and thus we’ll likely see a lot of tight ball games the next few weeks. There’s a lot of games to go through so lets get straight to it

Cleveland at Pittsburgh -14

Pick: Browns +14, scary pick here, but I’m going with the fact the Steelers are 0-3 as double digit favourites this year.

New England -9 at Washington

Pick: Patriots -9, just a few weeks ago I was saying possibly the Pats were washed up…yeah…I’m forever sorry Mr. Hoodie.

Kansas City at NYJ -9

Pick: Chiefs +9, this is a must win for the Jets, but I hate backing them when they are large favourites because their offence is so unpredictable. The Chiefs are scrappy and I see them hanging around in this one.

Houston at Cincinnati -3

Pick: Texans +3, Another desperate team, the Bengals need this game badly. However, the Bengals once tough D has been ravaged by injuries and that spells trouble against a juggernaut of an offence in the Texans.

New Orleans -3.5 at Tennesee

Pick: Titans +3.5, The Saints have been on a roll the last few weeks, but they are average on the road and the Titans are tough at home. CJ appears to be back and if he can keep up his hot play it will keep the Titans close.

CJ's back baby

Philadelphia at Miami -3

Pick: Dolphins -3, So much for the Dolphins winning the Luck sweepstakes. After starting 0-5 the fins have won 4 or their last 5 games. The Eagles looked awful last week and look like a defeated team limping to the finish.

Indianapolis at Baltimore -16.5

Pick: Colts +16.5, 0-12 is ugly, but I like what I saw last week when the colts were 21 point underdogs. Although they are playing a much better defence this week. Back door cover likely.

Atlanta -3 at Carolina

Pick: Panthers +3, Can the Falcons porous secondary stop Cam Newton? Im thinking not and I think the Panthers ruin the Falcons playoff dreams this week.

Chicago at Denver -3.5

Pick: Tebow -3.5, I strayed from the Tebow train for 1 week last week, I’m committed now.

Tebowing is sweeping the nation

San Francisco -3.5 at Arizona

Pick: Cardinals +3.5, the 49ers have already sealed the division so they may be in pure cruise control here on out.

Buffalo at San Diego -7

Pick: Chargers -7, the offence looks like it’s back for the Chargers, but their defence is still a mess. Lucky for them they are facing a banged up Buffalo team that will likely continue to struggle on both sides of the ball due to their lack of depth.

Oakland at Green Bay -11

Pick: Packers -11, the quest for 16-0 continues this week and I don’t see the Raiders having much of a chance stopping Aaron Rodgers and the boys.

NYG at Dallas -3.5

Pick: G-MEN +3.5, The biggest game of the week and as per usual the best game is the Sunday night game. These NFC east rivalry games are always tight and I don’t see that being any different here.

There are a few games with no lines out as I am typing this out…

Tampa Bay at Jacksonville

Pick: Bucs, I think the line will be tight, probably around -2 for the Jags. Blaine Gabbert looks lost right now and the Jags secondary is in shambles.

Minnesota at Detroit

Pick: Vikings, The Vikes will be the underdog in this one, probably by more than a touchdown. I like picking the dog in these bitter divisional rivalries.

St. Louis at Seattle

Pick: Rams, again I’m siding with the underdog in the rivalry game. Probably around a touchdown advantage given to the Hawks once the lines come out. I like picking the Hawks when they are home dogs, but I shy away when they are the home fave. Not quite a marquee match up for a Monday night game.

 

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December 5, 2011

Comeback Kids

By nalstradamus

This past Sunday was comeback Sunday for a couple superstars in the North American sports world. The biggest of course was Tiger Woods’ first tournament win in 749 days. Now that he’s got his first win since the hullabaloo from 2 years ago under his belt expectations will soar for next year. As I’ve said previously, a healthy and winning Tiger is the most important thing in golf. I’m going to be a bit bold and predict Tiger comes back strong in 2012 and wins his first major since 2008. With a strong 2012, the media and fans will start to forget about his wrongdoings and re-focus on his quest to be the best golfer of all time. We’ve seen how success in sports can quickly overshadow off field/court controversies (Vick, Bryant, Ray Lewis, etc.). Tiger will climb back to the top eventually and his 2 years of public hell will be all but forgotten.

He's back...lookout

In the hockey world, arguably the most maligned goalie in the NHL, Roberto Luongo, made his first start since November 13. It was probably the best possible comeback scenario for Luongo as he was playing a team in Calgary that he has more wins against than any other team in the NHL. The Flames were also a tired team playing their 3rd game in 4 nights. Luongo wasn’t dominant, especially in the early going when he let in a weak goal from below the goal line. However, he was solid after that goal and this could be the beginning of a strong string of games from a hungry Luongo. This is the first time Luongo has had genuine competition in goal and this could be just the thing that will light a fire under him to prove to his team, the fans and media that he is the top dawg between the pipes.

With solid competition behind him, will this push Luongo into elite status?

 

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Golf, Hockey

December 1, 2011

Sal’s Week 13 NFL Picks Plus a Little C-Wall Banter

By nalstradamus

Last Week: 9-7

Season: 84-83-8

Not too bad of a week last week as I’ve nudged myself over the .500 hump again. The picks this week will either be very very bad or shockingly flukey. I am pressed for time this week, but I must continue this weekly streak of picks. Wifey is not around, so we’ll have to skip her fun picks this week.

Philly -3 at Seattle

Pick: Eagles -3, I usually like picking the Hawks at home when they are dogs because of how crazy their stadium is, but I just don’t like their chances in this one…especially on the offensive side of the ball. The passing game took a huge blow with their best wideout Sidney Rice being put on IR this week. Doug Baldwin and Ben Obomanu aren’t scaring nobody.

Oakland at Miami -3

Pick: Dolphins -3, The Dolphins have been a solid team the last 6 weeks. Their defence has been solid and their offence has been decent. The Raiders have won 3 in a row, but I think the streak has been a little deceiving in beating a Cutler-less Bears team, a weak Minny team and a floundering Chargers team.

Atlanta -3 at Houston

Pick: Texans +3, So much for Matt Leinart having a shot at proving himself. The Texans are down to their 3rd string QB, but really all he needs to do is keep handing it off to his 3 stud running backs and maybe throw an occasional PA pass to one of the best WR’s in the game.

Tennessee at Buffalo -1

Pick: Bills -1, The Bills are banged up big time, but they play tough at home. I also have CJ Spiller in fantasy so I’m extremely biased here.

KC at Chicago -7

Pick: Chiefs +7, seems like too many points to give to a team relying on Caleb Hanie

NYJ -3 at Washington

Pick: Jets -3, the Jets need this win badly. I see them picking off Grossman 3 to 4 times.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh -7

Pick: Bengals +7, seems like the Steelers let any team hang around

Denver at Minnesota -1

Pick: Vikings -1, I’ve been picking Tebow pretty much every week, but I have this gut feeling the Vikings roll the Broncos this week…

Carolina at Tampa Bay -3

Pick: Bucs -3, Lagarrette Blount against that Carolina run d is making his fantasy owners drool.

Indy at New England -20.5

Pick: Patriots -20.5, what an unreal line…I’m riding it

Baltimore -6.5 at Cleveland

Pick: Ravens -6.5, This seems to easy…it probably is, but I’ll take the bait.

Dallas -4.5 at Arizona

Pick: Cowboys -4.5, another suspicious line, I’m taking all the sucker bets this week

Green Bay -6.5 at NYG

Pick: Aaron Rodgers -6.5, can’t stop, won’t stop…un unh

St. Louis at San Fran -13.5

Pick: 49ers -13.5, It’s 49ers or nothing here, can’t lay it down with the Rams.

Detroit at New Orleans -9

Pick: Saints -9, I think we see a similar game out of the Saints as we did last week.

San Diego -3 at Jacksonville

Pick: Chargers -3, final hurrah for Norm and the Boys, desperado to the extreme

 

Onto the C-Wall

THE C-WALL

If you don’t know who the C-Wall is, it’s Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks. He will be making his 7th straight start tonight, appeasing all the Lu Haters in Van City. He definitely deserves to keep starting with his ridiculous play of late, a 0.79 goals against with 2 shut outs during a current 5 game win streak. You have to wonder though, what happens if he wins another 2, 3, 4 games in a row? You gunna pull him after 1 loss after 10-12 amazing games? Luongo and C-Wall have been saying all the right things in the media, but I am a little afraid of the fallout if C-Wall keeps up his hot play and Luongo becomes the highest paid back-up next to Dipietro.  Yeah, yeah, I know it shouldn’t matter if the boys keep winning, but eventually this could become a major distraction for the whole team.

Easy solution, trade Luongo obviously.  Really, you want to roll to the Stanley Cup playoffs with Schneider and Eddie Lack as your goalies? Luongo doesn’t have a cup, but he has experience, he’s been in huge games before. Schneider has skills,  that’s for sure, but I don’t think he’s ready to be “the man” right now. Actually, if you want to trade someone, trading Schneider right now would give you the most bang for your buck. In the end Gillis would be nuts to break up this studly goalie tandem . Canucks fans should just sit back and be smug that they have arguably the best goalie tandem in the league. Fans all over the league would kill to have this so called ‘problem’.

 

 

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