Looking Back at the End of Last Year
It seems like it was just a couple days ago that Lebron James came out of nowhere, leaped at the perfect moment and successfully created his most icon play of his career. All who watched game 7 of The Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers will forever remember "The Block." Up until this point in his career Lebron James didn't have a signature moment. After "The Block" he finally will have a signature play that will be played along with other plays such as Magic's skyhook in The Finals, Bird stealing the ball to seal the win against the Pistons, and Michael's game 6 shot over Bryon Russell and the Utah Jazz (I'm still claiming he pushed off, but I may be a little biased.)
It's been just over 4 months since Lebron's signature play and now we have another NBA season upon us. To say this NBA season is going to be an exciting one would be an understatement. So much happened this off-season that some of it is actually hard to believe. Let's take a quick look at some of the headlines that happened this off-season.
The Off-season
Super-team
First off, just to get it out of the way, Kevin Durant went to the Warriors. If you're a Warriors fan (which you've probably only been for the past 2-3 years) you should be very excited about this. If you're not a Warriors fan you should be afraid, very afraid. The warriors now have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. I would argue that those three guys are the three best shooters in the league. It was amazing that the past couple of years the Warriors had Curry and Thompson on the same team. Now they add Durant that can make shots from anywhere on the floor. Literally anywhere on the floor. There are some players that are very good shooters but are especially great shooters from a certain spot on the floor. Shane Battier has made a career from being a great 3 point shooter from the corner. Kevin Durant is a great shooter from the corner, the wing, the top of the key, baseline and pretty much anywhere you can think of. Combine this shooting ability with Curry, who it surprises you more when he misses a 30 footer, and Thompson, who when he gets on a hot streak there is no stopping him, and you have probably the best shooting team the league has ever seen. Oh and they still have a guy named Draymond Green. This Warriors team is going to be one of the most fun teams to watch of all time and I'm just taking a wild guess that there games will be aired nationally quite often so you'll have plenty of opportunities to watch them.
Cash Money
The second craziest thing that happened to Durant going to the Warriors is that NBA players got paid this year. The salary cap went up for every team and players got to cash in. This is the only way the Warriors were able to get Durant. People were upset that the Warriors created a super team and many former players came out saying they would have never done something like that. Here's the thing, if the salary cap hadn't gone up, the Warriors wouldn't have had the cap space to sign Durant. Former players wouldn't have done this because they didn't have the option unless they took a significant pay cut. Something like this will probably never happen again unless the salary cap makes another big jump, and I'm sure the league will do all they can to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Some of the NBA contracts we saw were surprising and left us dumbfounded. There was one that wasn't that surprising. Lebron James finally became the highest paid player in the NBA. Oh and he is still being under paid. Lebron is going to make $30 million this year but he should be making twice that much. With all of his endorsements he does make twice as much but because he plays in a salary cap sport he is underpaid on his NBA salary. If there was no salary cap he would probably make somewhere around $75 million and still might be under paid.
Mike Conley also got paid and is making $26 million this year. Bradley Beal is making $22 million this year. Demar Derozan will make $24 million. Oh and let's not forget that Stephen Curry is going to make $11 million this year.
What I learned this off-season is that I am in the wrong profession and I should have worked on my jump shot and defense when I was younger.
What we get to look forward to?
Finals Prediction
In the history of the NBA Finals there has never been two teams that played each other three years in a row. That is going to change this year. The Cavs and Warriors are going to meet again and make history by playing in three straight finals against the same team. The East is getting better but they aren't getting better at the top. The Cavs are going to cruise through the East and Lebron will go to an astonishing seven straight finals. The Warriors are going to have a tougher road to the finals but because they have the three best shooters in the league and 4 of the best 12 players in the league on one team, they get back to the finals. There are two other teams that have a shot to being title contenders, the Spurs and the Clippers. The Spurs will continue to be the Spurs that they have been for the past 19 years. They still have Gregg Poppovich, one of the top four coaches of all time, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Lamarcus Aldridge and they added Pau Gasol. The Clippers are the one team that when you look at what they have on paper they should have at least one championship, but because of injuries and other circumstances they haven't been able to capture a title. If they can stay healthy this year then they can give the Warriors a good fight in the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook
Oscar Robertson one year averaged a triple double for an entire season. Russell Westbrook might match that amazing feat this year. With Kevin Duran'ts departure Russell Westbrook becomes the man for the Thunder. We all know Westbrook isn't happy about Durant leaving and he is going to be playing like a man on a mission this year. It is amazing watching Westbrook play at the speed and ferocity he plays at. It seems like he is always in 5th gear in every game, every quarter and on every play. I feel bad for any player who has to guard him this year and for every rim that he dunks on.
Home-Court Advantage
It wouldn't be Petey's NBA preview without a look into Swat Lake City at the up and coming Utah Jazz. The very first Jazz game I remember watching was when John Stockton hit a three to send the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals in 1997. Ever since that moment I have loved the Utah Jazz. I was able to enjoy some great years watching John Stockton and Karl Malone running the pick and roll to perfection. The post Stockton and Malone years were rough but we had a great run in 2007 with D-Will, Boozer, and fan favorite Mehmot "Money Man" Okur. Eventually D-Will couldn't control his attitude pretty much forcing Jerry Sloan into retirement and leading Jazz fans into a sad state of rebuilding the past 5 years.
2016 has given Jazz fans hope. Our young core we have been talking about the past 3 years has matured and improved and we added veteran pieces. The Jazz have needed a veteran starting point guard since D-Will left and they finally added a solid starter in George Hill. (Mo Williams thought he did a good job while he was here but come on, let's be real) The additions of Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw aren't the flashiest pickups but it is the veteran presence and depth the Jazz have needed to take a step into making a playoffs run.
Many people are going to think that Gordon Hayward is going to be the leading scorer on the Jazz but I'm going to go with Rodney Hood as the leading scorer for the Jazz. Hood is entering his 3rd year in the league and I predict he will make a big leap in his offensive game. The paint will be protected by the French Rejection and Officer Favors (Bolerjack really needs to come up with a new nickname for Favors but we'll have to use this one for now). If Rudy can stay healthy this year and play in 65 plus games he will be a top candidate for DPOY and he is going to play to win it.
NBA it's time to look out for Utah and Take Note.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Enjoy the game
There are so many times that I turn on Sportscenter for the purpose of watching spectacular highlights by world-class athletes and after less than five minutes of watching I am sorely disappointed of what they are talking about. They show 30 seconds of highlights and then break down and discuss the game or play for the next 5 minutes. A lot of the time the discussion and breakdown involves more than one player. Who's the greatest of all time? MJ vs Kobe. Kobe vs Lebron. MJ vs Kobe vs Lebron. Instead of asking who's the greatest of all time shouldn't we be asking, Does it really matter?
I do love watching games that pits player against player and rivalry games. Watching a game where Lebron and Durant just go back and forth is quite exciting. But why do we care who is better? They're both really great basketball players and in my opinion are the #1 and #2 best players in the world right now (I'll leave it to you to decide who is #1 and who is #2).
Many people consider Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time. I myself, only being 24 years old don't remember watching a lot of MJ's games. The first time I really remember watching Michael Jordan, and all other sports for that matter was in 1997, when the Jazz and Bulls played in the finals. I was 8 years old at that time. I remember him being a really good player and my dad talking about him but being so young I wasn't able to fully appreciate how good he was. When I look back at games that he played in I understand why people consider him the greatest basketball player of all time.
There are several groups of basketball fans: The first are the old timers. Old timers idealize players such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, and all these young players now a days are just a bunch of baggy short wearing selfish players. As Uncle Drew would say, "It's all about the buckets, youngbloods." The next group of basketball fans are the middle age, glory day era fan. These fans still talk about their own glory days playing high school ball and lived during the 80's and 90's when basketball started to really take fame thanks to Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. The next group, I'll call the Kobe and Lebron Era fans. They know a little bit of the glory day era but they hold close to their assertion that Kobe or Lebron is the greatest of all the time. This era claims that championship rings define how great a player is. In their mind the order of greatness goes, 1. Michael Jordan (6 rings), 2. Kobe Bryant (5 rings), 2. Lebron James (2 rings, and counting). These people seem to forget about Bill Russell who has 11 rings or the fact that Robert Horry has 7 rings with 3 different teams. The last group is the bandwagon fan. They don't really know much about the game but they just follow around the teams that are good at the present moment.
All these different groups argue back and forth with each other relentlessly. I'm here to tell you it doesn't matter. The game of basketball is not a competition to find out who is the greatest of all time, that's why they crown a champion every single year. The only thing that really matters is that we enjoy the game. Looking back I think about the 1997 and 1998 NBA finals. Thinking about who was playing, I should have relished the moment even more. Stockton and Malone going against Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. What a series? And the fact that they played two years in a row is a privilege. I still am bitter that Michael Jordan beat the Jazz two years in a row. Michael Jordan may have saved earth and the looney tunes form an evil alien race but he made an 8 year old cry twice. Oh and by the way he pushed him, we all know he pushed him.
Sports fans everywhere need to just stop arguing and enjoy the game. If we think about where the sports world is at right now we are so privileged. We get to experience players like Lebron, Durant, Kobe, Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin play. Nobody is arguing when Lebron James gets an alley-oop from D-Wade and jumps so high it seems he his going to hit his head on the rim or backboard. At that moment we don't care who is the greatest, we are enjoying the moment. In 20 years when we get to tell the next generation of sports fans who we got to watch play, they will marvel and excited to ask us what it was like to watch them play.
Enjoy the game. Love the game.
I do love watching games that pits player against player and rivalry games. Watching a game where Lebron and Durant just go back and forth is quite exciting. But why do we care who is better? They're both really great basketball players and in my opinion are the #1 and #2 best players in the world right now (I'll leave it to you to decide who is #1 and who is #2).
Many people consider Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time. I myself, only being 24 years old don't remember watching a lot of MJ's games. The first time I really remember watching Michael Jordan, and all other sports for that matter was in 1997, when the Jazz and Bulls played in the finals. I was 8 years old at that time. I remember him being a really good player and my dad talking about him but being so young I wasn't able to fully appreciate how good he was. When I look back at games that he played in I understand why people consider him the greatest basketball player of all time.
There are several groups of basketball fans: The first are the old timers. Old timers idealize players such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, and all these young players now a days are just a bunch of baggy short wearing selfish players. As Uncle Drew would say, "It's all about the buckets, youngbloods." The next group of basketball fans are the middle age, glory day era fan. These fans still talk about their own glory days playing high school ball and lived during the 80's and 90's when basketball started to really take fame thanks to Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. The next group, I'll call the Kobe and Lebron Era fans. They know a little bit of the glory day era but they hold close to their assertion that Kobe or Lebron is the greatest of all the time. This era claims that championship rings define how great a player is. In their mind the order of greatness goes, 1. Michael Jordan (6 rings), 2. Kobe Bryant (5 rings), 2. Lebron James (2 rings, and counting). These people seem to forget about Bill Russell who has 11 rings or the fact that Robert Horry has 7 rings with 3 different teams. The last group is the bandwagon fan. They don't really know much about the game but they just follow around the teams that are good at the present moment.
All these different groups argue back and forth with each other relentlessly. I'm here to tell you it doesn't matter. The game of basketball is not a competition to find out who is the greatest of all time, that's why they crown a champion every single year. The only thing that really matters is that we enjoy the game. Looking back I think about the 1997 and 1998 NBA finals. Thinking about who was playing, I should have relished the moment even more. Stockton and Malone going against Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. What a series? And the fact that they played two years in a row is a privilege. I still am bitter that Michael Jordan beat the Jazz two years in a row. Michael Jordan may have saved earth and the looney tunes form an evil alien race but he made an 8 year old cry twice. Oh and by the way he pushed him, we all know he pushed him.
Sports fans everywhere need to just stop arguing and enjoy the game. If we think about where the sports world is at right now we are so privileged. We get to experience players like Lebron, Durant, Kobe, Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin play. Nobody is arguing when Lebron James gets an alley-oop from D-Wade and jumps so high it seems he his going to hit his head on the rim or backboard. At that moment we don't care who is the greatest, we are enjoying the moment. In 20 years when we get to tell the next generation of sports fans who we got to watch play, they will marvel and excited to ask us what it was like to watch them play.
Enjoy the game. Love the game.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Runner's High: Crazy or Passionate?
The other day I was on my way to enjoy some Kneader's all you can eat french toast with some friends. On our way my friends asked me how my morning run was. I told them it was fantastic, I felt great, and proceeded to tell them the route that I had run. As I explained how I had run 6 miles, which is what I usually run every morning, my friend commented that just driving that makes him tired. I thought about his comment throughout the rest of the day, just like I had thought about all the other comments people say to me when I tell them I like to run. The thoughts that usually go on in my head are along the lines of, "Why do I do this?", "I have to run how many miles today?", "I could just run tomorrow?" People may think I'm crazy for how often and far I run and the fact that I actually enjoy running. Whenever I ask other people if they want to go running with me they say no quicker than I can eat a maple bar doughnut. How did I get started running? Why do I wake up in the morning and roll out of bed and run 4-6 miles? And am I missing brain cells and gone crazy?
My passion for running really didn't start that long ago. When I was in high school I wasn't much of a runner. I was very active and loved playing sports but running just wasn't my thing. Two and a half years ago I had some friends invite me to do a relay race with them. The relay race was the Cache to Teton Epic Relay race. Starting in Logan Utah with 12 people in two vans you would trek 200 miles to Jackson Hole Wyoming non stop over 24+ hours. When my friends first invited me to do this race I thought, 'Well that sounds kind of crazy, but hey why not try it.' At this point I really wasn't much of a runner but because I was active in playing sports I thought I could run the distances that were assigned to me. Over the next 6 months I trained. Starting with running a couple miles a day working my way up so I could run around 5 miles everyday at a good pace. The day of the relay race came and my nerves were on end. During the race I had 3 different legs that I was supposed to run. My first leg was 6 miles. I hadn't yet in my life run 6 miles at one time. The furthest I had run was 5 miles. I decided hey I better just get started and not stop no matter how tired I got. Well I ran and I ran and I ran. I felt great during the entire run. Here is a picture of me just as I finished my first leg.
I was tired but I felt great. On my next leg which was 5 miles I gained my passion for running. When I was running it was around 7 o clock and I was in the middle of Idaho. As I was running I ignored the pain I was feeling in my legs and started noticing the beauty around me. It was absolutely beautiful scenery. The sun was setting over wheat fields of Idaho as the Rocky Mountains towered over me on the other side. I experienced runner's high for the first time in my life and I never looked back after that. After that running wasn't something I did for exercise, or to stay in shape. I ran to get away from the world, to be relieved of the stress that builds up in your life. Running became my hobby and my passion.
When I ran that relay race it was August of 2011. For the rest of the year I kept running but I didn't run in anymore races. It wasn't until the beginning of the next year that some friends invited me to run in their Ragnar Wasatch Back team. I kept on running and decided to run in more races. Over the next spring and summer I ran in a couple 10k's and Ragnar Wasatch back, which is by far my favorite race I have ever run.
Our team was awesome and we did really well finishing 18th in our division and 44th overall out of almost 1200 teams. After I ran Ragnar my passion and my craziness for running just kept building. I wanted to accomplish more, push myself, and set more goals.
I even got my family to run in some races. A bunch of us ran in the Rex Lee Run at BYU that benefits Cancer Research. I wanted to get my family to run in this race because we have had many family members with cancer and have been personally affected by it. It was awesome when we woke up the morning of the race to several inches of snow.
Since I started running two years ago I have run in 4 relay races, 3 10k's, 3 5k's, a Spartan Race, a Triathlon, the Bigfoot 1k, and a half marathon. This year I still have a half marathon and a 1k to run and I don't see myself slowing down anytime soon. My goal in the next couple years is to run a marathon.
I run because I enjoy it. I run to feel better. I run because I can.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Fan for Life
I remember as a little kid growing up watching sports. I loved gathering around the T.V. staring in amazement at the wonderful scene i was witnessing. I grew up a Utah Jazz fan, a BYU Cougars fan, and a San Francisco 49ers fan. After 22 wonderful years of my life I still have a great passion for sports and I still have a burning passion for my favorite teams. Who can all forget John Stockton's last second three pointer against the Rockets in the 1997 western conference finals that sent the Jazz to their first of two consecutive NBA finals. Even though they lost both years to MJ and the Bulls (I'm still convinced that Jordan pushed Russell) it was great memories. The Jazz progressed eventually saying goodbye to the greats of John Stockton, Karl Malone, and Jeff Hornaceck, but eventually it brought forth a new era in the late 2000's with Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and "Money Man" Mehmet Okur. In the last couple years the team has change quite a bit now with Big Al, Paul Millsap, and "Baby Face" Gordon Hayward leading the way. Even with all the changes, the up and down years, i will always be a fan of my Jazz. Even if that means I have to listen to Matt Harpring as a an anounncer and it ever so witty commentary such as "The Early-Oop" and "Swat Lake City", I will endure just to watch my favorite team play.
This last year we witnessed one of the greatest years of college basketball at BYU with Jimmermania. The games were absolutely insane to watch and Jimmer dazzled everyone with his sick crossovers and insane three point range. I remember as a young lad attending the Football and Basketball games with my Dad. I saw some great games and remember some great players coming through. I was able to go to cougar stadium to see other great teams such as Notre Dame and USC play. I remember the historic season in 2001 with Brandon Doman and Luke Staley, and who can forget the Beck to Harline play in 2006. I was able to be on the 2nd row of the BYU vs. Utah game in 2007 with Max Hall's 4th and 18 bomb to Collie. No matter where BYU is at either at the top or not doing so well I will proudly wear my blue and white and cheer on my cougars.
It seems with all sports you will have times of great excitement and sheer joy but at the same time there will be many times of disappointment. In the past decade I have not been disappointed more times than as a 49ers fan. Who can forget the glory days of the 80's and 90's when we had Joe Montana winning Super Bowl after
Super Bowl, throwing touchdown after touchdown to Jerry Rice. After Joe Montana came Steve Young who kept the legacy growing. I loved watching Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Garrison Hearst, and a very young Terrell Owens. I remember going ecstatic when Steve Young made a last second touchdown to Terrell Owens to defeat the Packers in the 1998 playoffs. After that they had a couple more good years. Steve Young eventually retired, Jerry Rice left to the Raiders, Jeff Garcia stepped in and did alright for a couple years, and T.O. became a head case and diseased teams for the next decade. 2002 was the last time the Niners made the playoffs for a while. 2004 brought and abysmal year leaving the team with a 2-14 record and the number one overall pick in the draft. With that pick they took Alex Smith, i'll honestly say i wasn't to excited about that pick but he has grown a lot as a player and has become quite effective. Over the next several years they added great plays like, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Joe Staley, and who can forget about their defensive with Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Patrick Will, and Carlos Rogers. With all these great additions it has finally become our time. After finishing the 2010 season at 6-10, 2011 became our year. Playing with great tenacity all season and being led by one of the best defenses in the league the niners ran off to a 13-3 season having the best turnaround of any team in history, and giving them the number two seed in the NFC. They had finally made it back to the playoffs. Their last game against the Saints could not have been any better. It definitely brought out the 10 year old boy in me as a cheered on my favorite team in the playoffs. No one could have asked for a better game, with 4 total touchdowns between both teams in the final four minutes ending with Alex Smith hitting Vernon Davis for the game winning touchdown with 9 seconds left. Only one more game til the Super Bowl.
Some people are bandwagon fans and jump from team to team. How many people do you know who say their favorite teams are the Patriots or Heat but they couldn't tell you who was on the team before Brady was there or before Lebron teamed up with Wade. It doesn't matter where my team is I will always cheer for them and I will always be a FAN FOR LIFE!!!
This last year we witnessed one of the greatest years of college basketball at BYU with Jimmermania. The games were absolutely insane to watch and Jimmer dazzled everyone with his sick crossovers and insane three point range. I remember as a young lad attending the Football and Basketball games with my Dad. I saw some great games and remember some great players coming through. I was able to go to cougar stadium to see other great teams such as Notre Dame and USC play. I remember the historic season in 2001 with Brandon Doman and Luke Staley, and who can forget the Beck to Harline play in 2006. I was able to be on the 2nd row of the BYU vs. Utah game in 2007 with Max Hall's 4th and 18 bomb to Collie. No matter where BYU is at either at the top or not doing so well I will proudly wear my blue and white and cheer on my cougars.
It seems with all sports you will have times of great excitement and sheer joy but at the same time there will be many times of disappointment. In the past decade I have not been disappointed more times than as a 49ers fan. Who can forget the glory days of the 80's and 90's when we had Joe Montana winning Super Bowl after
Super Bowl, throwing touchdown after touchdown to Jerry Rice. After Joe Montana came Steve Young who kept the legacy growing. I loved watching Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Garrison Hearst, and a very young Terrell Owens. I remember going ecstatic when Steve Young made a last second touchdown to Terrell Owens to defeat the Packers in the 1998 playoffs. After that they had a couple more good years. Steve Young eventually retired, Jerry Rice left to the Raiders, Jeff Garcia stepped in and did alright for a couple years, and T.O. became a head case and diseased teams for the next decade. 2002 was the last time the Niners made the playoffs for a while. 2004 brought and abysmal year leaving the team with a 2-14 record and the number one overall pick in the draft. With that pick they took Alex Smith, i'll honestly say i wasn't to excited about that pick but he has grown a lot as a player and has become quite effective. Over the next several years they added great plays like, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Joe Staley, and who can forget about their defensive with Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Patrick Will, and Carlos Rogers. With all these great additions it has finally become our time. After finishing the 2010 season at 6-10, 2011 became our year. Playing with great tenacity all season and being led by one of the best defenses in the league the niners ran off to a 13-3 season having the best turnaround of any team in history, and giving them the number two seed in the NFC. They had finally made it back to the playoffs. Their last game against the Saints could not have been any better. It definitely brought out the 10 year old boy in me as a cheered on my favorite team in the playoffs. No one could have asked for a better game, with 4 total touchdowns between both teams in the final four minutes ending with Alex Smith hitting Vernon Davis for the game winning touchdown with 9 seconds left. Only one more game til the Super Bowl.
Some people are bandwagon fans and jump from team to team. How many people do you know who say their favorite teams are the Patriots or Heat but they couldn't tell you who was on the team before Brady was there or before Lebron teamed up with Wade. It doesn't matter where my team is I will always cheer for them and I will always be a FAN FOR LIFE!!!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Beginning
After many years of watching the world get into blogs I decided to break down and start a blog of my own. Of course i don't even know where to start when writing a blog but I thought that I would just let my fingers fly while I let my massive creative juices in my head flow.
Because of the recent New Year, welcome 2012 let's make it a good one, I thought i would talk about new year's resolutions, my own resolutions and other people's resolutions. It seems like everyone goes crazy at the beginning of the new year setting new goals of what they want to accomplish in the new year. It seems like every time I have eaten some food with someone in the past couple days they have told me that they are not eating sweets and sugars. We'll see how they are doing in a month. I do commend those people who do set goals and accomplish them. I myself have signed up for the Ragnar this summer and am in the attempt of training for it starting at the beginning of the New Year. I only hope i can make it and not join the masses who give up their gym membership in mid February.
Here's to the new year and to new beginnings.
Because of the recent New Year, welcome 2012 let's make it a good one, I thought i would talk about new year's resolutions, my own resolutions and other people's resolutions. It seems like everyone goes crazy at the beginning of the new year setting new goals of what they want to accomplish in the new year. It seems like every time I have eaten some food with someone in the past couple days they have told me that they are not eating sweets and sugars. We'll see how they are doing in a month. I do commend those people who do set goals and accomplish them. I myself have signed up for the Ragnar this summer and am in the attempt of training for it starting at the beginning of the New Year. I only hope i can make it and not join the masses who give up their gym membership in mid February.
Here's to the new year and to new beginnings.
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