Greenberg bid in trouble?
http://bases.nbcsports.com/2009/12/mlb-is-concerned-about-greenberg-groups-funding-in-the-texas-rangers-bid.html.php
By Craig Calcaterra UPDATE: I received a call from someone with the Greenberg group. They couldn't explicitly comment because of confidentiality agreements, but they deny the report that there is anything amiss with financing and say that everything is going just fine.
Fair enough. The way it breaks down right now, however, is that I have a source I trust and who has no dog in the hunt telling me that there are issues with the financing. I have a party with an undeniable interest in the matter telling me that all is hunky dory. Absent anything new, I am going to stick with the report as it currently stands. Greenberg has a window to negotiate. If he has a deal at the end of all of this, we'll know that, ultimately, there weren't any problems (or at least the problems were overcome). If it falls through, we'll know differently.
3:02 P.M.: A source is telling me that that the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan group's bid for the Rangers is in trouble. Money trouble, specifically, as in they're having problems putting financing together and it has Major League Baseball concerned that the bid may not be viable. Tom Hicks -- who stands to be a minority stakeholder in the Greenberg group and desperately needs to sell the team to save his Hicks Sports Group -- is freaking out.
You'll recall that Greenberg's group beat out the MLB-favored bid led by former agent Dennis Gilbert and the reportedly highest bid by Houston businessman Jim Crane. What they won was an exclusive negotiating window. It may have been the Hicks/Nolan Ryan factor more than the merits of the bid that won the day, however, because even before this report there were whispers that Greenberg, while a great minor league operator, may not have the financial wherewithal to pull this off.
If the Greenberg bid falls through, it's back to square one. Specifically, it would mean that the Rangers would be left with Gilbert, for whom Nolan Ryan said he would not work, and Crane, who everyone who matters in Major League baseball hates because he reneged on a previous bid for a team.
Merry Christmas Rangers fans!
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I'll call BS
Maybe its right but I really hate the anonymous source. It seems to be wrong way more than it is right.
I personally would buy the update from the group that says its not in trouble, but I know a lot of people would doubt that the group making the bid would be honest if it was in trouble.
What do voluntary mean?
In an era
When you can bring down a major institutional bank by planting rumors that it is going to be insolvent, anything goes. Unless the contrary rumor about financing comes from Goldman Sachs (puppet strings everywhere) I’d discount it.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Dec 23, 2009 5:32 PM CST up reply actions
Unless your interests
lied with the other side.
My instincts go against Greenberg on this one…young, minor league owner, had the lowest bid initially, was advised to come up with more bank late in the game…
logic sez this game is too rich for Greenberg & Ryan.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
The weather is cold outside
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Soy Nog is disgusting..
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 24, 2009 7:41 AM CST up reply actions
Uh...
Craig created Shyster Ball, which was later picked up by Hard Ball Times. NBC Sports liked him enough to offer him a full-time gig (quit his job as a lawyer). He’s not some “random dude”.
by Excel Hearts Choi on Dec 23, 2009 5:54 PM CST up reply actions
Not Sure
He was at the Winter Meetings however. So I am sure that he was tweeting about it.
by Excel Hearts Choi on Dec 23, 2009 6:08 PM CST up reply actions
Sounds about right
I seem to remember Craig and Shannon at odds about the signing.
by Excel Hearts Choi on Dec 23, 2009 6:13 PM CST up reply actions
I don't like Craig's tone....
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 23, 2009 5:53 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Oh
Sandy Koufax. Excuse me, your greatness.
by Black Francis on Dec 23, 2009 6:07 PM CST up reply actions
Wait
Sonny Koufax? Who the hell is that? Quit ruining Christmas.
by Black Francis on Dec 23, 2009 6:07 PM CST up reply actions
Sorry
I never got to start a fan post, so I just ran with it.
Texas Rangers, sometimes they are the windshield, sometimes they are the bug — Evan Grant
by SonnyKoufaxLSU on Dec 23, 2009 8:26 PM CST up reply actions
Sigh.
I don’t get the questioning of Calcaterra’s post in this thread, though, he’s not a hack. Don’t shoot the messenger.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Rumors
Folks, they are going to be out there for the next 30 days. Maybe for the next three months. Until the day this is approved by MLB, they are going to persist.
Just remember that in the week leading up to Greenberg/Ryan getting the team, the rumor mill stopped on everybody in the hunt (Gilbert, Greenberg, Crane). There are bound to be issues in this negotiation and those issues are bound to be turned into bigger issues than they are once the rumor mill gets hold of them.
I’d see this for what it is: A rumor about a negotiation that really has only barely begun in earnest. Until last week, everybody was bidding for the right to negotiate. Now, Greenberg/Ryan have that right, but don’t have the team. Make any sense.
And by the way (I’m sorry I’m persnickety about this): On Harden, we wrote a column blog indicating the Rangers were likely working on a Harden deal and posted it a good two hours before Calcaterra posted that the Rangers were close to a deal..I get beat on stories, but using the whisper network at the winter meetings, I’m confident we gave you a pretty good picture of the Harden situation before anybody else did. We just are very finicky about actually using the words “have a deal” or “have agreed to a deal.” See, the Mike Lowell situation.
by Evan Grant on Dec 23, 2009 6:16 PM CST reply actions 7 recs
So,
what are you’re sources saying about this rumor?
by bdavison94 on Dec 23, 2009 6:19 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
Thanks Evan
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Thanks, Evan
Glad to see you are checking the temps of the fans still being held hostage by Tom Hicks. If he screws this up over parking lot revenue, I’m going to take a dump in his driveway, but his goons will probably get me and they’ll find my body washed ashore at Mark Holtz Lake.
"If this video was an ice cream flavor, it'd be pralines and dick." Clark
re: Matthew Wilder-Break My Stride, 4/17/09
holy jeez
how do you edit sizing? I’ve never posted a pic before…
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
Share the wealth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqLZzXJbT2M
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Clark you need to wrangle up your sweater vest possey and go pay Hicks a visit.

I like the guy in the middle.
You see the way his friends are leaning on him?
I bet it’s cause he’s sensitive.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 23, 2009 6:29 PM CST up reply actions
Is that MIke Modano?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 23, 2009 6:36 PM CST up reply actions
Dude on the left
Fucking hysterical.
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
Hi, Keith. Is this the year Edinson Volquez finally wins RoY?
by Brian Thomas on Dec 23, 2009 6:50 PM CST up reply actions
You can see a little ballerina waiting to burst out of the one on the left.
“I feel pretty… Oh so pretty…”
Give me team chemistry and emotion over stats any day. Do you think 34,000 Ranger fans were screaming their asses off over Pudge and his .275 OBP?
The guy on the right looks like a roided-out Billy Mays
I failed my LSB ethics test.
"WHAT A SHITLOAD OF FUCK" - LL's "Poochie" on Rich Harden signing with Texas over Seattle
by LSJ on Dec 23, 2009 7:34 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
good call.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 23, 2009 7:37 PM CST up reply actions
I was thinking
a roided-out Babe Laufenberg.
"If this video was an ice cream flavor, it'd be pralines and dick." Clark
re: Matthew Wilder-Break My Stride, 4/17/09
better call
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 24, 2009 6:43 AM CST up reply actions
Joey Abs?
THat is the greatest name ever.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 24, 2009 7:42 AM CST up reply actions
So I went over to LOL to see their thoughts on the Morrow trade...
and man, I liked that site better when the Mariners were ran by barely functioning retards. They had a great niche as a cast held hostage by numskullery and their meltdowns were epic. Now that the Mariners are competent, it’s just a bunch of doling out handjobs over there.
May we never be truly happy and get exactly what we ask for.
by ghostofErikThompson on Dec 23, 2009 6:28 PM CST reply actions
They haven't won shit yet
Should learn from us and stay humble. Um.
by Black Francis on Dec 23, 2009 6:37 PM CST up reply actions
I will commit so many violent sex crimes against the homeless and/or working poor if this shit doesn't get settled quick.
I can’t take it anymore.
I’m losing my mind.
Bleckerschinder-Schmidt McGee over here…
Dang.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 23, 2009 6:31 PM CST reply actions 4 recs
Actually
I almost didn’t promote this to the front page, because I was worried Mike E wouldn’t approve of it getting front page treatment.
by Adam J. Morris on Dec 23, 2009 6:39 PM CST up reply actions
What's Mike E?
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 23, 2009 6:40 PM CST up reply actions
One liner Mike E
That’s who the fuck he is!!
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
This dude. He specializes in one line repose.
"Stats are like a woman in a fine little bikini. You can see a lot, but you can't see everything." -Dirk A. Tron
Oh, he doesn't sound very awesome.
Never noticed him.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 23, 2009 7:04 PM CST up reply actions
I thought he was fairly new, but was mistaken
He’s got almost 5,000 comments? I had no idea it was that many.
It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get. --Ed Coffin
Well, when you have a lot of one-liners, you tend to rack 'em up pretty quick.
Believe me, I should know.
Mike E’s been around for quite awhile, but he didn’t become a bit until fairly recently.
I failed my LSB ethics test.
"WHAT A SHITLOAD OF FUCK" - LL's "Poochie" on Rich Harden signing with Texas over Seattle
I've only got about a 1000 I suppose.
But I’m practically a celeb around here. Right?
Right guys?
C’mon guys…
Give me team chemistry and emotion over stats any day. Do you think 34,000 Ranger fans were screaming their asses off over Pudge and his .275 OBP?
I love how you specify both homeless and working poor
LSB was not the same during your recent absence.
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales
by WestTxAg06 on Dec 23, 2009 8:34 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
violent sex crimes against the homeless is HOT!
You can get them in your van by offering booze.
In fact you can film it and make a website like “bang bus”
by death of the cool on Dec 23, 2009 10:30 PM CST up reply actions
I read
I will commit so many violent sex crimes against the homeless
and I knew immediately, without looking, it was Dirk delivering his HSO
"...like some Russian priest fresh off a bottle of potato vodka and a box of cigars." -t ball
by rangerdanger on Dec 24, 2009 5:46 AM CST up reply actions
A Festivus PSA for all good LSB boys and girls...
by ghostofErikThompson on Dec 23, 2009 7:04 PM CST reply actions 27 recs
I don't even begin to type.
"Blister please, with those wings in your spine.
Love to be with a brother of mine.
How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth,
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep,
Wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep." ~Jeff Mangum; Neutral Milk Hotel
You're not getting...
coal in your stocking.
by ghostofErikThompson on Dec 23, 2009 7:12 PM CST up reply actions
Well done.
I failed my LSB ethics test.
"WHAT A SHITLOAD OF FUCK" - LL's "Poochie" on Rich Harden signing with Texas over Seattle
thanks bin Laden

Didn't anybody tell you how to gracefully disappear in a room
by red shoe ranger on Dec 23, 2009 8:51 PM CST reply actions
That is awesome
And I’m pretty sure it’s a recreation of a scene from Don Hirtzfeld’s “Rejected,” which is one of the best animated short films ever.
"To have the judgment and wisdom and personal touch of Nolan Ryan, and the tremendous group that JD has assembled, I think the Rangers on the baseball side are the envy of every franchise in baseball in terms of talent."
-- Chuck Greenberg
I would flip out if this deal fell through.
Going back to square one would suck, as well as not having Greenberg/Nolan.
I fear it may but the kibosh on any moves
Daniels/Ryan might have been thinking about making due to the uncertainty surrounding of ownership.
Let’s see, you improve your team thru a)FA signings, which cost money the Rangers may not now be allowed to spend, or by b) making “badass” trades for a proven bat, which we can’t pay when he gets here. Seems like the proverbial rock-and-a-hard-place scenario.
"I’m not in the meetings and not part of the discussions; it’s not my responsibility. . My responsibility is to go out and win tonight. My focus is to win tonight. The club has to look at more than just this year." -Michael Young
This rumor...
isn’t going to affect anything the Rangers do this off season.
by ghostofErikThompson on Dec 23, 2009 10:16 PM CST up reply actions
Be careful or you will have the heart of the Grinch
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Yawn
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
Hi, Keith. Is this the year Edinson Volquez finally wins RoY?
From my facebook page
Chuck Greenberg Thanks Tracy. Don’t worry, everything is in good shape. 27 minutes ago · Comment ·LikeUnlike · See Wall-to-Wall
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Like he'd say anything different on facebook.
“Yeah, Rangers fans wanting me to come are totally fucked.” – Chuck Greenberg. 1 minute ago. Comment. LikeUnlike. See Wall-to-Wall.
Gracchus (about Obama): I think he knows what America is. America is the mob. Conjure money for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of America is not the paper of the Constitution, it's the power of the media. He'll bring them debt - and they will love him for it.
by Aquaman, Esq. on Dec 23, 2009 11:53 PM CST up reply actions
Hey just saying
Take it for what it is.
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
I literally
just lol’d. Coffee meet keyboard.
"We mean what we say and we say what we mean." -The Purke Family
by TagDon'tTweet on Dec 24, 2009 8:15 AM CST up reply actions
Hey Dustin asked what he said on facebook
Dude could have just said nothing at all. The Green Lantern does have a point though.
2009 Texas Rangers: Why The Hell Not Us?--ghtd36 on May 13, 2009
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
OT : Nice night...
for my Utes. 9th straight Bowl win. Sure it was a shitty Bowl, but 9 in a row is now second only to a FSU streak of 11 in the 80s and 90’s.
The MWC dominates the West. MWC 2 – PAC10 0 and MWC 1 – WAC 0.
Come on TCU.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
A Native American tribe...
from this area.
Goshutes, Paiutes, Shoshone, Navajo, Anasazi, et al. were all prominent in the Utah area at one point in time.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
I was curious
about what a Ute was as well, but that made me think of My Cousin Vinny
That was what I was sort of going for
…but I got some dorky anthropology lecture instead.
by Black Francis on Dec 24, 2009 1:53 AM CST up reply actions
Sorry...
didn’t get the reference. I’ve never seen My Cousin Vinny.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
You're missing out
An Oscar-winning movie, it is.
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales
Go piss on somebody else's christmas tree.
by Black Francis on Dec 24, 2009 11:22 PM CST up reply actions
I just can't believe what a dick comment that was to slc.
by brettgardner on Dec 24, 2009 11:28 PM CST up reply actions
It was probably 'cultured.' You're just missing the point again, Brett.
"Nothing we do here has a point" - Czar Morris
by inactive lsb user on Dec 25, 2009 7:41 AM CST up reply actions
I'm pretty ignorant as far as movies go.
So most any cinematic references will generally fly over my head.
"Nothing we do here has a point" - Czar Morris
by inactive lsb user on Dec 26, 2009 7:58 PM CST up reply actions
You should see that one.
I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t laugh during My Cousin Vinny. Pretty good comedy.
by Black Francis on Dec 26, 2009 8:07 PM CST up reply actions
I didn't mean it
…and I’d venture to guess he knows that.
by Black Francis on Dec 25, 2009 9:39 PM CST up reply actions
I wouldn't worry about it
The LSB ethics patrol just tends to take things a bit too literal.
I failed my LSB ethics test.
"WHAT A SHITLOAD OF FUCK" - LL's "Poochie" on Rich Harden signing with Texas over Seattle
Yeah
It was crystal clear that he was joking and not being a dickbag to a guy who was just trying to be nice and couldn’t understand an impossibly vague punchline.
Very clear. As leader of the Ethics Patrol I take full responsibility for this fuck-up. Thank you, Baseball Jesus.
by brettgardner on Dec 25, 2009 11:40 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Congrats to the Utes.
It’s always nice to see a team (or conference) that most don’t hear about coming through and winning big games. Especially over big establish teams or conferences.
Speaking of that, I thought I’d pass on a little nugget about my own team. The only team with a winning record since the inception of the Big XII in 1996…? That other team in Texas…
Texas Tech
And go TCU. I’m rooting for you guys.
Give me team chemistry and emotion over stats any day. Do you think 34,000 Ranger fans were screaming their asses off over Pudge and his .275 OBP?
I think its pretty obvious now that the major conferences
are scared of the MWC…..
Utah taking Alabama to the shed last year
BYU beating Oklahoma and crippling Bradford
TCU beating the runner up (Clemson) in the ACC in there own house.
It was no coincedence that TCU and Boise St. (another team big schools do not want to face) are playing each other. If it was flipped an TCU beat Florida and Boise St. beat Georiga Tech….the little conferences would have that much more to stand on in their defense of the BCS…..the big school monopoly can’t have that.
by death of the cool on Dec 24, 2009 10:13 AM CST up reply actions
It's going to get tougher...
for the MWC to schedule games against those BCS schools too. No one is going to want to do a home and home with any of those three teams. Then of course those same teams will start running their mouth about how Utah, BYU, and TCU didn’t play anyone. Funny how that works.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Of course they're scared
There is no upside to playing those schools. Win or lose BCS teams can only be harmed.
College football is all about
avoiding competition. Most teams schedules seem to have only 1 or 2 games worth watching.
Just look at the Longhorn’s gutless schedule this year, it shows the textbook way you try to become national champs by ducking hard games.
The BCS just blows as a system.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
After losing to Ohio State...
…Mack Brown stated that they would never schedule a good nonconference team again, and the sad part is, that he’s right to do that.
Major conference schools have literally nothing to gain by doing it. A&M is not going to be ranked preseason, but if they go undefeated, they will enter bowl season in the top 4 spots, at the worst. There’s just no upside to schedule that type of a matchup, unless the motivation is purely monetary (A&M-Arkansas).
Yeah, I'm not saying he is wrong to duck good teams
its the obvious strategy given the dumbassery of NCAA football.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
I believe we had both Arkansas and Utah on our schedule for this year
But Arkansas backed out so they could play Aggy in Jerryworld and Utah was forced to back out I believe when they joined the MWC or something like that.
The Longhorns have come out and said they are going to start scheduling at least two major conference schools per year starting in 2012 I believe, maybe 2013 or 2014 but im not 100% sure. We have UCLA and Ole Miss on the schedule upcoming. Now both those schools may suck when we play them but given that schedules are made years in advance, especially for marquee schools, its almost impossible to know who will and won’t be good. Look at Michigan or Florida State. Had we scheduled them for this year 5 years ago it would have looked like we would have had a good game on our hands but this year came and they both sucked.
Non-conference TX/tOSU and USC/tOSU happen maybe once a year in all of college football. Teams get lucky when a TCU or BYU or Cincy comes seemingly out of nowhere and are good in the year you play them. Oklahoma benefitted from that last year when they played both Cincy and TCU
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
Correction
We have UCLA and Ole Miss scheduled but not in the same year. Starting in 2015 we have both Cal and Minnesota on the schedule in the same year. Thats the strategy we are going to start using. Schools from major conferences but probably not necessarily the perennial top schools from those conferences. We won’t be seeing Florida, USC, tOSU, Michigan most likely but I imagine we will start scheduling the Purdues and Tennessees and Arizona States of the world
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

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