Week 9Week 9 saw us close out the mid season stretch and what an extraordinary week it proved to be. The Westburn Blades 100% record was finally ended by a clinical Craigo Coyotes but although the No 1 ranked faltered it proved to be another round of position strengthening for the other three sides with winning records. The Wellington Rising and 2 Minute Drillers booked their places at the end of season jamboree with respective intra Division wins over the Argyll Apaches and Arnhall Arnhall with the defending BA champions literally needing every single play of the week before securing a nerve tingling Monday night victory. The Kincorth Killers moved to within half a game of making it four know play-off participants as they overwhelmed the unfortunate Scunthorpe Steelers while a low key CalX success over the consistently inconsistent Jesmond Chiefs helped restored coach McGeachy Jnr's top of table position to a comfortable two game lead. Over in the Pittodrie Div, a nip and tuck classic between the Laurel Lions and Garthdee Gryphons ended in a thrilling 1pt success for the latter, leaving the three chasing sides in that grouping all locked at a brutally competitive 4-5. Indeed the PDiv layout is very indicative of the League overall with the leaders established out on their own, while no fewer than 5 sides are scrambling for the life boats at 4-5 with the Caledonia Express tucked in just 1 game back. The Scunthorpe Steelers and Argyll Apaches, who match-up in Week 10, are not yet eliminated but are without doubt on life support at this stage. As is often the case as we move into November, weather is becoming a factor , which in some part played into the second lowest weekly points haul of the season , but we were still over 300pts and new position records are looming as we head down the home straight. Injuries continue to be a theme for every side ( bar maybe the Rising) with doubts over Dak, Patrick Mahomes, Jordan Love and CeeDee Lamb the latest more high profile ones. The end of Week 9 is very early to be in our current position of knowing the likely top four seeds ( even if we don't yet know their final configuration) but that does mean the remaining 4 weeks is likely to be cut-throat for that final 4 pure wildcard spaces. Strap in for the final push..... 54 games down 31 to . All 12 sides are still alive....if only just !!! | ||
Arnhall Hunted Down By Last Gasp DrillersRB Kareem Hunt scores a dramatic last gasp TD to give the Drillers the win.The 2 Minute Drillers made sure of their participation in the knock-out stages in jaw dropping manner as from nowhere RB Kareem Hunt rescued a seemingly lost cause with the final play of the entire week.... a walk off 2 yard TD. The defending Bon Accord champions looked to be in serious danger of losing significant ground to the Wellington Rising in the race for the 2024 BA pennant (and accompanying bye weeks) as they headed into Monday night trailing the Arnhall Dolphins 14-24 with KC pairing Kareem Hunt and Harrison Butker in charge of reversing that 10pt deficit. After a reasonably encouraging opening 40 yard FG an untimely Patrick Mahomes sack and a rare Travis Kelce fumble ( both in bonus FG territory ) suggested the ALFF gods had other things in mind with just a single XP to add to the 18pt Driller total before half time. Hunt was having a huge game but not where it mattered with two 4th quarter PAT's coming on the back of two short Kansas TDs tosses. With just over 2 minutes left and the NFL Chiefs ahead 24-17 there seemed to be no way for the Drillers to get the 5pts they now needed to overhaul the Fins..... until a gutsy Baker Mayfield (Rising back-up QB !) led drive saw Tampa force NFL OT. A 5pt Butker effort was now back on the table.....but Kareem Hunt's steady runs up the middle in OT took that option off the table. Surely now the 2 Minute side were out of match winning options ??? Unless of course the Hunt powered Chiefs drove all the way downfield and handed off to Kareem to end the game ? Yea.... I couldn't believe it either !! Going into the game the pundits had raised some eyebrows by listing the Westhill outfit as surprise 2pt favorites base partly on coach Compost's historic ability to put a spoke in the Commissioners wheels and perhaps more solidly on predicted big games for Jalen Hurts, Davis Montgomery and Blake Grupe. The Drillers switched to Kirk Cousins at QB after C J Stroud's recent struggles but otherwise remained unchanged from the side that underwhelmed Scunny in Wk 8. Spookily Vegas foresaw the tie would go down to Monday night with the Drillers needing double digits from their Chiefs duo.... but proved to be off the mark about the eventual outcome. The largest part of this Divisional match-up did little to suggest we would get a finale for the ages but for what it's worth this was the lead up. Kirk Cousins elevation proved to be a happy event for the 2 Minute head honcho with the pocket passer connecting on 9, 36 and 11 yard TD's the first to double team-mate Drake London before the latter went out injured. The BOD outfit were on the cusp of a second 4pt bonus from their Chargers DST until a garbage time Cleveland score reduced that by 2pts. And that was all she wrote for their opening Sunday offering. Arnhall's riposte was all about kicker Blake Grupe. One XP and two short FGs capped by a 51 yarder in Carolina expanded the specialist's total to 12pts but with doughnuts for Tyrone Tracy , Ladd McConkey and the Buffalo DST (with Kirk not pulling on his cleats) left the Drillers 14-12 in front. Into the second Sunday stanza neither Kyren Williams or Dontayvion Wicks could move the needle for the home side but for a long period it seemed the Umpire's charges were not doing enough to put up the double digit lead that Vegas has suggested would be decisive. RB David Montgomery was a victim of the wet conditions at Lambeau and although Hurts did build on an early 20 yard counter with an 18 yard TD scamper mid way thru the 3rd quarter at the Linc (that looked to have all but sealed an Eagles win) a 21-14 lead did not look enough with the Drillerdome outfit's Monday night KC duo in reserve. However some questionable game management by Nick Siriani and co, rather forced Jalen Hurts to stay competitive and his late 25 yard strike got coach Sutherland to that 24-14 double digit plateau. As we have seen....that was just not quite enough. The Drillers somehow stayed in step with the Wellington Rising and joined their Div rivals in the play-off mix as they improved to 7-2 but the Commish would be right to have his concerns about his sides rather charmed existence over the past three weeks. Kirk Cousins looks to have improved the passing game (now up to 11th !) but a hip pointer for Drake London could be another blow to a WR unit that is running a little short of top level oomph. Right now the Commish is enjoying banking his 30th winning season... and will start looking at his options to retain the BA title in the coming days. Coach Sutherland will possibly feel he was mugged here, but in truth having just two scorers (be it 12pts apiece) and a goose egg glut is not a recipe for success. With the 3 current Division leaders up next in quick succession his current 4-5 (5th ranked) record could swiftly turn to dust. A revitalized Hurts will undoubtedly keep Arnhall competitive.... but David Montgomery (and that 5th ranked running game) will be needed if they are to crank that up a notch to dangerously competitive. Two recent NFL WR trades may also aid the Compost cause. Coach Rickaby's first season sweep in this young Div series gives him a 11-9 lead in the RSS.
A Walk In The Park For WellyWelly Safety Kerby Joseph canters 27 yards to score on a Love pick six.Coach Butter got his hands on the second guaranteed play off brief as his Wellington Rising romped to a season sweep clinching 44-18 mashing of the miserable Argyll Apaches. It would be nice to report this clash was a ding dong Divisional battle royale but the reality is the scoreline did not lie. The Kauri King was confident Jayden Daniels had recovered enough from his rib issue to plug the rookie back in at QB, while the ever improving Miami injury situation improved to the point Jaylen Waddle made his first appearance since Wk 2 in place of Andre Iosivas at WR. The newly acquired Detroit DST was the latest plug in at that ever changing Welly position. It looked pre game at some point the Braves may finally abandon their 4WR set with maybe Bucky Irving replacing Garrett Wilson but when push came to shove, Big G could not bring himself to go traditional, and the Jets wideout replacement was rookie catcher Keon Coleman. If the Argyll faithful had any thoughts their fortunes were about to change Thursday night told us little was different.... as benched Wilson put up two unclaimed TD's. Once we moved into Sunday it was all done and dusted before Scott Hanson had time to mention the Witching Hour. A TD double from individual title sniffing Derrick Henry was the eye catching points candy but the King's 7 and 6 yard scoring rumbles were really the supporting act to an impressive 21pt Rising haul from the Washington Commanders. Jayden Daniels proved he was ready to go with a pair of TD tosses to none other than double team-mate Terry McLaurin (1 and 18 yard hook-ups) and with Austin Siebert tacking on a double FG /3 PAT's 9pt contribution that made it Pontoon for Dazzer at Met Life. A Jaylen Waddle 7 yard score took the Welly total to 36pts before the late games got to kick off.... and as I have said several times in recent weeks... that looked way too rich for this Braves incarnation and so it proved. Darnell Mooney snagged the Campbeltown combo's only "full" early score with a 36 yard counter with Keon Coleman's part of a 2pt attempt in Buffalo their only other thing of note. With the game already gone, all the two times former champions could hope for was a better complexion on things in the late Sunday stanza but a restricted (by conditions and injury) Jordan Love could only emulate rookie Coleman's single point at a rain lashed Green Bay. Even that small morsel was somehow made to count for nada with opponent Christian Watson on the other end of the 2pt throw . Geacher's Chicago heavy remaining starters were never going to threaten comeback but at least kicker Cairo Santos had the satisfaction on winning his own positional battle with a 2 bonus FG , 13pt input to cap off a lowly overall 18pt final Argyll haul. A 7pt addition comprised primarily of a DB Kerby Joseph pick six of an errant Jordan Love throw (did I not mention that earlier ?) rather rubbed Geacher's nose in it at the end of another long Sunday. Coach Butter improves to 7-2 but still has the Drillers on his shoulder as we enter the home stretch. A week 11 clash against the Kincorth Killers has the look of a potential double bye week showdown... If the NZ side can stay a step ahead of the fortunate defending Divisional champions. But for that Week 7 no-show against the Blades , the Rising would still be favorites to win it all with the ALFF money men. The Apaches slump to a reciprocal 2-7 and are teetering on the edge with their visit next week to the Furnace an Elimination Bowl for one if not both sides depending on the other results. Short of an immediately impactful CMC return , it's hard to see the Braves going 4-0 to close out the campaign and make the knock-out stage , particularly against the background of their 0-14 record in games played from Week 8 and onward over the past three seasons. Darren's 5th straight win in the fixture gives him a 9-3 lead in the RSS.
Killers Are Raven About Their Title Hopes
Zay Flowers snags his second TD of the game for the Killers.I remember when I was in primary school, I asked the teacher about whether or not a pupil should be punished for something they didn't do, and he replied that of course, no child should be punished for something he or she didn't do, so I said "Good. I haven't done my homework". Anyway, my game this week is the Kincorth Killers against the Scunthorpe Steelers, the current champs against the champs from as recent as 2015, and a replay of the 2021 Bowl. Junior Geach brought back Zay Flowers to the starting lineup, whilst Adamski (at last) had Puka Nacua fit again, and Rams wideout replaced the byeing Deebo. The rivalry between these two teams is quite fascinating, as Coach Meek won the first six encounters between these two, only for Andrew to then win the next six, including this seasons week two 29-17 game. In truth, the Killers cantered to an easy victory here, and by the close of the second quarter on the early Sunday games, the Killers had sauntered -no other word for it - to a 21-2 lead.... Dak Prescott had a short three yard touchdown toss, Courtland Sutton THREW a TD to his QB, Zay Flowers had an astonishing catch and run from the 53. Fellow Raven, kicker Justin Tucker had a regulation chip from 33 yards out and a three extra points, and all the Steelers could muster was two extra points from Younghoo Koo (pronounced YUNG-way Coo, dontcha know), and that meant as I said, that the Killers led 21-2 after two quarters, a lead they never looked like relinquishing. The remainder of the early games saw Flowers catch another TD and Tucker hit another couple of extra points. All that Coach Meek could muster was another Yungway Coo extra point and a more than welcome Raiders 29 yard interception return. So, onto the late Sunday games, and although he was 17 points behind, Adam must have thought that with Matt Stafford, Jahmyr Gibbs and the aforementioned Pacu Nacua suited and booted, he had a fighting chance of making serious headway into the Killers lead, but (oh there is always a but) sadly that fire was quickly extinguished. Saquon Barkley, y'know that Saquon Barkley that Couch Geach The Younger swore he would never pick, pumped up the Killers score to 35 with two TDs, one a catch from the 20, and a run from the 18 to lock the barn door. The Vikes D put the 100s & 1,000s onto the cake to reach the giddy heights of 37points, a total that was more than enough. For the Steelers, for sure Matt Stafford threw for two TDs, the second of of which was from 39 yards in overtime, and Gibbs had his customary TD from the 15. Oh, the Prodigal Son, Pacu Nacua, marked his return by throwing a punch and being ejected from the game. Final score was Kincorth Killers 37-21 Scunthorpe Steelers. The Killers move to 6-3, and barring an absolute disaster, look a shoe in to make the playoffs. As for Scunnie, they are now half a game away from elimination. Next up for Adamski is equally moribund Argyll Apaches, and it looks like that this is a must win for both sides, certainly for the Steelers. Let's say that they win this Basement Battle, after that they have winnable (maybe) games against CalX and the Gryphons, with a tougher game against the Chiefs in week 13. However, none of the aforementiond teams have a winning record.... there IS some hope down Scunthorpe way, but there is absolutely zero margin for error for Coach Meek. That's it!
Andrew's Jackson Is Presidential In Posse Win
Lamar Jackson put on another master-class for the Posse.The Caledonian Express and the Jesmond Chiefs have been having similar seasons of sorts. There have been weeks where nothing went as expected, while others when they have hot the heights... safe to say both clubs were trying to get a handle on things. The Express were 2-6 going into this one and had already lost 45-25 to the Chiefs back in week two. The Posse made only the one change to week eights side with Javonte Williams dropped and Micheal Pittman in as they opted for a 4 WR set. Coach Potts brought back top pick Patrick Mahomes after a, tactical, benching and also went with a 4 WR set. Alvin Kamara was the lone back and the Chiefs were hoping he could replicate week two's form. The Chiefs were favoured by one, although it was reckoned that this would be a squeaker. Thursday night saw the Chiefs pull ahead on the back of Davante Adams 37 yard catch (and his first as a Jet). Sunday action saw the game turned on its head. Chase Brown hauled in a 3 yard score and Carlson connected on a 46 yard FG as well as 3 PATS. Camerson Dicker replied with 3 PAT's of his own making it 9-6. He also missed a PAT and that one might just prove to be a deal breaker. The game ice breaker was Lamar Jackson. He connected on passes of 7, 53 and 3 yards on his way to 16 of 19 for 280 yards. The goose eggs mounted and when play was done for the night the Express held a 21-6 lead heading for Monday. It was now up to Mahomes and double team-mate Xavier Worthy to pull this one out of the fire. Mahomes did his best finding the end zone from 1, 7 and 5 yards finishing with 34 of 44 for 291 yards. One of those 44 attempts went to rookie Worthy who....something the Express know all about....caught it but managed to step out of bounds at the one yard line. Had he scored on that then the game would have gone to OT. The Chiefs drop to 4-5 and are in there in the mix. The Killers move two games ahead of them in the division and they need to be reigned in. Patrick Mahomes posted decent numbers but the wide men came up with nada. Next up are the Gryphons; also on 4-5. The Express also move to 3-6 and just a game back of the bulging wild card pack. This one was not pretty, but at this stage of the season a win is a win. They will worry that they are relying on Jackson to get them there and need to find more scores from the rest of the squad. They trail the RSS 2-4 and will meet the Lions in week 10 action. That one could make or break the season and Andy will be hoping for the former. A couple more wins and that post season invite could still be there. That goes for both coaches in this one and its all getting pretty tight. Whatever; you have to be in it to win it (cliche City) so go for it.
Oh Oh Oh Geno !!
QB Geno Smith was pivotal to the Birds success.The Wheels came off the Laurel Lions play-off hopes big time as the Garthdee Gryphons won a dramatic all Pittodrie Division battle 28-27 in a sensational nip and tuck ending in a wild late Sunday finish. With events at Lumen Field and the Linc front and center, it looked as if the Lions had recovered from a dramatic Eagles D collapse that saw their potential bonus total shrink from a potential 6pts as belatedly as the late 3rd quarter to a miserly single offering with just 4 minutes to go when kicker Jake Elliot lined up a 57 yard FG that would have extended the Pride lead to 32-25 with just bust Travis Kelce to come for the Birds (on Monday) .... but Jake The Make's 5 point effort dinged the right upright and fell wide of the mark. Moments later up in the Pacific NW a seemingly beaten Geno Smith engineered a nine play do or die drive inside the 2 minute warning to set up a stunning 14 yard TD toss that won the day for the ecstatic coach Garioch. With no Niners to call on the ALFF money men were not big fans of the Mythical Creatures chances, naming the back on track Lions as 2pt favorites. Donny pulled in back-up QB Geno Smith and his Washington DST to make up for the SF bye week, with CeeDee Lamb returning at WR in place of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With calm restored at the Den with a Wk 8 win over the Apaches, Jamesie was rather forced by a Moss injury to go with a 4 WR look although the return of rookie Brian Thomas at 4th wide-out was no downgrade. Vegas had set the stage for an overdue Joe Burrow break-out game and Blondie did not disappoint. Unfortunately for Jamesie his huge 5 TD effort did not come with any bonus scores but his 15pt base should have been more than enough to see the Lions kick on. The word unfortunately made another appearance in that regard as RB Raheem Mostert did not follow the foundation score cue's, meaning Burrow's bunch was all the Lions had to show at the close of the early Sunday stanza. The Baylerville outfit got a rushing score from (now) confirmed TE Taysom Hill with a more than useful dozen from under pressure K Tyler Bass that was late in developing until a NFL game winning 61 yarder pushed the specialists final tally into double figures. CeeDee Lamb's half of a successful 2pt attempt late in proceedings in Atlanta did not get a lot of fanfare... but proved to be priceless as things played out later. Donny's stand-in Commanders DST did not trouble the scorers. 19-15 to the founder owner ball-club moving into the late Sunday period suggested this could get interesting.... and after a period when the Lions just seemed to be in control it certainly did. Let's get the lower key stuff out of the way first. The steady rain at Lambeau alongside a stifling Detroit performance meant neither Jaylen Reed or direct opponent Josh Jacobs looked seriously like avoiding matching goose eggs but a 3 yard counter from ASB ( his 6th score in 6 games) saw the Lions close the gap. Garthdee wideout Cole Kmet posted a doughnut, putting all the cellar dwellers emphasis on QB Geno Smith.... and it was his performance against the background of what was going down in Philly (for coach Hamilton) that the whole tie turned. At first the defensive dominance of the Eagles ( at the Linc) and the Rams (in Seattle) seemed to suggest the Danestone based combo were going to prevail. Four pts from kicker Jake Elliot ( 1 XP and a 43 Yd FG) with the Philly defence holding the Jaguars scoreless by halftime at the Linc seemed to give the defending PDiv champions a game winning position even if the FG artist was denied a 2nd XP thanks to a questionable decision to go for two right at the end of the half. Geno Smith had a testing opening two quarters that looked destined to be scoreless. However a mind boggling turn of events at Lumen Field (that included a Matt Stafford INT) , which was running a little behind the Philly timeline, saw the Birds signal-caller strike twice inside the closing 50 seconds ( 30 and 24 yards) in the Pacific NW first half. Points were hard to come by as the respective second half's played out so it must have galled coach Hamilton that the Eagles spurned another XP opportunity in favor of another failed 2pt and that emotion must have tuned to full on frustration when minutes later the NFL Jags shaved a full possible 4pts off Laurel's DST number with their first score of the evening. Brian Thomas snagging his share of the successful 2pt attempt took a little of the edge of that zinger but from looking like being in control the Lions were now in full stressed mode. Geno Smith was unable to amp up the pressure at this point but as we reached midway thru Q4 a Devonta Smith 25 yard scoring grab seemed to be the gamebreaker for coach H's charges.... although Siriani steadfastedly refused to tack on the XP (failing for a 3rd time to convert a 2PAT). At this point the provisional scoreboard showed the Lions in a strong position 28-25 ahead. Another late Jaguars score chiseled another point off the that Philly DST total to expose the 2016 champions a little and then things got down to that crazy last few moments as laid out above. When the dust settled and we all took a breath the outcome saw the Bayler record his first successive wins this term to improve to 4-5 and leapfrog from the PDiv basement to 2nd overall in the grouping, be it on tie breaks over the Lions and Coyotes. Suddenly it's now a log jam behind the out of sight Blades with three teams on that same W/L record. With some moderate level of success in the next two weeks in the last non Div fixtures it is not beyond possibility that all four PDiv outfits will make the post season party. This one had to be hard for Jamesie to swallow. A stern letter to Nick Siriani should be expected. A hard to justify obsession with 4th down conversions and going for 2pts (when it hardly seemed needed) effectively cost the Lions 3 to 6 "gimme" points at K that would have got the Danestone based outfit above .500 and a big step towards the knock-out stages. Instead it's a fourth loss in five outings and suddenly he's down in the basement looking up at everyone in the grouping. A 1-3 Div record means the PDiv pennant will not likely fly over the Den come Week 13 even if the Blades suffer an unlikely collapse in the run in. The 8th ranked Laurel still occupy a wildcard berth but they simply cant afford to drop their Week 10 clash against the Caledonia Express to stay in that position. Jake Moody's return can not come quick enough for the Pride faithful. Donny's second season sweep in the fixture reduces Jamesie's lead in the RSS to 13-7.
Allen Key To Coyotes Success
No 1 pick Josh Allen threw a TD treble for the CoyotesWeek nine of the regular 2024 season saw the Westburn Blades out to defend a perfect start to the season. The had aced the previous eight game and were aiming to make it nine in a row. Coach Stuie went with James Cook in for the, byeing, Jordan Mason, in the backfield, and Sam LaPorta came in for DJ Moore as one of the wide men. Having just picked up the Rams special teams, they were pitched into the melting pot. The Coyotes were having one of those, up and down type of seasons. They opted for Josh Downs in place of Stefon Diggs due to injury woes and Cade Otton was preferred to Tank Dell in a tactical move. Despite the gap between the sides the Blades were only slight favourites. Thursday night saw this one head off with both sides in the points. The Coyotes picked up 6 points via Joe Mixon, whilst the Blades saw Ka'imi Fairbairn score on FG's from 54 and 27 yards as well as a PAT (becoming the first player to 100pts this term)..... it was a narrow lead and the Blades may have expected a bit more. Sunday night saw the game open out. Jared Goff scored on a 3 yard pass with final figures of 18 of 24 for 145 yards. Bowers connected on a 22 yard catch and the Rams D ran in an interception and grabbed a bonus point. The worrying thing here was the rest of the scorecard being blank. 22 points may not be good enough. Josh Allen then got into the swing of things for the Dogs and he connected with the wide men from 1, 2 and 63 yards on his way to 25 of 39 for 285 yards and an interception. Craigo were right back in the mix. The Ravens D grabbed to bonus points to make it a single point deficit and then Brandon Aubrey booted the Coyotes into the lead. He connected on FG's from 34 and 57 as well as a PAT. There was no reply from the Blades as they had shot their bolt and it was left to Cade Otton to close matters out on Monday night with a 3 yard catch. The Coyotes move to 4-5 and are in there with a gaggle of teams. They will be happy to see Allen get back to scoring and will be looking for more of the same in the weeks to come. Next up are the Rising and a chance to get on an even keel. The Blades 100% record has gone and they now find themselves a game ahead of the Rising and the Drillers. They lead the RSS 4-2 and will chalk this one up to misfortune. Next up are the Drillers and that one could go a long way towards deciding who gets the number one seeding this year. There is a lot still to do and bye week considerations pile in from here on in. We are now down to the last four weeks and nobody has been eliminated as yet although some may be on a "shoogly peg" Every game is now a big game and that is exactly how it should be.
Sleeper of the WeekCoach Sutherland seemed to think he had no WR options left available to him this week... and I have to say that might have seemed valid with forgotten DeAndre Hopkins barely in the door at Arrowhead. However the pass catcher showed his undoubted class by plugging straight in and scoring twice on Monday night with 1 and 5 yard TD grabs. His net -6pts would have given the Fins a 30-26 win over the 2 Minute Drillers.... and significantly changed the BA landscape. Instead it's Week 9 SOW for Compost and DeHop.
Play of the WeekWe really have not had much in the way of 12pt plays this term but Week 9 saw that change a little. CalX QB Lamar Jackson's 53 yard strike to Kincorth Killers wideout Zay Flowers was influential on both ALFF's sides winning scorelines.... and takes the Week POW honors.
Player of the WeekBig shout out here to Kareem Hunt, but for sheer chutzpah I can't look past Garthdee Gryphons QB Geno Smith. The passer was only playing coz Brock Purdy had the week off....but his 3 TD match winning effort for the Birds was outstanding. The highlight of course was that nine play drive inside the 2 minute warning to set up a stunning 14 yard TD toss...all against the background of two earlier ugly INT's... one of which being a gutting pick six. Geno Smith the Week 9 Player of the Week.
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