Skittles: Taste (a part) of the rainbow.

Football is over.  I hate it.  It's cold outside, and the insanely long and boring baseball season is still several weeks away.  And please STOP with this pitchers and catchers reporting BULLSHIT!! I don't care, until the regular season starts, it's just EXHIBITION.

Anyway, I digress.  I'm bored blogging about sports, and I'm an angry cranky soon-to-be-old man that is upset that my favorite time of the year (i.e. football season) and come and gone, again.  The Super Bowl was great, outside of the RIDICULOUSLY LONG HALFTIME SHOW THAT PROBABLY ONLY CATERED TO ABOUT 5% OF ACTUAL FOOTBALL FANS.  Oh, and that 30+ minute power outage!!  Sorry, I have to stop, I could write for days about how stupid the halftime shows are.  Let me get to my point.

I AM MAD AT SKITTLES!!!!!  I have had enough, and I am going to put an end to my anger once and for all.  I recently purchased a bag of Skittles and ONLY received THREE red skittles in the entire BAG!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!  So I took it upon myself to write up a complaint to Skittles (i.e. Wrigley/Mars), and tell them how I feel about them right now.

Here is the letter, in it's entirety:

Dear Skittles Company:

I recently purchased a bag of Skittles out of the vending machine here at work.  I was shocked and appalled after opening the bag and ONLY finding 3 red skittles in the bag!!  Red skittles are BY FAR the best flavor, and I have at least 3 office mates that agree with me (Tom, Mindy and Joe).  I'm sure most people feel this way.  In fact, if you sold bags of ONLY red skittles, I'm sure it would totally be a great thing and so many people would just buy those.  I'm not even sure how yellow and green got in the mix, and purple is average at best.  It's the 20th century now, and there has to be a machine or robot invented that can sort these colors better.  I have google, but have not researched enough to know if the red skittles cost more to make, but I don't think that is it, because most things that come in different colors cost the same, EVEN CARS!  

I am at a loss at what to do.  I have tried contacting Martin Radvan the LEADER of your company but cannot find his email address anywhere.  Your company is OBVIOUSLY avoiding this, and other issues by making it hard to get in touch with him or others including the people that sort the Skittles or their supervisors.

I have CC'd this letter to THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA because I do not KNOW who else to turn to.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

In retribution for the HORRIBLE experience I have had with your company, I demand that you make changes on your sorting line, starting with the hiring of robots that can do the job arbitrarily, or offer full bags of ONLY RED SKITTLES.  If neither of these demands can be made, I will settle for one or two bags of free Skittles (WITH PROPER NUMBER OF RED ONES!!!).  Those can be sent to me at the address provided on the complaint form.  But I REALLY want you to try the robot sorters first.

In addition to sending this complaint, I have posted this information on my sports blog (bksportsblog.com) which gets AT LEAST 10 or 15 hits a day, and at LEAST half of those are by real humans and not spammers.  I have also tweeted that link to @Skittles. I have been in contact with the people over at Starburst, and I may be switching to them.  At least with Starburst I KNOW what colors I will be getting, even though THE YELLOW STARBURSTS SUCK TOO!!!  I also twitted this myself, and have over 100 followers, SO MY VOICE WILL BE HEARD!!!

I apologize for the lengthy complaint, but this has really got me upset, and enough is enough.  Please forward this to the desk of Martin Radvan ASAP.  

Thank you in advance for a speedy response to these matters.

Sincerely,

Brian Kenealy

PS- You have 48 hours.

Only three reds?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I am very curious to see how or if they respond.  I don't think my demands are THAT outrageous??  

These are the things that I obsess over when I don't have football to keep my mind focused. AND IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 DAYS SINCE THE SEASON ENDED!!

On another note, been tweeting a lot lately (@bk1374), and following some REALLY funny tweeters, I encourage you to check them out. Here are a few samples.  Some of it is really OUT THERE, but still a good laugh:

OK, that's all I got for today.

Thanks,

bk

BCS Nonsense, NFL Playoffs, HOF Shut Out and the ND Haters Guide!

A few topics today.  A quick recap of the BCS Title Game, and an interesting find regarding one of the BCS computers that is further proof the system is flawed.  We'll touch on the HOF shutout, RG III's injury, and this weekend's football match ups.

As most of the world knows by now, Alabama absolutely stomped Notre Dame in last Monday's BCS Championship game.  It's Bama's second title in a row, and third in four years.  It was a complete domination from the opening kick.  A couple days later I found this nugget of an article on cbssports.com.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/21534509/notre-dame-still-1-in-one-bcs-computer-ranking

If you don't want to read it, I will break it down.  It basically says that one of the six computers the BCS uses to compile it's rankings STILL has ND ranked #1 over Alabama!!!!  These are the SAME computers that are used to compile the standings during the year and help determine who will play in the BCS Bowls, including the title game.  How ridiculous is that!!?!?!  It's complete circular unlogic!!  ND and Bama each only have one loss.  Bama lost to a 2-loss Texas A & M team, and ND lost to Bama.  Bama is CLEARLY the best team, so by virtue of ND's only loss coming against the clear top team, they must be #1.  Makes perfect sense??!?!?!  I'm sure SOS and other factors play into it as well, and the article does state that margin of victory does not factor in.  Blah blah blah.  Further proof that the current system is so jacked up beyond repair.  We'll see how next year goes with the new 4 team playoff.  I can't imagine it will be any worse!!!  In hindsight, a Bama vs. Oregon National Title Game would have been sweet.  Not sure if Oregon had the D to stop Bama, but they would have surely put up a better fight.  Oh well.....

SB Nation posted an interesting photo the other day.  It was a screen shot of ESPN's show Sports Nation:

"How much do you blame Jay Cutler for RG III's injury?"

Huh!??!?!??!!?  ESPN is now just making things up to discuss on their shows apparently!!!!  In case you don't recall.  Cutler suffered an injury two years ago in the NFC Championship game (TWO YEARS AGO) and did not return to the game.  Many fans and media questioned his "toughness" and the severity of the injury, and thought he should have come back in.  Fast forward to last week and RG III tweaks his bum knee early in the game, but stays in the game, and eventually gets knocked out and does some serious damage to his knee.  Does anyone in their right mind think that RG III, Mike Shananhan or any other Redskins personnel thought about Cutler's specific injury when decided whether or not to send him back in??  Absurd.  And to specifically ask IF CUTLER IS TO BLAME????  So silly, and that is putting it nicely.

In baseball news.  No one was elected to the HOF this year.  It's happened before, but not since 1996.  Craig Biggio was the top vote getter, but still came up short.  I thought Biggio would get in, and think he deserves it.  Sometimes writers don't like to put guys in on the first ballot.  Whatever, that's fine.  He'll get in eventually.  The real debate is regarding all the alleged steroid users (Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro et al). These are sportswriters.  That's who votes these guys in.  That's the way it's always been. If you don't like sportswriters, then find a different HOF to complain about.  Without specifically debating whether or not anyone on this year's ballot deserved to get in, I LIKE the idea that it's possible no one can get in.  There are a LOT of great baseball players NOT in the HOF.  That's the way it should be.  I don't want every single player that had a very above average career to get in. That's not what it's for.  It also makes for some GREAT debates about who should/shouldn't be in. You don't have the same debate for the NFL HOF (sans Ray Guy), they let 6-7 people in every year!!!  The steroid debate is interesting though.  Some of them did get a lot of votes, so you never know.  The whole baseball era of the 90's and early 00's is tainted to me, and not sure what to make of it all.  If you want to see the exact voting results, the link above has it.


Now, on to this weekend's football games.

The first game today is Baltimore at Denver.  Weather is supposed to play a factor, and could slow down an already slow Baltimore offense.  Denver has a pretty decent D too.  Couple that with the altitude, and Peyton Manning, and it's clear as to why Denver is a 9pt favorite.  I'm not sure I want to lay that many points, so I am leaning towards the OVER 43.5 instead.  Unless weather conditions are extremely bad, I see Denver putting up some points.
Denver 31 - Baltimore 20

Next up is the Packers at San Francisco.  The Niners got a bye, and play a home game here.  The Packers have looked more beatable this year than in years past, but still have a formidable offense, and should be right in this game.  The Niners are a 3 point favorite at home, which tells you the books see this one pretty much as a coin toss.  I will take the veteran QB here over the rookie in a close, hard fought game.
Green Bay 27 - San Francisco 23

Tomorrow's early game is Seattle at Atlanta.  Seattle seems to be the trendy pick to come out of the NFC.  They have a great D, and are playing really good football of late. Atlanta is known for playoff let downs, and despite their great home regular season record in recent years, always seems to disappoint.  This year, I think Atlanta gets it done though!!  Again, we have a rookie QB making a road start, and I like Atlanta's offense to have enough fire power to get some scores on Seattle's D.  Seattle played great last week in their win at Washington, but RG III's was obviously hobbled, and that was the deciding factor.  I think their nice run ends this week.
Atlanta 28 - Seattle 17

The final game is Houston at New England.  A rematch from a game a few weeks ago where New England absolutely destroyed Houston.  I doubt we see a repeat of that, but Houston has looked very mortal the past month+, and I just don't see them shutting down the Pats enough to escape with a win.  Not sure I want to lay the 9.5 pts though either.
New England 31 - Houston 21

Lastly this week.  If you hate ND, please check out this link.  It's really funny, even if you are an ND fan, you might find the humor in it.  And if not, perhaps you'll better understand why some root against them.

http://deadspin.com/5963736/the-haters-guide-to-notre-dame

I bash ND a lot, so I will just leave it at that for now!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Enjoy the games!


bk


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Cotton Bowl, NFL Playoffs, and Collin Klein's Wife

Yeah, how sucky would it be if we had to watch Oregon play the winner of Monday's Alabama vs. Notre Dame game??  That would be really boring.  Instead, let's keep having half filled stadiums for BCS games in the name of keeping this antiquated Bowl system relevant.  (<<<<<SARCASM!!!)  Ah, what can you do.  The Rose Bowl was entertaining at least, and last night's Fiesta Bowl was too, despite the semi-lopsided score.  I really thought K-State would keep it closer, but Oregon's high powered offense proved to be too much.  My biggest gripe about the game was how ESPN kept showing Collin Klein's wife, over and over again. Like FIVE times in one drive, and then a few more times during the rest of the game.  Seriously, who cares??  And she was pretty ugly to boot, and possibly jaundice.  But that's just my opinion, and I am not a doctor.

Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

As the Bleacher Report reports HERE, Klein and his spray-tanning wife were married last summer.  And Klein had his FIRST KISS as the alter!!  Listen, Collin Klein seems like a nice guy, and he is a pretty damn good quarterback, but his NFL chances just took a major blow, as the NFL already has one Tebow, and that is the MAX ALLOWED.  I'm guessing Klein knows his NFL chances are slim, thus sealing the deal on the wife now.  Hey, who am I to judge.  Actually, I am BK, and this is my blog, so I will judge ANYTIME I want!!  Careful, you might be next!  Speaking of douche bags Tim Tebow, it was nice to see Tebow blatantly showing off his over sized Jeebus cross on the sidelines at the Sugar Bowl. Another reason I'm glad Florida lost.

OK, sorry about the anti-goodie-two-shoes rant.  I don't have anything personally against either one, just think they are both toolbags.  Nice jacket, asshat.

NFL Playoffs start Saturday!!!  Some good matchups this weekend.  The Colts roll into their former home Baltimore to take on the Ravens, the Vikings and Packers rematch from last week, and two rookie QB's face off in Washington as the RG III led Skins play host to Russell Wilson's Seattle Seahawks.  The Bengals also take on the slumping Texans, in the least attractive game of the weekend.  Another rookie QB awaits in the Divisional round, as Collin Kaepernick and the 49ers earned a first round bye.  Ponder and Dalton are both still pretty green too, as the NFL Playoffs have youth-run-a-muck at QB this year.  And let's not overlook the possible Brady-Manning rematch in the AFC title game!!  Story lines galore!!  Should make for some fun weekends in the next month.  I don't have any bold predictions to make here, as I think both the AFC and NFC are up for grabs this year.  But for argument's sake, I will say a Denver vs. Green Bay Super Bowl!!

What was that sport played in winter, where you slid around on frozen water trying to put a little black thing in the net?  Oh well.....can't remember........moving right along......

Tonight the BCS's unofficial fifth game takes place at Jerry Jones' Stadium in Dallas, as Texas A & M plays Oklahoma.  I will keep my analysis short and sweet.  A&M is overvalued here due to their win at Alabama, and due to the Manziel Heisman Hype.  I think OU is the better team, so I am taking them +3.5 and playing the ML (+130) as I think they win.  Probably a high scoring game too, and I think it could near 80pts total in the end.  I just hope that the coverage includes several dozen commercials reminding me how AWESOME insurance companies are, and how we'd all be screwed without them when disaster hits.  Um, correct me if I am wrong, BUT ISN'T IT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES JOB TO HELP REBUILD PEOPLE'S LIVES WHEN DISASTERS HIT?  A JOB THAT WE ARE PAYING THEM BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF $$$$$$$$$$$$ TO DO EVERY YEAR??  Sorry...ranting again!

Well...that's all I have for today!!!  Go Sooners!!

Thanks for stopping by:


bk

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Bowl Games 12/27/2012 and "Golden Domers vs Mobile Homers".

First, let me address the new Notre Dame T-Shirt available.  The "Golden Domers vs. Mobile Homers" shirt that has been circulating.

Ok, fine....it's kind of funny.  But let's not pretend that there are no "mobile homers" that live in Indiana, or that are ND supporters!!  It's kind of contradictory if you ask me!  But, I'm sure it's all in good fun.  I tried to do some research on what % of US residents actually live in mobile homes.  The best I could find was this map with %'s on it.  I have NO idea how accurate it is.  If it is accurate, OK, Bama has more, but Indiana still has it's fair share!!  (6.5% for IN, 14.7% for AL)

Interesting map.


OK, now onto to today's bowl games!!  I won't bother to dwell on last night's game, as CMU just had more offense than WKU, and outplayed/outcoached them.  A loss is a loss.

First up is the Military Bowl in Washington DC that has San Jose State making the cross-county trek to take on Bowling Green.  BGSU had stout defensive numbers all year, but for the most part, played a lot of really crummy offenses.  Everyone is touting the under on this one, as only 1 of BGSU's 11 games went over the posted total on the year.  It was bet down from the 48 opening number to 43, and is back up to 45 in some places.  Personally, I think both teams will score, and it goes over 44.5 (which is where I got it).  I think it will be a hard fought close game that San Jose State wins 31-24.

One side note on this game.  Even though Central Michigan might take the cake for ugliest uniforms, this could be the worst uni matchup of the bowl season, as both are pretty gross to look at!

Ok, I guess BGSU's aren't THAT bad, but I just don't like the brown look.






Next up....

The Belk Bowl!! Whatever that is.

Cincinnati and Duke square off in Charlotte, NC.  Cincy opened up as about a 7pt favorite, but it's climbed up to 9.5 by now.  I think Duke is pretty bad, and even a Big East team like Cincy should have no issue winning this game.  The line movement scares me though, as I'm sure Cincy is getting a lot of public action, so it's a no play for me.  Cincy 34 Duke 21.

Last, we have the Holiday Bowl from San Diego that features two high scoring offenses, Baylor and UCLA. I was impressed with Baylor down the stretch, and think they can get the win here today.  However, they do have some tackling issues, so UCLA will score.  I am not sure it can hit the total which is currently at 82.5, so my lean is to take the under.  But I will be on Baylor +3 for sure.  

Hoping these games go a little better than last night!!!  

Happy Bowl Watching, and thanks for stopping by!

bk

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Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!

Bowl season is under way, and there have already been a few games played, but it really gets moving this week.  In fact, there is at least one football game EVERY day from now through January 7th, including this Sunday's NFL slate, and the NFL playoff games on January 5th and 6th.

I know I beat the proverbial dead horse about having too many bowl games, and too many crappy teams playing in them.  However, there is upside to it, as it means more games to watch (erm, gamble on?)!

Here is a link to the full slate of bowl games from here on out.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/scoreboard

I like how CBS Sports now includes the point spread and totals for each game.  Another step towards the main stream media not tiptoeing around the fact that gambling drives the ratings for these games up, up, and up.

Tonight however, is a pretty mediocre match up between Western Kentucky and Central Michigan.  Fitting that it's the Little Caesars Bowl, as that is some of the worst pizza in existence.  CMU was probably one of the last teams to get a bowl bid this year.  They are 6-6 on the year, however 4 of those wins came against some pretty poor competition (SEMO d2, UMASS, EMU and Akron).  They have a poor run D, and WKU can run the ball.  I see no reason why WKU won't win this game.  To boot, CMU has just suspended one of their top wide receivers for tonight's game, Titus Davis (LINK HERE) who led them in receiving yards and TDs, along with two other players as well.  This can't bode well for an already mediocre team.  The only thing CMU has going for them is the hundreds and hundreds of "home" fans they'll have there cheering for them!!

The real games this week start up tomorrow, and continue through Saturday.  Baylor vs UCLA on Thursday night should be an exciting game, as both teams can put up some serious offensive numbers.

In unrelated news, the NHL is still on strike.

Still a lot to be determined in the NFL as well.  Some NFC playoff spots still up for grabs, and while the AFC playoff teams are set, still a lot to be gained/lost in terms of seeding.  The NFL is really up for grabs this year, and no teams are safe bets to make it to the Super Bowl.  Should be an exciting playoff year for sure.  As for my Dallas Cowboys, not sure how I feel about their chances.  If RGIII is hobbled still, they have a decent chance, but I still think they are pretty average at best.  We'll see.

Also, in poker news, here is a good story about Greg Raymer and his four wins on the HPT this year.  Raymer is kind of dorky, but always seemed like a really nice guy and a good poker ambassador.  So good for him!  One of my goals in 2013 is start playing more poker!!!  Not sure why, but the past couple days I really starting missing on-line poker.  But live is way better anyway, so look out poker world!

In more unrelated news, I got married on December 15th!!  Of course, all six people reading this probably already knew that!  Regardless, that plus the holiday season has kept me beyond busy the past few weeks, thus the lack of posts here.

Hope everyone out there has had a safe and wonderful holiday season.  I have definitely discovered many things in life that I am very grateful for.  Would love to add a WKU 7+ point win tonight to the list!  Sorry, can't help myself.

Thanks for stopping by!


bk

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BCS Playoff....Let's play "What if"

Every year for the past 4 or 5, I have played the "what if" game in regards to a college playoff.  Obviously, with the new implementation of the 4 team playoff, we are getting closer and closer to that finally happening. Still, there are many hurdles to get over, and of course like most things, it boils down to the almighty dollar.  So I'll spare you the lecture on WHY we need a playoff, and just propose it to show how many great games there could be!!  The entire nation loves the NCAA Basketball tournament, so why not follow suit!

Let's say there is an 8 team playoff.  Let's also say that no more than 3 schools from any given conference can make it.  I think that's fair.  You don't finish in the top 3 in your own league, you are out.   To remove my own subjective nature, I will just use the final BCS standings, in order to determine who plays who.  I have also eliminated any conference matchups in the first round, although that might not even be necessary.

Here are the final BCS Standings.

As you can see, there are 4 SEC teams in the top 8, so LSU would be OUT under my rules.  We'd actually have to go to #11 Oklahoma to get our 8th team.  Also, based on the seedings, to avoid an SEC first round matchup, we'll have to drop #7 Georgia (who would have played #2 Bama) to the #8 seed, and slot OU up to #7.  Here would be the brackets:

#1 Notre Dame vs
#8 Georgia

#4 Oregon
#5 Kansas State

#2 Alabama
#7 Oklahoma

#3 Florida
#6 Stanford

That's a pretty awesome slate of games!

Let's say now that we move to a 16 game playoff.  Again, no conference match ups in the first round, but this time I put no restrictions on how many teams could come out of a league, and just used the top 16 schools, with some minor seed adjustments to avoid conference matchups.

#1 Notre Dame
#16 Nebraska

#8 LSU
#9 Oklahoma

#4 Oregon
#13 Clemson

#5 Kansas State
#12 South Carolina

#2 Alabama
#15 Northern Illinois

#7 Georgia
#10 Florida State

#3 Florida
#14 Oregon State

#6 Stanford
#11 Texas A & M

Again, some great match ups, great storylines, and just good football, especially as things get narrowed down.

There is really no reason for something like this to not be practical, aside from $$.  Please don't give all that bullshit about travel and fans and bowl games with hurt feelings.  People also say that there would still be controversy because the #9 or #17 team would be left out.  Yeah, so what?  Unless you LITERALLY put EVERY team into the playoff, that is ALWAYS going to be the case.

So while I am still optimistic that the system is finally changing for the better, it's still not where it needs to be, and might not be for a long while.  Hopefully the powers that be keep moving forward, and don't plateau with this 4 team playoff idea.

Thanks, that is all!

bk

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Saturday Football Preview and Picks.....

Friday night's two great games have set the bar high this weekend.  Let's hope Saturday can keep it going!  Kent did fall short of having a BCS shot.  But does a team that lost to Kentucky really deserve a BCS birth?  Well, it would have sort of cool to have them in I guess.  NIU is a longshot, but needs help.

Before we get to the games I like on Saturday, how about the over/under line in the Oklahoma vs. Baylor game??  It opened at 81.5 and has climbed all the way to an absurd 88.5!!!!  It's the highest total in recorded Vegas history.  Covers.com did a nice write up on it.  I think it certainly has the potential to get that high, however any value in taking over would probably have to have been done near the open, and is probably gone now.  Still might hit 90, but I see no value in betting it.  No way I'm touching the under.

Now....on to the games.......

Kansas at West Virginia (1:30 PM CT)

Current Line (West Virginia -20, O/U 71)

Big 12 bottom feeder Kansas rolls into Morgantown to take on WVU.  This one is pretty simple for me.  WVU has had their struggles on D, no secret.  But for the most part, their struggles were against teams with above average offenses, and that could move the ball through the air.  KU is not that team.  Conversely, WVU should have no issue getting in the end zone vs a team that gives up a lot of points on the road.  Lay the points here. West Virginia 49, Kansas 17: Play (West Virginia -20)

Florida State vs Georgia Tech (7:00 PM CT)

Current Line (FSU -14, O/U 61)

If you read my post yesterday, you know what I think of Georgia Tech. They are bad, very bad.  FSU has had a few ups and downs, but not this week.  FSU rolls and clinches their spot in the Orange Bowl.  No other thinking necessary on this one.  Oh, did I mention Georgia Tech sucks??  They do, watch the game if you don't believe me. Florida State 42, Georgia Tech 14: Play (FSU -14)

Those are my two top plays.  Here a couple more I like, but might not play, or will play smaller.

Wisconsin +3 vs Nebraska 

Just got a feelin' the Badgers keep this one close and pull out the win.  

Hawai'i -6 vs South Alabama

This is such a garbage game I can't believe I'm even considering it, but Hawai'i is playing better, and South Bama just plain sucks, and now has to travel half way across the world, almost literally.  If you like this game, take it now, as it might be -7 by kickoff. 

OK, now onto the big game.

The SEC Championship game, the "national semifinal" if you will.  Bama opened up at -7.5 and the line has pretty much held there all week.  Not sure I like it that much on that side of a key number.  However, I am just having a hard time figuring out how Georgia is going to stop Bama.  Georgia has given up some points and yards this year to some less than impressive offenses (Buffalo, FAU, South Carolina, Kentucky).  I'm not saying UGA is a bad team, they are really good, but from what I've seen from Bama they are just better. They struggled for one half against A & M, but once they started opening things up, they really showed what they had, but just came up short.  UGA is going to have to pressure McCarron and force some turnovers.  I just don't see it.  Not calling for a blowout, but I think Bama wins by 10+.  Alabama 31, Georgia 17: Play (Alabama -7.5)

Now for the kicker....I won't be able to watch most of these games thanks to my company office party!!  Oh well, at least it's an open bar!!

Good luck!!!

bk

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