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| Spring 2009 Season This page will help you to follow the Hone Dogs as they slog their way through the Spring 2009, St. Helena Recreation Dept. Bocce Season. Included will be up-to-the-minute Hone Dog stats, pictures and standings, in addition to, some unwarranted commentary. First a little background. The Spring league consists of five fully-packed nights (Monday thru Friday) with 16 teams per night, for a grand total of 80 total teams yearning for Bocce immortality. Each of the 16 teams (per night) will play each other in one match during the season, consisting of 3 games. So each team will play a total of 45 games, when it is all said and done (15 other teams x 3 games per match). The playoff criteria is not yet established, but usually has the top 4 - 5 teams from each night competing in a seeded championship. Playoff seeding is 1st determined by overall record and then point differential (average margin of victory by points) in the event of any ties in overall record. Also, this season the city has added an eighth court to accommodate demand, in addition to redoing court one, which was moved several feet south. For an explanation of our statistical categories below, see the Statistics page Friday April 17th 2009 The Hone Dogs began their version of "Friday Night Lights" with the inaugural week of their much anticipated 15 week Spring '09 campaign. The Hone Dogs were matched against the fearsome Amigos Buenos team, on the familiar, yet unsettling, terrain of court two. The Dogs started the season in grand fashion by winning the first game 12-1. However, the 2nd contest proved to be much more dramatic and challenging. Early into the game the Hone Dogs found themselves down 11-4, with all hope quickly fading. Yet, somehow they managed to dig deep into their "Hone" reserves - scratching and clawing their way back into contention - eventually completing an epic 8 point comeback, prevailing 12-11. The 3rd game proved to be another well-fought battle, and the score see-sawed, but in the end the Hone Dogs found themselves on the losing end of another 12-11 shootout. The Hone Dogs have 2 wins vs 1 loss. Friday April 24th 2009 The Hone Dogs started a bit slow (probably because of possible swine flu symptoms) and were quickly down 4-0 in the 1st game. Yet, they did come back to tie it at 9-9, but eventually succumbed 12-9 to the zany, yet unorthodoxically effective, Screwbalz - one of our favorite old school Sunday night teams. However, with coughs quickly abating, due to excessive La Prima intake, the Dogs bounced back with grit, grease and fury, taking the 2nd game 12-4, and the third 12-5. On the year the Hone Dogs have 4 wins vs 2 losses. Friday May 1st 2009 "Did you see what God just did?" - Dr. Gonzo RAIN OUT!!! Update: Games against Felici Amici will be made up, as an extra week was added to the season by the Almighty Overlords at the Rec. Dept. Friday May 8th 2009 We're not going to talk about this week, okay? Let's just say that we must've pissed off the Bocce Gods somethin' fierce, because we got no love on the court and Amuni'? had some miraculous shots. Also, not to be minimized, Amuni'? played well, and we stunk up the place. This is the 1st time in about 8-9 years that we have lost all three games of a match. I'm now going to go find a corner and assume the fetal position. The Hone Dogs now have 4 wins vs 5 losses :, ( Friday May 15th 2009 The Hone Dogs bounced back after...oh yeah we're not going to talk about it. The Hone Dogs are now officially back in the good graces of the Bocce Gods once again (and I'm sure sacrificing those virgins didn't hurt). The Dogs took the 1st game 12-1, but then those Swine Flu symptoms seemed to flare up again as the Dogs found themselves down 10-0 in the 2nd game. However, our fearless Capo called a much needed meeting to inspire the troops, utilizing quotes from Alexander the Great, Napoleon and some fat guy who's really good at darts. With new found vigor, the Dogs reared back and attacked like a rabid pitbull on the 4th of July. During their rampage Jim, Jason, Kevin and Cante scored 12 unanswered points, utilizing several 3 point frames, to win 12-10, much to the chagrin of the Five Easy Pieces team. The last game went as planned with a 12-3 win. On the year the Hone Dogs have 7 wins vs 5 losses. Friday May 22nd 2009 As the warmth of summer descends upon us, and the vines begin to flower and mature, so too do the Hone Dogs. This season has already been challenging on a number of fronts, but now as the days of sun and heat envelop the Napa Valley, the Dogs are finally coming into mid-season form. And, although, playing on court #1 is an adventure in and of itself (think putting on a bowling ball), the Hone Dogs persevered taking the 1st game 12-2. We then pulled out the wonderful wafting stink of our beloved pet skunk for game 2. However, Gruppo di Grappa showed their quality in game 3 and led 10-9. But not to be undone, Liententant Trumble had a precision shot at 80 ft and spectacular lag at 87 ft to take the game 12-10. The Hone Dogs now have 6 game win streak with 10 wins vs 5 losses. Friday May 29th 2009 Finally it seems the Hone Dogs are playing up to their potential. Albatross Rising was one of those fun opponents who don't take things too seriously but like to have a good time, and the game scores reflected this: 12-5, 12-1, 12-2. And now most importantly the Dogs point differential is "rising," which will come in handy for the tie-break at season's end...if needed. The Hone Dogs have extended their win streak to 9 and now have 13 wins vs 5 losses. Friday June 5th 2009 Global Warming, or should I say Global Weirding, is taking over the application of our Bocce weather. The last few weeks have been cold and windy, seeming more like March than June. However, the inclement conditions didn't put a damper on the Hone Dogs current win streak. The Dogs won all three games with one being somewhat close, but I can't remember the scores right now, so let's say somewhere around 12-8, 12-2, 12-6...ya know that neighborhood. UPDATE: Actual scores were 12-8, 12-1, 12-7 (so our point differential increased by 20 points to +107). The 1st game got a little close for comfort but the boys stepped up a put it away. Cante and Dan had a couple Casinos in the second game and most importantly (almost) we had fun playing Cinque Famiglia, who may be in last place in the standings but are in 1st place for having a good time. So Cinque Famiglia we salute you, rock on!!! The Hone Dogs current win streak is now at 12 in a row, with our overall record being 16 wins vs 5 losses. Friday June 12th 2009 Court 8 has been the bane of our lag rating existence (see below). The court is full of subtle breaks and has a mountainous ridge running smack down the middle. During the match, the Bocculists took a little while to get warmed up, and the Dogs took the 1st two games with relative ease 12-3, 12-2. However, in the last game the Dogs were staring into the grim, unforgiving face of defeat, being down 11-7. Yet we managed to put together a run and tied the game 11-11. Then, in the last frame the Bocculists had the point and the Dogs were down to their last ball. Underboss Forni then summoned the Bocce God “Laggerus” and left his final ball in for the point. The Bocculists had three balls left for the win but all sailed wide and long of the mark. The Hone Dogs win streak was thus extended to 15 in a row and the record stands at 19 wins vs 5 losses. Friday, June 19th 2009 Well this was the week the Dogs have been waiting for. A showdown with the 2nd place Number Crunchers for the right to wear the Friday night 1st place crown. The Crunchers lived up to their reputation and put on a strategic lagging clinic in the 1st game (especially the ladies). After a back and forth, nearly 2 hour epic, the Dogs pulled out a 12-10 win. The next game was equally competitive throughout the 1st half until the Dogs let loose, barking and howling their way to a 12-8 victory. The 3rd game was a minor letdown (b/c of fatigue and possible rabies symptoms endured by the Crunchers) and went 12-4 to the Hone Dogs. The Number Crunchers were a worthy opponent who were gracious in defeat, and they deserve our respect, and will undoubtedly be playoff contenders (how's that for a run-on sentence). By taking all 3 games, the Dogs now have a 3 game cushion for 1st place and have extended their point differential by 28. The streak continues at 18 and the record is now 22 wins vs 5 losses. Friday, June 26th 2009 This week was full of trepidation for the Hone Dogs, as they tried not to have a letdown after their solidification of 1st place last week by sweeping the Number Crunchers. The aptly named Zingers were looking for the Dogs to be lethargic, but you know what they say about sleeping dogs…let ‘em lie, baby, let 'em lie. Side Note: Remember those tasty little treats called “Zingers?” They were like Twinkies hopped up on reds and velvety goodness. Well, that sort of describes the Bocce Zingers who were full of feisty energy. The 1st game was a speedy affair and the Dogs took it 12-3. However, the 2nd was a different story. The Zingers unleashed the full weight of their Bocce fury and led throughout, but our boys chewed their way back into it, and tied the score at 9-9. The Dogs then dropped a 3 point cake of their own to win 12-9. Sniff, sniff. What’s that smell? Oh, it’s our skunk that got let out in the 3rd game. which is now cavorting somewhere near Main St. The Hone Dogs have now tied their own record by winning 21 games in a row!! The record now stands at 25 wins vs 5 losses. Friday, July 3rd 2009 With pre-4th party festivities happening and Cheers! St. Helena raging on like a category 4 vino hurricane, the Hone Dogs fielded only 4 mutts (Cante, Jason, Kevin and the Doc) for their match against Bella Luna. The average age of our distinguished opponents was probably 78, give or take a decade. But, don't be fooled, as these wise and experienced gents have the talent to take out anyone, on any given day. Bella's tactics were put on display early as they nonchalantly let us build an 11-0 lead in the 1st game. Then, the comments started coming… and so did the points. Numerous times we’d have the winning point 6 inches from the pallino and they’d knock us out. Before we knew it, they had scored 9 straight points leaving the us only slightly up, 11-9. Yet somehow we overcame the momentum shift and the “Docta” put in the game winner at 85 ft. The 2nd game started like the last one finished, as a grueling 12 round dogfight. The Hone Dogs had 11 one footers and 10 two footers in the game, but were tied 9-9 and staring at Bella’s potential 10th point, when disaster struck. Bella lagging for a 2nd point pushed the pallino back into 2 Hone Dog balls, giving us another 11-9 lead. Then it was time for that patented Hone Dog phrase, “One ball, one point” meaning we have 11 points and the pallino, and some Dog is gonna throw only one ball to take the 12th point, while the other team will use up all 4 of theirs in vain. Let's just say the “Docta” was in. The 3rd game was a lopsided affair, with Bella still reeling from their misfortune in game 2. Consequently, the Dogs growled their way to a 12-2 victory, including another "Docta" prescribed “One ball, one point” scenario. The 1st two games were the toughest ones the Dogs have played all year, and our lag rating showed this. As a team we lagged over 2.00 (avg. within 3 ft) in each of our games and barely won. In addition, the Dogs broke their record for consecutive victories with these 3 wins and now have won 24 in a row!! UPDATE: The Dogs are now in 3rd place overall in the St. Helena Rec. Dept. League, trailing only the Paisans by record and the Olive Oilers by point differential. The overall record is now 28 wins vs 5 losses. Friday, July 10th 2009 Everything ends. And so goes the Hone Dogs win streak record. Yet, we did get another win (12-3) to extend our record to 25 in-a-row. Our opponent, the Rolling Stones, had no "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Shattered" our hopes of continuing our winning ways. The 2nd game was a back and forth affair, where the Dogs were down during several points but tied it up at 11-11. However, even though "Cow-girls Sometimes get the Blues," the Stones had a ringer that had us yellin' "Gimmie Shelter" because she was knockin' all our balls out and leaving her balls in. The 3rd game was a mess and the Dogs realized "You Can't Always Get What You Want" including a win. Let's just say we needed "Mother's Little Helper" due to "Mixed Emotions." But the good news is, in our last 27 games we are 25-2 (how's that for looking at the bright side). One issue that added to our woes was that we learned of the City of SH's new playoff format, which was obviously conceived by people who have not played any competitive sports in their life. Not only are they doing away with the best 2 out of 3 setup they are completely doing away with any type of seeding and leaving the matchups to chance. Yes, you heard correctly, they will be determining seeding by pulling names out of a freakin' hat because it would be, and I quote, "interesting." Let's see, an appendectomy is "interesting," Youtube's greatest train disasters is "interesting," a circus freak show is "interesting" but that doesn't mean you should change an well-established playoff seeding format that seems to be good enough for EVERY sport that is played throughout the entire world. DANG!!! The whole point of playing the regular season is to seed the playoffs. And for those who complain that the playoffs are "too long and rigorous" I got an idea. Don't play in the playoffs!!! They have been done the same way since the Dogs began playing 11 years ago, and now with only 16 teams (a good idea) the playoffs will be shorter (expect a long day and prepare accordingly). Alright, enough ranting and raving, because in regards to the City and especially the Bocce Committee the Dogs know that we "Can't Get No Satisfaction. Overall Record is 29 wins vs 7 losses. Friday, July 17th 2009 This was a week of redemption. The Dogs were still stinging from their 2 losses to the Rolling Stones and their "Honky Tonk Women." The opponent was the Main St. Patty's, who could've been Irish, or not, but were fun and gracious nonetheless. The 1st game was a strategic display by the Dogs and went down 12-1. The 2nd game was a bit more of a struggle, with the Patty's putting up a solid fight, but in the end the Dogs overcame and won 12-8. In the last game the Hone mojo was in short supply and the Dogs found themselves down 6-3 at the midway point. But, don't worry folks, they came back with "great vengeance and furious anger" and scored a single and then punctuated the rest of the game with an exclamation point (!) by scoring two Casinos in-a-row to win the 12-6. The Dog's new win streak is now at 3 and the overall record is 32 wins vs 7 losses. Friday, July 24th 2009 Eudaemonia: -n. 1. a contented state of being happy, healthy and prosperous. Our opponents for this week were made up of 4 individuals who gave us everything they had and pushed our talents to the limit. Their name, Eudaemonia, says it all and we as Hone Dogs like the concept. We like being content, happy and prosperous but we are still working on the healthy piece, but hey we're young...ish. The first game was classic Hone Dog Bocce and went down in a textbook fashion 12-3, which is important with the Spring playoffs coming up. Our team Lag Rating was an impressive (for those who understand what Lag Rating even means) 2.56 for the game. Capo Swearingen scored 6 points in the game and Underboss Forni had a spicy 2.88 Lag Rating. The 2nd game was equally impressive but Eudaemonia stepped up their contentment and were more prosperous in the point category. The Dog's Lag Rating as a team was a stellar 2.20 and the game was close until the midway point when the boys put it away 12-7, bolstered by Lieutenant McElroy's saucy 2.62 Lag Rating and his "One ball, one point" effort to slam the door shut. By the 3rd game the cold had set in and the Hone Dogs do not have their cold-weather uniforms yet. But perseverence was in high supply and the Dogs grinded for their 3rd win of the evening, 12-9, helped in large part by Soldier Belhumeur's sexy 2.73 Lag Rating and 5.5 points in the game. With the 3 wins the Dogs took the SPRING SEASON FRIDAY NIGHT 1st PLACE crown for the 2nd year in a row. And now with eager anticipation the Dogs await the incompetent incarnation that is the SH City Spring Playoffs (see the rant from 2 weeks ago). But let's just say they tried the same format with the 6 teams of the Farmer's Market League and it took til 5pm. Now with 16 teams we'll see how long their double elimination, non-seeded playoffs will take, but it's my guess that it'll be just as long if not longer than our usual fomat. The Dog's win streak is now 6 and the overall record is 35 wins vs 7 losses. Friday, July 31st 2009 This was the last week of the season and the Hone Dogs decided to go out with a bang...or at least a deddlelang. Much to the Friday night contingent's surprise the Dogs summoned up a Mariachi band from Sacramento to entertain the teams and provide a much needed reprieve from the "no amplified music" rule instituted by the Bocce Committee. Which brings me to my next point. Of all the rule changes made this year it appears that 78.7% of them were directed at Hone Dog activity. But I guess we'll just have to live and let live, and as most media conglomerates know: even bad publicity is good publicity. We will have to start making "Free the Hone Dogs" or "Hone Doggin' is NOT a Crime" t-shirts or something. Oh and by the way, all of the Friday night teams LOVED the Mariachi music. The band was exceptional and even stirred up a little business while performing. We did actually play some Bocce as well. Our match was against Felici Amici, who were determined to take down the Dogs. However, we were well Honed and rolling like madmen just out of solitary confinement. We took all 3 games, and enjoyed a nice Cuban cigar with Felici Amici while swapping smuggling stories. The final Hone Dog tally for the Spring '09 season is 38 wins vs 7 losses. 
Final Spring '09 Statistics: SH City Spring '09 Regular Season | Games | Total Balls Thrown | LPB | Points per game | Lag Rating | Points per ball thrown | Opponent's points per game | +/- points per game | % In Front | % Behind | TP | OP | Shots | Hits | Shooting % | | Cante | 31.5 | 288 | 2.31 | 3.32 | 1.95 | .36 | 1.17 | +2.14 | 61.1% | 38.9% | 104.5 | 37 | 24 | 8 | 33.33% | | Adam | 28.5 | 277 | 2.26 | 3.35 | 1.92 | .34 | 1.47 | +1.88 | 60.3% | 39.7% | 95.5 | 42 | 12 | 4 | 33.33% | | Jefferson | 16.5 | 155 | 1.87 | 2.45 | 1.61 | .26 | 1.76 | +.70 | 55.5% | 44.5% | 40.5 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 62.5% | | Kevin | 23.5 | 267 | 1.86 | 2.64 | 1.63 | .23 | 1.75 | +.83 | 56.6% | 43.4% | 62 | 42.5 | 3 | 2 | 66.7% | | Ahren | 26 | 243 | 2.17 | 2.96 | 1.85 | .32 | 1.27 | +1.69 | 56% | 44% | 77 | 33 | 19 | 9 | 47.4% | | Dan | 11 | 125 | 1.80 | 3.05 | 1.53 | .27 | 1.59 | +1.46 | 56% | 44% | 33.5 | 17.5 | 0 | 0 | --- | | Jim | 13.5 | 150 | 1.97 | 3.07 | 1.69 | .28 | 2.04 | +1.04 | 66% | 34% | 41.5 | 27.5 | 2 | 1 | 50% | | Jason | 18 | 200 | 1.66 | 2.19 | 1.46 | .20 | 1.69 | +.50 | 65% | 35% | 39.5 | 30.5 | 4 | 3 | 75% | | Sean | 7.5 | 70 | 1.84 | 2.00 | 1.63 | .21 | 1.60 | +.40 | 61.4% | 38.6% | 15 | 12 | 0 | 0 | --- | Team Totals | 176* | 2025 | 1.97 | 2.91 | 1.71 | .25 | 1.55 | +1.36 | 59.2% | 40.8% | 509 | 271 | 72 | 32 | 44.4% |
Blue highlights denote team leaders * due to a large solar flare one game was not scored (Team Totals should equal 180) Spring '09 Playoff Statistics: SH City Spring '09 Playoffs | Games | LPB | Points per game | Lag Rating | Points
per ball thrown
| Opponent's points per game | +/- Points per game | %In Front | % Behind | Shots | Hits | Shooting % | | Cante | 1 | 3.50 | 6.00 | 3.00 | .50 | .50 | +5.50 | 91.7% | 8.3% | 0 | 0 | --- | | Adam | 4 | 2.48 | 2.25 | 2.28 | .20 | 2.88 | -.63 | 43.5% | 56.5% | 0 | 0 | --- | | Jefferson | 4 | 2.11 | 1.25 | 1.98 | .13 | 2.88 | -1.63 | 50% | 50% | 2 | 1 | 50% | | Ahren | 4 | 2.33 | 2.25 | 2.12 | .21 | 2.25 | 0.00 | 38.1% | 61.9% | 3 | 2 | 66.6% | | Kevin | 1 | 1.94 | 0.00 | 1.94 | .00 | 3.50 | -3.50 | 50% | 50% | 0 | 0 | --- | Dan | 1 | 1.38 | 0.00 | 1.38 | .00 | 2.50 | -2.50 | 62.5% | 37.5% | 0 | 0 | --- | Jim | 1 | 1.60 | 1.00 | 1.50 | .10 | 2.50 | -1.50 | 50% | 50% | 0 | 0 | --- | Team Totals | 16 | 2.19 | 1.88 | 2.04 | .16 | 2.50 | -1.07 | 50% | 50% | 5 | 3 | 60% |
Blue highlights denote team leaders (player must play in 33% of games) | |
| Final Friday Night Standings: thru 7/24 | Team | Wins | Losses | Winning % | Point Differential | | Hone Dogs | 35 | 7 | .833 | 223 | | Number Crunchers | 31 | 11 | .738 | 158 | | Amuni'? | 25 | 17 | .595 | 62 | | Amigos Buenos | 24 | 18 | .571 | 42 | | Gruppo di Grappa | 24 | 18 | .571 | 30 | | Felici Amici | 23 | 19 | .548 | 15 | | Rolling Stones | 23 | 19 | .548 | -8 | | Bella Luna | 22 | 20 | .524 | 35 | | Zingers | 21 | 21 | .500 | 22 | | Screwbalz | 21 | 21 | .500 | 0 | | Eudaemonia | 21 | 21 | .500 | -6 | | Main Street Patty's | 18 | 24 | .429 | -64 | | Five Easy Pieces | 16 | 26 | .381 | -101 | | Bocculists | 15 | 27 | .357 | -97 | | Cinque Famiglia | 10 | 32 | .238 | -127 | | Albatross Rising | 7 | 35 | .167 | -184 |
Friday Night Schedule: | Date | Court 1 | Court 2 | Court 3 | Court 4 | Court 5 | Court 6 | Court 7 | Court 8 | 4/17 | 5 vs 12 | 8 vs 9 | 1 vs 16 | 2 vs 15 | 6 vs 11 | 7 vs 10 | 3 vs 14 | 4 vs 13 | 4/24 | 2 vs 13 | 4 vs 11 | 15 vs 1 | 6 vs 9 | 3 vs 12 | 5 vs 10 | 16 vs 14 | 7 vs 8 | 5/1 | 2 vs 11 | 16 vs 12 | 4 vs 9 | 5 vs 8 | 6 vs 7 | 15 vs 13 | 3 vs 10 | 1 vs 14 | 5/8 | 14 vs 12 | 2 vs 9 | 5 vs 6 | 4 vs 7 | 3 vs 8 | 13 vs 1 | 15 vs 11 | 16 vs 10 | 5/15 | 4 vs 5 | 2 vs 7 | 13 vs 11 | 1 vs 12 | 14 vs 10 | 16 vs 8 | 3 vs 6 | 15 vs 9 | 5/22 | 14 vs 8 | 3 vs 4 | 11 vs 1 | 2 vs 5 | 16 vs 6 | 15 vs 7 | 12 vs 10 | 13 vs 9 | 5/29 | 14 vs 6 | 12 vs 8 | 13 vs 7 | 2 vs 3 | 16 vs 4 | 15 vs 5 | 1 vs 10 | 11 vs 9 | 6/5 | 13 vs 5 | 10 vs 8 | 15 vs 3 | 9 vs 1 | 14 vs 4 | 11 vs 7 | 16 vs 2 | 12 vs 6 | 6/12 | 9 vs 7 | 10 vs 6 | 14 vs 2 | 11 vs 5 | 15 vs 16 | 12 vs 4 | 13 vs 3 | 1 vs 8 | 6/19 | 13 vs 16 | 10 vs 4 | 9 vs 5 | 12 vs 2 | 11 vs 3 | 14 vs 15 | 7 vs 1 | 8 vs 6 | 6/26 | 8 vs 4 | 11 vs 16 | 13 vs 14 | 12 vs 15 | 1 vs 6 | 7 vs 5 | 10 vs 2 | 9 vs 3 | 7/3 | 12 vs 13 | 9 vs 16 | 8 vs 2 | 5 vs 1 | 11 vs 14 | 10 vs 15 | 7 vs 3 | 6 vs 4 | 7/10 | 8 vs 15 | 7 vs 16 | 9 vs 14 | 11 vs 12 | 5 vs 3 | 1 vs 4 | 6 vs 2 | 10 vs 13 | 7/17 | 10 vs 11 | 6 vs 15 | 3 vs 1 | 7 vs 14 | 4 vs 2 | 9 vs 12 | 5 vs 16 | 8 vs 13 | 7/24 | 6 vs 13 | 3 vs 16 | 9 vs 10 | 4 vs 15 | 8 vs 11 | 7 vs 12 | 1 vs 2 | 5 vs 14 | 7/31 | 2 vs 11 | 16 vs 12 | 4 vs 9 | 5 vs 8 | 6 vs 7 | 15 vs 13 | 3 vs 10 | 1 vs 14 |
| | Friday Night Teams: Team # | Team | 1 | Bocculists | 2 | Bella Luna | 3 | Amuni'? | 4 | Zingers | 5 | Felici Amici | 6 | Number Crunchers | 7 | Screwbalz | 8 | Hone Dogs | 9 | Amigos Buenos | 10 | Cinque Famiglia | 11 | Eudaemonia | 12 | Albatross Rising | 13 | Main St. Patty's | 14 | Gruppo di Grappa | 15 | Rolling Stones | 16 | Five Easy Pieces |
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