Fast Pitch Nation: Road Life. Splits and Split-seconds. Rockets Win and Tie

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. Sterling, Virginia, July 23, 2003: Day Two of the PONY Nationals dawned with threat of rain direly being forecast on “The Worry Channel,” but ballplayers have long since learned not to listen to weather forecasts for skies were partly cloudy, humidity was up and the Rockets had to play two on Tuesday in the PONY National seeding rounds.
Day began with that “big league” feel of eating breakfast at the Hilton Inn & Suites buffet at 9:30 A.M.: pancakes, waffles, juices, coffee, donuts. Then the Rocket handlers drained the ice machines, transferring the ice into coolers onto bottles of spring water and Gatoraid. Rocketttes got attired in their uniform of the day: blue head band, red top, blue shorts and red sox and banded together in the lobby to tool up Harry Byrd Highway 7 miles to the Potomac Lakes Softball Complex.


 


Pregame activities consisted of the desultory warm-ups: throwing, followed by soft-toss, hitting the metal stick and bunting practice. No hitters like to bunt, but if you cannot move the runners effectively, you do not capitalize on opportunities in the fast pitch game and that was to become painfully evident over the sultry Virginia afternoon.


 


In the Rockets opener of the day, they met the Connecticut Bombers. By some quirk, the Rockets were scheduled to play two of three teams from the Northeast in the “seeding rounds.” The seeding rounds appear to be new this year, since the city fathers around Sterling must have realized, if you can keep the teams down here longer, the hotels, restaurants, Laundromats and supermarkets make hundreds of thousands dollars more. Teams are guaranteed 6 games, (three seeding games, then 3-loss elimination games).


 


The Rockets first game got underway at 12:30 PM, and the long slumbering Rocket bats took advantage of Bomber miscues to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Meg Johnson was safe on a dropped throw at first to start the Rocket home half, stole second moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a double ripped to left center by Andrea Bondi. Andrea moved to third on Ashley Clark’s grounder to short and scored on a passed ball.


 


The Rockets added another run in the bottom of the second on a single by starting pitcher Kaleigh , who was sacrificed to second by Nickie Reichert, and came around to score on Meg Johnson’s ribby single up the middle, 3-0 Rockets.


 


Kaleigh Burke, the Rocket righthander, after escaping from a flurry rally in the first, retired seven Bombers in row into the fifth. The Rockets added 2 runs in the fourth on a 2-run double by Melissa Milligram driving home Jess Cundari who had walked and Kaleigh Burke who  had singled, to make the score 5-0.


 


The Bombers flew a 3-run sortie in the 5th when a dropped fly ball and back-to-back singles lead to 3 runs with the tying runs aboard, Kaleigh induced the numbers 3 and 4 hitters to popout and bounce back to the box to ease on out of the jam.


The Bombers then let the game get away by coughing up 3 more runs to the Rockets in the fifth after two were out. After Shane Pais had moved to second on Juliana Bailey’s groundout to second, Jess Cundari singled to plate Pais, and Jess scored on Kayleigh Burke’s single up the middle to make it 7-3. Kayleigh moved  to second on a passed ball and scored on Nickie Reichart’s single, and the Rockets had built an 8-3 lead.


 


The Bombers plated 2 more runs in the sixth on a double and and a triple, but Burksie again eased out of a second and third jam with 2 out, inducing a groundout to Meg Johnson at second to retire the side. Kayleigh  retired the Bombers in order in the seventh for the Rockets first win. It was the biggest scoring barrage the Rockets had mounted since last May.


 


After the win, the Rockets hung about watching other teams battling in the four other


Softball games going on simultaneously. They drank fresh-squeezed lemonaid, ate pizza and hung togother, looking forward to their next game at 3:00.


 


The Rockets 3 o’clock opponent was the Michigan (Ohio) Finesse, a team that had won 54 and lost 9, an elite club from the middle west. Katie Slingerland was in the circle for the Rockets.Both pitchers retired the side in order in the first and that set the tone for the day.


 


Slingerland pitched out of a runner on third no one out situation in the second, inducing two popups and a grounder to Andrea Bondi at third to hold off the Finesse. In the third Ashley Clark threw out the Finesse runner on a two-out steal attempt.


 


The third saw the importance of split-second timing as the difference in a close game in the higher reaches of fast pitch. Kaleigh Burke singled up the middle and stole second, and was sacrificed to second by Katie Slingerland. Juliana Bailey after fouling the first pitch, laid down a safety squeeze bunt inbetween the mound and third. On this play, the third base runner waits until the third baseperson commits to throw to first, then the runner and third breaks for the plate.


 


The bunt was down. The third-sacker fielded looked the runner back and fired to first, Bailey beat the throw, the first baseman threw a perfect low wicked throw to the plate and Burke was out at the plate by 3 feet. Side retired. It was the closest either team would come to a score the rest of the game. Did the third baseperson’s “deke” intimidate the third-base runner? Did she not break with the throw to first? The perfect execution of the Finesse, living up to their name had cut off a run.


 


The Finesse loaded the bases in the fourth and did not score. Slingerland walked the leadoff batter. The second batter was safe on a fielder’s choice. After a pop foul to the catcher, an error loaded the bases. Slingerland kept it low and got the fifth place hitter to hit to Andrea Bondi at third who gunned the throw to the plate for the second out, and produced a grounder to Shane Pais at short who flipped to Meg Johnson to end the bid.


 


As the 90 degree heat beat down the 0-0 duel moved to the fifth. The Rockets had another shot. Amanda Anderson looped a Texas League double into the glare of the sun and the Finesse leftfielder ran under the ball and it dropped. With Amanda on second and no one out, the next Rocket failed two attempts to bunt, then popped up, instead of hitting the ball on the ground and advancing the runner. Kaleigh Burke was safe on an error by the third baseman next, who wisely decided not to throw to first after her fumble, so Amanda on second could not advance. With two shots to score, the next Rocket fanned and the final batter hit a liner to first  into the first baseperson’s glove.


 


In the 6th  and 7th , with runners on first, the Rockets again could not advance the runners to scoring position. The Finesse had runners on second in the 5th and 6th, but a long flies to left in both instances were handled by Kaleigh Burke in left.


 


The game ended in a 0-0 tie after 7, called because of the 1 hour 15 time limit. A classic demonstrating what it takes to win a close low-scoring game: ability to move the runners, alert, intense base running, and “I want the ball” defense. From a hitting standpoint, patience at the plate was not on display, nor discipline, as many hitters on both sides swung at pitches out of the strike in their anxiety to get that one big hit. I also saw an oddity in the game, the umpire lost track of the count, giving one Finesse hitter 4 strikes which fortunately did not affect the outcome of the game.


 


Katie Slingerland pitched her finest game as a Rocket, throwing 81 pitches, walking 1 and striking out 1, and making good pitches in the clutch. The Rockets moved to 16-14-3 on the year.


 


The day wrapped up with a quick trip back to the hotel for a shower, collection of team laundry, then a team dinner at Joe’s Crab House, which was a lot of fun for the players. While parents settled in for long-awaited beers, the players enjoyed chicken-fingers and mozzarella sticks (the preferred fastpitch food). Sitting on a veranda overlooking one of the many man-made lakes in the middle of one of the many massive townhouse developments in this zoning gone mad area of the country, the players and parents watched the brooding thunder clouds predicted for that morning, move in from the west and start to empty out at about 8 PM.


 


Ballplayers should not watch weather forecasts. They should only be thinking about the next game. Because that’s what you live for, when  you play ball.

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Delfino: Things Go Better With Coke! Slater Center to Benefit from Partnership

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. From The Mayor’s Office. July 23, 2003: White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino will formally announce the City’s partnership with Coca-Cola to present Summerscope 2003, a free sports and entertainment camp for underserved children ages 11-17 at the Slater Center on Wednesday, July 23 at 11:00 am. The goal of Summerscope 2003 is to expose teens to career opportunities in either sports or entertainment through workshops taught by professional athletes and industry executives The Mayor will be joined at the podium by representatives of Coca-Cola, IAAAM Foundation, The School District, the Youth Bureau, the White Plains Housing Authority and “Young Steff,” of Jay-Z’s Rock-a-Fella label.White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino will formally announce the City’s partnership with Coca-Cola to present Summerscope 2003, a free sports and entertainment camp for underserved children ages 11-17 at the Slater Center on Wednesday, July 23 at 11:00 am.


The goal of Summerscope 2003 is to expose teens to career opportunities in either sports or entertainment through workshops taught by professional athletes and industry executives The Mayor will be joined at the podium by representatives of Coca-Cola, IAAAM Foundation, The School District, the Youth Bureau, the White Plains Housing Authority and “Young Steff,” of Jay-Z’s Rock-a-Fella label.

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Rosa W. Boone Appointed to Commission on Human Rights in White Plains

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS JOURNAL. July 23, 2003: White Plains Mayor, Joseph M. Delfino, recently appointed Rosa W. Boone, the Executive Director of the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless, Inc., to the city’s Commission on Human Rights. Accepting the post as commissioner, her term will expire on June 30, 2006. The swearing in took place on July 10th at White Plains City Hall.


As head of the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless, Inc., located at 48 Mamaroneck Avenue, Ms. Boone is responsible for an umbrella advocacy that works with 143 service providers in the county providing food and shelter to over 25% of the population. Working through churches, synagogues, community centers, etc., WCHH oversees service providers that operate 33 shelters, 38 soup kitchens and 72 food pantries in 24 communities from Mount Kisco to Mount Vernon.


Ms. Boone was chosen as an award recipient of the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester’s Salute to Women & Racial Justice ceremony in June.




 

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Mayor, Council to Hear Martine Ave Parking Beefs Tonight

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WPCNR TALK OF MARTINE AVENUE. July 23, 2003: Mayor Joseph Delfino and members of the Common Council will hold a public meeting for residents of Martine Avenue and environs to air their concerns and complaints and demands for more reserved parking spaces in the new City Center Parking Garage tentatively set for October, 2003. The meeting open to all will be held in the Common Council Chambers at 7 PM at City Hall

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Fast Pitch Nation: Battling Bunters, Ripping Risers, Gold Gloves

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. July 22, 2003. Sterling, Virginia: The Brewster Rockets played under the lights Monday evening, meeting of all teams, the New Jersey Diamond Girls, traveling 350 miles to play a club from their own backyard. Monday night in their opener of the PONY Nationals in Virginia.


Playing under windy conditions under excellent lights on a dry velvet infield of Yankee Stadium quality, the Rockets took an early 1-0 lead that was quickly relinquished in the bottom of the first when a hits batsmen, a walk and a misplayed bunt set up the Diamond Girls with a 1-1 tie and two out. A Texas League single to shallow center lifted the Diamond Girls to a 3-1 in the first, and never looked back. The Diamonds added to it with a 3-run triple to the left centerfield gap to make it 6-1 after four innings, and that’s the way she stayed. Erin Dommermuth was strong in the circle for the Rockets, but got into jams  on a costly dropped throw at first, and a questionable hitsbatsperson with two out that set up the first inning rally for the D-girls.

 The Rocket batgirls were frustrated by a flaring riseball from the DiamAdd Linkond Girl pitcher who consistently dazzled the Rockets with her speed. The Rockets lone run came on a bloop double to left center by Meg Johnson in the first who moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Shane Pais’ perfect safety squeeze bunt.


  When the Rockets arrived at the Potomac Lakes complex for the night action, games of course were in full swing. Teams from Michigan and  were playing on one diamond. Clubs from Ohio were playing on another. And the action was great. WPCNR noted the the pitching was outstanding, and of course, the batters who could execute and catch up with the elegant violence of the fastballs and the teams that could field their shots were getting the better of it.


 Coming to the national competitions in fastpitch softball is a reality check. If you’re a pitcher you’re putting your stuff up against the nationals best hitters. As a hitter you’ll be seeing how well you can handle the stuff of top throwing windmillers from teams that have won tournaments in their regions. Teams quickly learn where their deficiencies are mentally and physically. You have to be prepared to play, rise to the occasion and get more out of yourself. It’s why you come to nationals, to measure yourself.

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Stimac & Rosenstock’s Theatres Offer Rich Source of Programming for WPPAC

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. By John F. Bailey. July 22, 2003: Tony Stimac, Executive Director of the Helen Hayes Theatre Company in Nyack, and his co-producer Jeffrey Rosenstock of Queens Theatre In the Park are about to undertake the challenge of their careers. The duo must produce a fall schedule for the White Plains Performing Arts Center in 70 days with as of Tuesday, July 22, no stage, no lights, no seats, no nothing in place at the big empty space where the theatre is supposed to be created at City Center.


What “S & R Productions” do have is a just-released repertoire of what WPCNR sees as attractive programming scheduled for their own respective theatres, Helen Hayes in Nyack and QTIP in Flushing. Using those schedules as a base, S & R may just pull off a show business “Miracle on Main Street,” should they move some of these productions to the City Center’s WPPAC.


Stimac’s programming lineup at Helen Hayes is classic entertainment with a creative twist, beginning with Jackie Mason’s pre-Broadway premier of Laughing Room Only from September 19 to October 5. Mr. Mason’s show is described on the HHTC website as “a new musical comedy revue.” Could Mr. Mason’s show be eventually performed at the City Center? Mr. Mason’s new vehicle is scheduled for a September 19 to October 5 run at the Helen Hayes in Nyack.  


Stimac follows up Mr. Mason’s entry with The Mancini Project from October 18 to November 2, and it ballyhooed as a “haunting new musical based on the timeless music of Henry Mancini.”


The Music Man,  a revival of the 1950s musical, is the Helen Hayes big holiday show running from November 29 to December 28.


Across the Whitestone Bridge in Flushing, Jeffrey Rosenstock’s Queens Theatre In the Park, after being dark for two months, begins what appears to be an eclectic and intriguing mix of programs, their Latino Cultural Programming Schedule July 30. Mr. Rosenstock presents 15 different performances in two weeks, with a Latino accent, showcasing singers, dance troups, poetry reading in night after night of festive summer fare. QTIP’s website has a spectacular rundown of all 15 performers scheduled.


Rosenstock has scheduled a diverse mix of dance programs: Ailey II, on October 11, DeLunares Danza in November, a flamenco and Spanish dance troup, and in the spring, American Ballet Theatre Studio Ballet is scheduled to perform as well as Dance Brazil, specialists in Afro-Brazil dance with live music.


Mr. R. has programmed  four theatre productions for QTIP: My Cousin’s Wedding, from October 24 to November 2,  a premier of a comedy based on a misdirected wedding invitation; Meshugga-Nuns, from December 5 to 14, a musical revue; a mystery play, Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, and a revival of the 1970s musical hit, I Love My Wife.


These two lineups offer Rosenstock and Stimac intriguing options for the first six months of White Plains Performing Arts Center program. Could they lure Mr. Mason into one last tune-up before he heads to Broadway in October? Could they schedule performances of any of their productions  either before or after they appear at their own respective theatres? The possibilities are there.


Meanwhile, it is up to Mr. Cappelli’s construction company G. H. Fuller to put up the inside “guts” of the theatre, as designed and “spec’d” by National Amusiments and their architect in 70 days for an October opening as planned.


For more on the productions at Mr. Stimac’s Helen Hayes Theatre Company and Mr. Rosenstock’s Queens Theatre In the Park, go to their websites, www.hhtco.org and www.queenstheatre.org.

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Fast Pitch Nation: Off Day on the Road

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 WPCNR  Press Box. By John F. Bailey. July 21, 2003: It’s a big softball playing America out there, sports fans, and 271 girls fast pitch softball teams gathered in “Mall Alley” along Route 7 in the towns of Sterling, Louden, and Leesburg in sweltering northern Virginia are doing the softball thing,  the PONY Nationals Tournament of Champions in Sterling, Virginia and environs, though you would never know it from the national sports media.


 


 


 The Brewster Rockets and their parent and coaching entourage drifted into town Saturday and Sunday driving down that eastern seaboard with other tournament winning and hosting fast pitch clubs from the great northeast, the Midwest and the southeast.

My fastpitch professional and her designated driver, yours truly headed down for the Elysian Fields of softball on Sunday, leaving White Plains at 6 A.M., riding out with the sun.


We hit Pennsylvania by 8 A.M., rolling out I-78 through the steeltowns of Bethlehem and Allentown, hitting Interstate 81 and taking the big loop back east towards Maryland, avoiding the I-95 corridor crunch. What is impressive about the roadlife of fastpitch is that there really is a big America out there outside the malling of the metropolitan areas we live in. There are those fields of corn about half-high out in Pennsylvania about now. There still are majestic mountains, and actually two-lane highways, like Route 15 which we took down into Leesburg, where you have to keep your headlights on in the middle of the day to spot cars headed your way on the two-lane blacktop.


What you also learn about on the Fast Pitch Trail is that much of America now has the same stores everywhere, and at least in Leesburg, nobody much pays any attention to zoning. What we saw on our way into town was ancient Leesburg, a close-to-the-street main street kind of town with old square brick buildings which resembled architecture, then we hit route 7. Except there are three or four Route 7s…there’s the business district route 7, the main route 7, the 15-Bypass. They all take you past so many modern malls, massive apartment and town house complexes that line either side of Route 7 for miles and miles. The site of so much development is stunning. The streets are so confusing, that I only found our hotel, the Hilton Inn & Suites by looking back out my review mirror and spotting it on a driveby.


My player and I arrived at 11 on Sunday and got to our hotel by noon. We met up with members of the ball club and showed up at the welcoming ceremonies held in Franklin Park down Route 7 West about 25 minutes from where we were staying. State Troopers waved us into the park, and I saw an amazing site that reminded me of Woodstock: hundreds of cars parked in a pasture, and down beyond the cars were tents and tents of softball teams arrived from half the country. There were the Flames, the X-treme, the Cobras, the Diamond Dolls, the Storm, and hundreds more of dedicated young ladies in colorful uniforms. The first order of business was pin trading, in which, girls approach each other and literally exchange team pins, usually consisting of their logos on a metal shield. This is serious business. To the din of loud speakers, the girls from the hundreds of teams exchange pins and generally celebrate softball.


This scene is also being repeated in Florida, in Missouri and at other ASA and NSA national tournaments, and you, Mr. And Mrs. White Plains and Mr. And Mrs. America know nothing about it, because the male-sports dominated national media, ESPN, Fox Sports and the other national networks do not cover it or do stories on it.
According to John Stratton, Manager of the National Women’s Fast Pitch 2003 Champions, ten million girls play fast pitch softball in this country. Stratton says, if every parent of every one of those windmillers and shortshorts sluggers, and golden glovettes out there sent telegrams to ESPN, NBC, CBS, and Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated, maybe, just maybe they might wake up to how great the fast pitch game is for today’s young women.


Fast pitch softball is a lot bigger than women’s soccer, but the recent Vancouver Cup international tournament in Canada featuring the Brakettes, and teams from the USA, and other countries, was not even mentioned in the newspapers or covered by ESPN or Fox Sports. That’s pathetic non-coverage.


After the welcoming ceremony the Rockets returned to the hotel to escape from the Virginia heat. They do not have their first game until 8 PM this evening, and so spent Sunday evening having pizza out on the terrace, and were able to sleep late Monday morning.


Today, Monday, the girls experienced what life is like in the major leagues “on the road” before a night game: they killed time, practicing in the morning in the parking lot. Going to a mall in the afternoon, then dressing for the 6 PM trip to the ballpark for their first game with the Connecticut Bombers.


And, what did the designated driver, yours truly do? I walked to a mall, got a haircut, got a new pair of glasses made (having lost my regular glasses at home), and spent the afternoon on the terrace reading.


It’s almost time for the air-conditioned charter bus to take the Fast Pitch Babes to the ball park. More from Fast Pitch Nation tomorrow.


 


 


 

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It’s Mayor’s Week on WHITE PLAINS WEEK

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. July 21, 2003: This week, the city news roundup show, White Plains Week interviews former White Plains Mayors Alfred Del Vecchio and Sy Schulman  in interviews videotaped in 2001 as part of WPW’s Legacies of White Plains Series. On Monday evening at 7 PM, John Bailey, Alex Philippidis and Jim Benerofe reminisce with Alfred Del Vecchio, (Mayor from 1975 to 1993) in a free-ranging conversation covering his eighteen years in the Big Chair on Main Street. Friday evening at 7:30 P.M. his successor, Sy Schulman ( Mayor, 1993-1997) takes centerstage.


White Plains Week may be seen very week on “The House of Strauss,” WPPA-TV, “The Spirit of 76” on White Plains cable television.

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Adam in Albany: Cutting STARS Program ”The Wrong Choice”

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WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By 89th District Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. July 20, 2003: As our state progresses into the 21st century, we must equip our children to meet the demands of a rapidly-evolving economy. And we undoubtedly can – by ensuring that every student in Westchester has access to a top-notch education. But at the same time, we cannot afford to sandbag property owners with unfair taxes.

Strong communities and first-rate schools are the foundation of Westchester County. Since taking office, I’ve secured over $35 million in aid for our schools while at the same time protecting the STAR tax relief program that assists eligible property-taxpayers.


 


There’s no reason that property taxes should skyrocket so our children can attend good schools. And there’s no reason we should have to choose between keeping seniors on fixed budgets in their homes and providing our students with access to a successful tomorrow.    


 


As the Legislature works to address a recent court decision, which forces the state to find a more equitable school funding formula, we will look for solutions that build on the successes of programs like STAR, which move the funding of education away from regressive property taxes. By exchanging local taxes for broader-based state revenues to fund schools, STAR can help districts across the state raise academic performance. That’s why I was discouraged to read recent reports suggesting that STAR should be sacrificed to pay for the court-ordered changes to the state’s school funding system. That’s a false choice which I will vigorously oppose. 


 


Tough times call for difficult choices, but this is no time to make the wrong choice. This year, the Legislature united in a spirit of bipartisanship to prevent historic cuts to education and to protect STAR benefits. And last year, the Assembly improved STAR by protecting eligibility from cost-of-living adjustments. We have fought hard for this important program and now is not the time to hurt those who need property tax relief.


 

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Local News Websites Upstate Beating Media Goliaths on the News and the Money

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. July 19, 2003: In today’s Online Journalism Review, an article details the success of online news websites and why they are taking over the news delivery system in small towns not being served by “traditional media.” Local advertisers are finding the websites strong, consistent ways to reach niche audiences. Read how local websites in New York State are delivering hard-nosed news and big-spending regulars daily on the web at http://www.ojr.org/ojr/glaser/1058302459.php


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