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Strike Start in Munich Moved Up: Bayern’s Home Game Against Bergamo Now Affected After All

Andrew Jackson
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Strike Start in Munich Moved Up: Bayern’s Home Game Against Bergamo Now Affected After All

The next round of warning strikes in public transit is scheduled for this week—Munich is once again affected, and with it, FC Bayern and its Champions League match against Atalanta Bergamo on Wednesday evening.
According to the Verdi union, public transit vehicles are set to remain in their depots on Thursday in at least six federal states, including Bavaria. In Munich, however, the strike is set to begin a day earlier—and is likely to last longer than a single day. According to Verdi, Munich’s municipal public transit employees are called to strike from 11 a.m. on Wednesday until 4 a.m. on Friday. According to the Munich Transport Authority (MVG), disruptions to subway service could begin as early as Tuesday, as control center and passenger service staff have already been called to a full-day warning strike on Tuesday.

As things stand, the majority of buses, subways, and trams will still be in service during Wednesday morning’s rush hour, but not after 11 a.m. And that is likely to cause a few more wrinkles on some foreheads on Säbener Straße, as the Champions League round of 16 second leg is scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Allianz Arena.
Fans of FC Bayern, as well as those of Atalanta Bergamo, will therefore have to brace themselves for a more difficult journey to and from the stadium. This repeats the scenario from early February, when Bayern Munich’s Cup quarterfinal against RB Leipzig (2-0) was also affected by a strike at the Munich public transit system. At that time, however, the MVG managed to keep subway line 6 running on a special schedule—thus ensuring a smooth trip to the Allianz Arena.

It is currently unclear whether this will be the case again this time. “As with the last strikes, the priorities are on lines 20 and U6,” the MVG announced, but also noted that “subway, tram, and bus service will be severely limited” for the entire duration of the strike. So the U6 as well? That likely depends on how many drivers heed the strike call. In any case, Verdi expects a strike participation rate of over 70 percent. But no one knows for sure at this point. S-Bahn service, however, is not affected, as it is operated by Deutsche Bahn.
This is unlikely to dampen Bayern fans’ enthusiasm, though—after all, following their 6-1 rout in the first leg in Italy, they already feel they’ve secured a spot in the quarterfinals. Strong interest and, consequently, a potentially sold-out stadium with 75,000 spectators seem quite likely, which, conversely, is likely to make coordinating the arrival and departure of the numerous fans under strike conditions a major challenge.

At least the strike ends on Friday, so Bayern’s Bundesliga match against Union Berlin on Saturday will not be affected by the strike.

World Cup hopes fading: Ancelotti leaves Neymar off the roster

Jeffrey Gooding
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World Cup hopes fading: Ancelotti leaves Neymar off the roster

Will Neymar travel to the World Cup with Brazil this summer? In any case, the chances for the technical wizard seem to be dwindling, as national team coach Carlo Ancelotti has left him off the roster for the upcoming two matches.
“Neymar can go to the World Cup—if he’s 100 percent fit,” said Carlo Ancelotti when announcing his squad, adding, “I didn’t call him up because he’s not at 100 percent. We need players who are at their best. Neymar needs to keep working, playing, and demonstrating his qualities and good physical condition.”

Still the world’s most expensive player (transferred from FC Barcelona to Paris St. Germain for 222 million euros in 2017), he made his comeback a few weeks ago following knee surgery. He scored a brace for FC Santos in their 2-1 win over Vasco da Gama, and in the 1-1 draw against Corinthians over the weekend, the now 34-year-old set up his team’s only goal.
However, these performances were not enough for the international matches just yet; Ancelotti wants the playmaker to find his rhythm even more. Neymar will therefore miss the two international matches against France and Croatia on March 26 and 31. These two games are the Brazilians’ final tests before the World Cup squad is announced.

It has been a while since Neymar played his last of 128 international matches (79 goals) to date. In October 2023, the 34-year-old suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his knee during a 0-2 loss to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying and had to be substituted shortly before halftime. He has not played for the record-holding world champions since then.
Since that serious setback, the former face of the Seleção has never regained his former form; injuries have repeatedly set him back. In January 2025, the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal allowed Neymar to move to his home club, FC Santos, in Brazil on a free transfer.

At this summer’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Brazil faces Haiti, Morocco, and Scotland in Group C. Ancelotti’s team is, of course, the clear favorite to win the group. In the last World Cup, the record-breaking champions were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Croatia.

Transfer bans for first team and academy: Chelsea sanctioned for financial violations

T0m@dmin1
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Transfer bans for first team and academy: Chelsea sanctioned for financial violations

The Premier League has sanctioned Chelsea FC for violations dating back many years. The issues involve undisclosed payments and breaches of regulations regarding the registration of academy players. The Blues themselves are pleased that this matter is now resolved.
The Premier League and the English Football Association (FA) have been investigating Chelsea FC for several years. The investigation concerns violations of financial reporting regulations as well as third-party investments in players between 2009 and 2022. The league has now concluded its investigation and announced the corresponding sanctions against the Blues.

And these hit the Champions League participants hard. In addition to fines totaling 10.75 million pounds, there is an immediate nine-month transfer ban for the academy and a one-year transfer ban for the first team. The latter, however, will be suspended for two years.

“As a result of the Premier League’s investigation, it was determined that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments were made by third parties associated with the club to players, unregistered agents, and other third parties,” the ruling states. “These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League.” Furthermore, the ruling states that between 2019 and 2022, a former Chelsea FC employee violated the regulations regarding the “registration of academy players.” According to the club itself, however, the transfer ban for youth players applies only to “academy players who were registered with another Premier League or EFL club in the preceding 18 months.” It does not apply to current club players or international players.
The fact that Chelsea itself drew attention to the irregularities ultimately worked in the London club’s favor. The club’s “proactive self-reporting”—which came after Roman Abramovich himself discovered these discrepancies during the takeover by Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital Group on May 30, 2022, and brought them to the attention of the league and the FA—led to mitigating circumstances, according to the Premier League, along with the “admission of the breaches and exceptional cooperation.”

The club itself also accepts the sanctions, which are said to have been agreed upon as part of a “sanctions agreement.” “Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm that the club has reached an agreement with the Premier League regarding historical regulatory matters that the club self-reported in 2022,” the club’s website states. “We are pleased that the matter is now resolved.”

However, the Blues cannot quite put this behind them yet, as the FA’s investigation is still ongoing. The Premier League also notes on its website: “A separate disciplinary proceeding by the FA (…) is still ongoing.” It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will face further sanctions.

Featuring Wanner and Chukwuemeka: Here’s Rangnick’s Squad for the March International Friendlies

Sports Of The Day
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Featuring Wanner and Chukwuemeka: Here’s Rangnick’s Squad for the March International Friendlies

Head coach Ralf Rangnick has announced his first squad of the World Cup year. The roster includes Paul Wanner and Carney Chukwuemeka, who are now eligible to play for the ÖFB following their change of nationality. Austria will face Ghana and South Korea in late March.
About three months before the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, ÖFB head coach Ralf Rangnick has announced his squad for the pivotal March international matches against Ghana and South Korea. Unsurprisingly, the squad also includes Paul Wanner and Carney Chukwuemeka, who recently decided to switch national teams.
Florian Wiegele and David Affengruber are also making their first appearances. The head coach has named a total of 28 players (24 outfielders and 4 goalkeepers). However, Rangnick said appearances by David Alaba and Maximilian Wöber are unlikely. Sasa Kalajdzic is also back in the squad.

Austria will first face Ghana on March 27 at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium; four days later, on March 31, the red-white-red squad will host South Korea.

Lakers Celebrate Statement Win, Kerr Reaches Milestone, Spurs and Celtics Stay Hot

Lesley Summerville
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Lakers Celebrate Statement Win, Kerr Reaches Milestone, Spurs and Celtics Stay Hot

The Los Angeles Lakers celebrated a statement win over the Houston Rockets, while the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics remain hot. Meanwhile, Steve Kerr reached a milestone in the Golden State Warriors’ victory.
Following their dramatic win over the Nuggets, the Lakers swept aside the Rockets, another top team from the West, and jumped to third place. Once again, the decisive factor was an outstanding late surge by the visitors in a game that was close for long stretches and had a playoff-like intensity.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Luka Doncic at the end of the third quarter gave the Lakers a narrow lead (83-80), before the final quarter turned into a real battle. Offensively, neither team could get much going (17 to 12 points), and every point was worth its weight in gold. Just as against Denver, it was Marcus Smart who hit a crucial three-pointer in crunch time to put L.A. up by four. Houston couldn’t find an answer, and Deandre Ayton sealed the game with two key baskets, while Kevin Durant was completely shut down (two points in the second half).

The leading scorer for the Lakers, who have now won six straight games, was Luka Doncic with 36 points (14/27 FG). The Slovenian has thus scored at least 30 points in all six games of the ongoing winning streak. Alongside Doncic, LeBron James also had a really good game with 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Austin Reaves added another 15 points. For the Rockets, Jabari Smith Jr. (22) was the top scorer, followed by Amen Thompson (19) and KD (18).
The fact that the Warriors beat the Wizards after five straight losses isn’t a huge surprise at first glance. However, the win was far more significant for their coach, Steve Kerr. It marked the coach’s 600th career win in his 943rd regular-season game—a milestone achieved faster by only three coaches in history: Phil Jackson (805 games), Pat Riley (832), and Gregg Popovich (887).

The game itself, however, was not particularly thrilling. The Wizards, who have now won twelve games in a row, put up a good fight for a long time (51.3 FG%), though they didn’t seem particularly interested in winning. The Warriors, on the other hand, were still missing key players like the Curry brothers, Jimmy Butler, and Al Horford, but Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, and De’Anthony Melton—who had been rested recently—stepped up to save the day.

Porzingis led his team with 30 points (8/14 FG), while Melton added another 27 points. Green was everywhere on the court and finished with five points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. For the Wizards, three players—Bilal Coulibaly, Will Riley, and Trae Young—each scored 21 points.
The Spurs and Celtics are currently the second-best teams in their respective conferences and have further extended their lead over their pursuers. San Antonio needed only a dominant second quarter, in which they outscored the Clippers—who were without Kawhi Leonard—by 22 points, a deficit the hosts could not overcome.

Although they closed the gap to -10 after a 16-3 run late in the third quarter, Victor Wembanyama and his teammates kept their cool in the final period and held on for the win. On the way to their 50th win of the season (their first since 2016–17), Wemby scored 21 points (9-for-20 FG), grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked four shots. Stephon Castle led all scorers with 23 points, while Devin Vassell added another 20. For the Clippers, newcomer Darius Garland (25) was the leading scorer, followed by Jordan Miller (22).

At TD Garden, meanwhile, the Celtics and Suns battled it out until the final minutes in a game dominated by the outstanding Jaylen Brown and Devin Booker. Brown scored 18 of his 41 points (10-of-20 FG) in the fourth quarter, and Booker also broke the 40-point mark (40, 15-of-24 FG). After trailing by three points with just a few minutes remaining, an 8-0 run ultimately secured the victory for the Celtics.

Alongside Brown, Jayson Tatum was Boston’s top performer with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists; Derrick White also scored 21 points. For the Suns, Jalen Green also contributed 21 points.

Valorant’s New “Battle Bard”: Abilities, Role, and the Boosting Debate

Lesley Summerville
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Valorant’s New “Battle Bard”: Abilities, Role, and the Boosting Debate

Long-range healing and combat-stim resets: The new agent Miks brings a different kind of support to Valorant. But the design also poses risks to game balance.
A bard in a tactical shooter? Sounds strange at first, but that’s exactly the concept behind Valorant’s new agent, Miks. The Croatian brings infectious passion—and music-based powers.

An overview of the abilities
Harmonize grants Miks and an ally a Combat Stim—meaning faster equipping, faster reloading, and increased fire rate. The effect refreshes with every kill.
M-Pulse is a projectile with two modes: Stun and Heal. The desired effect can be selected before deployment and takes effect as soon as the ability hits the ground. M-Pulse has two charges.

Waveform are the smoke grenades in tactician Miks’ arsenal. A maximum of two are available at a time; a used charge recharges after 40 seconds.

Miks’ Ultimate is Bassquake. Within a cone centered on Miks’ position, enemies are knocked back, slowed, and stunned. It takes eight Ultimate points to deploy it.

Will Miks become a boosting agent?
With Miks, the tactical shooter is set to gain an agent specifically designed to be beginner-friendly; the goal was to give players the opportunity to influence a round even without exceptional mechanical skill.
This form of support—with Combat Stim resets for teammates and healing from a distance—has not existed in Valorant until now. Presumably because such a design always carries risks. Strategies where a stronger player is specifically supported could become more attractive as a result—a scenario that can quickly spark discussions about boosting or smurfing.

Riot Games is aware of this issue, says Meier: “We are still a tactical shooter at our core—and shooting is the focus.” That’s why they tested this issue extensively with the Gameplay Analysis Team (GAT). And even if it turns out to be a problem: “We’re a live-service game. We can make adjustments at any time,” explains Meier.

Why you can look forward to Miks
But if the balance is right, there are plenty of reasons to look forward to Miks. After all, he is the first true support tactician in the game, following the introduction of two other archetypes in Sage and Skye.

Despite a low learning curve, the agent also offers plenty of room for future mains to prove their skills. “I don’t know if we’ll see lineups built around healing,” says Meier—but the potential is there. And Riot Games has introduced yet another new effect to the game: Bassquake is the first ability in the title that knocks enemies back instead of up.
Miks could also draw attention outside of gameplay. According to Meier, the development team deliberately experimented with the sounds when equipping his abilities. Each ability has its own sound and rhythm; equipping them is meant to create beats. “We expect players and content creators to get creative with this,” says the game designer.

Lando Norris sets the record straight: “Party mode” is a figment of Lewis Hamilton’s imagination

admin3r
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Lando Norris sets the record straight: “Party mode” is a figment of Lewis Hamilton’s imagination

Lando Norris responds to Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion that Mercedes uses a kind of “party mode” in qualifying—the McLaren driver has some strong words to say about it
After qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton voiced a controversial suspicion: The longtime Mercedes driver believes his former team has a special engine mode that unlocks additional power during qualifying.
The Brit, who is still very familiar with how his former team operates, can’t explain Ferrari’s deficit any other way. In the past, it wasn’t unusual for engines to have a so-called “party mode” that temporarily unleashed more power.

But party mode has been banned since the 2020 season. And World Champion Lando Norris, who also uses a Mercedes engine in his McLaren, directly dismisses the record-holding champion’s speculation: “No, we don’t,” the 26-year-old clarifies.
Lando Norris is clear: “Sometimes you just mess around”
“Maybe he’s still used to the old days when it was still around,” Norris adds with a smile, recalling a phase in which Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominated the premier class not only thanks to the controversial Party Mode.

However, that has been over since the 2020 Italian Grand Prix: With Technical Directive TD037/20, the FIA put a stop to the special engine mode in qualifying, though without the hoped-for effect: The gap to the competition, particularly Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, did not narrow as a result of the ban.
Does Norris believe that Mercedes is using a similar mode in qualifying again without passing this advantage on to the customer teams? “No,” the McLaren driver says firmly, adding a slight dig at Hamilton: “Sometimes you just mess around a bit.”

Pirelli Finalizes 2026 DTM Special Tires: Two Options Again Despite Time Pressure?

Phil Laffertey
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Pirelli Finalizes 2026 DTM Special Tires: Two Options Again Despite Time Pressure?

Following tire failures in earlier tests, Pirelli is playing it safe just before the DTM season opener: Nevertheless, further experimentation will take place at the Vallelunga test
The decision regarding efforts to develop an exclusive DTM tire for the 2026 season—in which the tire will be made available to all teams for the first time—has been made: Pirelli has decided to give preference to “Option 4.”

This is the most conservative choice among the four test tires that were tried out on the cars of all DTM manufacturers during test drives at Le Castellet and Vallelunga. And it is the one most similar to the DHG tire from Pirelli previously used in the series—which is actually intended for endurance racing.

Pirelli had originally planned to supply a tire that would enable better lap times and wear out more quickly. However, with the season opener in Spielberg (April 24–26) just around the corner, the company apparently does not want to take any major risks in this regard, following damage and significant criticism of the tires during the test at Le Castellet in late November 2025 with the more extreme “Option 1” and “Option 2” variants.

In the end, the “Option 3” and “Option 4” variants, which had been tested for the first time on March 2 and 3 during the tire test in Vallelunga, made the shortlist. The decision was made based on manufacturer feedback and data collected by Pirelli

According to team sources, “Option 3” features the same construction as the Pirelli tires previously used in the DTM, but with a different compound. With “Option 4,” it’s the other way around: the compound is the same as on the Pirelli P Zero DHG, but the construction is different. The lap times are correspondingly similar.

With “Option 3,” ‘peak’ performance and degradation were more pronounced than with “Option 4.” However, there were also concerns that the tire might not hold up on all cars during hot races and on aggressive asphalt, leading to excessive variations among the GT3 cars, which are balanced against each other via the Balance of Performance (BoP).

But has it now been definitively decided what the tire for the DTM season will look like? No, there are further adjustments to come. At the Pirelli test in Vallelunga, where all teams were scheduled to try out the new tire for the first time, “Option 4.1” will now be compared with “Option 4.2.”

What’s behind this? While both tires feature the same construction and compound as “Option 4,” there are differences in the manufacturing process of the two tires.
It is unclear what Pirelli hopes to gain from this comparison. However, there are rumors that the severe graining during the Le Castellet test in November may have been related to the manufacturing process. This is because as early as October 14 and 15, Pirelli had the DTM manufacturers test the more extreme variants “Option 1” and “Option 2” at Le Castellet, though without any significant issues.

The fact that two different tires must now be used again on March 24 and 25 also affects the schedule of the test in Vallelunga. Despite the new production facility in Breuberg, Hesse, Pirelli has only about a week to prepare—and is unable to manufacture enough tires for the entire field for both days.

While on the first day the two variants are to be compared with each other and with the reference tire DHG, on the second day only the tire that has proven to be the better choice is scheduled to be used. Although the teams are also to receive free testing time in Vallelunga to run through their own programs, so-called “performance sessions” are also planned.

During these sessions, the cars will be sent onto the track with a predetermined amount of fuel for qualifying and race simulations and will then be inspected during technical scrutineering. In this way, officials aim to collect important data so they are prepared to establish the Balance of Performance even with the new tires.

George Russell: “I was waiting for the collision at Ferrari”

Jeffrey Gooding
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George Russell: “I was waiting for the collision at Ferrari”

George Russell watched the Ferrari duel from a distance and is now raving about the intense wheel-to-wheel battle between Hamilton and Leclerc
Mercedes driver George Russell expressed surprise after the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc did not collide during their duel. “To be honest, I was just waiting for the collision—but somehow it didn’t happen,” said Russell.
He raves: “It was one of the most aggressive duels I’ve seen in a long time. If it hadn’t been about winning the race, that battle would have been quite entertaining. But of course, at the time, it was a bit frustrating to watch Andrea Kimi Antonelli pull away up front.”

Hamilton and Leclerc expressed similar enthusiasm to Russell after the race. Hamilton, in particular, seemed impressed: “With the new cars, it’s much easier to follow—much better than in previous years. You can get very close. There isn’t as much slipstream turbulence causing downforce loss anymore.”
The seven-time world champion even used a superlative: “I think this is the best racing I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1. It’s great that everyone can drive so close together. Hopefully it stays that way throughout the year.”
Hamilton was reminded of his early days in motorsport and explained: “It felt like karting—back and forth, back and forth. The car was really easy to position, and sometimes there was just a wafer-thin gap between us, almost like a sheet of paper. “Yet we didn’t make contact. That’s a testament to great drivers and mutual respect.”
Here, however, Hamilton deviates from an earlier statement in which he had explained that there had been a “kiss” between him and Leclerc—their cars had touched lightly once during the duel.

Overall, Hamilton described the new approach to duels as “very, very demanding, because battery usage now plays a decisive role.” “You have to think things through and analyze them more than in any other era of my career,” Hamilton said. “Very meticulous work is required, with great attention to every little detail.”

CFMoto Acquires Stake in Kalex: What’s Behind the New Partnership

Andrew Jackson
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CFMoto Acquires Stake in Kalex: What’s Behind the New Partnership

CFMoto secures a majority stake in Kalex – The collaboration is primarily intended to bring expertise to production motorcycles – Moto2 remains the main focus
Kalex and CFMoto have agreed to a long-term partnership. The Chinese motorcycle manufacturer has acquired 51 percent of the German company, which is headquartered in Bobingen. Kalex’s successful Moto2 project will continue unchanged.
The partnership emerged from discussions in the MotoGP paddock. CFMoto asked Kalex if they could leverage expertise in lightweight engineering and racing experience to make the production models more sporty.

″Exactly, that’s my job,″ ″The main task is to continue Moto2 as we have done for the past 16 years and ensure continued success.″

“To that end, we’re trying to contribute our expertise and experience to make the motorcycles sportier in their basic design and to apply our know-how regarding stiffness and so on.”

By acquiring 51 percent of the company’s shares, Kalex is also securing the long-term future of the small company. Currently, only eight and a half employees, as Baumgärtel notes, work for the 13-time winner of the Moto2 Constructors’ World Championship.

“Exactly, that’s of course a nice part of the story—being able to leave a certain legacy of our own,” explains Baumgärtel. “We don’t have a family in that sense who could step in or anything like that. It actually worked out to be good timing.”
Formally, everything between Kalex and CFMoto has already been finalized. All legal matters were settled back in December 2025. There are no immediate plans to expand operations in Bobingen or hire more staff.

In the past, Kalex has developed swingarms for KTM’s MotoGP project, among other things, as well as chassis and swingarms for Honda and swingarms for BMW for the Superbike World Championship.

Despite CFMoto’s entry, such contract work from other manufacturers would not be ruled out in the future. “That may still be possible,” says Baumgärtel, “but right now we’re fully utilized with what we have.”

Kalex will equip ten teams, each with two riders, for the 2026 Moto2 season. Triumph will revise the three-cylinder engine in detail for next year, including the mounting points and the airbox. The chassis manufacturer must respond to this and make adjustments.

CFMoto has been a partner of Jorge Martinez’s Aspar team in Moto2 since the 2024 season. Baumgärtel firmly dismisses speculation that Kalex might be given preferential treatment due to the new deal with the Chinese brand.

″I can rule that out, absolutely. We’ve had Aspar as a customer for a long time; we’ve been working together for a long time. That was already the case before CFMoto, and I think we’ve shown over the past few years that we treat everyone fairly and that we’re sportsmen.”

“The goal is to maintain the trust placed in us and to continue supporting the teams with the same fairness as we have up to now. As I said, Moto2 is our main focus, and alongside that, we’re trying to apply our expertise to make their motorcycles more competitive.”

CFMoto has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2025, the Chinese brand sold over 250,000 motorcycles worldwide.

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