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Author: Dave Riggert

Fillmyer leads Royals to sweep of Cincinnati

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Talk about finishing with a flourish.

Rookie Heath Fillmyer struck out a career-high nine, collected his first major league hit and run batted in, and the Kansas City Royals wrapped up their road schedule with a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

The only run Fillmyer allowed was Jose Peraza’s 14th homer in the first inning. Fillmyer (4-2) retired 11 straight batters in one stretch against a Cincinnati team that has scored three or fewer runs in 13 of its last 14 games.

“My curveball was working well against lefties, and I had a real nice slider against righties,” Fillmyer said. “I was able to keep them off-balance.”

He allowed four hits and two walks while tying his career high with 7 1/3 innings.

“He threw the ball well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He spotted it well and changed speeds well. He did a nice job of executing the game plan. When he makes a mistake lately, they don’t seem to hurt him. He was down in the zone and changed speeds.”

Fillmyer also chipped in to the Kansas City offense with a sixth-inning RBI double.

“If I missed that one, I was never going to get a hit,” he said. “It was right down the middle. It was nice to get the monkey off my back.”

Adalberto Mondesi tripled, scored two runs and stole two bases to spark the Kansas City offense. Whit Merrifield, who went into the game tied for the American League lead in hits and leading in stolen bases, extended his season-high hitting streak to 16 games with a third-inning single. He also stole two bases.

Alex Gordon tacked on a solo home run to help Kansas City to a third straight win and fourth in its last five games.

The Royals finished with a 26-55 road record. They need one win in their last four games to avoid matching their single-season record of 106 losses, set in 2005.

The Reds have lost five straight games, all to teams with worse records, and six of their last seven. Cincinnati’s offensive struggles date to the start of a 10-game road trip in Chicago on Sept. 14.

“We may have looked flat because we didn’t get a lot of hits and there was no activity, but we have been doing all our preparations before the games and trying to finish strong,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “Since Chicago, we haven’t got good results. We didn’t score a lot of runs in Chicago either, but we had better at-bats.”

After lasting six innings in his previous start, a win at Miami, Reds starter Cody Reed (1-3) could manage just 3 2/3, giving up six hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts.

“I wasn’t as sharp,” Reed said. “I didn’t have the back-foot slider to righties that I had the last two games. I rushed myself a little warming up before the game, but I felt fine.”

40-40 MAN

Merrifield is the first player since Houston’s Jose Altuve in 2014 with at least 40 doubles and 40 stolen bases in the same season. The only other Royal with that combination is Johnny Damon in 2000.

CHANGEUP

RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-2) now is scheduled to start Cincinnati’s game on Saturday against the Pirates. Sunday could be a bullpen day with RHP Sal Romano (8-11) starting, Riggleman said.

ELUSIVE WIN

The Reds lost their last seven interleague games to finish 10-10 against AL teams. They fell one win short of matching their single-season record for interleague wins. Kansas City finished 6-14 against NL teams.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Glenn Sparkman (0-3) makes his fourth start in the opener of a season-ending, four-game series against division champion Cleveland.

Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani (7-7), originally scheduled to start on Saturday, was moved up to start Friday against Pittsburgh in place of RHP Luis Castillo, who was shut down for the season.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis gets swept by Milwaukee

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first playoff spot since 2011, ensuring at least a spot in the NL wild-card game when Jhoulys Chacin pitched five shutout innings to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 Wednesday night for a three-game sweep.

The Brewers (92-67) began the night a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central and 3 games ahead of Colorado for the top wild-card slot.

The Cardinals (87-71) are now a game and half behind the Rockies for the final wild-card berth.

Milwaukee now returns to Miller Park to take on the lowly Detroit Tigers in the three-game series starting Friday to end the regular season. The Cardinals travel to the Cubs for the three-game set.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western AD Josh Looney appointed to NCAA Football Rules Committee

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ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Director of Athletics Josh Looney has accepted an appointment to the NCAA Football Rules Committee.

The purpose of the NCAA Football Rules Committee is to review, affirm, and adjust all game rules and policies for football in the NCAA. The committee has focused on issues such as player safety, rule updates, officiating, and on-field player equipment.

The opportunity to serve on the NCAA Football Rules Committee is an accomplishment that not many administrators and coaches in America are given. The committee is made up of 13 individual members from affiliations across the NCAA. Of those members, there are six from Division I, three from Division II, and three from Division III. Of the three committee members currently representing Division II, Looney is the only director of athletics, as the other two are head football coaches.

Each member of the committee serves a four-year term. Looney will serve on the committee until August 2022.

Josh Looney is serving in his second year as Director of Athletics at Missouri Western.

For more information on the NCAA Football Rules Committee and a complete list of its committee members, click here.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest’s Althoff named semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy

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IRVING, Texas (Sept. 26, 2018) – Recognizing one of the most impressive groups of scholar-athletes in the history of college football, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today the 179 semifinalists, including Northwest Missouri State senior linebacker Ben Althoff, for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy®. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. Fidelity Investments is a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy®.

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

Northwest Missouri State is represented by senior linebacker Ben Althoff (Palmyra, Missouri/Palmyra HS). Althoff carries a 3.87 grade point average with a double major in agronomy and agricultural business. Althoff led the Bearcats in tackles in 2017 for a defense that ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, total defense and third-down conversion defense. In 2018, Althoff has helped Northwest to a 3-1 start and No. 17 national ranking in the AFCA Div. II Coaches Top 25. Althoff is a captain on this year’s Bearcat football squad.

Althoff has participated in a a local Maryville community spring yard clean up. He has volunteered at the courthouse for landscape work. He has served lunch at St. Gregory’s Catholic School to students. He helped paint the hallways at Eugene Field Elementary Schools. He has served as a guest speaker at the 2018 Wilderness Camping and Retreat Center Sports Camps.
“These 179 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “For 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year’s semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders.”

Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy® is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient’s grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $11.5 million.

“The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist’s achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates.”

2018 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS NOTES

  • 60th Year of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Program
  • 29th Year of The William V. Campbell Trophy®
  • 179 Nominations
  • 3.62 Average GPA
  • 7 Nominees with a perfect 4.0 GPA
  • 51 Nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
  • 70 Nominees with a 3.7 GPA or Better
  • 29 Academic All-America Selections
  • 114 Captains
  • 95 All-Conference Picks
  • 16 All-Americans
  • 63 Nominees from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
  • 40 Nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
  • 25 Nominees from NCAA Division II
  • 41 Nominees from NCAA Division III
  • 10 Nominees from the NAIA
  • 81 Offensive Players
  • 81 Defensive Players
  • 17 Special Teams Players

Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program is celebrating its 60th year in 2018. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player’s academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 841 outstanding individuals since their inception. The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program’s prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.

Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, serves as a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy® and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.

Fidelity also helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a Campbell Trophy® finalist/NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative, the NFF presents each of the faculty representatives with a plaque, and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school with a total of $505,000 distributed from 2011-17.

The past recipients of The William V. Campbell Trophy® include: Air Force’s Chris Howard (1990); Florida’s Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado’s Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia’s Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska’s Rob Zatechka (1994); Ohio State’s Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida’s Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee’s Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia’s Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall’s Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska’s Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami (Fla.)’s Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.)’s Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State’s Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee’s Michael Munoz (2004); LSU’s Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers’ Brian Leonard (2006); Texas’ Dallas Griffin (2007); California’s Alex Mack (2008); Florida’s Tim Tebow (2009); Texas’ Sam Acho (2010); Army West Point’s Andrew Rodriguez (2011); Alabama’s Barrett Jones (2012); Penn State’s John Urschel (2013); Duke’s David Helton (2014); Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington (2015); Western Michigan’s Zach Terrell (2016); and Virginia’s Micah Kiser (2017).

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffon volleyball loses in four sets at Truman State

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Missouri Western Volleyball (9-8) fell to Truman (12-3) in its final non-conference game of the season. The Griffons fell in four sets (24-26, 25-21, 18-25, 23-25) to the Bulldogs.

NOTABLES

  • Tuesday night’s game against the Bulldogs will be the last time the Griffons will face non-MIAA competition as their remaining 14 games are all MIAA games.
  • Although the Griffons lost in four sets, the first and second sets were close. The Griffons held a 21-20 lead in set one and were tied 21-21 in set four.
  • Liv Winker distributed to a variety of teammates on Tuesday. Stephanie Doak and Shellby Taylor each had over 40 attack attempts and Sam Duncan totaled 29 attempts.

STATS AND LEADERS

  • Three Griffons reached double-digits kills with Shellby Taylor leading the team at 13 kills.
  • Missouri Western’s best hitting set came in the fourth at .275.
  • Liv Winker continued to fill the role of primary setter and finished with 44 assists.
  • Both Ali Tauchen and Audrey Keim leds the Griffons with 21 digs each.

UP NEXT

  • The Griffons will host No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney Friday, September 28.
  • Nebraska-Kearney is 17-1 and will be coming off of a 3-2 win at Regis University on Tuesday.
  • Nebraska-Kearney, along with Missouri Western, was co-champion of the MIAA regular season last year.
  • All fans are encouraged to black out the MWSU Fieldhouse, as it will be Black Out Night.— MWSU Athletics —

Dozier’s homer lifts Royals to 4-3 win over Reds

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Hunter Dozier’s quiet night turned into a clutch, game-winning effort for the Kansas City Royals.

Dozier led off the ninth inning with a tie-breaking home run, then teamed with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi for a key out in the bottom of the inning as the Royals beat the slumping Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Tuesday night.

“It felt like a quiet night until the ninth,” said Dozier, who snapped a 0-for-17 skid with his homer to left field. “A lot happened in a short amount of time.”

Dozier’s 11th homer of the season, off Raisel Iglesias (2-5), left Kansas City needing two wins in its last five games to avoid tying the franchise record of 106 losses in a season, set in 2005. The Royals (55-102) have won three of their last four games, after a five-game losing streak.

The Reds had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth against closer Wily Peralta, but Mondesi fielded Scott Schebler’s grounder and threw to Dozier at third, forcing Brandon Dixon. Jose Peraza followed with a hard grounder that Dozier was able to knock down with a diving backhand stop, leaving the bases loaded. Joey Votto grounded out harmlessly, and Peralta earned his 14th save.

“They made some good plays,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “I was shocked that Dozier got to that ball. I thought it was down the line and would at least tie the game.”

Kansas City manager Ned Yost felt Dozier’s play on Schebler’s grounder to Mondesi was more difficult than it looked.

“He went for the ball at first,” Yost said. “He had to peel back to get to the bag. His athleticism allowed him to do that.”

Kevin McCarthy (5-4) walked the first batter he faced to lead off the eighth and the Reds ended up loading the bases with no outs on Votto’s checked-swing dribbler up the third base line. But Eugenio Suarez grounded into a force out at the plate, Scooter Gennett struck out and Phillip Ervin hit a fielder’s-choice grounder to Dozier, ending the threat.

Cincinnati went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and now are 8-for-75 (.107) in that situation over their last 13 games. The slumping Reds (66-92) have lost four straight, all against teams with worse records than their own. The Reds have also lost five of six, and their interleague losing streak reached seven games.

Ryan O’Hearn hit his 12th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Matt Harvey, in the fourth inning, to give the Royals a 3-0 lead. The Reds’ Dilson Herrera delivered a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the fifth before Gennett tripled and Ervin drove him in with the game-tying run in the seventh

Harvey overcame a 51-minute rain delay with one out in the bottom of the third inning. He lasted five innings and gave up six hits and three runs with six strikeouts. The former Mets’ right-hander didn’t allow a walk. He has a 7-7 record and 4.46 ERA in 23 games with the Reds, and a 4.92 ERA overall in 2018.

“It was frustrating,” Harvey said. “I was pretty sharp in the first three innings. After the delay, I wasn’t as sharp.

The delay cost Eric Skoglund a shot at his second win of the season and first since April 28 against the White Sox. The Royals rookie, making his 12th start of 2018 and fourth since missing three months with a strained ulnar collateral ligament, didn’t return when play resumed.

ROCKY TOP

The Reds announced that they were resuming an affiliation with Double-A Chattanooga. The Reds and Lookouts were affiliated from 1988 through 2008.

IT’S LORENZEN

RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-2), trying to convince the Reds that he can make the conversion from reliever to starter, will get his third and final chance this season against the Pirates in Sunday’s series finale.

NEW HIGH

Whit Merrifield singled with one out in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 15 games. The streak is the fourth of at least 12 games this season for Merrifield, the AL’s hits and stolen base leader going into Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Heath Fillmyer (3-2) will make his first career start against the Reds in his final 2018 start.

Reds: LHP Cody Reed (1-2) makes his first career start against the Royals, who made him their second-round pick in the June 2013 draft.

— Associated Press —

Cards lose to Brewers, now trail Rockies for second wild card

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Christian Yelich homered and drove in six runs, and the surging Milwaukee Brewers hurt St. Louis’ playoff chances with a 12-4 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Ryan Braun went deep twice and Jesus Aguilar also connected as Milwaukee won for the fifth time in six games. Manny Pina had two hits and drove in a run, and pitcher Gio Gonzalez contributed an RBI single for just his fourth hit of the season.

The Cardinals (87-71) fell one-half game behind the Colorado Rockies (87-70), who beat Philadelphia 10-3, for the second NL wild card. Milwaukee (91-67) leads Colorado by 3 1/2 games for the top wild card and entered the day 1 1/2 games back of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

Following Wednesday’s series finale, Milwaukee closes the regular season with a weekend set at home against lowly Detroit. St. Louis also is off Thursday before beginning a three-game series against the slumping Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer off Gonzalez for the Cardinals, who had won six of seven before their 6-4 loss to Milwaukee on Monday night. Marcell Ozuna went 3 for 3 with a walk.

St. Louis left the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh innings when Jedd Gyorko came up empty each time. Third baseman Mike Moustakas turned an inning-ending double play on Gyorko’s chopper near the bag in the fifth, and Gyorko flied to right for the final out of the seventh.

Milwaukee scored each of its first six runs with two outs. Aguilar and Braun hit back-to-back homers in the first off rookie Austin Gomber (6-2), and Gonzalez chased the left-hander with his hit in the fourth.

The Brewers went on to load the bases against Tyson Ross, and Yelich’s liner to right-center rolled all the way to the wall for a triple and a 6-0 lead. He also hit a three-run drive in the ninth.

Yelich is batting .346 with seven homers and 28 RBI in 22 games this month, bolstering his case for NL MVP. He has 33 homers, 104 RBI, 110 runs and 181 hits on the year, all career highs.

Gonzalez lasted four innings. Taylor Williams (1-3), the third of seven Milwaukee pitchers, got three outs for the win. The Brewers used nine pitchers in their series-opening victory.

LONG GONE

Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter and manager Mike Shildt were ejected in the seventh inning. Carpenter became upset with home plate umpire Will Little after he was called out on strikes.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: Manager Craig Counsell said All-Star RHP Jeremy Jeffress (neck spasms) was feeling a lot better after he was unavailable for the series opener. Counsell said Jeffress was going to play catch before they made a decision on his status Tuesday night.

Cardinals: 2B Kolten Wong returned to the starting lineup for the first time since he left Friday’s victory over San Francisco with cramps in both hamstrings. He struck out swinging as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of Monday’s loss. “Obviously at this point of the season no one’s 100 percent,” he said. “For me as long as I know I can run and I can play I’m going to be out there.”

UP NEXT

Brewers right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (14-8, 3.61 ERA) and Cardinals right-hander John Gant (7-6, 3.53 ERA) pitch Wednesday night in the series finale. Chacin is 0-3 with a 4.34 ERA in four September starts. Gant lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his last outing, yielding one run and four hits Friday against the Giants.

— Associated Press —

MWSU’s Anna Mayer named MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In her seventh collegiate soccer game, Anna Mayer accomplished what no one had in 58 consecutive tries. Missouri Western’s freshman goalkeeper shutout Central Missouri, Friday night, and for her efforts was named MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week.

Mayer stopped 11 UCM shots Friday to end the then No. 1 Jennies’ streak of 58 games with at least a goal. The Duluth, Minnesota native’s first-career shutout helped the Griffons snap the defending national champion’s 32-game winning streak and end Missouri Western’s 24-game losing streak to UCM. Sunday, Mayer did allow a goal in the Griffons’ 1-0 loss to Lindenwood, but the freshman goalkeeper is still 5-2 on the season and sports the MIAA’s second-best save percentage (.870) and third-best goals against average (.882).

It was the second-straight week Griffon Soccer was represented in the MIAA weekly women’s soccer awards. Cassidy Menke was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18.

Missouri Western stays home this week to face Emporia State and Washburn. The Griffons could make another statement win on Friday. Emporia State will enter ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches Central Region poll while the Griffons sit at No. 8.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest’s Achengli earns MIAA cross country honor

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For the second time in as many weeks the Northwest Missouri State Bearcat cross country program has had a student-athlete named the MIAA athlete of the week.

Junior Karim Achengli (Adra, Spain/Iowa Central CC) placed 12th overall out of 441 runners at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Achengli ran a time of 24:46.2 on the 8,000 meter course.

— Northwest Athletics —

MIAA hands out weekly football honors

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced its’ weekly Football Athletes of the Week. Cole Morris of Pittsburg State was named Defensive Athlete of the Week. Central Oklahoma’s Chandler Garrett earned Offensive Athlete of the Week. Fort Hays State’s Dante Brown was tabbed as Special Teams Athlete of the Week.

Morris forced two fumbles and recorded two quarterback sacks in No. 15 Pittsburg State’s 30-17 victory over Nebraska-Kearney. One of his forced fumbles went out of the back of the end zone and gave PSU a safety. Morris made five tackles overall, including two solo tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and two quarterback sacks as the Gorillas limited the Lopers to 132 rushing yards and 267 total yards.

Garrett led Central Oklahoma to an upset of fourth-ranked Northwest Missouri. He went 17-for-33 with 274 yards and four touchdowns and had 18 carries for 59 yards. Garrett orchestrated a 12-play, 99-yard scoring drive and also had a 1-play, 72-yard scoring drive. In the win, he completed a pass to six different receivers with touchdown passes going to four different receivers.

Brown finished with 13 kicking points in the 55-20 win for Fort Hays State over Missouri Southern. He was a perfect 2-of-2 on field goal attempts, connecting from 48 and 43 yards, and went 7-of-7 on point after touchdown tries. He was also effective on his three punts in the game, averaging 52 yards per punt with a game-long of 65 yards.

— MIAA Press Release —

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