MLB ante post betting – The National League divisions

A look at each of the National League divisional races and the betting for same.

NL Central
8/13 Cardinals
10/3 Cubs
7/1 Brewers
9/1 Reds
25/1 Astros
100/1 Pirates

Overview
The most straight forward of all the National Leagues. Very hard to see anyone toppling the Cardinals. St Louis ticks all the right boxes. Good lineup, great starting pitching, decent stable of relief pitchers and a superior level of lineup/bullpen management from a Hall of Fame level coach. None of the other rivals in this division can put those elements on the table in one go. Carpenter and Pujols stand out as the class of this division, while Matt Holliday is a fine addition. When you figure in the inconsistencies of their opponents, that 8/13 price tag is actually kind of ‘long’ for the Cards. In my book they are a 1/2 lock.

The sure thing: If you were a professional gambler that 8/13 for the St Louis Cardinals would look very appealing.
The outsider: Maybe if they put it all together and stay healthy, the Milwaukee Brewers are relatively appetizing at 7/1. It is a big ‘if’ though.

Getting progressively more famous at a ball park near you...

How we think they will finish:

1. Cardinals
2. Brewers
3. Cubs
4. Reds
5. Astros
6. Pirates

NL East
4/7 Phillies
7/2 Braves
13/2 Mets
9/1 Marlins
66/1 Washington

Overview
The poor Nationals (Or, ‘Natinils’, as they like to call themselves). There is absolutely no hope, no chance, not even a whisker of a whisper of a hope of a chance actually, that they will finish anywhere but rock bottom in the NL East. To take this one step further, there is no hope at all, not even a 1% punchers chance, that Washington can win the NL East in 2010. Even if the Mets pull their annual self destruct job, the other three are too strong for Washington to hope for anything but avoiding a 100 loss season. If someone said to you, ‘Here is $1 million, you can put it on one team to win the NL East’, who would you pick? The Nationals and Mets you can rule out straight away. The Mets are paper thin, and it all starts from the top. Their incompetent front office ‘leads’ the way. The Marlins you would have to rule out because they might be a year or two and a player or two away and thus you are left with the Braves and Phillies. This is Bobby Cox’s last season at the helm in Atlanta and thus the Braves will be playing above their skill level, for a manager they revere like a deity down there. However, this will not be enough to overcome the sheer power the Phillies will be throwing on the diamond daily. Doc Halladay in the National League? Goodness gracious.

The sure thing: The Phillies at 4/7. Philadelphia are an American League style team with a big lineup and power pitching, they might go 19-0 over the Nationals. They are basically playing in Quadruple A until the inter league games and the World Series.
The outsider: The best value is the Florida Marlins. Their young, talented lineup can cause teams problems, while their pitching might pull it all together and send them on a decent summer run. At 9/1 they are definitely the ‘value’ bet in the division.

How we think they will finish:

1. Phillies
2. Marlins
3. Braves
4. Mets
5. Washington

NL West
2/1 Dodgers
5/2 Rockies
3/1 Diamondbacks
3/1 Giants
33/1 Padres

Overview
Now we’re talking. Some say the NL East is the class of the NL. They might have the best team, but the NL West is definitely the most competitive division in the NL. Four teams have a real shot at winning it, and even the outsider isn’t that hopeless. The key to this division lies in the pitching staffs. The Giants represent great value at 3/1 when you look at their fantastic rotation. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, and Todd Wellemeyer represent one of the best rotations in the NL. The Giants won’t suffer many losing streaks with Lincecum and Cain leading the way, while Zito had a very good end to ’09. Remember, Sanchez is young and threw a no hitter in ’09. This rotation is sensational at the top and solid at the bottom. The Dodgers look like a team in transition, with several old players at key positions and questions in the rotation and the ‘pen. The Rockies will win loads of games at home, and lose even more on the road. The Diamondbacks you can write off, unless Brandon Webb grows a brand new right arm, which is, let’s face it, unlikely.

The sure thing: They are not a sure thing because the division is so tight, however the Giants represent fabulous value at 3/1, when you consider their excellent starting rotation. They look like a team on an upward swing, and could potentially be good enough to challenge anyone in the playoffs – would you want to face Lincecum/Cain in a best of five series?
The outsider: See above, the Giants are the best bet in both instances.

How we think they will finish:

1. Giants
2. Dodgers
3. Rockies
4. Diamondbacks
5. Padres

Suggested bet: The Phillies, Giants and Cardinals to win their respective divisions. $10 gets you $100.

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New York is a great place to play. Yeah, right.

Ah good stuff.

Thank you Mark Texiera.

Mellowing slowly from the effects of time, I have noticed I 'hate' (absolutely hate, kind of hate, totally hate) far less people and things than I used to. This makes rooting against the Yankees a bit trickier sometimes.

Man of the people

Thankfully, there still exists in the world, and more importantly in the Yankees infield, people like Mark Texiera. I hadn't even thought about the Yankees until I read this gormless, inane quote from the mouth of a man who basically chose New York over Boston because his wife decided the shopping was a bit better in Manhattan. That and the enormous duffel bag of money they stuffed under his greedy nose.

"This place is great; I can’t believe how easy it is to play here," Teixeira said. "The last two teams I played for (Angels and Braves), they were either trying to trade me or trying to sign me to an extension. And they made it clear that if I didn’t sign, I was a bad guy.

Oh no! Those evil, evil teams! Move over Darth Vadar, Jabba the Hutt and Ming the Merciless, there are new bad guys in town. Imagine the gall of the front office crews in Anaheim and Atlanta, trying to sign a player who's contract would otherwise have run out at the end of the season, shocking!

Texiera is nothing but a spoilt, greedy little man. He simply lacks the testicular fortitude to come out and say 'Yeah well I came to New York because they drove a big fat truck full of money to my lawn and dumped the cash all over it.'' Hiding behind a pathetic and wildly erroneous jab at his former teams, Texiera is simply refusing to take the responsibility for his actions.

He. Signed. With. The. Yankees. For. The. Money.

Period.

Baltimore: another 'great' place to play

So New York is suddenly a great place to play eh? I see. Has anyone told Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Kei Igawa or Hideki Irabu this? Maybe send them a quick email with the subject line 'Hey, Mark 'Man of the people' Texiera says New York is a great place to play now!' and see how many expletives they can fit in their response to you.

Let's see how 'great a place to play' New York is when the Yankees ageing lineup starts to slow down over the next few years, at which stage they will reach into their minors looking for fresh new talent to promote to the majors only to find the cupboard is bare.

You know what, that's the real reason they inserted those disgusting $2,500 corporate seats. A moat. They are a ready made defensive position for when the noisy, aggressive and angry natives start throwing hot dogs and batteries at Yankee players with the team struggling at 40-54 in late 2011.

Great place to play my big fat Caucasian backside.

Gosh darn it I hate the Yankees.

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Goal! Goal! Goal!

Oh what a goal.

Sunday night Lionel Messi sent me diving for my cellular telephone to send yet another fawning text message to my poor brother, who is, at this stage, sick of hearing me prattle on about the sensational 22 year old Argentinean. For the last couple of years Messi has basically turned the Spanish Premier League, La Liga, into his own personal playground. He is a pure joy to watch, possibly one of the best I have ever seen. Further debate required there, but what requires zero discussion is the fact that Messi has brought a gloss and an importance to La Liga, the Champions League and indeed World Football that no one else can provide.

His second of three goals in a 4-2 win over Zaragoza was sublime.

The Guardian reports it as such;

The forward's second goal, a stunning solo effort after 66 minutes, was more what we have come to expect from him. Holding off a dogged challenge in the middle of Zaragoza's half, he ran at a retreating defence down the left before bewildering the last defender, turning him inside out and firing a low left-footed shot across the goalkeeper, Jiménez Gago Roberto, and into the bottom corner.

Speaking of the Guardian, I wish I wrote like this guy. Brilliant stuff.

Check out the reaction of the member of the coaching staff with his hands on his head, priceless!

It all happened so fast my emotions got the better of me, diving for the phone I texted; ‘I just saw the best goal I have ever seen’. My brother’s coy response was simply, ‘You don’t really like that Messi fella do you?’

In the cold light of day, having watched the goal several times, of course, I am going to have to create a lengthy post with a lost of say, the top five or ten goals ever and justify this latest Messi outburst, however, for now, just enjoy the great little man at work.

Red Sox blogs: What's cookin'?

A quick check around some of the best Red Sox blogs on the web as we crawl towards the first pitch of the regular season.

'Surviving Grady' are waxing lyrical about the return of former Sox lefty Alan Embree. People kind of overlook the fact that Embree was a key part of the '04 bullpen for the Sox. This could turn out to be a decent low risk, high reward signing.

The Mighty Quinn media machine is sporting a new, professional and tight look for the '10 season, check it out.

The Joy of Sox is very up to date and has a distinctly fresh feel about all the news posted on it. Some nice pictures from spring training in there too.

I was wondering was the 'Dan Shaughnessy watch' still going strong, and sure enough, it damn well is! Still posting fresh, new content, with a Shaughnessy lean. Plenty of Sox stuff here.

Just some of the Sox blogs I check out regularly. If you have one that isn't listed, feel free to pass it on. The internet, it's all about communication!

Full Champions league quarter final draw

What a sensational draw for the next round of the Champions League!

Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow
Arsenal v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Lyon v Bordeaux


Every single game is laden down with intrigue. The pick of the litter? Arsenal v Barcelona, with Bayern v Manchester United not far behind. They must be disgusted in France that their two teams drew each other, wait a second, how did Michelle Platini allow this?! Did they sneak in the drew while he was still having his morning croissant?

Those games can't come fast enough.

I hate you, Ronan Tynan. Wait, actually, I don't.

Is it something about getting older that you can’t bring yourself to hate anyone anymore? Is this the initial stages of some kind of benign senility?

Ronan Tynan used to bring out the inner demons in me. Just a light handful of years ago his big grinning face brought forth some kind of demonic hatred from the depths of my soul. Sightings on the television would lead to a spew of vitriolic acid the like normally reserved for ultra conservatives or Yankees players.

Ronan Tynan

Now? I am interested in hearing his side of the story. I want to give him a chance. I want to find out if he is actually one of those interesting anti-hero types, like Batman, or Jason Bourne.

Will we back it up a second? Maybe you don’t know you Ronan Tynan is. He is an Irish tenor, who used to sing at Yankee games, until a simple joke he made was taken up the wrong way, and he has now been basically hounded out of New York, taking refuge in Ye Olde Towne, Boston.

The whole incident is completely over blown and a great example of how the mob mentality so often gets it wildly wrong. Here is what happened, as described by Kevin Cullen in the Boston Globe;

This is what happened in the apartment building on East 54th
Street in October: A realtor was showing the apartment next to Tynan’s and asked if Tynan would say hello to some prospective buyers. The realtor told Tynan the prospective buyers were “a couple of nice Jewish ladies.’’ Tynan warned the ladies he often sang in his apartment. “How’d you like living next to a loud tenor like me?’’ Tynan asked them, jokingly.
Turned out they wouldn’t, and they didn’t buy the apartment. A short time later, another person was looking at the apartment and Tynan was putting the key in his door when a different realtor came out from next door and said they had another prospective buyer.
“Don’t worry,’’ the realtor said, “they’re not Red Sox fans.’’
“As long as they’re not those Jewish ladies,’’ Tynan replied.
The woman looking at the apartment, Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson, stepped into the hallway and asked Tynan to explain himself. Whatever he said, she didn’t buy it.
Gold-von Simson, who is Jewish, called the Yankees and asked how they could let an
anti-Semite sing “God Bless America.’’
The Yankees took her version of events and couldn’t be bothered to get Tynan’s. The team has declined to discuss the issue publicly, saying it’s an internal matter.

Ridiculous situation, no? Complete over reaction on the part of the Yankees, no? Well, now Tynan is pretty much on the run from his adopted city for a crime he simply did not commit.

Getting back to my initial fear, does this really happen as you get older, you find yourself unable to hate anyone? I mean, I really, really hated this guy. At first I just ranted to anyone close by as to how insufferable he was, eventually I started muting the TV when he took the mound to blare out ‘God save America’, same as ‘God save the Queen’ is always muted in my apartment. Now? I would be open to Tynan singing at a Red Sox game. I would be open to letting him know there is a feisty baseball scene in his homeland, Ireland. I would be open to having a pint with the guy and swapping baseball stories.

What is going on? I am finding it a little scary that my ability to 'dislike immensely', appears to be dissipating over time. Then again, I do hate whoever came up with this idea. So, I guess I still have the capacity to hate. Phew.


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Opening day, and the opening days, way back when

We are inexorably approaching the Irish baseball season, word from the wise sets the opening weekend at April 10th (keep an eye on baseballireland.com for the official word). With that in mind, found myself thinking about my first ever experience of baseball in Ireland, way back at the tail end of the summer of '95.

There had been a juicy, vibrant slow-pitch softball scene in Dublin for years, since the 80s in fact. Some of the fellas had tired of hitting 30mph slow arcing melon sized balls, and decided to start playing some baseball in Corcaigh Park, out near Newlands Cross.

At the ragged tail end of the summer of '95 they started to get together Saturday mornings and play some hard ball.

To jump forward for a second, little did we know that just that next summer Ireland would field a team in the European baseball championships, winning a game in their first tournament. Ireland would go on to attend tournaments every second year with the distinction of always winning at least one game, right up until the championships in '08.

It would be naïve to say you could see something special was building in those early days. However, the desire and tenacity were there from day one. That first session was on a back field deep in the green recesses of Corcaigh Park, an area now flooded and used for fishing. The old field is behind the spiffy 'new' O'Malley baseball fields, in service since 1998.

My first act ever in Irish baseball? When I turned up they had started taking ground balls. Mick Manning, the Godfather of Irish baseball, was slapping grounders at a line of determined guys. I literally just slipped into the line, winked at the guy who set me up with baseball here (Gus O'Hernandez) and joined in. Standing in line a new player would have seen the following equipment available to those in the early days. A makeshift backstop, made of wood and what looked like chicken wire. About four or five aluminum bats and one or two ragged old looking wooden ones. A single box of balls, half used, half already 'Irished' up (wet, heavy, dirty).

The session was basically made up as it went along, ground balls, some fly balls, infield outfield. The former was a chore at that venue. The outfield was sloped and the grass was long and heavy. Chasing a fly ball down was an adventure in itself. And yet still, guys were launching themselves, leaving their feet and getting a face full of dirt to try and catch fly balls. The early passion for the game was electric.

Thinking back, that passion was definitely the fuel that pushed Irish baseball forward in those old, rookie, somewhat ramshackle days. We made good with what we had. The session ended with a little bit of live batting practice. There was no mound so we put the batters at the back end of a slight slope and the pitchers on the top of same. Instant, natural mound, Irish style. I actually remember my first pitch ever in Irish baseball. It was a slow, looping 'fast ball' that popped into catcher Jim Kilbride's mitt, past batter Brian Nolan, sneaking past the inside corner of a battered old softball home-plate. Mick Manning gave an exuberant 'strike' call, and fifteen years later the insides of my right arm must look like spaghetti.

What a journey though. And all starting in such innocuous circumstances.

Veteran baseball bystanders probably would have laughed their backsides off at us on that day, but there was a vibrant innocence and eagerness that you could physically feel amongst the participants. The start of every Irish baseball season since has been linked, locked in those first few sessions back in 1995. That was the birth of baseball in Ireland.

In a couple of weeks myself and the guys on the Dublin Hurricanes will jog out onto the field to kick start another season. The sloped field and muddy, heavy turf has been replaced by real baseball infield dirt and a beautiful diamond/field, but the old enthusiasm and passion is just the same. Put it this way, my heart was in my mouth throwing that first pitch in '95, and it will be the exact same toeing the rubber at Corcaigh Park in just a couple of weeks time.

How beautiful, timeless and transient is the game of baseball?

Nomar Garciaparra puts it all behind him and retires as Red Sox player. Phew.

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Some good, wholesome, happy, cheerful news to get your Wednesday going. Old friend Nomar Garciaparra, is to retire from Major League Baseball today, and he will do so as a Boston Red Sox player. He is due to sign a Minor League deal to make him 'one of us' again, at which point he will retire.

What will retirement bring? No doubt a push to create a master race of super athlete children with his US Soccer superstar wife, Mia Hamm.




Clearly a lot of work must have gone into this behind the scenes, in order for Nomar to be able to find a way past his disdain for how he perceives the way he was treated on the way out the door in '04. Congratulations to the Red Sox front office, yet another PR coup, and one that no doubt was tough to pull together considering the acrimony of the 2004 divorce.

For those newer Red Sox fans, Nomar was the bomb. He was the bee’s knees. He had ten runs batted in in one game, ten! He launched heat seeking missile home runs all over Fenway and played an all action short stop that wasn't flawless but was certainly superior to a certain 35 year old down the road in New York. His credentials are excellent. Garciaparra was a five-time All-Star in Boston, the Rookie of the Year in 1997 and finished second in the MVP voting of 1998 when he hit .323 and drove in 122 runs while hitting 35 homers. How wicked awesome would it be to have a played of that calibre at short right now in Ye Olde Towne?

Nomar did it all, and did it with style. Sure, things fell apart in the end, however maybe now it will be easier to remember his time in Boston fondly.

For those of us with Nomar Garciaparra tattoos on our shoulders, this also brings an element of closure to a potentially tricky issue.


We can all move forward now!

Today’s NHL question: is the hockey rigged too?

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Full disclosure: Still learning about the NHL, not entirely sure why certain things happen when they do, but, definitely developing an appreciation for it.

Today’s question, do the home side always get as much assistance from the referees as in last nights Bruins at Penguins game? Completely stunned to see three plays unfold in particular. In one the Penguins basically hammers the Bruins goalkeeper, something I had not seen to date. In another they smashed away at the Bruins keepers pads until the puck came loose, again, something I hadn’t seen in any other game. Finally, and most egregiously, the cheap, nasty and dirty hit on the Bruins best player that left him with a concussion went entirely un-punished.

The inevitable outcome of a cheap shot

Up to last night I had yet to see a game where any team’s goalkeeper was even touched by an opposition player. Last night, late in the game, a Penguins player slammed right into Tim Thomas, the Bruins goalie. No call, no whistle, nothing. The Bruins players were clearly enraged yet had to play on to (narrowly) avoid conceding a goal. Am I confused about something here, or is it pretty much illegal to hit the goalkeeper?

Earlier on, there was a scramble in front of the Bruin’s goal, Tim Thomas got to the puck and dropped his left shin pad fully covering the puck. Amazingly a Penguins player was allowed slash five to six times at the pad until the puck came loose and he subsequently scored. The Penguins colour commentator, to his credit said ‘Either of two things can happens there, a Penguins goal or Tim Thomas gets a serious leg injury’. Unbelievably the referees allowed the goal stand, despite the Bruins vociferous protests.

The Penguins website quotes the Penguins player as admitting he and another player basically shoved Thomas into the net;

"I just tried to jam it in there," said Dupuis, who has rotated among lines since leaving Malkin's. "He had his pad on it and I just pushed his pad a little bit behind the goal line and took a couple of whacks on it. I saw Rupper (Mike Rupp) on the other side pushing the other leg, so I knew the goalie was going to go into the net."

Finally, and most seriously, here is the Penguins website description of the late controversial hit;

The Bruins played the final 5:37 without center Marc Savard, who received a concussion while being leveled by a blindside hit by Matt Cooke. Savard released a shot from above the circles only to be struck in the head from behind by Cooke's raised left arm and shoulder. Cooke was not penalized.

Here is the Boston Globe’s view of same;

Savard, standing just inside the offensive blue line, had taken a pass from Milan Lucic. Savard then winged a shot on goal. Just as he released the puck, Cooke launched himself into the center. Cooke caught the right side of Savard’s head with his left elbow. The force of the hit jerked Savard’s head to the left, sending him in the air and tumbling to the ice.

Most interesting, Sid the Kid Crosby’s comments on the incident;

"At some point, there's got to be a clear indication from the league (what's legal and what's not) because we've seen this so many times now,"

So, up to now, in an attempt to really get into Hockey, I have been asking the usual rookie questions, what is icing, what’s the blue line, why do the sub the scorer off every time, etc etc

Today it’s, what’s the point in playing if the rules aren’t applied?


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The 2010 World Cup winners! Announced slightly ahead of schedule..

So did you hear? They have announced the 2010 World Cup winner ahead of time.

That’s right. All bookies have paid out, the trophy has been handed over and the commemorative t-shirts are already selling like proverbial hot cakes.

They are playing the tournament in South Africa merely as a formality. And for kicks.

The winners? Spain. In a landslide.

The tournament is there for Spain to take. They are in the middle of a potentially legendary run of form. Last night’s win means Spain have now won 42 of their last 45 fixtures, with their only defeat coming against the United States at last summer's Confederations Cup. They have won 42 of 45. That’s absolutely stunning form. You would expect a number of draws in there, whatever about losses. Spain are winning games at a record rate.

Winning a tournament near you soon

The opposition is ripe for the taking. France? A poor punch line attached to a bad joke, only in the tournament thanks to the hand of Henry and the incompetence of FIFA. They might not make it out of the group stages. In fact, they probably won’t. Brazil? They are paper tigers, Kaka aside, Brazil are not what they used to be. They will actually struggle to score goals. They don’t even know who they are themselves, Dunga their manager is trying to make them a European style, tough to break down unit, and that's not exactly creating excitement at home in Brazil.

England? Give me a break. The only reason England take part is to find new and inventive ways of crashing out of the tournament in flames. Argentina? When your manager is a former cocaine addict things can be exciting, but not really in a good way. Maradona's complete lack of any tactical intelligence at all is shocking considering what a great player he was. Holland? Not enough depth. Germany? The cliché is correct, you never can count the Germans out, however this tournament is a bit of a cross roads for them, youth and experience has yet to blend.

Put it this way, nobody can bring to the table the depth, experience, talent and flair that the Spaniards can call on.

You want goals? How about David Villa and Fernando Torres? If these two guys are ready to go come tournament time, they have the ability to be the greatest strike force the World Cup has ever seen. Big words, yes, but if you haven't seen them play, just wait. Both are relatively young and at the peak of their game.

Last night, against France, Villa scored his 36th goal in only his 55th match for Spain, moving him closer to the great Raul's national record of 44 goals, which were scored in 102 appearances. Torres might be slightly more famous, but Villa has to be a great bet for the Golden Boot.

Midfield? Only the best in the World. Bar none.

Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Cesc Fábregas, Xabi Alonso. The Spanish manager has an embarrassment of riches, the only issue will be how to integrate them and get the most out of them. Spain has, without a doubt, the finest midfield in World football. After this tournament we may end up with reason to consider it the greatest midfield of all time.

At the back? The twin towers of solidity, Pique and Puyol, both of Barcelona, stand guard in front of one of the best keepers in the world, Casillas.

There is simply no reason to think twice about backing Spain to win the World Cup. Depth, talent, experience, they have it all. For the purists, they play beautiful, flowing football and score plenty of goals. They may be a little arrogant, but you have to possess that edge to be a winning team, so you can forgive them for that.

So there we have it. If you walked into a bookies this morning and asked politely for a price on Spain, 4-1 is freely available out there. Considering you already know the result of the tournament, you would be mad not to back them, no?

Vive Espana!

United they stand

So let's just get one thing straight, okay? I dislike Manchester United. Very much so. Thing is, it's always easy enough to spot the good guys in a good v evil conflict, and what's happening at Manchester United right now is nothing short of heinous. The current owners, the Glazer family. are quite literally running United into the ground.

This furore all started after the publication of club accounts for 2008/2009. The figures revealed that without the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £81m, the colossal interest payments on the club's debt would have meant a net loss, after a hugely successful season in which the club won the Premier League and reached the Uefa Champions League final. smells fishy, no?

Step forward the good guys.

A group of wealthy and well-connected Manchester United fans known as the Red Knights today confirmed that they are putting together a bid for Manchester United.

This is good news all round.

The idea of a group of (wealthy) supporters running the club is wildly more appealing than the cavalier, ignorant manner the Glazer family appears to be 'running' United.

One final note, it's actually kind of sad to see Alex Ferguson, United's firebrand manager, fall into line behind the Glazers. Ferguson is so fast to let people know right from wrong normally, it would have been nice to see him take visible umbrage at the great old club being basically raped and pillaged by a group of people that have no interest in the club itself.

Meanwhile, Ireland v Brazil tonight in a friendly played in the UK. Here's hoping Robbie Keane pulls off his jersey after a shock 3-0 Irish win, and the slogan on his t-shirt says 'Me ma loves me'. Would make a nice change from the Brazilian player’s insufferable religious slogans.

Of course, a little unlikely, sadly.


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