National Football League News and Rumors
Jerry Jones, Jay Ratliff meetMike Florio, profootballtalk.com During the 2012 regular season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and nose tackle Jay Ratliff had a heated exchange in the locker room. On Wednesday, they had another meeting. This one happened as a result of Ratliff’s recent DUI arrest. According to Calvin… |
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Darrelle Revis is the Jets’ best player, their one great player, but only with the Jets can the three top decision-makers all alienate him within one hour. |
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Curtis Crabtree, profootballtalk.com Despite being benched in favor of Evan Dietrich-Smith in December, Green Bay Packers center Jeff Saturday was named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster. After the Pro Bowl is over, Saturday will make a decision on whether he wants to come back for another season… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White wants to play football again. The Miami Marlins want White to play baseball. Again. Via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, White told 640 Sports on Thursday that he has an offer from the Marlins to report to mi… |
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From Ray Lewis and Colin Kaepernick to the Harbaugh brothers and the 49ers' return to glory, this Super Bowl has a lot of storylines to digest. Peter King breaks them down. |
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Reuben Fischer, deadspin.com Firing confirmed by Tim MacMahon at 4:54 PM, January 8th (EST): More » |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Quarterback Dennis Dixon once showed plenty of promise while in college at Oregon. A torn ACL during what could have been a Heisman Trophy and possibly a national championship season derailed his career, knocking him down to round five of the 2008 draf… |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com At least when Tom Brady is watching the Super Bowl at home, he will do so in style. He also doesn't have to worry about his house being plundered during the big game, considering he has a moat out front. Yeah, that's right. A moat. The Detroit Free Pres… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com With the Saints switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense and defensive end Will Smith due to receive a base salary of $9 million in 2013, the chances of Will Smith becoming a salary-cap casualty possibly have increased. While Dwight Freeney made the transi… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com While their head-coaching job was vacant, the Cardinals seemed to be looking for a reason not to promote defensive coordinator Ray Horton to the next level. But they can’t say it’s because they weren’t comfortable with Horton’s proposed offensiv… |
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Associated Press, ESPN.com Former Texas All-American and NFL kicker and punter Russell Erxleben, who previously served a federal prison sentence for securities fraud, was arrested Thursday on new charges of running an illegal Ponzi investment scam that netted more than $2 million… |
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PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) Thousands of military service members and their families crowded a small field at Pearl Harbor to catch a glimpse of their favorite NFL stars as they practiced in the rain in preparation for Sunday's Pro Bowl. |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Yes, there may be an echo in here. And it extends a lot longer than five minutes. It’s a 13-day delay, because Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports tonight what Brian Costello of the New York Post reported on January 11: The Rams will hire Rob Ryan t… |
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Doug Farrar, yahoo.com FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- Well, we knew it was going to be a process. When former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson announced that he would enter the 2013 NFL Draft as a receiver, we knew it would take some time before Robinson, no matter how athletic he mig… |
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) The New Orleans Saints have fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo after one season. |
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Barry Petchesky, deadspin.com The NFL announced on Tuesday that Sean Payton's season-long suspension for his role in the bounty scandal was over. He presumably spent Wednesday moving all his desk tchotchkes back into his office. Today he fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo a… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com The good news for the Saints is that coach Sean Payton has been reinstated. The bad news for the Saints is that the timing of the decision delayed by more than three weeks the decision to part ways with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and to hire… |
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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) John Idzik shook Rex Ryan's hand and the two shared a big laugh in front of more than a dozen cameras. |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com The guy who used to be the quarterback of the Colts has implored Pro Bowl players to play hard this year. The guy who currently is the quarterback of the Colts agrees. “I guess some folks weren’t happy with the play last year, but I think guys will … |
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Associated Press, ESPN.com For weeks, no one could determine when The Ray Lewis Retirement Tour would draw to a close. |
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Jaguars add two more coachesJan 24
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Earlier today, we told you that there were multiple reports that DeWayne Walker was leaving his post as head coach at New Mexico State to become defensive backs coach for the Jaguars. That’s come to pass and the Jaguars have also announced two other mem… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Earlier today, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported that the Jets have decided to part ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo. The Jets say otherwise. A team spokesman tells PFT that no decision has been made about DeGuglielmo’s sta… |
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Barry Petchesky, deadspin.com Fred Smoot, the former Redskins and Vikings cornerback, would like to be known as something other than "that guy who put a double-ended dildo into two prostitutes on the Vikings sex boat." He tried breaking the news that Robert Griffin III's s… |
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Nate Jackson, deadspin.com One day during the NFL offseason, I got a text message. More » |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com The Patriots signed defensive lineman Armond Armstead yesterday, and his old boss thinks they got a steal. The former Southern Cal standout, who left the program after suffering a heart attack, played for the Toronto Argonauts last season, and Argos gen… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com It was inevitable, we suppose, that 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick would be questioned and/or criticized for filing an application for trademark protection of the term “Kaepernicking.” Skip Bayless of ESPN tweeted today that the effort to secure l… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Matt Schaub isn’t going anywhere as the starting quarterback of the Texans and T.J. Yates will almost certainly be back as the backup, but it looks like the team’s planning a battle for the third spot this offseason. The Texans announced that they’v… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com The long-awaited Katie Couric-Manti Te’o interview aired this afternoon, and for people who have followed the story of the bizarre hoax that led to Te’o claiming to have a girlfriend who didn’t exist, not a lot of new ground was broken: Te’o is st… |
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Drew Magary, deadspin.com Drew Magary's Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday during the NFL season. More » |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick has just seven career starts, not nearly enough time in the spotlight yet to treat the media as the enemy (though, in fairness, Jay Cutler had that down looooong before start No. 7). As such, Kaepernick is stil… |
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Mike Mazzeo, ESPN.com Roger Goodell, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg downplay weather concerns |
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Senior Bowl Report: North team players get one more chance to impress in unusual surroundingsJan 24
Doug Farrar, yahoo.com FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- As much as Senior Bowl week has become an official NFL function for all intents and purposes, and comes with many of the trappings that it entails, there are times when the practices become downright informal. So it was on Thursday mor… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com So why did the Cowboys dump the 3-4 defense coordinated by Rob Ryan and adopt in its place a 4-3 scheme featuring multiple former Jon Gruden assistants? Garrett says the turnover comes from a lack of turnovers. “The Bears had 44 takeaways,” Garrett sa… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com The Ravens got an unwelcome visitor at their headquarters on Thursday. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports that CBS brought a Lombardi Trophy to Ravens camp to take promotional pictures of players standing with the trophy. The Ravens didn’t want a… |
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Mike Mazzeo, ESPN.com New York Giants owner John Mara, in his first public comments following the 2012 season, said he's "very disappointed" that his team did not reach the playoffs. |
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Rich Cimini, ESPN.com New York Jets general manager John Idzik was introduced to the media Thursday at a late-morning news conference. Three hours later, he was immersed in his first crisis. |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Roger Goodell says the NFL is ready for another Ice Bowl. A year from now, when the Super Bowl is played in New Jersey, it will mark the first time that the game has been played outdoors in a cold climate. But Goodell said at a New York City press confe… |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore has been telling teams he’s going to be ready for the start of next season. Now he’s showing them as well. Lattimore, who is coming off back-to-back season-ending knee injuries (to different knees), has bee… |
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Tom Ley, deadspin.com The Jets, man. They just can't stop themselves from Jetsing. The latest bit of melodrama plaguing the organization involves rumors that that Jets owner Woody Johnson, the same guy who recently claimed that he never wanted Tim Tebow in the first place, w… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Windows came up a lot with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones last offseason and now another NFC East owner is talking about them. Giants owner John Mara said that he hasn’t “quite gotten over” the team’s failure to make the playoffs a year after winning t… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Ravens safety Ed Reed plans to keep playing after this season and General Manager Ozzie Newsome plans to continue being the guy who ultimately decides how hard the Ravens will push to keep him on their side. Assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta passed… |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com Hockey players have a well known superstition: You are not to touch the Stanley Cup until you win it. Doing so supposedly curses you from ever winning the Cup. It's silly, and not true (we think). But it's a fun tradition that builds the mystique of the… |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com While the reasonable answer for the Jets quarterback situation might be more like select all-delete, coach Rex Ryan said Thursday all Mark Sanchez needs is a reboot. Ryan said the additions of new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and quarterbacks … |
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Jay Busbee, yahoo.com Hey, didja know that this year's Super Bowl features two brothers coaching against each other? Isn't that amazing? We're gonna talk all week about HarBowl! Really, the only people not already sick of the Jim Harbaugh-vs.-John Harbaugh subplot have to be… |
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Associated Press, ESPN.com Ravens safety Ed Reed isn't planning on joining teammate Ray Lewis in retirement after the Super Bowl. |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Vikings running back Adrian Peterson set the bar pretty high when it comes to recoveries from torn ACLs this season by rushing for 2,097 yards. It’s a bar the Redskins and their fans hope quarterback Robert Griffin III can reach after his own knee surge… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com If the 49ers beat the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII, folks in Baltimore have another reason to hate the team that left in the middle of the night nearly 29 years ago. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick plays for the 49ers in part because Colts quarterback Andrew… |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com The Monday after the Super Bowl stinks. The realization that there won't be a meaningful football game played for another seven months sinks in. And then there's the obvious factor of feeling the effects at work of too much to eat and drink the night be… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com The Ravens have been using linebacker Ray Lewis‘ pending retirement as motivation during their run to the Super Bowl, but they won’t be getting another jolt of inspiration from one of the team’s other defensive leaders. Safety Ed Reed has flirted wi… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Ravens coach John Harbaugh says the game plan for stopping 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick comes down to this: Don’t let him get to the outside, and when you have a shot at him, don’t miss the tackle. “We’re going to have to tackle him. We’re… |
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2013 NFL Mock Draft 1.0Jan 24
There's no Andrew Luck or RGIII to save a franchise, but that won't stop QBs from going early in this year's draft. But who will reach? Don Banks projects the first 2013 round. |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com One of the biggest challenges for a rookie head coach is building a solid coaching staff, but Browns coach Rob Chudzinski continues to acccumulate good help. According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Browns have hired former Cowboy… |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com A prescient move by an Indiana man to trademark "Harbowl" and "Harbaugh Bowl" turned into the league intimidating him until he gave up the quest, ESPN.com reported. According to ESPN.com, Roy Fox said he had the idea last season to t… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington hasn’t had much stability in his time with the team. He joined the team as a member of the practice squad in 2009, worked himself into a special teams role that turned into a role in the secondary, moved in and out of … |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com One of the first items of business for teams when their seasons end is to sign guys to future contracts for the following year, usually their practice squaders. The Patriots did a bit of that business as well, but threw in a quarterback who might still … |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com When many NFL coaches arrive at the Senior Bowl, they’re seeing players for the first time. But for former college coaches such as Tampa Bay’s Greg Schiano or Philadelphia’s Chip Kelly, they’ve already been in some of these guys’ kitchens. That … |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com San Francisco outside linebacker Aldon Smith is preparing to play in his first Super Bowl, after getting some help from a former 49ers outside linebacker who is the only player ever to win five Super Bowl rings. Charles Haley, the Hall of Fame finalist … |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com While Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh's appearances on "Celebrity Diving" won't draw viewers like, say, Katherine Webb in a bikini, it has brought out the inner comedian in Lions coach Jim Schwartz. Schwartz reacted to the Detroit Free P… |
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Jay Busbee, yahoo.com The NFL is the No Fun League, which means Jim Irsay's days in it are probably numbered. But he'll make it a fun ride as long as he's around. This past Sunday on Twitter, Irsay, the owner of the Colts, made his followers an offer: first to reply getting … |
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Benjamin Hoffman, nytimes.com Inspired by quarterback Colin Kaepernick's tattoos, a group of 49ers fans has created temporary versions. |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Titans quarterback Jake Locker is having trouble sleeping two weeks after shoulder surgery because he still needs to remain upright, but he said he’s feeling well otherwise. Locker told Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean that he’s been watching a lot of film… |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com Much like everyone who enjoys exciting football, former 49ers starting quarterback Alex Smith said he’s getting a kick out of watching replacement Colin Kaepernick right now. “Absolutely, yes,” Smith said of enjoying the Super Bowl run, via Matt Mai… |
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Frank Schwab, yahoo.com The Buccaneers beat the heck out of the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. It's not surprising that the Tampa Bay players reacted strongly when former Oakland receiver Tim Brown oddly suggested the game was rigged by his scheming head coach. Warren Sapp, a d… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com When the Packers season came to an end, wide receiver Donald Driver acknowledged that his time with the team might be at an end as well. Driver played sparingly in the second half of the season, seeing action in five games and catching just two passes. … |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Yes, it keeps getting weirder. According to the New York Daily News, the lawyer for Ronaiah Tuiasosopo admits that Tuiasosopo pretended to be Lennay Kekua, the fake dead girlfriend of linebacker Manti Te’o, during hundreds of phone calls with Te’o. Te… |
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Senior Bowl Report: E.J. Manuel sets himself apart in Mobile while his mother recovers at homeJan 24
Doug Farrar, yahoo.com MOBILE, Ala. -- It's tough enough to raise your draft stock at an All-Star week under the best of circumstances, but former Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel is doing so through Senior Bowl week with a lot on his mind back at home. While Manuel is l… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com In December, the New York Daily News reported that the Jets will try to trade quarterback Mark Sanchez. The Jets responded by putting out the word that the Jets will simply explore their options with Sanchez. Now, multiple reports have emerged that the… |
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Thursday morning one-linersJan 24
Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com While at the Senior Bowl, Bills GM Buddy Nix said QB, LB and WR were prioirity positions for his team. The Dolphins got some support from their local government for their stadium project. Patriots CB (and free agent) Kyle Arrington said his preference w… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com With the presumed future employer of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis devoting 30 minutes of air time to a 13-year-old case of double murder, it’s hard for Lewis or the Ravens to criticize any other media outlet for paying attention to the story. The Buffalo… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com If the Panthers are looking for continuity when it comes to their offense, then their smartest move came in filling the position of quarterbacks coach, vacated when Mike Shula was promoted to offensive coordinator, with Ken Dorsey. It was Dorsey who wor… |
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Toni Monkovic, nytimes.com Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has played brilliantly in the playoffs, but not in the regular season. Does that mean he's just a regular Joe? |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Texans quarterback Matt Schaub played some disappointing football down the stretch and in Houston’s playoff-ending loss in New England, but coach Gary Kubiak has said he’s still confident in Schaub. And now Schaub says he’s still confident in himsel… |
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Curtis Crabtree, profootballtalk.com Green Bay Packers running back Cedric Benson is facing a series of unrelated minor charges in the state of Wisconsin. According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Benson has been charged with violating an ordinance in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin for allowi… |
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Curtis Crabtree, profootballtalk.com The Dallas Cowboys are closing in on filling yet another hole on their coaching staff. According to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys are close to naming Rich Bisaccia as the team’s new special teams coordinator. Bisaccia was hired … |
