WEBVTT - The Roundtable Show with Mike Petraglia -- 10/30/25

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<v Speaker 1>I have week run. We'd love being here. Love to

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<v Speaker 1>see you here as well. We love talking with our

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<v Speaker 1>next guest. He covers the Bengals for c l NS

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<v Speaker 1>sincywth Y dot com, host of the Jungle Roar podcast

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<v Speaker 1>on YouTube, to welcome in the man they call Trags.

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<v Speaker 1>Mike Petralia, How you doing.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm doing well, Lance, How are you?

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<v Speaker 1>I am well? Give us, give us a Joe Flacco

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<v Speaker 1>update and your read on the situation as it relates

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<v Speaker 1>to playing on Sunday.

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<v Speaker 2>He didn't practice today, he was limited officially on the

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<v Speaker 2>injury report. He threw the ball based on what the

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<v Speaker 2>media was able to witness in the open portion of

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<v Speaker 2>practice this afternoon inside the structure down the street from

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<v Speaker 2>pecor And I think that's a good sign. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>he's in uniform. He went through one of the more

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<v Speaker 2>important days, of course, that's Thursday install and I think

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<v Speaker 2>he's probably going to be able to give it a

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<v Speaker 2>go on Sunday against the Bear. I think a telling

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<v Speaker 2>sign will be if he speaks before the media tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 2>The Bengals postponed any media availability with the starting quarterback

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<v Speaker 2>on Wednesday, meaning they didn't want to commit to Flaco

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<v Speaker 2>or Jake Browning on Wednesday, postponing it to Friday. So

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<v Speaker 2>if it's Flaco tomorrow, that's pretty good indication that he

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<v Speaker 2>will start.

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<v Speaker 3>I think.

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<v Speaker 2>Also, Zach Taylor acknowledged to us on Wednesday that Blacko

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<v Speaker 2>told him he has every intention of doing everything he

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<v Speaker 2>needs to do to get his shoulder ready. It's a

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<v Speaker 2>sprained ac joint, and from what I'm told, that can

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<v Speaker 2>be a very painful injury. But certainly he was able

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<v Speaker 2>to get some quick treatment before the last series of

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<v Speaker 2>the game on Sunday, return to the game and do

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<v Speaker 2>what he did. I think it probably did impact his

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<v Speaker 2>ability to throw then, but he's had, you know, five

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<v Speaker 2>days now to work that shoulder over, and I think

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<v Speaker 2>he'll probably probably give it a go on Sunday. The

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<v Speaker 2>Bengals certainly could use them.

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<v Speaker 3>I tried. Have you gotten any more information does come

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<v Speaker 3>out about the feared and dreaded defensive players only meeting.

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<v Speaker 2>Well. Jamar Chase was the latest to chime in today

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<v Speaker 2>and I thought it was interesting he, as a captain

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<v Speaker 2>of the offense and a team captain himself, met with

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<v Speaker 2>Geno Stone, who was not a King team captain but

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<v Speaker 2>certainly a leader in the secondary, and Jamar told us

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<v Speaker 2>that he told Geno Stone to not worry about it

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<v Speaker 2>too much. You can only control what you can control,

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<v Speaker 2>meaning the players shouldn't try to worry about doing too

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<v Speaker 2>much on defense to account for the lack of plays.

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<v Speaker 1>In the past.

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<v Speaker 2>Do what you can do, control what you can control,

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<v Speaker 2>and let the chips fall where they may. But what

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<v Speaker 2>he also said toward the end of it is make

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<v Speaker 2>sure you guys stay together as a unit. And I

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<v Speaker 2>thought that was interesting from Jamar acknowledging the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>they're going through, you know, the grinder right now.

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<v Speaker 1>They are, no.

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<v Speaker 2>Question in the crosshairs of everybody, media, fans, privately, certainly,

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<v Speaker 2>I think inside the building they're in the crosshairs of

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<v Speaker 2>talent evaluators, and I think some people want major changes

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<v Speaker 2>and right now those changes, while perhaps warranted, are not

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<v Speaker 2>realistic because there's no options to go to. They've already

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<v Speaker 2>tried to bench Cam Taylor Britt, They've benched Logan Wilson.

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<v Speaker 2>There are not a lot of other chips to push

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<v Speaker 2>to the middle of the table at this point. And

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's Jamar Chase's point today that it is

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<v Speaker 2>what it is, play to your best ability, We got your.

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<v Speaker 1>Back, trag's in and around all that's gotten sideways with

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<v Speaker 1>this team. The offensive line, much criticized early, seems to

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<v Speaker 1>have settled in to open up the running game and

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<v Speaker 1>provide a little bit more protection for the quarterback and Lance.

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<v Speaker 2>You can look directly to the running game for as

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<v Speaker 2>a reason for that, because how many times over the

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<v Speaker 2>course of years in covering football have we all been told, Rocky,

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<v Speaker 2>to you, two offensive linemen loved to run block right,

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<v Speaker 2>They love to get their hands dirty, get physical at

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<v Speaker 2>the point of attack, and move forward. And when you're

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<v Speaker 2>under center as a quarterback, that is, you know, the

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<v Speaker 2>physical mechanics of the run game are easier and more

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<v Speaker 2>functional as opposed to running it from the shotgun. And

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<v Speaker 2>the Bengals have been much better as a running team

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<v Speaker 2>when they've gone more heavily with the under center run game.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's that was the case with Joe Flacco against

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<v Speaker 2>even Green Bay. Of course, we saw it against Pittsburgh.

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<v Speaker 2>We saw it last Sunday against the Jets, and I

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<v Speaker 2>think that's one reason the offensive line looks a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit more confident, and certainly if you can play action

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<v Speaker 2>out of the under center formation, there are plays to

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<v Speaker 2>be made, and I think again Flacco look pretty comfortable

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<v Speaker 2>doing that on Sunday. Certainly, offense put thirty eight points

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<v Speaker 2>up on the board enough to win. But you do

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<v Speaker 2>have to like the fact the way the offense looks,

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<v Speaker 2>especially the run game with them running under center a

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<v Speaker 2>lot more track.

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<v Speaker 3>Of course, the problem with the defense is the tackling,

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<v Speaker 3>the biggest problem. I've been reading a lot about tackling

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<v Speaker 3>drills and dummies and pads and rolling donuts and stuff

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<v Speaker 3>and practice. What can you tell us about that?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, there's only you can't really do live tackling at

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<v Speaker 2>this stage of the season. Rocky and one and Zach

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<v Speaker 2>Taylor was asked about that on Wednesday, and he said,

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<v Speaker 2>there are other things we can do. He didn't want

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<v Speaker 2>to get into it because I don't think he wants

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<v Speaker 2>to get, you know, into the details and take the

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<v Speaker 2>risk of saying something that might be in violation of

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<v Speaker 2>the CBA. I really think that's what that's about. But

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the things that you mentioned that the big

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<v Speaker 2>wheels that we see come out in training camp, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>trash barrels, they're all kind of drills. I think the

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<v Speaker 2>Bengals are probably spending more time on that. In the

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<v Speaker 2>limited time that we got to see Jerry Montgomery work

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<v Speaker 2>with the defensive linemen on Wednesday yesterday, he was getting

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<v Speaker 2>very aggressive and working on timing with his defensive linemen.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think, you know, as much as there's been

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<v Speaker 2>emphasis on the lack of tackling going on with the Bengals,

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<v Speaker 2>they also have to win at the point of attack defensively,

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<v Speaker 2>and they haven't been doing that well either. So that's

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<v Speaker 2>I think another area where the Bengals they just need

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<v Speaker 2>to get more physical in the defensive trenches if they're

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<v Speaker 2>going to win some of these battles and get pressure

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<v Speaker 2>on the quarterback. They have eleven sacks. That's tied the

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<v Speaker 2>third worst in the National Football League. So while yes,

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<v Speaker 2>tackling is a problem, no question, they have to get

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<v Speaker 2>after the court. They have to give some type of

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<v Speaker 2>inkling that they are going to threaten the space of

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<v Speaker 2>the quarterback. Otherwise, quarterbacks inherently going to drop back and

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<v Speaker 2>figure they're not likely to get to me. So maybe

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<v Speaker 2>I can take an extra second or so to look

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<v Speaker 2>over the secondary and find a target.

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<v Speaker 1>Trags tell everybody how they can and by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>you're good, bad and ugly of how they get to

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<v Speaker 1>a tipping point and fight for relevance is an excellent

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<v Speaker 1>piece today. Tell everybody how they can read, watch and follow.

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<v Speaker 2>You can follow that piece as well as my earlier

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<v Speaker 2>piece this week about where the organization is and who's

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<v Speaker 2>to blame at celns Sincy with a wide dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>You can certainly follow all on my locker room interviews

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<v Speaker 2>and the piece from Jamar Chase or the clips today

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<v Speaker 2>from Jamar Chase that's up on the X at Trags

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<v Speaker 2>tr Ags and as always the Jungle War Bengals postgame

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<v Speaker 2>pod myself and Richard Skinner Skinny of Local twelve that

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<v Speaker 2>is on YouTube dot com Slash Jungle War Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>Excellent as always, Thank you, Sarah. We'll talk next week.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, gentlemen, have a good one. There you go.

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<v Speaker 1>Mike Petralia Trags checking in when we continue. I want

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<v Speaker 1>to ask you about and your question him about tackling

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<v Speaker 1>sparked my curiosity of just run us through when we

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<v Speaker 1>come back. Some things tackling drill wise you did with

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<v Speaker 1>Colts and Titans as an NFL player. As we roll on,

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<v Speaker 1>he is rocky, I'm Lance. We thank you for being

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<v Speaker 1>here and if you're in the house. We've got to

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<v Speaker 1>sign up for the cool Sean Vulker print. We'll give

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<v Speaker 1>that away at eight o'clock. You got to be here

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<v Speaker 1>to win. Just put your name on the sign up

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<v Speaker 1>form here and drop it on the other side of

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<v Speaker 1>our container.

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<v Speaker 3>We'll do the.

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<v Speaker 1>Drawing in about ninety minutes from now. It's the Cincinnati

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<v Speaker 1>Tax Resolution Power by Top Showing round Table Show long

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<v Speaker 1>next in Hebrin, presented by Postman Law on seven hundred

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