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Speaker 1: Okay, our thanks so much for your time today. I

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Speaker 1: want to start with a pandemic and just what this

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Speaker 1: NFL season was. Just your thoughts on how the NFL

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Speaker 1: handled the protocols obviously things had to change as the

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Speaker 1: season went on, and what you anticipate for this upcoming season,

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Speaker 1: you know, missy, it was a season like unlike any

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Speaker 1: other obviously, and a lot of different twists and turns.

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Speaker 1: And I have to say my hats off to the

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Speaker 1: people up at the league as well as our own

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Speaker 1: staff or holding it together, and you know, from John

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Speaker 1: Norwig to uh Garrett Dimont and Omar coaching staff, really

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Speaker 1: the whole organization. It was just you know, it was

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Speaker 1: not an easy road to and uh, you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: just really happy and thankful that we we made it

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Speaker 1: through it and as good as shape as we did

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Speaker 1: now in terms of the football team and what they

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Speaker 1: did on the field, winning the division, gen the eleven

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Speaker 1: and oh start, but then losing in the wild card round.

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Speaker 1: How do you, as you sit back a few weeks

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Speaker 1: removed from the season evaluate, you know, I'd say, miss obviously,

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Speaker 1: we got off to the best start in our history

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Speaker 1: and and one our division, so some great positive there.

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Speaker 1: And when I say one, our division, you know, we

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Speaker 1: probably want the toughest division and football as far as

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Speaker 1: I'm concerned. But you know, then then we hit a

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Speaker 1: you know, a rough spot there, and and uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure. I think there are a few things

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Speaker 1: affected into it. Number one, you know, we just we're

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Speaker 1: having trouble being consistent on offense. Uh. You know, we

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Speaker 1: kind of scored in spurts, and you know, at times

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Speaker 1: we were almost unstoppable, and then other times we had

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Speaker 1: a hard time making a first down. So it just

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Speaker 1: two inconsistent on offense. And I think you know, the

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Speaker 1: lack of a consistent running game was it was a

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Speaker 1: big factor there. Uh. And then you know, with all

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Speaker 1: the schedule changes and and adjustments, you know, I do,

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Speaker 1: I do think that war on us a little bit

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Speaker 1: for you know, a little stretch there. You know, we

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Speaker 1: lost Bud Dupree in that stretch and uh, you know

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Speaker 1: that was a tough blow as well. So you know

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Speaker 1: that that was a tough stretch. But you know, I

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Speaker 1: think we rebounded from that. You know, we came back

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Speaker 1: and won a game we needed to win the clintse

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Speaker 1: the division, and you know, and then we played pretty

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Speaker 1: well with mostly backups up in Cleveland that final game,

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Speaker 1: so I you know, I thought we rebounded well, and

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Speaker 1: I certainly felt good going into our playoff game and

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Speaker 1: and felt good about how we we would perform there.

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Speaker 1: And you know, we just you just can't turn the

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Speaker 1: ball over like that. You know, we put ourselves in

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Speaker 1: the hole and we couldn't get out of and really

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Speaker 1: never gave ourselves a chance to compete in that game.

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Speaker 1: So it was it was unfortunate, uh you know that

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Speaker 1: that's the way it happened. Disappointing, that was it was

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Speaker 1: like being awake for a nightmare. It was just tough

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Speaker 1: to watch. And so it's you know, so we got

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Speaker 1: to take from that and learn from that, and we

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Speaker 1: really prepare for, you know, another another season with the

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Speaker 1: challenge of, you know, a salary cap situation that's probably

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Speaker 1: as difficult as as anything we faced in the salary

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Speaker 1: cap era. So we certainly have our work cut out

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Speaker 1: for us going into this offseason. Art sticking with the

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Speaker 1: salary cap, almost twenty free agents. As you guys are

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Speaker 1: going to be heading into this period, how do you

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Speaker 1: guys begin the process of figuring out what to do

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Speaker 1: knowing that there is going to be a lot of

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Speaker 1: turnover with this roster. Yeah, I mean, we've got to

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Speaker 1: look at all of the options here and uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: see how we can create some room. Obviously, we need

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Speaker 1: to know what the salary cap is first, so hopefully

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Speaker 1: we'll have that information soon. Uh, and then we'll have

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Speaker 1: to go to work and make decisions and you know,

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Speaker 1: see if there are contracts that we can adjust and restructure.

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Speaker 1: And so it'll be, as I said, it will be

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Speaker 1: a more challenging situation than maybe we've ever face salary

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Speaker 1: cap wise. And uh, but well, you know, we'll roll

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Speaker 1: up our sleeves and and get the job done as

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Speaker 1: best as we can. Part of that puzzle piece, of course,

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Speaker 1: will be Ben Roethlisberger. Do we anticipate him being in

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Speaker 1: a Steeler's uniform in two thousand and twenty? Have you

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Speaker 1: guys talked and what needs to happen if that is

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Speaker 1: the way to go. Well, Ben has been in and

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Speaker 1: talked to coach about it, and and Ben wants to

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Speaker 1: come back and play. Uh, And you know, I think

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Speaker 1: Coach and Ben have had a couple of good conversations now.

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Speaker 1: But Coach and Kevin have both been cannon with Ben

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Speaker 1: in terms of, uh, you know, letting him know that

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Speaker 1: the current contract structure is not gonna work, and so

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Speaker 1: we're going to have to figure out if we can

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Speaker 1: work together too, you know, to craft something that that

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Speaker 1: we all can live with. So more conversations to come

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Speaker 1: there and uh uh we'll see where it goes. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: as I said before, we kind of need to know

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Speaker 1: what the salary cap number is first before we can

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Speaker 1: figure that out. You know, that applies to a lot

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Speaker 1: of different contract situations that we have to look at.

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Speaker 1: We saw last week Vance McDonald announced his retirement from

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Speaker 1: the NFL. Do you anticipate any more retirements or is

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Speaker 1: that something you guys are just taking as it goes?

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Speaker 1: You know, we we we've heard about one other player

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Speaker 1: that may announce his retirement. So I'll leave that up

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Speaker 1: to him to decide if he wants to do that

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Speaker 1: or not. And uh, you know, so basically I think

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Speaker 1: that we'll let that play out over the next few

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Speaker 1: weeks and see where we go. Uh. So, you know,

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Speaker 1: more more pieces of the puzzle one fold, you know,

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Speaker 1: probably here over the next several weeks. A little bit earlier,

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Speaker 1: just going back on the season, you talked about the

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Speaker 1: running game, and at this time last year, that was

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Speaker 1: what you wanted to see improve in two thousand and twenties.

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Speaker 1: So what do you think needs to happen for the

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Speaker 1: second season to scene improvement and not to finish the

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Speaker 1: last Yeah, well, I mean I think we've already started

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Speaker 1: to talk about it and and we have made some

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Speaker 1: changes that Obviously one of the things that needs to

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Speaker 1: be addressed is that component of our offense. Uh, So

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Speaker 1: you know, we'll we'll continue to look at what changes

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Speaker 1: need to be made as we continue down this this road.

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Speaker 1: But there was no question we can't. We can't finish

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Speaker 1: thirty second in the league and in anything, and particularly

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Speaker 1: in rushing and it's expected to be successful. So you know,

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Speaker 1: it's it's something that just has to be addressed. And

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Speaker 1: I think, uh, you know, we know what we have

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Speaker 1: to do there. Overall, How do you evaluate and review

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Speaker 1: coach Tomlin in terms of the job that he did

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Speaker 1: this past season. Well, again, you know, we we started

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Speaker 1: out setting a new franchise record at you know, in

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Speaker 1: terms of starting the season eleven and oh and uh

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, and and won the division. So

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Speaker 1: we put ourselves in a situation and coach put us

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Speaker 1: in a situation where you know, we we got to

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Speaker 1: where we need to be in terms of we were

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs, won our division. Uh, you know, had

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Speaker 1: a home playoff game, which this year unfortunately didn't probably

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Speaker 1: mean as much as other years, but you know we

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Speaker 1: we were in position to you know, to try to

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Speaker 1: to realize our our goals. And you know that that

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Speaker 1: playoff game was really just a setback that you know

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Speaker 1: we as I said before, we just never gave gave

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Speaker 1: ourselves a chance in that game. So pretty disappointing the

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Speaker 1: way we ended. But you know, all in all, coaches,

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Speaker 1: coach put us in a in a situation again where

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Speaker 1: we had an opportunity, and you know he's done that

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Speaker 1: most of the years he's been our coach, and that's

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Speaker 1: why I would like to keep him as our coach.

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Speaker 1: What is the future with Kevin Colbert? I know he

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Speaker 1: has been kind of going year to year obviously whenever

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Speaker 1: he has made it clear would not leave the Steelers

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Speaker 1: hanging heading into a draft, But do you know what

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Speaker 1: his intentions are for the upcoming season. You know, we'll

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Speaker 1: have discussions with Kevin and the you know, in the

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Speaker 1: near future, as you know, the next few weeks unfold,

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Speaker 1: and uh, and so you know, I don't want to

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Speaker 1: speculate on it. Obviously he's got decisions to make and

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Speaker 1: we'll have those discussions here over the next several weeks.

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Speaker 1: Are you hopeful that, hopefully in the next two weeks

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Speaker 1: we will hear some good news in terms of the

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Speaker 1: Hall of Fame regarding Bill Nunn and Alan Fanica. What

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Speaker 1: are you hearing or what is your gut telling you

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Speaker 1: as we're getting closer to when they usually make those announcements. Well,

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Speaker 1: we have high hopes for for Bill and Allen and uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, I wish I could say that I know

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Speaker 1: what the outcome is, but certainly two deserving men and

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Speaker 1: and you know, really people that distinguished themselves throughout their career.

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Speaker 1: So we're keeping our fingers crossed and looking forward to

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Speaker 1: that announcement the next couple of weeks. Okay, Art, appreciate

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Speaker 1: your time as always, Thank you very much. All right,

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Speaker 1: Thanks miss