What:   This One’s For You, a special telecast of St. Louis Cardinals baseball that aims to connect local troops serving overseas with home.

Troops will watch the game on American Forces Network. A live satellite link from Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan will allow FOX Sports Midwest to interview Fort Leonard Wood soldiers from the 463^rd Military Police Company and 988^th Military Police Company during the game. Troops’ family members will cheer on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The telecast may also include taped video greetings from Missouri National Guard airmen and soldiers in Egypt, Qatar and Afghanistan.

Cardinals fans attending the game can bring signs of appreciation. Fans watching on TV can tweet their greeting to the troops to @FSMidwest with the hashtag #ThisOnesForYou; greetings will be shown on TV.

When:   Friday, May 25. The game begins at 7 p.m. CT/4:30 a.m. Afghanistan time.   FOX Sports Midwest’s pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Where:
-At Busch Stadium in St. Louis
-On TV on FOX Sports Midwest
-In Afghanistan; troops will be shown live via satellite and will watch on AFN

Other videos:
15-second preview of This One’s For You: http://youtu.be/0aoM_ANUyZQ
Highlights of 2011 This One’s For You: http://bit.ly/JvC4wD
Greetings from Missouri National Guard troops: http://on.fb.me/JMDxRk

This One’s For You is produced by FOX Sports Midwest in coordination with the Cardinals, American Forces Network, DVIDS (Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System), Fort Leonard Wood and the Missouri National Guard. This is the third straight year, and fifth overall, in which FOX Sports Midwest will present This One’s For You.

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Josh is the host of WGEM SportsCenter, the only sports talk show in the Quincy, Ill. area, on-air from 7:00–9:00 A.M. every morning. You can learn more at wgem.com and follow the show on Twitter at @wgemesc

Sister station WGEM 105.1 FM is a member of the Cardinals radio network. If you live in the Tri-State area, make sure you tune in all season long.

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Our focus was on the 2012 Cardinals, specifically some of the key injuries and new arrival Matt Adams. There was also some time for National League Tout Wars fantasy baseball talk.

For 2012, RotoWire’s Fantasy Sports Today show is back on Sirius / XM live, Monday through Friday from 10 A.M. – 1 P.M. CT. The call-in number is 888-XM-FANTASY and listener participation is encouraged.

Listen to audio: Brian Walton with Jeff Erickson and Chris Liss (12:53)

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Late Friday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.” Since the last time we spoke, the Cardinals have gone 2-5, including a 1-4 homestand.

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (10:12)

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Late Friday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.” Of course, Friday marked the ceremony to retire Tony La Russa’s number 10.

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (9:23)

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Our focus was on the prospects playing on the Cardinals four full-season clubs to start the 2012 season, with special attention on several of the top prospects playing at Double-A Springfield.

In addition to their weekday show from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M CDT, catch Rob’s writings at RobRains.com and B.J.’s daily beat coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals at FOXSportsMidwest.com.

Listen to audio: Brian Walton with Rob and B.J. Rains (16:14)

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Late Friday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.”

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (8:09)

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Late Friday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Joe Quinn on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.”

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Joe Quinn (7:12)

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Late Friday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.”

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (9:53)

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From Katie Nagus, Sr. Public Relations Manager, AT&T, St. Louis:

“We’re happy to report that we have reached an agreement with FSN Midwest to carry the remaining 18 St. Louis Cardinals games that were initially subject to black outs. St. Louis U-verse TV customers now have access to these games, beginning with this Sunday’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.”

Nagus also made it clear that U-verse customers will not be charged any additional fees as a result of the new agreement.

“We’re pleased that U-verse customers will be able to enjoy all of the remaining Cardinals games on FOX Sports Midwest,” added FOX Sports Midwest spokesman Geoff Goldman.

Cardinals fans had already missed Monday and Tuesday’s games from Cincinnati in a continuation of a dispute that began last season. Details can be found here.

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Late Thursday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.” Our focus was the first week of the season and Friday’s home opener (the reason we went a day early this time).

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (10:07)

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Our focus was on the prospects playing on the Cardinals four full-season clubs to start the 2012 season. We also discussed some key injuries and some off-the-radar guys to watch this summer.

In addition to their weekday show from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M CDT, catch Rob’s writings at RobRains.com and B.J.’s daily beat coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals at FOXSportsMidwest.com.

Listen to audio: Brian Walton with Rob and B.J. Rains (20:56)

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Unfortunately, if you are an AT&T U-verse customer in the St. Louis area, you will be unable to see 10 of those 27 contests on television, including Monday and Tuesday night’s games from Cincinnati. Same for next Sunday afternoon’s home game against the Cubs.

In fact, all told, you will miss out on 20 Cardinals games again this season due to a continuing dispute between the carrier and Cards television rightsholder FOX Sports Midwest. In 2011, FOX Sports Midwest added 20 Cardinals telecasts to its schedule that were previously carried by on-air KSDK Channel 5.

The additional 20 games were made available to all video providers at an incremental fee that FSM says is necessary to cover their additional production costs. Almost all carriers opted to provide their subscribers the additional games, but U-verse is by far the largest of a few that are holding out. Others are Cable One and two small cable systems in Iowa.

It does not appear change is coming any time soon.

“We continue to talk with AT&T with the hope that they will choose to deliver all Cardinals telecasts to fans this season. In the meantime every other provider in the St. Louis area will distribute all Cardinals games,” reminds FOX Sports Midwest spokesman Geoff Goldman.

Earlier this spring, an AT&T spokesperson noted the cable company does not want to pass the additional costs on to their subscribers and reminds customers they can continue to see the other 130 games on the Cardinals 2012 schedule.

Affected subscribers who will not be receiving the 20 telecasts that are listed below and are upset about it should contact your video provider directly.

Here is the schedule of affected games:

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Late Friday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.” Our focus was a recap of 2012 spring training.

Cardinals followers in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas,

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (8:22)

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With the Springfield club preparing for their Monday exhibition against St. Louis at Hammons Field in Springfield, the matchups were different. Memphis faced Palm Beach while Quad Cities matched up against the extended spring training players on the George Kissell Quad behind Roger Dean.

Memphis and Palm Beach tied, while the EST players exacted some revenge on the Quad Cities players who beat them out. The Cardinals’ spring record against external minor league competition remained at 21-16-4.

Sunday’s Pitcher of the Day: Quad Cities right-hander Sam Gaviglio is back here again. This time out, the 21-year-old right-hander from Oregon State allowed just two EST baserunners over four scoreless innings. The Cards’ fifth-rounder from last June’s draft struck out five.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Maybe outfielder Virgil Hill was disappointed about apparently not getting another shot at Quad Cities – yet. One thing is for sure – the extended spring training player put some hurt on the baseball Sunday with seven total bases on a triple and a home run. The 22-year-old also had three RBI.

Special thanks to Cardinals farm director John Vuch, who shared game stats all month long. As always, the raw numbers are his, but the comments mine.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers can check out the full minor league schedule and spring training working rosters. The entire system view by level and position is available via the Roster Matrix, right here at The Cardinal Nation Blog.

Memphis 1, Palm Beach 1

Extended spring training 4, Quad Cities 3

Subscribers to the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, should continue to check out my extensive spring training content over the upcoming days. Today’s addition is an in-depth interview with outfield prospect Tommy Pham.

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Springfield and Palm Beach were victorious. The Cardinals’ spring record against external minor league competition remains at 21-16-4.

Saturday’s Player of the Day: Shortstop Matt Williams had two doubles in four at-bats for Quad Cities, but no one drove him home.

Saturday’s Pitcher of the Day: Springfield’s Scott Gorgen has made his second consecutive appearance in this space. On Saturday, the returnee from Tommy John surgery allowed just three hits and no runs in four scoreless innings. Gorgen fanned five.

As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch is sharing game stats with this site and several others with interest in Cardinals prospects. As always, the raw numbers are his, but the comments mine.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers can check out the full minor league schedule and spring training working rosters. The entire system view by level and position is available via the Roster Matrix, right here at The Cardinal Nation Blog.

Springfield 4, Memphis 0

Palm Beach 6, Quad Cities 1

Subscribers to the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, should continue to check out my extensive spring training content over the upcoming days. Today’s addition is an in-depth interview with minor league hitting coordinator Derrick May.

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It was the Cardinals first sweep of the spring as all four clubs claimed wins on the day. The Cardinals’ spring record against external minor league competition improved to 21-16-4.

Friday’s Player of the Day: Springfield’s Xavier Scruggs had seven total bases with a triple and home run in three at-bats, plated three and even added a walk. The right-handed slugger has 62 home runs in four pro seasons, but just five triples.

Friday’s Pitcher of the Day: Springfield’s Seth Maness yielded four hits and no walks in five shutout innings. The right-hander was a New York-Penn League All-Star, then pitched for Palm Beach and Quad Cities last season, his first as a professional.

As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch is sharing game stats with this site and several others with interest in Cardinals prospects. As always, the raw numbers are his, but the comments mine.

On Saturday, the Cardinals have yet another camp day, their sixth of the spring. Memphis will face Springfield while Palm Beach and Quad Cities will match up on the George Kissell Quad behind Roger Dean.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers can check out the full minor league schedule and spring training working rosters. The entire system view by level and position is available via the Roster Matrix, right here at The Cardinal Nation Blog.

Memphis 2, Buffalo 1

Springfield 4, Binghamton 2

Palm Beach 9, St. Lucie 2

Quad Cities 6, Savannah 4

Subscribers to the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, should continue to check out my extensive spring training content over the upcoming days. Today’s addition is a 25-minute in-depth interview with John Vuch.

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Springfield and Quad Cities White claimed wins on the day, while Memphis, Palm Beach and Quad Cities Red were defeated. The Cardinals’ spring record against external minor league competition sits at 17-16-4.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Springfield infielder Greg Garcia had a perfect outing at the plate, walking twice, singling twice, scoring twice and driving in one. The 22-year-old was sixth in the entire system in OBP last season at .384. On this day, it was 1.000.

Thursday’s Pitcher of the Day: Anthony Ferrara threw five shutout innings for Palm Beach, allowing just four baserunners on three hits and a walk. The 22-year-old lefty logged 13 wins as a member of Quad Cities’ rotation in 2011.

As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch is sharing game stats with this site and several others with interest in Cardinals prospects. As always, the raw numbers are his, but the comments mine.

On Friday, the Cardinals’ two lower-level clubs, Palm Beach and Quad Cities, will travel to the New York Mets’ home at Port St. Lucie while Memphis and Springfield remain home at the Roger Dean Stadium complex to face the Mets’ Triple-A and Double-A clubs.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers can check out the full minor league schedule and spring training working rosters. The entire system view by level and position is available via the Roster Matrix, right here at The Cardinal Nation Blog.

New Orleans 4, Memphis 1

Springfield 8, Jacksonville 7

Jupiter 2, Palm Beach 0

Greensboro 8, Quad Cities (Red) 2

Quad Cities (White) 5, Jamestown 3

Subscribers to the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, should continue to check out my extensive spring training content over the upcoming days. Today’s addition is a 25-minute in-depth interview with John Vuch.

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Late Wednesday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in another installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.” Our focus was a recap of 2012 spring training.

Fans in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my segment each Friday afternoon throughout the season, either over the air or via streaming. My appearances are sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (11:15)

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Josh is the host of WGEM SportsCenter, the only sports talk show in the Quincy, Ill. Area, from 7:00–9:00 A.M. every morning. You can learn more at wgem.com and follow the show on Twitter at @wgemesc

Sister station WGEM 105.1 FM is a member of the Cardinals radio network, broadcasting both spring training and regular season games. If you live in the Tri-State area, make sure you tune in all season long.

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Late Monday afternoon, I joined Ken Miller and Jim Brinson on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines in the first installment of this year’s series to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, “Cardinal Talk.” Our initial focus was a recap of the 2011-2012 off-season.

Fans in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO as well as my weekly segment throughout the season, sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (11:05)

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For any sporting event, watching and listening to the familiar home broadcasters is usually preferred. Yet in the case of spring training, a time when game coverage is less than 100 percent, catching any broadcast is better than the alternative, isn’t it?

To that end, I have compiled a master list of all St. Louis Cardinals spring television and radio plans no matter who will be originating the broadcast.

The Cardinals are slated to play 28 spring training games in Florida in 2012. Previously announced was a subset of 18 to be covered by either FOX Sports Midwest television (five games), KMOX radio (16 games) or in the case of three games, by both.

That leaves 10 uncovered.

Now that the broadcast schedules of the Cardinals’ eight spring opponents have been posted on MLB.com, we find that five of those other ten St. Louis games will be covered by one of their affiliates.

This includes two televised games against the Mets on SportsNet New York on March 6 and 13, one radio contest against the Twins on the 15^th, and two Marlins games on Miami radio on March 16 and 29.

The final tally lists 23 of the Cardinals 28 Florida games that can either be watched or listened-to, a solid coverage rate of 82 percent.

To receive the out-of-market feeds, consider a subscription to MLB.TV (television and radio) and MLB Gameday Audio (radio only). Though I have found support to be hit and miss, these services are good values overall. If you are going to subscribe for the 2012 season anyway, there is no reason to not do it in time for spring training as well.

If you are only interested in audio on your PC and want a deal, take a look at joining “Cardinals Nation,” a fan club program run by the St. Louis Cardinals organization. For just $19.95, you receive a variety of benefits, including two game tickets and a season subscription to MLB Gameday Audio.

I will update this broadcast information when the satellite radio and television providers disclose their spring schedules as well.

St. Louis Cardinals 2012 spring training television schedule (as of February 17)

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Apparently, other television networks across the Major League Baseball landscape – whether regional or national – are not particularly interested in seeing the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals this spring.

In spring training broadcast schedules posted at MLB.com, only two of the Cardinals’ eight spring opponents will be televising even one Florida contest with St. Louis. They are the New York Mets (three games) and the Houston Astros (one game).

While ESPN has already announced a slate of spring games, St. Louis is not scheduled to appear. MLB Network has not disclosed its plans, but last year, they did not originate new telecasts, instead picking up ones already covered by team-focused regional networks.

Further, two of those four Mets and Astros games with St. Louis are overlapping telecasts with the five Cardinals games tentatively planned by FOX Sports Midwest.

That leaves a bottom line of just seven unique Cardinals spring telecasts currently scheduled to be available on any channel. With a 28-game Florida slate for St. Louis, that is a mediocre .250 spring average (7 of 28).

To compare, last spring, almost one in every three Cardinals spring training games were available somewhere on television (10 of 31).

FOX Sports Midwest is doing its part, with an increase from three spring telecasts in 2011 to five this year. It is the rest of baseball that is giving the Cards the cold shoulder.

Larger market clubs televise more spring games. Even excluding ESPN and any opposing team broadcasts, the Phillies and Yankees have 17 spring games on their TV slate. The Mets have 15, Red Sox 13, Braves 10, etc. compared to St. Louis’ five.

Before the five Cardinals games on FS Midwest kick in, starting on March 17, the New Yorkers will be in the leadoff position. The first two Cardinals television appearances will be against the Mets on SportsNet New York (SNY), on March 6 and 13. The March 6 game will be very early in camp – game two of the Cardinals’ 28-game Florida slate.

Though their schedules have not yet been divulged, it is expected that both the home and away telecasts should be available via MLB.com’s subscription service (with appropriate blackout rules) and perhaps via your satellite provider (depending on your service packages). More details will be provided as they become available.

February 15 update: KMOX has announced its 16 Cardinals spring radio broadcasts, including the spring opener on March 5. The table below has been updated to reflect that.

I will add satellite TV and radio as well as MLB audio and video plans when disclosed.

St. Louis Cardinals 2012 spring training television schedule (as of February 15)

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Our focus this time was on the Cardinals prospects playing in the Arizona Fall League, specifically Oscar Taveras and Ryan Jackson, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals’ managerial search.

In addition to their weekday show from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M CDT, catch Rob’s writings at RobRains.com and B.J.’s daily beat coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals at FOXSportsMidwest.com.

Listen to audio: Brian Walton with Rob and B.J. Rains (13:42)

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Fans in central Iowa can catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO throughout the season as well as my weekly segment, sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (6:22).

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Fans in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO throughout the 2011 season as well as my weekly segment, sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (12:00)

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Our focus was a recap of how the St. Louis Cardinals made it to their upcoming match with the Texas Rangers and what may be ahead.

Fans can also listen to Sports Talk live on-line at sportstalkwithbo.com. Listener participation is encouraged. Call 1-877-447-4040.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Bo Mattingly (3:18)

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Fans in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO throughout the 2011 season as well as my weekly segment, sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Ken Miller and Jim Brinson (8:06)

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Fans in central Iowa can again catch Cardinals radio broadcasts on KXnO throughout the 2011 season as well as my weekly segment, sponsored by WCI Pools and Spas.

Click here for audio: Brian Walton with Jim Brinson (11:20)

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Our focus will be on the MLB post-season, as well as the conclusion of the fantasy baseball year.

For 2011, RotoWire’s Fantasy Sports Today show is back on Sirius / XM live, Monday through Friday from 10 A.M. – 1 P.M. CT. The call-in number is 888-XM-FANTASY and listener participation is encouraged.

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