Drayage Brokersin Omaha, NE

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A career-high 31 point performance from Eric Dixon helped lift Villanova past No. 19 Creighton 79-67 before a crowd of 17,114 Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center. Dixon's early offense helped Nova construct a 17-point first half lead and the 'Cats were in control the rest of the way to level their BIG EAST record at 9-9 (15-14 overall).

Arthur Kaluma led Creighton with 19 points. Freshmen Cam Whitmore (17 points) and Mark Armstrong (11 points) joined Dixon in double figures while senior guard Justin Moore contributed a season-high eight assists.

"I was just really proud of the way our guys competed from the very beginning," stated Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "I thought our focus was there. We made some shots early. I thought that was really fueled by our defense. Our guys mindset was exactly where we wanted it to be. They went out and executed at a high level."

Villanova limited the Bluejays (18-11 overall, 12-6 BIG EAST) to .390 shooting on the day, including just 5-of-26 from beyond the 3-point arc (.192).

"I thought our guys just played hard," noted Neptune. "It's no secret. They're a really good team. They have a lot of different weapons that can hurt you. I thought our guys just came out and played extremely hard from the very beginning. They had a little run at the start of the first half. Defensively, I thought our guys were unbelievable."

A pair of 3-pointers by Dixon helped get the Wildcats into an offensive groove early but Creighton matched that effort, dropping in 4-of-6 in the opening 4:59 to forge a 10-10 deadlock at the day's first official timeout. A Mark Armstrong 3-pointer off an offensive rebound by Caleb Daniels, allowed VU to forge a 15-12 lead. Two Daniels free throws made it a 17-12 Nova lead at the 11:24 mark of the first half.

A Justin Moore 3-pointer made it an 8-0 run for the Wildcats.

Villanova kept its offense flowing with Dixon in the middle of it. By the time he had drained his fourth 3-pointer, the Wildcats had built themselves a 37-20 lead with 3:50 to play in the first half. The offense cooled a bit in the final two minutes of the period – VU misfired on its last five attempts from the field – but excellent defense allowed it to take a 38-24 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes.

The Wildcats limited Creighton to 10-of-28 shooting (.357) from the floor in the first half while connecting on 7-of-13 of their attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. In addition to Dixon's 18 points, Whitmore contributed seven points and Mark Armstrong five in the period.

Creighton got 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions from Trey Alexander and Arthur Kaluma to close the gap to 48-37 after 4:59 of the second half. A traditional 3-point play from Ryan Kalkbrenner made it a 9-1 surge for the Bluejays, and cut the margin to 49-40.

The lead was down to 52-45 when Dixon scored five consecutive points – on his sixth triple of the day and a driving bucket – to push the margin up to 57-45 with 11:18 to play in the second half.

Offense from Whitmore and Armstrong helped the 'Cats keep the Jays at arms length for the balance of the afternoon. The final count was 79-67.

Dixon wasn't sure when he last tallied 30 points in a game. But he is the first Wildcats' player to do so in 2022-23 and it's the highest single game point total by a VU performer since Collin Gillespie dropped in 33 points to lead the 'Cats past Providence on Feb. 15, 2022.

"It was probably in high school," said the former Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year at Abington High School. "I haven't thought about it too much. My teammates kept finding me."

"I think E got those same shots at Creighton," added Neptune of VU's 66-61 loss on Feb. 4 in Omaha. "He just made them today."

At the end of it all, Neptune pointed back to the defense.

"To me, the fact that they had 23 points at halftime, that's really what did it for us," he stated. "If they got out like they can, they can easily get 79 points. I thought we really did a good job defensively of being locked in."

The Wildcats have two games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season. The first of those comes Tuesday night in Newark, N.J. against the Seton Hall Pirates. Tipoff is listed at 8:30 p.m. at the Prudential Center (FS1 the Villanova Sports Network). Villanova will then close out the regular season campaign at Wells Fargo Center, hosting Connecticut on Saturday, March 4 (7:30 p.m.)

Breakfast — omelets, French toast, breakfast sandwiches — any time of the day or evening. Steak — filet mignon, prime rib, New York strip — every Friday night. Comfort food — potpie, country fried steak, meatloaf and mashed potatoes — all the time!

It sounds like the menu at a popular diner or steakhouse. But actually, this is the fare that residents and their guests look forward to at Ovation Heartwood Preserve, the upscale retirement community for active seniors in downtown Omaha.

Welcome to Lorraine’s, the restaurant for residents of the Ovation Memory Care community, as well as members of the independent and assisted living communities. A new building now under construction and opening later this year will house three additional restaurants offering distinctive dining experiences: casual fare at Miller’s and Bees Knees Bistro and fine dining at the 1863 restaurant.

Lorraine’s was named after the grandmother of Ovation’s owner, Rick Miller. Featured on the menu are her famous tuna noodle dish; a wide assortment of chicken, meat and salads; fresh seafood and vegetables; and soup and entree specials of the day.

While the menu at Lorraine’s is updated seasonally, it also changes to please residents’ tastes.

“We’ll be changing most of the current menu at Lorraine’s to lighter fare for seasonality but also to accommodate the likes and desires of our residents,” says executive chef Matt Ruttle, a professional restaurant chef who previously worked as a chef at a big tech company’s headquarters in California.

That means more Asian and Latin cuisine beginning in March, but also Chef Ruttle’s fresh chicken potpies along with build-your-own-pizzas, fish and chips, and omelets and breakfast sandwiches for dinner.

“Breakfast is an approachable meal option,” chef Ruttle notes. “I think it makes residents happy that they're able to choose whatever they want when they want it.”

This winter, a big hit has also been the weekly steak nights.

“On Friday nights we do different steaks — filet one week, prime rib the next, grilled rib-eye after that,” says Tyler Ratigan, a former chef and restaurant manager who is the director of culinary at Ovation Heartwood Preserve. “It’s a big, big crowd pleaser and our busiest night of the week. We get a lot of families who come in to enjoy meals with the residents and at a very reasonable price.”

When the upscale 1863 restaurant opens, it will also have items normally found on a fine steakhouse menu, including appetizers and side dishes such as French onion soup and Caesar salad, as well as traditional steak add-ons like bearnaise and bordelaise sauce. Unlike Lorraine’s, which is reserved for Ovation at Heartwood Preserve residents and their families, 1863 will be open to the public. Forks up!

To learn more about living and dining at Ovation at Heartwood Preserve, visit OvationHeartwoodPreserve.com or call 402.588.5170.

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A ground-breaking ceremony is planned in the next 60 days for another expansion project at Vireo Systems in Plattsmouth.

The announcement, made Friday by Vireo CEO and founder Mark Faulkner, comes just a week after the company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on a creatine production plant.

Current plans for the new plant would provide between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet of space, Faulkner said.

“If possible, we may go larger for more growth space, but we are balancing that with budget strategies,” Faulkner said.

The new plant would provide primarily liquid products to go along with the powder and capsule products in the other plants, he said.

“If there are no construction delays, we will producing in it by the end of this year,” Faulkner said.

About another 50 employees would be hired for this expansion, he said.

“Vireo is already on pace this year to continue to grow at a 50% rate and that causes us to already be outgrowing one of our other four locations, so we just announced that we will break ground in the next 60 days on a fifth facility to accommodate that growth,” Faulkner said. “Once again, we have chosen Plattsmouth, Nebraska, in Cass County to invest in this new plant that will triple the size of the former plant.”

The new plant will be separate from the new CON-CRET production plant, he said.

& CDBC grant supports creatine plant

The Plattsmouth City Council recently approved a $812,500 grant from the federal Community Development Block Grant program through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to assist Vireo in its new creatine production plant.

The city also contributed funds through its revolving loan fund program in the amount of $195,000. These funds have been used to pay for equipment to build and install a creatine reactor.

Con-Cret LLC is required to create 30 full time jobs, 20 of which are to be made available for low-moderate income individuals as part of the CDBG grant.

“Vireo could not grow so quickly in Nebraska without the important and visionary support of the community and the state,” Faulkner said. “We are very grateful for how dedicated the City of Plattsmouth, Cass County and the State of Nebraska are in support of their citizens by supporting businesses that create good jobs and thereby improve the quality of life for everyone.”

Baseball is back with the return of spring training, and this week our hosts talk with Paul Gross, a recently retired broadcast meteorologist who is a weather consultant for the Detroit Tigers. They discuss how weather impacts baseball, from lightning safety rules to the precise timing of a rain forecast, including a dramatic situation in a game between the Tigers and Red Sox. Paul also shared a unique story from his consulting during the 2005 MLB All-Star Game. About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Chapters: (0:00:02) - Advising Sports Teams on Weather Conditions (0:05:36) - Forecasting Weather for a Baseball Team (0:10:42) - Weather and Sports (0:18:16) - The Benefits of Advanced Weather Technology (0:23:34) - Weather's Impact on Sports Decisions (0:30:48) - Weather Consideration in Major League Baseball Chapter Summaries: (0:00:02) - Advising Sports Teams on Weather Conditions (6 Minutes) Across the Sky', a national Lee Enterprises weather podcast, is hosted by meteorologists Sean Sublette in Richmond, Joe Martucci in Atlantic City and Matt Holiner in Chicago. This episode discusses the winter storms that have recently been plaguing the Midwest, and how the weather in the upcoming weeks is expected to be mild with snow expected to return next week. They also bring on a guest, Paul Gross, a recently retired broadcast meteorologist who has been consulting for the Detroit Tigers and other big-name sports teams for a while now. (0:05:36) - Forecasting Weather for a Baseball Team (5 Minutes) The conversation focuses on the protocols for forecasting lightning and calling or pausing a game as a result. It is explained that the safety of the players and the field conditions must be taken into account, as well as the safety of everyone in the stadium. An example is given of a situation which occurred during a game, when a severe thunderstorm was taking a direct bead on the ballpark and the umpire refused to stop the game. A discussion follows on the protocols for lightning and how they have changed over the years, with insight from the Paul's experience advising the Tigers. (0:10:42) - Weather and Sports (8 Minutes) This chapter of the Across the Sky podcast covers the significance of lightning and how it can be a major weather killer, yet often flies under the radar due to lack of media coverage. The conversation then transitions to the importance of time when it comes to the weather in relation to sports games and the preparation that goes into playing a game. It is noted that the decision to start the game is often up to the home team general manager. The conversation then delves into a situation in which the Detroit Tigers had a game in Boston, but with a massive rain area approaching the game was started despite the fact that it was unlikely to be completed. (0:18:16) - The Benefits of Advanced Weather Technology (5 Minutes) This conversation is about a unique experience involving the weather at the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Paul Gross recounts how, as a season ticket holder, he and his family had purchased tickets for the game, and a cousin from Chicago had come in to join them. The weather forecast was mostly dry, but the commissioner of baseball, who was a bit of a nervous type when it came to the weather, asked the speaker to stay with him during the game. As the game progressed, the speaker was able to track a few showers on radar. (0:23:34) - Weather's Impact on Sports Decisions (7 Minutes) The conversation focuses on weather's impact on the game of baseball, particularly the flight of the ball in different weather conditions. The speaker talks about his experience with Michigan football and a game they played in Colorado where they were at risk of being affected by a tropical storm. They also discuss the Detroit Lions and their playing both inside and outside and the impact of weather on their games and practices. The speaker talks about the high stakes of the information he provides and how it can affect the outcome of games. Lastly, they talk about whether decision makers ever ask the speaker what he would do in a high stakes situation' (0:30:48) - Weather Consideration in Major League Baseball (12 Minutes) Matt Holiner shared his experience of working as a meteorologist for the Cincinnati Reds and his comparison of the different mentalities between football and baseball when it comes to forecasting weather. Matt discussed how teams will wait for two or three hours until they make the call to cancel a game due to inclement weather and how he had to communicate with the grounds crew and operations manager but not the players. He also shared that football has a higher threshold for what they will tolerate weather-wise and will play in almost any condition, while baseball has a lower threshold and will typically only play if the field is not deemed dangerous. Shownotes generated by Podium.page.

Coming to the CHI Health Center on Friday, March 23, the YP Summit boasts more than 1,500 enthusiastic and future-focused young professionals and is the largest conference of its kind in the country.

This year’s theme is Our Next Chapter, and focuses on professional, personal and community development to help lead us all towards a brighter future.

And to energize you towards thoughtful action are two dynamic keynote speakers who know more than a thing or two about inspiring change and blazing independent trails: Symone Sanders-Townsend and Ben Nemtin.

Symone Sanders-Townsend is an author, seasoned political strategist, and host of “SYMONE” on MSNBC and MSNBC on Peacock.

Symone rose to prominence in 2016 as the national press secretary for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’s then-presidential campaign. At 25, she became the youngest presidential press secretary on record and was named to Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 16 young Americans shaping the 2016 election. At 29, she published her first book, “No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America."

At 31, Symone was appointed as a senior member of the Biden-Harris administration serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Symone is a former political commentator for CNN and resident fellow of both Harvard's Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School and the University of Southern California's Center for the Political Future.

She is a native of North Omaha and currently resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Shawn.

In his first year of university, Ben Nemtin was unexpectedly hit with a depression that forced him to drop out. In an attempt to feel more alive, he created the world’s greatest bucket list with his three best friends. They borrowed a rickety old RV and crisscrossed North America, achieving the unthinkable.

And most importantly, every time they accomplished a dream, they helped a complete stranger cross something off their bucket list. Ben’s bucket list quest was the inspiration behind his No. 1 New York Times bestselling book, “What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?”

Ben is also a star of MTV’s highest rated show on iTunes and Amazon, "The Buried Life." As the co-founder of The Buried Life movement, Ben’s message of radical possibility has been featured on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, FOX, and NBC News.

Ben is recognized as one of the World’s Top Organizational Culture Thought Leaders and was ranked 3rd Best Motivational Speaker in the world by Global Gurus in 2022.

In addition to the keynote speakers, the YP Summit will also feature exciting breakout sessions like: