ANN ARBOR, Mich. It might be easy for a surging and rested Michigan football team to look past its next opponent.

The Wolverines, still unbeaten and up to No. 6 in the polls this week, play host to struggling Northwestern this Saturday at Michigan Stadium (noon, FOX). Jim Harbaughs team is 6-0 and riding high after a bye week, and oddsmakers peg Michigan as a three-touchdown betting favorite to win the game.

And with in-state rival Michigan State on deck, potentially pitting a pair of top-10, 7-0 teams against one another in East Lansing, its shaping up to be one of the biggest games in years.

We cant look to next week because weve got a very good opponent coming in this week, defensive tackle Chris Hinton told reporters on Monday. Weve got to take every game, every week, one game at a time. Because if we dont handle our business this week, the next week and the week after is just not as significant.

Michigan State held on to beat Indiana, 20-15, in Bloomington on Saturday, cementing the Spartans 6-0 mark heading into a bye week of their own. While they have a week of rest ahead of them, Mel Tuckers team will also have an opportunity to get a jump start on preparing for Michigan.

More: U-M football a big betting favorite to beat Northwestern

Meanwhile, the Wolverines have to take the field against Northwestern a 3-3 team thats traded wins and losses, yet is coming off an impressive 21-7 victory over Rutgers.

Remember, it was just three years ago, in 2018, when Michigan waltzed into Evanston as a big favorite and fell behind 17-0 in the first half, only to score 20 unanswered points and escape with a win.

Continually, you see the Northwestern team get better every single week, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. This year, last year, the year before that the year before that. When you play Northwestern in the middle of the season, later in the season theyre really formidable.

Michigan is one two unbeaten Big Ten teams still standing, along with Michigan State, clearing a pathway to the Big Ten championship if it can handle business in the second half of its schedule. In addition to the Oct. 30 game at Michigan State, the Wolverines must also travel to Penn State (Nov. 13) and host rival Ohio State (Nov. 27), a pair of pivotal games required for such a run. But before they get there, or even to the Michigan State game, they must first handle business in front of them.

The team has been very locked in, Harbaugh continued. Daily, weekly. The thing Im continuing to be pleased with is how they attack every single day. They didnt practice Friday, they didnt practice Saturday (but) they came back Sunday and we had as good a practice (as weve had).

Midseason grades: Harbaugh, Michigan get high marks for run game, defensive turnaround

Guys moving around, knowing what they are doing as locked in, focused as Ive ever seen a team come off a two-and-a-half day break.

Harbaugh declined to provide a concrete updated on Michigans injured players, only saying receiver Roman Wilson (undisclosed) and offensive linemen Chuck Filiaga (leg), Zak Zinter (leg) and Trevor Keegan (shoulder) are day to day but progressing.

But if there was ever a cautionary tale, look at Iowa this past week. The Hawkeyes were unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the country and lost a stunner, 24-7, to Purdue to fall out of the top 10. While they remain the favorites to win the Big Tens West Division, their College Football Playoff hopes have dimmed. For Michigan to keep all of its hopes and dreams alive, total effort will be required on Saturday against Northwestern.

Were not overlooking them at all, receiver A.J. Henning said. We know theyre a great football team. Theyre going to come in here and give us their best shot, so were going to take the necessary preparation to try and have a successful outcome.

While Michigan is off to its best start since 2016, the team has taken a unique approach to preparing each week. Players say they treat each week of practice like theyre preparing for Ohio State, long considered the Big Tens best, while treating each team as a nameless, faceless opponent.

They hope that holds true on Saturday against the upset-minded Wildcats.

Each week, were going in with a 1-0 mindset, linebacker Kalel Mullings said. We want to be 1-0 for that week and as long as we continue to do that, well reach all of our goals.

There was never any looking past our opponent this week or onto other games. We know that we have to take of business this week, take care of business next week and if we continue doing that well be set.

Read more:
With rival on deck, surging Michigan says its not overlooking Northwestern - MLive.com

Malia White from Below Deck Mediterranean went into greater detail about the intense pain she suffered following her horrific scooter accident in Spain. While fans knew the accident was extremely serious and she had broken bones and severe road rash, she never described what happened when she arrived at the hospital for treatment.

White estimated that she was going about 70 miles per hour on the Vespa scooter when one of her deckhands accidentally clipped her tire and sent her soaring. She recalled being calm immediately following the accident but warned her team she was going into shock. Then she described what happened when she arrived at the hospital.

Honestly, that was the worst part, she said about the accident on the Hollywood Raw podcast. Like I speak broken Spanish. [The medical professional] was speaking broken English. And basically, she brought the tub in. And she was like, Im was so sorry, this is going to hurt. And Im like, What? Whats going on? And she just takes this sponge and like this brush, and she just starts scrubbing all of my [wounds].

White reminded listeners that her wounds covered most of her arms and legs. I had wounds that were like massive, she recalled. Then she shared how the doctors cleaned her wounds. And it was pure iodine. And I just started screaming. She gave me a popsicle stick to like bite down on. I was like, No, please stop!'

RELATED: Malia From Below Deck Med Reveals She Hooked up With Engineer Jake in Split

The pain was horrific but White said they couldnt numb her or give her anything for the pain at the time. That was the other thing, she said. They didnt give me any pain medication, and I was like, Why? Please give me pain medication. Shes like We cant yet. Because they had to do scans and everything you know, which I understand.

Thankfully White didnt suffer any long-term infections, but she had broken bones and a concussion. No, no infections. I was concussed pretty badly, but nothing long-term. White ended up flying home to Florida to recover and spent a considerable amount of time healing. Only recently was she permitted to return to work.

When White hit the pavement, she hit asphalt and gravel to create the massive road rash. It was like asphalt, but there was a patch of gravel when my friend like trying to swerve, she recalled. So loose gravel in it. But it was asphalt, and I just kind of felt like flew and just my body just did a bunch of barrel rolls on asphalt.

The impact was so intense, White said her helmet cracked. My helmet had a crack all the way down the middle, just split, she said. Luckily, I had a face shield.

White told Showbiz Cheat Sheet the recovery period was hard because shes not one to sit still for a long period of time. She finally went for a run before her broken toes were fully healed and admitted it was painful. It was [painful] but to me, I just cant sit, she said about not being able to be active. Not working out is kind of worse for me.

RELATED: Below Deck Mediterraneans Malia White Returns Home After Serious Scooter Accident

Link:
Below Deck's Malia White Recalls Screaming in the Hospital After Her Horrific Scooter Accident 'My Helmet Had a Crack' - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

McCORDSVILLE A developer wants to bring buildings for logistics and warehousing purposes to McCordsvilles south side in a plan that calls for rezoning properties and annexing others into town.

Indianapolis-based Strategic Capital Partners is considering two to three structures west of Mt. Comfort Road and north of County Road 500N.

John Cumming, senior vice president of development for Strategic Capital Partners, said the sizes of the buildings remain to be determined.

Were still working on a master plan and assembling various properties, which would dictate the size of the buildings, Cumming said.

So far, the developments would be speculative, meaning without occupants yet secured.

I would love to attract a build-to-suit as well, but our plan would be to go speculative if were not able to, Cumming said.

It would be the first project in Hancock County for Strategic Capital Partners, which has been involved in industrial, office, multi-family and student housing developments in several states since launching in 2005.

Certainly the access to I-70, a major distribution route, is attractive, Cumming said. Hancock County and the town of McCordsville have done a nice job in terms of attracting businesses. I think theres a very competitive labor story in the area, and theres a lot of demand out there, and were trying to diversify what we have to offer in the Indianapolis market.

Brian Tuohy, a lawyer with Indianapolis-based Tuohy Bailey & Moore representing Strategic Capital Partners, told McCordsville Town Council members recently that the builder has agreements with the owners of about 150 acres of the nearly 160 making up the site and is pursuing arrangements with the owners of the remaining acreage.

The eastern part of the site, along Mt. Comfort Road, is already part of McCordsville and is made up of mostly farmland with some residences. To construct its buildings, Strategic Capital Partners would need to request that the land it gets be rezoned from its residential and neighborhood commercial designations to an industrial one. Such a request would be vetted by the towns plan commission and considered by the town council.

Tuohy said the builder would seek to annex what it gets of the western portion of the site, also mostly farmland and some residences, into McCordsville.

McCordsville Town Council member Tom Strayer noted with the site being made up of different property owners and zoning classifications, and some of it being in town and some of it out, much would need to align in order to accomplish a uniformity.

When we do an annexation or development, I am not for having small cutouts within the development that arent of the same use, he told the Daily Reporter.

Tuohy also said the company would work with the town on extending a planned future road called Aurora Way west from Mt. Comfort Road. Plans are already underway to stretch it east from the thoroughfare for other industrial developments in the area.

Ten-foot-wide walking paths along Mt. Comfort Road and County Road 500N would be part of Strategic Capital Partners development as well.

If all goes according to plan, work would start in fall 2022 with occupancy for the first building ready in fall to late 2023, Tuohy said.

Read the original here:
More spec on deck in western part of county - Greenfield Daily Reporter

The knocking grew louder before she heard a "smash," as if a wall had collapsed in the unit above hers. She thought it was construction, she said. It didn't make sense, not at 1:10 in the morning.

Thinking the commotion was an earthquake, Nir told her children, "Run as fast as you can," and they took off, leaving the property and crossing Collins Avenue, the one-way thoroughfare hosting hotel and condo towers on the eastern edge of the barrier island that is home to Surfside.

"God was waiting for us to leave the building -- and then another big boom," Nir told CNN. "Then we didn't see anything. It was suddenly white after the big boom and with white clouds all over."

Did the pool area present signs of danger?

She was frantic and told him the building was shaking, Michael Stratton told the Herald. She reported that a sinkhole had opened up where the pool used to be, he said. Then, the line went dead.

Stratton's wife is among the 145 people still unaccounted for as rescuers comb through the rubble that once composed dozens of apartments. The death toll from Thursday's disaster stands at 18.

The contractor has not been named, but Herald reporter Sarah Blaskey spoke to him.

His initial thought was, "Wow, why haven't they maintained this building better?" and took a photo to send to his boss, Blaskey recounted. He was on-site for what he thought was "cosmetic stuff" to spruce up the pool area, but once he went below he felt, "This is going to be a bigger job," the reporter told CNN.

Forensic engineer Stephanie Walkup, a professor at Villanova University, said the deterioration seen in the photo "does look significant," but she emphasized the contractor's photo came from the pool maintenance area, which is not where the building appears to have begun caving in -- an observation echoed by the Herald reporter.

"But it is clear that water has been infiltrating the concrete deck in that area for some time to the point of extensive corrosion," Walkup said.

She would not have sounded any alarms based on the contractor's photo alone, she told CNN, but "if that distress was observed throughout the entire structure, that's the point where it becomes extensive. That's the point where it becomes concerning."

A 2018 photo,shared with CNN by Tom Henz, shows the earlier stages of the crack engineers and experts consulted by CNN say appears to be the same crack visible in 2021, although the more recent photo appears to show it has worsened. The cause of the apparent deterioration is not clear.

After inspecting the building in 2018, engineer Frank Morabito wrote in a report that "failed waterproofing" below the pool deck was "causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas," and warned that failure to replace it in the near future would cause "concrete deterioration to expand exponentially."

A 2021 letter to the building residents from the condominium association's president confirmed that the exponential deterioration had indeed taken place in the interim years.

"The concrete deterioration is accelerating," wrote Jean Wodnicki, the association president. "The observable damage such as in the garage has gotten significantly worse since the initial (2018) inspection."

The experts CNN spoke to said that the progression seen in the crack between the two images could be an indication of the deterioration caused by the waterproofing problem described by Morabito. Or, some said, the concrete around the crack could have simply fallen off during the three-year gap to reveal the deeper fissure seen in the 2021 photograph.

A representative of the Champlain Towers South condo association declined to comment.

Report noted deteriorating concrete, rebar

Mehrdad Sasani, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University, and Joel Figueroa-Vallines, president of SEP Engineers, have said the available information about the building, along with video of the collapse, suggest something may have failed near the foundation of the building. They've also said that, rather than a single smoking gun, a combination of factors likely compromised the building's integrity.

Those factors could include vibrations from nearby construction work, heavy equipment placed on the concrete roof for repairs, water damage and exposure to corrosive salt in the seawater and air.

On Wednesday, Sasani shared another hypothesis. The building's floor system was made of 8-inch-thick concrete plates atop columns, he said.

"Given the sudden nature of collapse, one potential mode of failure is so-called 'punching' failure," in which the column punches through the slab and "potentially progress(es) from there," the professor said.

Investigators should be looking for any instability in the foundation, possibly including weak points within the 200 or so precast piles that help support the building, or perhaps corrosion in the steel rebar used to reinforce the concrete.

Morabito Consultants in 2018 conducted a survey of the building for its 40-year certification, a stringent process for updates and improvements enacted after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The firm found spalling, or deterioration, of the concrete, though engineers have differed on what that ultimately means.

"Abundant cracking and spalling of various degrees was observed in the concrete columns, beams and walls," the survey found. "Several sizeable spalls were noted in both the topside of the entrance drive ramp and underside of the pool/entrance drive/planter slabs, which included instances with exposed, deteriorating rebar. Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion."

The waterproofing below the pool deck and entrance drive was failing and causing "major structural damage," said the report, which did not indicate the structure was at risk of collapse.

The rest is here:
Condo residents saw pool deck and garage collapse before tower crumbled to the ground - CNN

Margrethe Fighter (DMAIB)

PublishedJun 30, 2021 6:37 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) has completed its inquiry into the capsizing of the bucket dredger Margrethe Fighter, concluding that the vessel was vulnerable to flooding and loss of stability because she was sailing heavily laden with full ballast tanks. The crew was in the habit of loading and trimming the ship in such a manner that parts of the foredeck were under water at times, and the investigators found that they had become accustomed to this practice as a matter of routine, to the point that they were aware of a need to maneuver gently and carefully.

In August 2020, Margrethe Fighter started work on a long-term dredging project in the Port of Trelleborg, Sweden. On February 17, 2021 - the day of the casualty - she started work at about 0630. Her three-man crew's division of responsibilities had the excavator operator take command of loading the vessel, and the deckhand would unload at the dump site. The captain was responsible for navigating between work sites and maneuvering the vessel during operations.

By 1330, the ship had made two trips to the dump site, and the excavator master was filling the hold with wet mud for the third time of the day. The depth on the site was about 29 feet, nearly the maximum reach of the excavator but just shy of the target depth for the job. To keep working, the Margrethe Fighter's forward ballast tanks were filled in order to lower the bow and extend the depth that the excavator arm could access.

As the cargo hold filled up to the halfway point, the excavator operator let the captain know that it was time to drain the ballast tanks. He kept loading, and when the hold was laden so heavily that water could be seen on the foredeck, the excavator operator determined that the vessel was ready to transit and unload at the dump site. Based on a reconstruction, the DMAIB estimated that at this point the vessel was trimmed by the head by about 2.5 feet.

He placed the excavator bucket to port of the centerline because the ship had a slight starboard list, after which he went back to the deckhouse. The skipper raised the vessel's spuds and began the 15-minute voyage towards the dump site. At some point prior, he had gone to the engine room to open the discharge valves for the forward ballast tanks and started the fire pump (not the larger ballast pump) to deballast.

During the relocation voyage, the deckhand went out on deck to get ready to unload. He noticed that the ship was deeper in the water than usual, and he used an under-deck passage to get to the bow, as there was water on deck.

The excavator operator stayed in the deckhouse. Suddenly he noticed that the ship began to list to starboard in an unusual way, so he went up to the wheelhouse, where he saw that the skipper was in the process of turning to port. They had a brief conversation about what was wrong, since the ship did not usually move in this way.

From the wheelhouse, the excavator operator could see that water was coming onto the foredeck and that the bow was sinking farther and farther down. Recognizing the danger, the skipper tried to save the situation by turning the ship to starboard.

Out on deck, the deckhand noticed that the ship was listing heavily towards the starboard side. He heard the excavator operator shout to him to move the shovel of the excavator over to port side to counterbalance the list. The helmsman feared that the ship was about to capsize, so instead of entering the excavator cab, he crawled up on top of the machine in order to get away from the ship quickly when she went over.

The excavator operator also realized what was about to happen, and he hurried out of the door on the starboard side of the wheelhouse. He shouted to the master to get out too, but at that moment, the vessel capsized. She rolled through 180 degrees and stayed afloat, hull pointing up.

The deckhand and excavator operator managed to get away from the vessel after the capsizing and were rescued. The Margrethe Fighter was salvaged seven days later, and the master's body was recovered from the wheelhouse.

During the course of the accident investigation, the surviving crewmembers told DMAIB that they did not recall seeing any draft measurements or stability calculations performed on board. A logbook from a previous voyage did not contain exact information about the vessel's stability condition.

On previous voyages, the crew had debated the wisdom of navigating with the foredeck partially under water, but this operating method had been used before on other projects and there was no shoreside oversight to prohibitthe practice. According to DMAIB, there was no daily coordination between the project management team and the company's marine technical staff, and operational decisions were left up to the crew.

"The ship capsized in a normal operating situation for the crew, where parts of the deck were under water because the cargo box was full and at the same time there was water in the front ballast tanks to trim the ship forward during the dredging work. This resulted in the ship havingsignificantly impaired stability," concluded DMAIB. "It was the application of the ballast tanks as part of the ship's dredging practice that became crucial to the accident. . . . The investigation has shown that the crew did not find time to empty the ballast tanks before the relocation voyage."

Read more:
Report: Capsized Dredger Routinely Operated With Decks Awash - The Maritime Executive

Bravo Insider Exclusive!

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up for Free to View

Show Highlight

Sandy Yawns Captaining Style vs. Capt. Glenn Shephard

Bravo Insider Exclusive!

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up for Free to View

Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean tells Andy Cohen how she would have handled the sticky situations that Captain Glenn Shephard faced on Below Deck Sailing Yacht.

In her five seasons on Below Deck Mediterranean, captain Sandy Yawn has witnessed meals and chefs of every kind. From an ill-fated taco night to some questionable nachos, and from an onion debacle to a meltdown over cucumbers, the yacht boss has seen it all. So, which chef would Sandy choose to work with again, and in a more intimate capacity?

When the captain appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on June 28, Andy asked her which galley guru from the past she'd hire as her own private chef. Even though Sandy admitted that she'd least trust Season 2 and 3'sAdam Glick to adhere to a guest's preference sheet, she also said that she wouldselect Adam as her own private chef.

"I actually really like Adam, because he's an awesome guy," she said. "So I think [my] personal chef would be Adam."

See more from Sandy in the videos above!

Want more Below Deck Mediterranean? Season 6 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo with early access to new episodes on Peacock.

Bravos Style & Living is your window to the fabulous lifestyles of Bravolebrities. Be the first to know about all the best fashion and beauty looks, the breathtaking homes Bravo stars live in, everything theyre eating and drinking, and so much more. Sign up to become a Bravo Insider and get exclusive extras.

See the article here:
Captain Sandy Reveals Who from Below Deck Med She Would Hire as Her Personal Chef - Bravo

Well keep going with additional articles about some of the most famous, popular, and powerful creature tribes in Magic. This time, well look at the greatest MTG Humans.

This tribe exemplifies the words iconic, popular, and powerful. In terms of specific qualities, it is one of the most uninteresting. However, because of the diversity of all Human species, it is highly diverse. It is one of the games oldest, most lore-important, and most powerful tribes.

Because this tribe is full of wonderful species, Ive chosen to alter the articles structure. Instead of the typical Honourable Mentions and Top 10 lists, Ill show you the top three creatures in each color, along with the best Commander in that color.

There will be monochrome cards, as well as three cards with dual, triple, and quadruple color combinations. A five-color Commander is also provided. Lets get started now, with that out of the way.

For its low cost, the 2/2 two-mana Dragonkin Berserker has excellent effects and stats. It can easily fit into any Boast/tribal deck and, because of its capacity to generate 5/5 tokens with Flying, it may be a terrific late-game finale. This card will be an excellent addition to most built decks and will be a solid choice in Limited.

Breya is the most commonly used of the three cards. In addition to the most well-known. Her whole concept is around artifacts. Shes one of the greatest artifact Commanders out there because she has four colors to work with.

She has the ability to create tokens, deal damage, remove creatures, and gain life. The only thing shes lacking is the ability to draw cards. Aside from that, she is an excellent Commander in general.

Maja, Bretagard Protector is a four-mana Human who adds +1/+1 to your creatures. While it may appear expensive due to its 2/3 stats, it compensates by allowing you to generate tokens every time you play a land quickly.

The token will be summoned as a 1/1, but Majas first ability will buff it to a 2/2. This card will be of interest to some EDH decks as a Commander. Due to its rarity as a two-color token generator, this card will be powerful in Limited.

Saskia the Unyieldings design is one of the most entertaining. She has a political bent on her personality. In a multiplayer game, you may directly target an opponent, providing this card an intriguing dynamic.

She also has strong numbers with vigilance and haste since she is a 3/4 for 4. She can attack and use her ability as soon as you play her because of her haste. As a result, shes a really exciting and unusual card to play with.

Tuskeri Firewalker appears to be one of the most powerful Limited cards. If you attacked with Tuskeri, it enables you to exile the top card in your library and play it for one mana. While the stats arent spectacular for the cost3/2 for a three-mana costthe card advantage it provides more than makes up for it.

The card Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis is quite intriguing. For starters, its two protagonists are shown as a single entity. Second, its one of the few cards out there that benefits both the person who controls it and his or her opponents.

Inga Rune-Eyes is a four-mana Human with three-thirds stats who provides excellent board protection. You can scry three cards and prepare your next round of plays when she emerges on the battlefield. Your opponent will have to be cautious with their actions on the battlefield. Your hand might be refilled, and youll have additional alternatives to play with if you make a mistake.

This is one of the most entertaining and effective Commanders available. Its ability to create decks in the form of a toolbox allows you to make a lot of unique and innovative ones. Kenriths color identity is white, but its multicolored ability enables you to construct a deck that includes all colors.

As a result, he is one of the most popular, talked about, constructed around, and versatile commanders in the game.

For three mana, Arni Brokenbrow is a strong 3/3 card. You can modify his base power to one plus the biggest power on your board for an extra cost of one per turn until the end of the game. Its a wonderful addition to red Limited or constructed decks since he can double your power on the board if you play him alongside a strong creature.

This card is excellent even as a three-mana 3/3 that can compete with other powerful three-drops in red decks, but the Haste and Boast effects take it to a new level. While you may want to save him for later in the game when you may use him with a strong monster, dropping him as a 3/3 early on isnt terrible either.

Jodah, Eternal Archmage is not a well-liked card. Its one of the most challenging cards to play. However, its a lot of fun to build around, and it may pay off handsomely.

Its capability takes into account all hues. As a result, its a five-color Commander. You can use this ability to cast any spell from your hand by paying these five colors. This means you can play massive monsters like Eldrazi for a fraction of their normal cost. You can even play spells for free using Combo components like Morophon, the Boundless.

Chulane, the Teller of Tales, is a formidable Commander. To begin with, it is not prohibitively costly for a Commander. Five CMC, one each of green, white, and blue. This grants you access to two of Commanders greatest colors: green (ramp) and blue (card draw, counterspells).

Its last ability is to spend 3 and tap to restore control of a creature you control to its owner. Its not awful. However, anytime you cast a creature, it has the ability to draw a card and play a land from your hand to the battlefield. CAST. It isnt even required to resolve. You may get experience and draw cards by doing something as simple as playing creatures. Crazy.

Read more:
Top Magic The Gathering Human Cards Every Deck Must Have - PVP Live

As President of Upper Deck, Jason Maserah champions the company's continued history of innovation in ... [+] trading cards

When Upper Deck was started in the late 1980s, they brought first-of-its-kind innovation to the sports trading card industry.Over thirty years later, the company continues to push the envelope as the industry experiences a new surge.I sat down with Jason Masherah, President of Upper Deck, to talk about the heritage of innovation at Upper Deck, their efforts in digital, and how they are investing in the growth of the industry through local hobby shops.

Dave Knox:I want to start with the heritage of Upper Deck. How did the brand start in the early days?

Jason Masherah:The founders of Upper Deck were trying to address a couple issues in the late 1980s. There was a lot of forgeries and fakes in trading cards as the market was starting to pick up. And then they looked at trading cards and said this can be better. The cards had basically looked the same way for the last 50 years. They felt that there had to be a better way to present this more premium feel. The founders came up with several innovations to address this.They had the anti- counterfeit hologram that's still on our cards today. They introduced the foil wrap, which was like a indestructible version of wrapping the cards so you could tell if somebody tampered with the packs. And then they went to a high gloss and premium stock that really showed the vibrancy of the colors of the games and just made it a more premium experience than anybody had used in the past. We maintain those same brand tenants today.

Knox:With an innovative mindset since day one, how is Upper Deck continuing to innovate in the industry?

Masherah:Well, I think the team does a great job of coming up with new and innovative concepts.We have done video embedded trading cards. We have done memorabilia pieces designed out of game used floor. There is always something new in the hopper.

The biggest thing that the team has launched over the last several years is UpperDeckEpack.com, which is an online platform that allows people to open up physical packs of cards but virtually. It gives everybody access to open a pack of cards no matter where they are 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You manage them online and we store them in a secure facility in Seattle Washington.But you can also have them shipped home. The fact that you can actually take ownership, if you want to send it home and put it in your closet or put into your safety deposit box, you can do it. If you want to bring it home and sell it on eBay or sell it to a friend, you can do that as well. If you want to take it home and set up at a card shop, you can do that. And it is that bridge between physical and digital, that is so much unlike any other thing that exists.The other big difference is it allows you to socialize and trade with other people across the globe and create a social community that really hasn't existed since the days of when we were all on the playground trading cards.This gamification is important.You are rewarded if you collect a complete set or you do certain things.And this free stuff is tangible and are real cards.

It's always a challenge when you do something that's so far removed from the norm. In the case of ePack, it has been difficult because it is an online platform. It lives in the digital world, but the cards are real, they are tangible items. And getting that across to people is really tough until they get in and experience it for themselves. The card you see is the card you get and you can actually ship that card home. So if Michael Jordan signed his autograph a particular way on that card, and it's number two of 23, that's the exact card you get when you ship it home. Those are kind of mind blowing, technological advances that nobody else has seen or done. And it is hard to educate the market. So we've done it kind of in a slow methodical kind of way.

And it's the same when you go into new markets, like e-sports, you have a traditional collector and you're trying to bring on new collectors and then expand the horizons of the traditional collector and say, hey e-sports is a big deal. There's millions of people that watch this on a yearly basis. And eventually we will know some of these e-sports athletes the way we know traditional sports athletes. But it is sometimes hard to comprehend because it's a foreign knowledge base for most people. It takes time. It really takes time to just educate people on doing something completely new and off the grid.

Knox:In addition to sports, Upper Deck has a long history in entertainment.How do you approach this side of trading cards?

Masherah:I think that's one of the interesting parts of Upper Deck. We are viewed as a sports company, but we are so much more. We have a gaming division where we make tabletop games and trading card games. We have an autograph memorabilia division. And we have done entertainment trading cards since 1991 with things like Looney Tunes and Space Jam. We regularly put out sets for Marvel, both the comic books and the movies. We do different movies from Fox with the Aliens franchise. We do James Bond. We have a partnership with Kevin Smith for his movies. Those card sets are not as visible as just traditional sports because we all grew up with doing traditional sports, but there is a great industry behind the entertainment cards and the fans of those properties are really rabid fans and collectors of those properties.

Knox:On the digital side of things, we have seen the rise of NFTs like Top Shot in the past year.Where do you see NFTs going in the years ahead?

Masherah:NFTs are going to have to really evolve from where they are at today. The NFTs are essentially just a newer version of the trading card apps that have existed for several years now. They reside in their own ecosystem, but they have some cool functions and things that you can do in the digital world. You can do highlights, you can do fancy graphics and stuff that the digital world has been doing for several years. But there are some limitations for sure that definitely have to evolve. For us, the definition of collectible is something that will live multiple generations that you can pass on to your kids or to a family member. And we're not there yet. There's no ability to take those things and put them on a jump drive and put them in my safety deposit box and pass them on to somebody later. And we really need to see the technology evolve over the next several years. And I think it will.

Knox:Over the last few years, we have seen a wave of entrepreneurship around trading cards, but entrepreneurship has always been at the center of the trading card industry with hobby shops in your local community. How has Upper Deck supported the new wave of entrepreneurship that's emerged?

Masherah: We saw this new wave coming in about 10 years ago, and we started a co-op program to support it. We're the only card manufacturer that has a co-op program, where we actually help these young entrepreneurs improve their shop, improve their website, or even start a second store. We will match dollar for dollar up to $25,000 to help these young entrepreneurs build their business and give them that extra push. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we have helped a lot of these guys accelerate their business and take it to another level.

The one thing that's a little bit different about how we approach the hobby is that we want to make sure that these entrepreneurs are invested in the industry long-term. We require our dealers to have a brick-and-mortar hobby store to be an authorized breaker and to get the investments that we offer to these shops. There is nothing like a brick-and-mortar hobby store for people to be able to go in and socialize and see the product. We see those shops as hubs of knowledge for new collectors, and families, and a safe space for people to go in and learn about the hobby. So it's very important for us to have that space, but we also realize we live in a digital age and a lot of these shops also need to embrace that technology. That's why we invest in the shops to make sure that they're successful in both the physical and the digital space.

Knox:When trading cards saw their initial peak in the early 90s, many brands did promotional retail partnerships. Over the last few years, Upper Deck has had a major partnership with Tim Hortons as well for hockey.How do you think brands can get involved in this emerging world of trading cards?

Masherah:It's one of the things that was a huge initiative for us. Over the last decade, we have focused on forming strong partnerships with key brands around the world, and getting trading cards into people's hands and utilizing them as a tool for these brands. We have not only done it with Tim Horton's, we've done it with Hanes, we've done it with Gatorade, we've done it with Kellogg's and Nabisco. They are a great marketing tools for all these brands and they are collectible. Unlike most forms of marketing collateral for these brands, people save them till the end of time. We see this with historical things, things from the 30s, the 40s, 50s. If you go all the way back to trading cards for better or for worse, they were advertising vehicles for candy, gum, and tobacco, and people have saved those for a 100 years. And in many cases, those trading cards have outlived the brand. I think it is important that brands continue to realize that trading cards can play a key role in their initiatives to build their brands.

See the rest here:
How Upper Deck Continues To Innovate In Trading Cards - Forbes

Cant come back from that! The Below Deck franchise has had its fair share of chaos over the years, but there were some moments that stood out more.

During season 7 of the Bravo show, chief stew Kate Chastain and bosun Ashton Pienaar had a scary confrontation when the latter was drunk after a night out. Ashton ended up punching a window in the van that was taking the crew members home.

I was scared but also just in shock, Kate explained to Decider in December 2019. I was in a place where I could not have escaped if I wanted to. I played possum, just froze and held still. Why is [Ashton] so mad right now? Why is he punching windows? Why is everybody screaming stop the van? Whats he gonna do? What is happening? It all kinda happened really fast.

Following an extremely tense season, Kate wasnt sure there was anything she could have done to change those chain of events.

I was working with illogical assholes. I dont know what I couldve done differently. I was outnumbered but also it was a very bizarre situation, she added at the time.

After major backlash from fans about the mens treatment of the women on board, Ashton apologized for his behavior during the Below Deck reunion.

I was completely drunk, I was out of my mind, Im sorry for that, Ashton emotionally told Kate in February 2020. I hate the fact that everything has been spun the way it is. But you know what, I have to take responsibility for that because Im the one that behaved the way I did.

For the bosun, that moment forced him to take a look at his behavior.

Im making serious changes in my life because Im not proud of the person I saw on camera that night. And I am extremely sorry. I have amazing relationships with all the women in my life, he continued during the reunion episode. The way everything has turned out and the way everything has turned out in the real world now and the labels Im being labeled with, Im extremely ashamed of.

Years later, the Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew was rocked with a shocking twist when Dani Soares claimed that Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux was the father of her baby.

He hasnt supported me at all in any way. He thinks it is not his child and he doesnt want to have anything to do with it, Dani explained during the June 2021 reunion episode after finally confirming that she got pregnant after their time together.

Jean-Luc, who wasnt able to attend the reunion with the rest of his cast members, later spoke with Andy Cohen and even left an emotional message to his ex.

Dani, what we had on the show for me was real. I dont care what anybody says, even now that were going through what we are going through. What I felt for you, and the time that we had, was genuine. Everything that I ever said to you was true, the deckhand said to the camera.

Jean-Luc tried to offer a fresh start after continuously asking for a DNA test before he would acknowledge Danis pregnancy.

The fact that we are at where we are now, I am really sorry and I would assume to say that most of it is my fault, he admitted. Maybe its because I am the boy that you think that I am. With that being said, I want to be there for you.

He concluded his speech, saying, Though you may not want anything to do with me because of me asking you for a paternity test, thats something that I can get over. But what I cant get over if this is my child is not being there for her.

Scroll down for more of Below Decks shocking moments:

Read the original:
Below Decks Biggest Drama Through the Years: Jean-Luc and Danis Baby Bombshell, Kates Confrontation with Ashton and More - Us Weekly

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

A two-bedroom condo in Brooklyn for under $1 million with $0 in monthly taxes is probably a steal no matter how you look at it, but thisBed-Stuyhome is also completely beautiful and has a massive roof deck. Located at464 Hancock Street, the $925,000 apartment also has a wood-burning fireplace, contemporary kitchen, heated floors in the bathroom, and a bonus storage room that makes a great home office or gym. And in addition to the nearly 800-square-foot deck, theres also a lovely balcony off the primary bedroom.

The entrance to the home is in the middle, with the living space and kitchen on one end of the hall and the bedrooms on the other. In the living room, theresa functioning wood-burning fireplace, a custom bookcase, a large skylight, and exposed brick. The kitchen hasBertazzoni appliances, granite countertops,a subwaytile backsplash, and cool open Artek shelving set against Heath wallpaper.

Down the hall is the secondary bedroom and a full bathroom.

The primary bedroom suite has an en-suite bathroom complete with a clawfoot tub, shower, and heated marble floors, as well as access to a private terrace.

As mentioned, theres a152-square-foot windowed storage unit that doubles as an office and workout room.

Finally, the roof deck spans over 780 square feet (do note the image above is virtually staged), perfect for all your outdoor entertaining needs.

The building is known as the Shaker House condominium and is located in the historic Stuyvesant Heights section of Bedford Stuyvesant. As the listing states, there is a J-51 tax abatement through 2026. Also, taxes are currently $0 monthly.

[Listing details: 464 Hancock Street, Apt. 3A at CityRealty]

[At Brown Harris Stevens by Jevon Gratineau]

RELATED:

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

Tags : 464 Hancock Street

Neighborhoods : bed stuy

More:
Lovely two-bedroom condo in Bed-Stuy is asking just $925K with no monthly taxes - 6Sqft