If you look under the new construction at Homestead Creamery, you can find its original factory plant still in full operation.

When Homestead Creamery started planning to make an expansion two years ago, it didnt want to move. It wanted to triple the size of its current plant, but didnt want to stop operation for the construction, said Mike Grisetti, Homestead Creamerys president.

Thus, they developed the idea to construct the new building directly over and around the old one. Once the new building is finished, they will tear down the exterior walls of the original plant and begin rearranging existing equipment and adding new pieces little by little.

Most people couldnt understand what we wanted to do, Grisetti laughed. We had a lot of obstacles doing what we wanted to do: build over the top to keep production going.

They looked at other options, including moving somewhere else, too, but we like the area, he said. It operates off more than 50 acres in Burnt Chimney on Booker T. Washington Highway.

Construction started about a year and a half ago and should be finished in about two months, he said.

The first thing they had to do was grade the land and put a parking lot where a hill and ditch used to be. The lot can hold 35 tractor-trailers, and they knew theyd need to use it during construction, he said.

Then they built the wastewater system, handled by RF WasteWater in Blacksburg. The system is designed to be totally green, Grisetti said.

The fats in milk are tough to deal with, he said. The new system isolates them, and injects lime and fertilizer into waste before using the resulting end-product on the fields as fertilizer.

Inside its current plant, milk is bottled and ice cream is made. Steel beams and studs rise up and around it. The roof is already up, and the concrete floor is set.

Only part of the building will be in two stories, an area divided into rooms on the front and right side of the building. Most of it will be the plant.

The main entry will not face the road but rather the companys Farm Market, Grisetti said. To the left of the main door will be a stairway, with cow designs cut into the steps, and an elevator.

Upstairs will be a board room, a training center that would fit 150 people, bathrooms and a display of dairy-industry antiques the company has collected. From a mezzanine people will be able to look over the plant on one side and see the beautiful view of the mountains out the windows on the other, he said.

Downstairs, below the second-story rooms and mezzanine, will be a storage area, laboratories, offices and bathrooms.

A third silo, which would hold 15,000 pounds of milk, will be added. For now, the company has two, one with 10,000 pound capacity and the other at 15,000 pounds.

Additions are coming to the ice cream department, as well. In two weeks, the company will receive a machine that can fill ice cream into 4-ounce and 8-ounce cups at the rate of 120 per minute.

The company already has begun using its new bottle washer. It was able to wash 144 bottles at a time, but six weeks ago, the creamery started using the machine that washes 900 bottles at once. Cleaned and sanitized bottles leave the machine on a conveyor belt which takes them into the milk-bottling area.

The company produces 200,000 pounds of milk in four days, he said.

Currently, the company uses milk from 400 cows, Grisetti said. Once the companys expansion is complete, this place should be able to grow 20 times.

Its not going to do so immediately, he added. We need to make a couple of equipment changes to start with.

The company now gets milk from four farms, and we calculated that in the next five years, we would take on three or four new farms. Thats not anywhere near capacity of what their expansion eventually would allow them to do, Grisetti said.

Homestead Creamery was started in 2001. It had a lot of years of struggle before evening out. Grisetti bought into the company in 2005 after a career as part-owner of Nationwide Homes in Martinsville.

Cheese

With the extra floor space in the plant, the company will begin making cheese, Grisetti said, which it has not done before.

They havent decided yet which types of cheese theyll make, but they will include some aged and some quick cheese.

Making cheese would allow the company to utilize the product. By aging the cheese, it allows you to spread out the life of it. Cows produce more milk in winter, he said right at the time of the year people consume less milk and ice cream. By making cheese, that extra milk they produce wont go to waste.

Milkman deliveries

Also with Homestead Creamery, the home delivery service is expanding. It has added routes in Lynchburg and Forest and is really taking off, Grisetti said. The company had been making deliveries to Roanoke and Salem since 2006.

The milkman goes right up to the door, Grisetti said. Each customer has a box into which the milkman leaves the orders. More than just milk, they also leave eggs, bread, meats, frozen foods, vegetables, cheese, jams and other food, all grown or produced locally or within Virginia.

Weve really grown to be a mobile food store, Grisetti said.

Their milkmen are recognized in three levels, Grisetti said. A milkman is in training for one year. After three years, a milkman carries the title senior milkman; and after five years, he is a premier milkman. So far, theres only one premier milkman.

If having milkmen seems old fashioned, so might the fact that a website only recently is being developed. Two of the nine owners are of a religion that prohibits internet use, and they had been the most recent presidents of Homestead Creamery, Grisetti said. Now that he is the companys president, he is having a website created.

Meanwhile, Homestead Creamery gets the word out to its customers and fans through a Facebook page one of the employees handles, he said.

The store is a lot of fun, he said, serving as a social center as well as a shop. It holds regular events, such as bingo games every couple of weeks. It holds ice-cream eating contests, a big St. Patricks Day event and, in the spring, Sundaes on Mondays. It recently held an ice cream breakfast.

Theres always something going on, he added.

How its made

At 6 a.m., two tankers deliver milk from four farms to Homestead Creamery, where it is pumped into two silos. The plants employees are already there and waiting they arrived at 4 a.m. to begin the process of preparing the milk for bottling, and to make ice cream.

The company, located in Burnt Chimney, produces 200,000 pounds of milk in four days, said Mike Grisetti, Homestead Creamerys president. The company can make 4,000 quarts of ice cream a day, he added.

Homestead Creamery packages its milk in returnable glass bottles; customers receive a $2 deposit back when they return them. Nine hundred bottles are washed at a time a vast improvement begun six weeks ago over the previous system that washed 144 bottles at a time.

Everything tastes better in glass bottles, Grisetti said, adding that they are free of lingering aftertastes plastics have, which affect the flavor of milk and other products. Homestead Creamery uses only glass bottles, and we have no intention of changing that.

One silo that holds the newly arrived milk holds 15,000 pounds of milk and the other holds 10,000 pounds worth. The movement of milk through the silos is managed by controls in a room about the size of a long home hallway.

In its natural state, the milk and cream are separated. You dont see the layer of cream on top of milk in modern grocery-store milk, because it is homogenized stirred so thoroughly it wont separate.

The separator separates cream from milk at the rate of 30,000 pounds of milk in less than three hours. It beats the milk with 1,000 pounds of pressure.

In the case of milk which has had some cream removed, such as 2 percent milk, Vitamins B and D are added to the milk, Grisetti said.

Homestead Creamery sells homogenized milk and it also sells non-homogenized milk, which was the norm in years past. Their labeling on that is premium.

Next to the homogenizer is the pasteurizer, which quickly heats milk to destroy bacteria. Milk comes in at 36 degrees Fahrenheit, Grisetti said. It is run through the pasteurizer, where it is heated to 165 degrees for 23 seconds, then immediately brought down to 34 to 36 degrees. That quick chilling locks in flavor.

Bottles come into the bottling room from the washroom along a conveyor belt which crosses the wall in a small opening. The conveyor belt swirls around a bottle-filling machine. The bottles are filled, then pass a stamper which sprays the expiration date onto the lids. They move down to two or three packers who inspect each bottle, then put in into a section of a crate.

The company has been filling 1,100 bottles an hour but has the ability to bottle 2,500 bottles of milk an hour. Weve built in a lot of capacity to have room to grow, Grisetti said.

Beyond the bottling room is a bagging room. Milk for colleges, and some of the milk for Franklin County High School, is bagged, Grisetti said. The bagger can package 9,600 pounds of milk in an hour.

Also off the milk section is the ice cream room. It has two 300-gallon tanks to hold cream, and two 45-quart mixers to mix the ice cream. The ice cream is made in batches, one flavor at a time. Thats different from larger operations, which pump in ingredients on one continuous feed, all fully operated, Grisetti said.

On a recent morning there, the ice cream base poured into the mixers through a spout in a tank above, while a woman measured chocolate chips and coffee syrup and poured them in. When the ice cream was finished, she opened a door at the bottom of the mixing tank to let it into a large bowl.

She carried the large bowl onto a worktable, where another woman helped her fill the quart packages, one large scoopful at a time. They capped the packages and rolled them into the freezer.

Homestead Creamery ice cream is composed of 17 percent cream and 20 to 23 percent overrun another way of saying air. Common ice cream is made with 100 percent overrun, Grisetti said.

Milk comes to the creamery from 400 cows on four farms, two owned by the company and two which supply milk through contract. The suppliers must fulfill a long list of requirements, Grisetti said. That includes healthy care for the animals and how their bedding is kept. It also requires farmers to give the cows constant access to pastures.

Were all-natural milk, Grisetti said. The only difference between us and organic is being certified plus the fact that Homestead Creamery sprays the corn it uses for feed. However, he said, samples are always taken, and never has any spray residue shown up in the feed.

Go here to see the original:
Creamery construction finishing soon with plans for cheeses - Franklin News Post

With the 2017 trade deadline in the rearview mirror, teams can now focus on the stretch run and preparing for the Stanley Cup playoffs. There's been a little shuffling in the middle of the pack among those teams fighting for a postseason berth, while the top dogs solidified their positions with key acquisitions.

The Capitals showed they are all-in when they acquired defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 27. His presence should be the final piece Washington needs for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run.

The Blackhawks are playing fantastic hockey, and newly reacquired defenseman Johnny Oduya -- who won two Stanley Cups with them -- will once again be a perfect fit in Chicago. You can never count against general manager Stan Bowman improving his team at the deadline.

I hear St. Paul is beautiful in the spring. GM Chuck Fletcher acquiring Martin Hanzal from the Arizona Coyotes could prove crucial if the Wild make a deep run in the playoffs. Minnesota's been one of the most consistent teams all season and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky posted his second consecutive shutout and 34th win of the season last week -- a franchise record. His consistency has become a dangerous weapon for the Blue Jackets, and Bobrovsky should become even more valuable in the playoffs.

GM Jim Rutherford made one of the smartest moves at the deadline by not dealing veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. For the Penguins to repeat as Cup champions, they will need both Fleury and Matt Murray. Even though Murray is coach Mike Sullivan's guy, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Fleury once again becomes the go-to at some point.

After the Rangers were eliminated from the Shattenkirk sweepstakes, GM Jeff Gorton acquired defenseman Brendan Smith from the Red Wings. Smith was in and out of the lineup in Detroit, and maybe a change of scenery will help both him and New York down the stretch.

GM Doug Wilson added depth before the deadline, acquiring Jannik Hansen from the Vancouver Canucks. As they were last season, the Sharks are built for a playoff run. But are they deep enough to reach the finals again?

GM Peter Chiarelli added forwards David Desharnais and Justin Fontaine from the Montreal Canadiens and Rangers, respectively, before the deadline. They bring depth to a young and potent roster. The Oilers could have an interesting playoff run if their goaltending stands up.

The Flames have gone 8-1-1 over their past 10 games, and the addition of defenseman Michael Stone at the deadline -- along with the solid play of goaltender Brian Elliott, who has six consecutive wins -- should give Calgary added energy for the stretch run. The Flames considered adding a goalie at the deadline, but Elliott went 10-1-1 record in his past 12 games.

GM Pierre Dorion wanted to add forward help for the final push and he got Viktor Stalberg from the Carolina Hurricanes before the deadline. The Senators are trying to keep pace with the Canadiens for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. It didn't take long for Stalberg to have an impact.

You have to give GM Don Sweeney credit for standing pat at the deadline and not dealing away assets just for the sake of making a transaction. He did add forward depth in the form of veteran forward Drew Stafford at the 11th hour. Meanwhile, the Bruins have gone 8-2-0 in their past 10 games under interim coach Bruce Cassidy.

The Canadiens have won five in a row and are 6-4-0 in their past 10 games after struggling for the most part in January and February. GM Marc Bergevin added grit with the acquisition of Steve Ott from the Detroit Red Wings and defenseman Jordie Benn from the Dallas Stars before the deadline.

The acquisition of veteran forward Patrick Eaves was a strong move. He has two goals in three games since arriving in Anaheim -- which is exactly the offensive spark the Ducks need for a playoff push.

Adding forward P.A. Parenteau -- a two-time 20-goal scorer -- will help Nashville keep pace in the Central Division playoff race.

Until Sunday night, the Blues hadn't won a game since they traded Shattenkirk away to Washington. St. Louis took advantage of the lowly Avalanche and emerged with a 3-0 victory, but it has to be a frustrating time for Blues fans.

After adding goalie Ben Bishop to share the duties down the stretch with Jonathan Quick, GM Dean Lombardi acquired veteran forward and future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla from the Avalanche. Iginla will add another strong voice in the dressing room and will play with Anze Kopitar.

Smart move by GM Lou Lamoriello to add veteran forward Brian Boyle to the mix for the stretch run. Boyle's presence in the room, on the fourth line and power play will pay dividends for a young and inexperienced roster.

GM Garth Snow was in the market for the Avalanche's Matt Duchene but wouldn't part with the necessary pieces to acquire the highly skilled forward. Instead, Snow remained quiet at the deadline and even held on to goalie Jaroslav Halak, who remains in the AHL.

Don't count the Lightning out just yet. With Bishop gone, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is motivated to prove why he's a true No. 1. If he gets hot, watch Tampa climb in the standings.

In an attempt to spark a late run, the Panthers acquired veteran forward Thomas Vanek from the Red Wings. Did it work? It's too soon to tell, but Florida is 0-1-1 since the deadline.

The Sabres were quiet at the deadline, as GM Tim Murray focuses on the future and on building on what is already a promising, young team. Forward Jack Eichel -- who's on a career-best, 10-game point streak -- is quietly putting together an impressive second season. Overall, he has 42 points in 45 games in 2106-17, which is another indication of why the future is bright for this organization.

Sending Stafford to Boston in exchange for a 2018 conditional sixth-round pick was all GM Kevin Cheveldayoff did at the deadline. The Jets are a good team with a roster built to win consistently in the future, and rookie Patrik Laine is a strong contender to win the Calder Trophy.

These are tough times for the Flyers. GM Ron Hextall did make one solid move, acquiring veteran forward Valtteri Filppula, along with a 2017 fourth-round pick and a 2017 conditional seventh-round pick, in exchange for defenseman Mark Streit, who was then flipped to Pittsburgh for a fourth-round pick in 2018.

With less than a quarter of the season left, it's all about finding players liable to get and stay hot right now. Plus, the top players on the move in the latest rest-of-season top-250 rankings.

Viktor Stalberg of the Ottawa Senators and Nikolay Goldobin of the Vancouver Canucks were among trade-deadline acquisitions providing early bang for the buck for their new teams.

Prolific Predators forward Filip Forsberg continues to light the lamp at a ridiculous pace for Nashville, while 21-year-old newcomer Nick Schmaltz has become the center of attention in Chicago.

2 Related

Other than sending forward Jannik Hansen to the Sharks in exchange for prospect forward Nikolay Goldobin and a 2017 conditional fourth-round pick, GM Jim Benning stood pat and kept his assets. The Canucks have a lot of work ahead, and Benning should consider a complete rebuild during the offseason -- even if that includes moving Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin.

As expected, GM Ray Shero moved pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman Kyle Quincey, dealing him to the Blue Jackets in exchange for blueliner Dalton Prout. The Devils also traded Parenteau to the Predators for a 2017 sixth-round pick. These moves will open the door for prospects to step into key roles next season.

Amid a disappointing season, GM Jim Nill became a seller at the deadline, moving Oduya to Chicago and Jordie Benn to Montreal, along with forwards Lauri Korpikoski (to the Blue Jackets) and Patrick Eaves (to Anaheim). Goaltending now needs to be the priority for the Stars during the offseason.

The Red Wings will likely miss the playoffs for the first time in 25 seasons. GM Ken Holland became a seller at the deadline and dealt Ott to Montreal, Smith to the Rangers, Vanek to the Panthers and Tomas Jurco to the Blackhawks.

GM Ron Francis also sold off a few pieces at the deadline, including Stalberg and veteran blueliner Ron Hainsey. The Hurricanes still have a solid roster and it won't be long before they are a consistent playoff contender.

GM John Chayka did well at the deadline, even though his decision to trade Hanzal was not a popular in his team's locker room. Chayka stockpiled draft picks in the Hanzal-to-Minnesota deal. Arizona also acquired forward Teemu Pulkkinen from the Wild for future considerations.

GM Joe Sakic decided to stand pat and keep Duchene and fellow forward Gabriel Landeskog. Sakic didn't feel like he was getting enough in return, so he will wait until the offseason and will likely make a deal for one or both of them before the draft.

We can now add the Golden Knights to the list after they became an official NHL franchise last Wednesday. And George McPhee can now begin to operate like a normal GM.

View original post here:
NHL -- Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild ... - ESPN

Carter Eiden, Joey Larson, Jed Pietila and Brenden Tulpa are former AAA players who joined Hartland's hockey team this season. Playing in big games like Tuesday's quarterfinal against Livonia Stevenson is why they came out. Bill Khan

Hartland's Brenden Tulpa has an overtime winner against Brighton among his 9 goals and 21 points in his first season with the high school team.(Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)

HARTLAND Hartland's Rick Gadwa could beat himself up and wonder "what if," but so can every other high school hockey coach in Michigan.

That's because, no matter the strength of the program, even the best high school teams in the state have players walking their hallways who can help them be even better.

Detroit Catholic Central loses such players. So does Brighton. So does Trenton.

As long as there's the perception that travel hockey is a better option for talented players than high school hockey, coaches like Gadwa will never get the best roster his school is capable of producing.

"I've said that the last five years that the one year you throw it all together you'd be a juggernaut, almost unstoppable," Gadwa said. "That's the way it works."

Hartland got Josh Albring and Jake Behnke to come out for the team last season, additions that helped the Eagles reach the state Division 2 semifinals.

Meanwhile, Hartland students Carter Eiden, Joey Larson, Jed Pietila and Brenden Tulpa continued their hockey careers at the AAA travel level.

This year all four decided to play for Hartland. One of the reasons they play for the second-ranked Eagles (24-2-1) is a game like the onethey'll play at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday against fourth-ranked Livonia Stevenson (17-10-1) in the state quarterfinals at Novi Ice Arena.

All four were spectators last season when the Eagles made their run to the state semifinals, losing 5-1 to Stevenson. Now they'll all play key roles as Hartland tries to win the program's first state championship.

"The reason I actually came over to Hartland is because of the state quarterfinal last year," said Eiden, a senior defenseman. "I was at the Brother Rice-Hartland game. Ever since that game, it's been in the back of my head. That's what I'm here for. That's what I play for."

Eiden has been the cornerstone of Hartland's defense, who has allowed only 41 goals in 27 games.

Hartland's Jed Pietila has 19 goals and 34 assists in 20 games heading into the state quarterfinals against Livonia Stevenson.(Photo: Timothy Arrick)

Pietila has been an explosive addition on the offensive end, scoring 19 goals and 34 assists in only 20 games. He missed seven games with a broken jaw.

Pietila doesn't believe he short-changed his hockey future by playing for his high school.

"The coaches said, 'If you're good enough, you can move on from wherever,'" Pietila said. "I figured I'd spend less money and see what I can do."

Larson and Tulpa have brothers who were on last year's team, so they were at nearly every Hartland game, soaking in the atmosphere.

Now that they're part of it, they believe it's the best decision they could have made.

"It's the best year of hockey I've ever had," said Tulpa, who scored the overtime winner in the first of Hartland's two victories over Brighton. "I've had more fun than I've ever had before. It's awesome."

Larson said that playing high school hockey has made him better.

"When I played on Compuware, we only skated three times a week," said Larson, who has 15 goals and 10 assists in 27 games. "Now we skate every day of the week. I'm improving and playing against bigger kids, so it's a lot harder and more challenging."

Playing in rivalry games has been a huge change, Eiden said. The Eagles will face another rival in the quarterfinals, having lost to Stevenson in the 2013 state championship game and 2016 semifinals. Hartland beat Stevenson in the regular season the last two seasons.

"It's just been the greatest hockey I've ever played in my life," said Eiden, who had the winning goal in the second game against Brighton. "The whole community is behind you, coming to every game supporting you. The hatred between Brighton and Howell, every aspect of that, puts fire in the pot for you. Guys are ready to roll at a whole different level than in AAA games."

Hartland may have to play Stevenson without No. 1 goalie Andrew Heuwagen, who missed Monday's practice with a 102-degree temperature. If he can't play, the Eagles have a capable No. 2 goalie in Brett Tome, who has victories over Hancock, Brighton and Detroit Catholic Central on his resume.

See the original post:
Spectators last year key cogs in Hartland hockey run - Livingston Daily

Advantages of Second Story Modular Additions

If you are building a second story modular addition, you are most likely doing it to create more living space rather than a separate living unit. The general contractor will turn your one-story into a two-story by removing the roof from your home and immediately setting the new modular second story with its own built-in roof on top.

The speed of modular construction is a tremendous benefit when building a second story addition, since the addition can be set in place within hours after the roof is removed from your existing home. Once the modular addition is in place, the inside of your home is protected from a sudden storm. A site builder cannot realistically protect your home as quickly. Another advantage is that the second story can be finished faster. This means your family can use the upstairs more quickly, even if it must wait to enjoy the downstairs until the remodeling is completed.

There are two conditions that must be met before you can build a second story modular addition. First, the exterior dimensions of the existing home must be compatible with one of the modular manufacturers production sizes. If your home is too wide, a modular will not easily work. If your home has multiple bump-outs, a modular might work, but it may be impractical and expensive. A home can be up to 3-feet narrower than a module, however, and adding a wider second floor can create an attractive, cantilevered garrison colonial look.

The second condition is having an existing home and foundation that are structurally capable of carrying the additional weight, which is substantial. You will need to hire a structural engineer to make this determination. He may give you specific instructions on fortifying the structure or the foundation, which might be unacceptable or too expensive. If you decide to carry out his instructions, the GC will complete them as part of his remodeling. Before the engineer completes his final written report, he will need to see plans of exactly what you are building and receive detailed information from the manufacturer.

When designing an addition, you must decide where the stairs to the second floor will be located. You must also determine a location for a chase from the basement to the second floor to carry the electrical wires, HVAC supply and return ducts or pipes, and plumbing pipes for second-floor bathrooms. If the GC is connecting to a forced-air system in the basement, the chase must be larger, since the ducts will take up more space than hot-water lines.

The design of the second story elevation must be coordinated with the first-story elevation. The window locations on the second story should be arranged in a pleasing fashion. This decision should be made early in the design process, since the location of the interior partition walls on the second story must be coordinated with the window locations (you cannot put a wall in the middle of a window). In addition, the window style and sizes should be matched as closely as possible to the existing home.

The exterior elevation of all four sides of the finished home must take into consideration any first-story bump-outs or structures. For example, the location of an existing bay window, porch, sunroom, portico, recessed entry, or garage can pose special design challenges. The second story must be planned so that it does not affect either the function or aesthetic appeal of these structures. In some cases, it might be necessary to remove a part of the bump-out or attached structure, such as a garage roof, before installing the second story. If the modular second story will be cantilevered, the overhang can pose additional problems with a first-floor bump-out, such as a bay window.

The exterior siding on the second story must fit with the siding on the first story. Otherwise, the siding on the first story will have to be replaced. If you currently have wood siding, you might need to repaint or restain it to create a color match. Similar coordination issues arise for shutters and other exterior trim details.

If you have a chimney on your existing one-story home, you will need to make it taller to reach above the roof of the second floor. In addition, all trees overhanging the first story will need to be removed.

The actual removal of the existing roof as well as any other materials you are replacing in your existing home, such as the siding or windows, will be a task unto itself. The cost of disposing of these materials will be appreciable.

Most importantly, when you are done building your second story modular addition, it will almost feel like you have just built a brand new home.

For more information about building second story modular additions, see Building a Modular Additionin my book The Modular Home.

More here:
Second Story Modular Additions - The Home Store

Scores

Statistical Information provided by STATS 2017 Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these New Terms of Use and New Privacy Policy.

As the SunTrust Park grounds crew covered the new parks infield and outfield spaces with fresh sod yet another sign that the 2017 season is fast approaching the Atlanta Braves opened their Grapefruit League schedule with extreme highs, some early lows and plenty of intrigue.

Wins and losses are trivial at this time of year; teams do not hang banners from Grapefruit League titles. The good news for Atlanta is that MLB staples like Freddie Freeman have jumped out of the gate early and, aside from outfield prospect Dustin Petersons hand surgery and A.J. Minters minor arm soreness, the club received a relatively clean bill of health for the opening week of play. Here are three (extremely) early takeaways from the Braves first week of spring training games.

Brian Snitkers club capped its 2016 season as one of the hottest offenses in baseball, a 180-degree turnaround from the previous three seasons in Atlanta. Since the start of the 2014 season, no franchise has scored fewer runs than the Braves, but the additions of Dansby Swanson and Matt Kemp sparked a late-season surge that the Braves are hoping will carry over into their inaugural season atSunTrust. The early returns are positive, particularly from the units key cogs.

This time last year, Freddie Freeman's wrist health dominated headlines. His late-season surge squashed any lingering concerns slashing .302/.400/.569 with 34 home runs for his most productive campaign and now he enters the 2017 season as an MVP possibility. His spring start will not slow down that hype train. Freemanleads the Braves with eight hits in 16 at-bats, and while the power numbers (one double) are slow to follow, Freeman is the least of Snitker's concerns.

Swanson, primarilyhitting ahead of Freeman at No. 2 in spring, is not far behind.

Apreseason NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Swanson is justifying offseason discussion of his ability to handle one of the lineup's most important spots, opening the Grapefruit League schedule with seven hits and three walks in six games while previewingformidable double-play potential with veteran second baseman Brandon Phillips.

The surprising addition to this list isAdonis Garcia, who enters his third season in Atlanta as the third-base favorite. Garcia, who could benefit from moving down in the order this season, is hitting a cool .400 in five games.

Early spring results are relatively meaningless, of course: fast spring startersstumble out of the gate and groggy spring performers have dominated April. On that note, the likes of Ender Inciarte, Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis have some work to do. However, it's hard to notice the lows with Freeman and Swanson's highs.

The talk of the Atlanta Braves carrying a four-man bench started early. With the addition of super-utility player Sean Rodriguez and the return of do-everything options Jace Peterson and Chase d'Arnaud, the front office delivered versatility and potential productivity to Snitker's bench. (Veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki completed the unit.)

Butthe scary car crash involvingthe Rodriguez family, hospitalizing three of his family members and potentially ending Rodriguez's season, reset the question: Will a four-man bench and an eight-man bullpen be the right call for Snitker without Rodriguez, the one true dangerous "bench" bat.

Atlanta certainly has a variety of relief options (certainly more than it does bench bats), but it's unclear if the likes of Micah Johnson, Rio Ruiz, Emilio Bonifacio, Adam Walker or Christian Walker, among others in camp, would provide enough quality production as the primary pinch hitter a definitive need in the National League.

The Braves taxed their bullpen at a rate the front office was uncomfortable with last season the most innings ever for an Atlanta bullpen but the additions of veteran starters (and innings-eaters) Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia are expected to ease that burden.

At the very least, it's one of the few key remaining storylines in camp with so many of the team's everyday roster spots accounted for.

For every pressing concern a franchise faces in the build-up to Opening Day, there are moments involving shooting stars demanding only admiration. In Braves camp, such moments have been produced from two primary sources: Ronald Acuna and Max Fried.

Two of the top prospects in Atlanta's celebrated farm system, Acuna and Fried are not considered Opening Day options. (Fried is merely a dark horse 2017 option overall.)

And yet the 19-year-old Acuna, a five-tool outfielder whose electric but injury-shortened season at Single-A gave way to an excellent winter-league outing in Australia, is lighting up the Grapefruit League. Acuna has five hits in nine at-bats, including two doubles, and, perhaps more impressive, does not look overmatched against MLB talent. At all.

The same can be said for Max Fried, who opened his first-ever big-league spring actions by setting down Miguel Cabrera and walks out of the first week giving up just one hit and two walks in three scoreless innings.

Cuts will be coming soon and (eventually) Acuna and Fried will be among them. For now, the future stars are out.

4

Read more:
Three Cuts: Freddie Freeman picks up where he left off - FOXSports.com

Toxic masculinity has been Billions blue chip stock since day one, regardless of the shows occasional feints toward self-awareness on this front (such as the Guy Movie one-liners the characters are always hurling at each other). Even the women are usually willing participants in the dick-measuring contests that define workplace culture at both Axe Capital and the US Attorneys office. For its second season, however, Billions has embedded a self-critique into Bobby Axelrods office in the gender non-binary person of Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon).

In both writing and performance, Taylor is presented as the Vulcan on the bridge of Axes Enterprise. They (Taylors preferred pronoun and the one Ill use despite the risk of singular/plural confusion) dont buy into the testosterone-poisoned culture at all, or even the more generalized high-pitched emotion of their co-workers. Taylor is analytical and precise, connecting dots that nobody else can even see. Taylors otherness might as well be alien to nearly everyone else in the office, but Axe is relaxed and accepting from the start, not necessarily because hes the wokest billionaire, but because he knows an edge when he sees it.

Axe needs that edge for the Alpha Cup, a charity poker game as well as a contest to determine, in Wags words, whos the biggest swinging dick on the Street. Axe has lost three times running to the weaselly Todd Krakow, and Taylor is his insurance that the streak will come to an end. That doesnt sit well with his usual second, Dollar Bill, who is completely emasculated by Axes choice to replace him. Everything I measure myself by has been called into question. The hostility is even more overt coming from Krakow, who has brought along his own ace in the hole in the person of everyones favorite life coach, Wendy Rhodes. Krakow openly refers to Taylor as it and that thing, but Taylor sees right through him, recognizing a fellow outcast beneath the billionaire bluster.

The casting department deserves kudos for all of season twos new additions. Dillon is the most fascinating, but Danny Strong is spot-on as the slimy Martin Shkreli analogue Krakow, and Eric Bogosian has accumulated the gravitas to embody Wall Street royalty as Lawrence Boyd. Boyd is something of a narrative stalling tactic; hes a means for the Cold War between Chuck and Axe to continue playing out without them going at each other directly. Billions couldnt exactly pull a Homeland and ditch Axe in favor of a new target for Chuck (how could Showtime do that to Damian Lewis twice?), but continuing the cat and mouse game on the same terms as last season would strain credibility to the breaking point as well as become repetitive in the extreme. The new dynamic allows their war to continue on a different front.

For Chuck, his investigation of Boyd is a means of keeping his power, knowing that a victory could net him the political capital needed to make another push at Axe. For his employees, the case could mean advancement or cause for betrayal. Kate seeks her fathers counsel and gets some strategic advice: since Chuck is likely to pick either Connerty (who continues to harbor doubts about his boss) or Lonnie to fill the vacant seat, she should be sure not to play favorites in order to land herself a deputy position with whoever gets the job. This week that means playing bad cop to Connertys good cop in flipping a flight attendant on Boyds private jet, which in turn nets them a cuckolded exec eager for vengeance against his boss. For Axe, however, Boyd is an advance scout, a test case to get Chuck to reveal his full bag of tricks.

As Optimal Pay ends, both Chuck and Axe are on the upswing. Chuck has his key witness in a case he took on without knowing if it would lead anywhere, and, despite losing one-on-one to Krakow, Axe emerges victorious in the Alpha Cup thanks to Taylor (who gets awkward fist-bumps from their co-workers for their efforts). In the world of Billions, however, only one thing is certain: such victories are always fleeting.

Stray observations

Go to the A.V. Club homepage

Original post:
Billions goes all-in on its most intriguing new character - A.V. Club

I thought of Norman Dales famous line from Hoosiers, the second-greatest sports movie of all time, when the Penguins took the PPG Paints Arena ice Friday night to play the Tampa Bay Lightning.

My team is on the floor.

What we saw from the Penguins in a 5-2 win gave us a pretty good glimpse of what well see the rest of the season. The team should get back four key pieces from injury, including defensemen Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley, before the playoffs. But there is no more help coming from the outside. The two key additions from before the trade deadline this week defensemen Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit made their arena debuts, although Hainsey did play in the stadium series game a week ago against the Philadelphia Flyers. Each made a nice first impression. Streit got the winning goal after a sweet pass from Sidney Crosby, prompting him to say of Crosby, Hes got six eyes. He sees everything

There are so many great players on this team. A lot of skill. Everybody works hard on the defensive side and works hard for each other. You get the save when you need it. Its a really good team. Im very impressed.

Yes, these Penguins are good enough to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup if everyone is healthy.

You have to like the depth Jim Rutherford brought in with Hainsey and Streit. That should give the Penguins nine quality defensemen at playoff time, leaving Mike Sullivan with the wonderful problem of having to pick a top six. Letang, Justin Schultz, Ian Cole and Brian Dumoulin seem like locks. Schultz added to his strong season Friday night, assisting on a goal by Evgeni Malkin in the second period and scoring the fourth goal on a power play late in the third. He has 10 goals and 41 points.

If Daley and Maatta arent able to come back from their surgeries, Hainsey and Streit will be there to step in. So will Chad Ruhwedel. Hainsey and Streit played together often against the Lightning, Hainsey for a team-high 25:07, including 4:31 on the penalty-kill, with five block shots, Streit for 19:31.

Sullivan was impressed.

I thought he was real good, he said of Streit. You can see his hockey sense. Hes a real smart player. Hes very positionally sound. You can tell hes played a lot of years in the league. I think hes going to give us a whole another look on the power play.

And Hainsey?

I think Ron brings a different element to our defensive corps, Sullivan said. Hes a steady, stay-at-home defenseman. Hes mobile. He got good size. Hes got a long reach. Hes hard to play against. Hes a real good penalty-killer. Thats an element that we really needed. It takes some pressure off our other guys killing penalties.

And Streit and Hainsey together?

Both of these guys give us the ability to spread the minutes a little better, Sullivan said. I think thats going to help all of them have more success.

It is a nice, deep group of defensemen.

There are no worries about the Penguins being able to score enough goals. Malkin had two against the Lightning to the surprise of no one. He has owned the Lightning with 17 goals and 15 assists in the past 15 regular-season games. It was nice to see him get one of the goals on the power play, his first power-play goal in 13 games.

You can see how strong he is, Sullivan said of Malkin. Hes so hard to contain down low. Hes got such a powerful game when hes feeling it like he was tonight. Hes an elite player. He has the ability to change games. Hes been a force and a threat on a lot of nights.

Kessel had the primary assist on each of Malkins goals, ending his three-game pointless streak. Kessel is known as a goal-scorer but doesnt get nearly enough credit for being a passer. Those assists were terrific.

The Penguins will have 13 capable forwards once Bryan Rust returns from what is believed to be an elbow injury. Conor Sheary came back Friday night to play on Crosbys line after missing 13 games. Rookie Jake Guentzel has earned a spot in the lineup. Tom Kuhnhackl didnt help himself by taking two penalties against the Lightning, although he did score an empty-net goal with 1:00 left. He could be the man out when Rust gets back.

It is a nice, deep group of forwards.

The total package made me think of Miracle, the greatest sports movie of all time, about the U.S. hockey teams stunning gold medal in the 1980 Olympics.

These Penguins wont need a miracle to be a strong contender for another Cup. I dont care that the Washington Capitals lead the NHL with 93 points, seven more than the Penguins. With Crosby, Malkin, Matt Murray, their depth and, of course, a little health, the Penguins will be the team to beat.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the Cook and Poni show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

See the original post here:
Ron Cook: Healthy players, additions make Penguins team to beat - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A second-string Orioles lineup had a terrible time with World Baseball Classic-bound ace Chris Archer and the Tampa Bay Rays pitchers in general Saturday afternoon. But counterpart Ubaldo Jimenez and a cadre of relieversmatched zeroes until the Orioles manufactured the games only run for a 1-0 win.

Archer fanned five of the nine Orioles batters he faced in three perfect innings, and Jimenez worked around a difficult first inning to give the Orioles three scoreless innings of his own.

For the veteran Jimenez, it was another positive step in a spring he knows will be a long one and hopes will be productive.

I felt pretty good, Jimenez said. I was able to command the fastball and work on what I needed to do, and I was getting my breaking ball for a strike. So I think I was able to do that.

I think that as the day goes by, youre going to feel more comfortable around there, especially in spring training. But I think today, I was trying to throw my breaking ball in the first inning. I couldnt get it for a strike, but I got it back. Thats why I was falling behind in the first.

Once he got his breaking ball on track, it was smooth sailing for Jimenez, who allowed only an infield single in his final two innings.The right-hander haspitched in WBC springs before, but said hes where he needs to be with nearly a month remaining until Opening Day.

Well, you have to take it easy, he said. You dont want to rush anything, especially because its a long spring. You have to find a way to stay in your room and do everything to get ready for the season, but at the same time dont rush it.

"Sometimes in the past, its been a struggle early to get a lot of our guys, including Ubaldo, their work in," manager Buck Showalter said. "You end up having to go down to the bullpen and throw some more, but theres a little different look to him than Ive seen in past springs. I hope that bodes well. Well see. All the guys threw the ball well."

Jimenez wasn't the only Orioles pitcher who excelled Saturday. Vidal Nuno, Brad Brach, Richard Bleierand Zach Stewart combined with Jimenez for a four-hit shutout.

Small ball

Third baseman Chris Johnson, back in the lineup after a pitch hit him in the thumb and cost him a couple of days, hit a ground-rule double down the left field line to open the seventh inning. Joey Rickard pinch ran, took third base on a wild pitch by top Rays prospect Blake Snell and scored the only run of the game on a chopper to shortstop by center fielder Logan Schafer.

Tommy time

Former Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter pitched the fourth inning for the Rays, and fared well against his former mates. He hit second baseman Robert Andino with a pitch, but struck out right fielder Chris Dickerson, left fielder Hyun Soo Kim and Johnson.

Looking for lefties

Two of the newest additions to the Orioles roster, left-handers Nuno andBleier, each got his second Grapefruit League appearance with the club and impressed. Nuno pitched two scoreless innings behind Jimenez, ceding only a hit and striking out one. Bleier, who allowed a run on three hits in his two-inning Orioles debut Wednesday, fanned two in a perfect seventh inning.

"Bleier, that was a little more the guy we thought wed see," Showalter said.

jmeoli@baltsun.com

twitter.com/JonMeoli

Read the original:
Ubaldo Jimenez, Orioles bullpen pitch four-hit shutout in 1-0 win over Rays - Baltimore Sun (blog)

New York Post

Can new faces take New York City FC to greater heights? New York Post New York City FC head coach Patrick Vieira is supposed to be getting comfortable in his second season. Instead, a sudden influx of new players is testing his composure entering the 2017 campaign. Of course, I'm ... Additions such as Maxi Moralez, an ... and more »

Read the rest here:
Can new faces take New York City FC to greater heights? - New York Post

Edmonton Journal

Renovation revelation: Ackard open house mixes traditional and modern offerings Edmonton Journal Usually you don't see the second-story additions or bigger additions. Instead, you end up with people saying 'I need to change, I'm tired of my old bathroom or kitchen on the main floor, so let's redo that.' They spend up to 100, 200, up to $300,000 ...

Read more here:
Renovation revelation: Ackard open house mixes traditional and modern offerings - Edmonton Journal