Nancy Bitetto has joined Caleres as senior vice president of New York brands Bitetto will focus on accelerating growth and expanding profitability within the Caleres brand portfolio Schmidt said in a statement: “Nancy’s expertise will enable us to advance our brand ambitions and power sustained growth.” The company added that Bitetto joins Caleres with over two decades of experience as a merchant overseeing consistent growth in both wholesale and retail sectors she led footwear and jewellery at Tory Burch where she boosted productivity and improved profitability she served as head of women’s footwear merchandising for Prada North America focusing on strategic product and customer growth She has also held leadership roles at Ferragamo and Sergio Rossi and Vince are well-positioned in the market for substantial growth potential I look forward to working closely with the team to leverage my experience and drive meaningful progress,” added Bitetto This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack have announced the club’s leadership group for the 2021-22 American Hockey League (AHL) season Forward Jonny Brodzinski has been named the 14th Captain in Wolf Pack history while forward Tim Gettinger and defenseman Anthony Bitetto have been named Alternate Captains Brodzinski is in his second year with the Wolf Pack and is in his seventh overall season at the professional level Prior to signing with the parent New York Rangers on October 9th Brodzinski had played 200 career AHL games with the Ontario Reign and San Jose Barracuda Brodzinski skated in 14 games and registered 17 points (6 g Brodzinski served as an Alternate Captain for the Wolf Pack during road games in 2020-21 82 a) and was named an All-Star during the 2016-17 season He currently leads the Wolf Pack with four points (1 g “It’s a huge honor,” Brodzinski said “I’m excited to lead this group talented team and we’re going to be tough to play against.” Brodzinski has also appeared in 62 NHL games with the Rangers Gettinger enters his fourth season as a member of the Wolf Pack having appeared in 143 career AHL games including the 2021-22 season Gettinger has played eight games with the Rangers He appeared in two games with the Rangers during the 2020-21 NHL season Gettinger served as the Alternate Captain and the Captain for the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL Gettinger proudly wore the “A” for two seasons for the Greyhounds (2015-16 2016-17) and was the club’s Captain during the 2017-18 campaign Bitetto skated in two games for the Wolf Pack during the 2020-21 season while also skating in 14 games with the Rangers Bitetto has appeared in all three games with the Wolf Pack Bitetto signed with the Rangers on October 9th He has appeared in 197 NHL games with the Rangers The Wolf Pack return to the XL Center in downtown Hartford on Friday when they play host to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wolf Pack will also host the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday Both games are slated for a 7:00 pm puck drop For tickets and more information on COVID-19 protocols, promotional nights and more, visit www.hartfordwolfpack.com though not in a nails-on-the-chalkboard kind of way The Winnipeg Jets defenceman is filled with energy an infectious quality that helped endear him to a new batch of teammates Jets head coach Paul Maurice joked earlier this year that Bitetto hasn’t shut up since he arrived after signing as an unheralded free agent in July — and he meant it in the most positive way possible I think I came out of the womb yelling,” Bitetto said this week That’s who he is and he doesn’t apologize for it “He’s a really caring guy. He’s got a good relationship with every guy in the room,” said Jets forward Andrew Copp “He’s a guy that keeps the room really light He’s a jokester and is always in a good mood and ready to laugh it’s great to have a guy on the team like that – especially because we have some serious guys on here – that can elevate the mood of the room “I’ve had guys like that who don’t shut up ever – and he’s definitely one of them He knows when to keep the room light and if something bad happens He’s a great guy to have on the team and he has the temperature of the room What’s the biggest thing Bitetto has brought to this group A great guy to have around,” said Jets forward Mathieu Perreault he’s a guy that will set up dinner for the boys to get together and stuff like that This year has been a lot of fun and part of it was because he’s been around He’s blocking shots and doing all of the right things for the team to be successful.” In an age where most things can be measured I can just tell you from being behind the bench there are people that bring your bench up and bring your room together and get you more wired to play,” said Maurice he’s bringing an awful lot of energy every night Joining a Jets club that has endured a high volume of turnover among the defence corps ended up being a bonus for Bitetto who joined the organization as a depth guy who had an opportunity in front of him but had no guarantees of being on the opening-day roster certainly on a team that didn’t have a strata we didn’t have a caste system here,” said Maurice “There weren’t five veterans that were eating up 25 minutes (of ice time) and there weren’t Norris Trophy winners where when you would sit down you were allowed three words a day on your plan Going into Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Bitetto had chipped in four assists in 37 games while averaging 15:15 of ice time which is just over two minutes higher than his career average What makes the Bitetto story all the more impressive was that while he got into hockey at a young age he briefly stepped away from the sport as a teenager “When I was 13, I actually quit playing for about six months,” said Bitetto, noting he was a huge New York Rangers fan growing up and wears No “It was at a time where I was focused on playing baseball and I was doing other things I was working in the pro shop there and (his former team) needed someone for a game Does Bitetto ever wonder how different things might have turned out if he wasn’t pressed into duty that day “You could always say ‘What if’ about anything,” said Bitetto “It was just the right timing to get me back into the game It could have been a week later that I realized that I missed it Even after getting back into hockey full-time, Bitteto’s career goals didn’t include chasing an NHL dream “I was going to be an electrician,” said Bitetto Every summer I would go to him and we would work together I liked the business aspect of it and the work I always liked that atmosphere and the camaraderie.” Playing Tier II hockey with the New York Apple Core News that he had been traded to the Indiana Ice of the USHL was difficult to process “I wasn’t planning on playing college hockey It was something I was having fun with and then I was going to go and work ‘Do what you do and do it well.’ That’s stuck with me for my whole career so far.” That trade ended up changing the course of history for Bitetto “I went to Indiana and my coach there at the time was Jeff Blashill,” said Bitetto, referring to the current coach of the Detroit Red Wings “We wound up winning the whole thing and things opened up from there Blashill had a big impact on Bitetto’s maturity and growth But the player also had an impact on the coach and the team he joined great personality!” Blashill said in an email and learn how to play defence at a high level “Anthony instantaneously became a big piece of our team We made a few trades that year that were extremely important to us winning Certainly trading for Anthony was one of them I loved coaching him and enjoy his friendship to this day.” Following a second season with Indiana in the USHL Bitetto earned a scholarship at Northeastern University and was chosen by the Predators in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL Draft who coached Bitetto during his freshman season and is now the bench boss of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles He was mature and he was a real transparent person That translated in terms of the way that he played the game and also the way he was off the ice He checked all of the boxes for character.” “He tried to be tough to play against and defend with an edge He had enough hockey sense offensively to be an efficient puck distributor and he was obviously good on the power play,” said Cronin I didn’t know if it was going to be as a one-way NHL defenceman or a call-up guy or whatever but I knew he would have a role as a 6-7.” Bitetto left Northeastern after his sophomore season joining the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL for the playoffs while getting a quick taste of the pro lifestyle He’d get reintroduced to the business side of hockey that fall after arriving for his first pro training camp with the Admirals the trickle down meant Bitetto was demoted to the ECHL for 21 games Following parts of five seasons with the Predators, Bitetto was placed on waivers last January and claimed by the Minnesota Wild — whose GM was quite familiar with the blue liner from his time as Nashville’s assistant GM Bitetto became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and chose to sign a two-way deal with the Jets making it three teams in roughly six months we went back and forth with the Jets and felt it was a good fit,” said Bitetto “I didn’t know what to expect coming to Winnipeg I just came in with the mentality of not trying to do too much block shots and be physical and stuff like that It wasn’t really a challenge for me to fit in (Top photo: Anne-Marie Sorvin / USA TODAY Sports) the Blueshirts inked the top available player when they signed Artemi Panarin it’s been much calmer as the New York Rangers filled a couple more depth holes on their roster adding defenseman Anthony Bitetto and goalie Keith Kinkaid They are both 30-somethings with some NHL experience and oddly enough Anthony Bitetto is 31 years old and signed for two years at an Annual Average Value (AAV) of $737,500 physical left-shot defenseman who has played 183 NHL games over the last six years for Nashville   Bitetto is from Island Park in Nassau  County and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2010 draft by the Predators out of Northeastern University He spent extensive time in the AHL before making it to the NHL for good and has not been in the minors for the last two years That hit total would have ranked third on the Rangers and was only 28 fewer than Jacob Trouba’s team leading 173 hits He has scored only two goals in his career and is on a two and a half year goal-less drought After being a regular on the Winnipeg blueline he will fit in to the Rangers as a depth and third pair defenseman and looks to battle Jack Johnson and Brendan Smith for ice time Jeff Gorton gets one nagging need out of the way   The Rangers needed to add a goalie to their roster who they can expose in the Seattle expansion draft and Kincaid fits the bill signed a two year contract with an AAV of $875k   He is from Farmingville in Suffolk County and was an undrafted free agent signed by the New Jersey Devils in 2011 He had some really good years with the Devils posting a sub 2.81 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage better than .904 for three straight years He split goaltending duties with Cory Schneider and led New Jersey to the post-season in 2017-18 with a 26-10-3 record but when he had a chance to own the top slot in 2018-19 That led to an eventual trade to Columbus in February 2019   Signed as a free agent by Montreal prior to last season as the backup to Carey Price he was a disappointment and ended up on loan to the Charlotte franchise in the AHL Besides being a goalie the Rangers can expose in the draft Kinkaid is also a veteran backup for the Rangers in case of injury He has played in 157 NHL games  compared to the 89 NHL games total experience for the other four netminders the Rangers have under contract there has been no confirmed signing of Jesper Fast though several Twitter sources have proclaimed him going to Toronto   On Wednesday Jeff Gorton said that they would wait to see what kind of money he was offered before they decide what to do and that appears to be precisely what is happening That seems to be the theme of day one of Free Agent Frenzy Only seven of the Hockey News’ top 30 UFA’s have been signed with four of them goaltenders All of the top free agents are still unsigned including Alex Pietrangelo Center Erik Haula was seen as a potential Rangers target and he remains unsigned It’s looking more and more like the Blueshirts will move ahead with their existing set of defenders along with free agent signees Jack Johnson and Anthony Bitetto   A major trade could still upend that strategy © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER ","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"6v","src":"6w","url":"6x"},{"type":"6u","value":"6y"},"link","Minute Media","https://www.minutemedia.com/",{"text":"71","url":"72"},{"type":"70","value":"73"},"All Rights Reserved Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands In 51 games for Winnipeg, he had 145 hits and 50 blocked shots.  That hit total would have ranked third on the Rangers and was only 28 fewer than Jacob Trouba’s team leading 173 hits.  He has scored only two goals in his career and is on a two and a half year goal-less drought. . After being a regular on the Winnipeg blueline, he will fit in to the Rangers as a depth and third pair defenseman and looks to battle Jack Johnson and Brendan Smith for ice time. By signing Keith Kinkaid, Jeff Gorton gets one nagging need out of the way.   The Rangers needed to add a goalie to their roster who they can expose in the Seattle expansion draft and Kincaid fits the bill. Kinkaid, 31,  signed a two year contract with an AAV of $875k.   He is from Farmingville in Suffolk County and was an undrafted free agent signed by the New Jersey Devils in 2011.  He had some really good years with the Devils posting a sub 2.81 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage better than .904 for three straight years. He split goaltending duties with Cory Schneider and led New Jersey to the post-season in 2017-18 with a 26-10-3 record, but when he had a chance to own the top slot in 2018-19, he was outplayed by Mackenzie Blackwood.  That led to an eventual trade to Columbus in February 2019.   Signed as a free agent by Montreal prior to last season as the backup to Carey Price, he was a disappointment and ended up on loan to the Charlotte franchise in the AHL. Besides being a goalie the Rangers can expose in the draft, Kinkaid is also a veteran backup for the Rangers in case of injury.  He has played in 157 NHL games  compared to the 89 NHL games total experience for the other four netminders the Rangers have under contract. So far, there has been no confirmed signing of Jesper Fast though several Twitter sources have proclaimed him going to Toronto, Nashville and Philadelphia.   On Wednesday Jeff Gorton said that they would wait to see what kind of money he was offered before they decide what to do and that appears to be precisely what is happening. That seems to be the theme of day one of Free Agent Frenzy.  Only seven of the Hockey News’ top 30 UFA’s have been signed with four of them goaltenders.  All of the top free agents are still unsigned including Alex Pietrangelo, Taylor Hall, Torey Krug, Mike Hoffman, Evgenii Dadnov, Tyson Barrie and Tyler Toffoli. Center Erik Haula was seen as a potential Rangers target and he remains unsigned.  It’s looking more and more like the Blueshirts will move ahead with their existing set of defenders along with free agent signees Jack Johnson and Anthony Bitetto.   A major trade could still upend that strategy. Related Story. Is Mikko Koivu an option?. light WAYNE - Wayne Police arrested a Wood-Ridge man for possession of 90 bags of heroin, according to Capt. Laurence Martin. On Jan. 13, at 11 a.m. Detectives Ken Hart and Brendan Rigler observed a 2012 Toyota Celica traveling at a high rate of speed, much faster than the other vehicles, along the Route 80 interchange. After running the vehicle registration, Hart learned that the owner had outstanding warrants issued for his arrest. Hart conducted a motor vehicle stop and the driver was identified as Richard Bitetto, 37, of Wood-Ridge, said Martin. Rigler and Hart made field contact with Bitetto and advised him of the active warrant issued for his arrest. Inside the vehicle the detectives observed packaging commonly used for bundling heroin, at which point a search incident to Bitetto's arrest revealed 90 glassine bags of suspected heroin stamped in blue ink, "PEPSI." Also in plain view was a marijuana grinder, Martin said. Bitetto was arrested, the vehicle was impounded, and he was transported to Wayne Police headquarters for processing on the criminal complaints. He was released on the summons complaints with central judicial processing court dates. He posted bail on the outstanding warrants, said Martin. He was also charged with possession with the intent to distribute heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, and various motor vehicle summonses including careless driving and possession of narcotics in a vehicle. Send help right to the people and causes you care about Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Predators have signed defenseman Anthony Bitetto to a one-year two-way contract after he accepted his qualifying offer The deal announced Monday will pay him $665,000 in the NHL or $60,000 in the minors Bitetto was the 168th pick overall in the 2010 draft and he made his NHL debut this season playing seven games for Nashville in January and February He spent most of his third season in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals where he ranked second among defensemen with 30 points 200-pound Bitetto tied for sixth among AHL defensemen with 11 goals and ninth with six power-play goals in his first full season in Milwaukee in 2013-14 has skated in 39 AHL games with the Hartford Wolfpack this season He has appeared in 197 NHL games with the Predators has appeared in nine NHL games this season and 43 AHL games with the San Jose Barracuda He has appeared in 41 NHL games over parts of four seasons with the Coyotes When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines Should you violate our submissions guidelines we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time A holiday street scene in black and white captures the beauty of the lights in the trees A lone figure is walking through all of the twinkling and sparkling magic This untitled work earns Frank Bitetto Photofocus Photographer of the Day Frank submitted his photograph directly to Photofocus. Submit yours via the Photofocus website. Or share on the Photofocus Readers Flickr Group. Join the group today Tell your story with the second annual Visual Storytelling Conference online training sessions featuring a range of educational content with experienced photographers and content creators This free event kicks off with a series of technical boot camps to build essential skills By shopping with our partners and affiliates Photography is life. Kevin is living it to the fullest. His practice includes fashion, editorial, architectural and corporate photography. Most of all, he loves making photographs! See more of his work on www.kevinamesphotography.com or Instagram: @amesphoto Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Radiant Photo – Radiant Photo superior quality finished photos with perfect color rendition Mylio Photos – Access your photos from anywhere find faces and look for those stunning locations B&H – B&H is a world renowned supplier of all the gear photographers and cinematographers need and want to create their very best work MPB – Grab used but perfectly working cameras and lenses for less or turn your old gear into cash by trading and selling them on MPB Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest from Photofocus delivered each week Photofocus.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases Photofocus.com is also a participant in the B&H Photo and KEH Camera affiliate programs Photo Video Software Reviews Mobile Community Inspiration Drones Business Podcasts Webinars News Guides Opinion Quick Tips Deals All stories Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here 2016 at 5:02 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}WAYNE NJ - Police caught a man with 90 bags of heroin in his car following a traffic stop Police ran the vehicle’s registration after seeing it travel “at a high rate of speed,” found the driver Police saw packaging commonly used to bundle heroin inside the vehicle and found 90 glassine bags of suspected heroin inside the car ”PEPSI” was written on the bundles in blue ink Police also saw a marijuana grinder in plain view in the car Bitetto was charged with possession of heroin possession with the intent to distribute heroin and issued motor vehicles summonses for careless driving and possession of narcotics in a motor vehicle The vehicle was impounded and Bitetto was arrested and released on the summons complaints and posted bail on the outstanding warrants Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Anthony Bitetto had himself a moment on Thursday that was fit for a Hollywood script In what was only his second game for the New York Rangers against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden after being elevated from the Taxi Squad Anthony Bitetto scored what was his first goal in three years to help the Blueshirts to a big it was the defenseman’s first goal since the 2017-18 season basically 112 NHL games and nearly three whole years since he lit the lamp But it was the way in which the 30-year-old scored that really impressed and set Hockey Twitter alight it was a journeyman defenseman who did score it and it was a real-feel good moment for a number of reasons who was taken with the 168th pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft two-way deal with the New York Rangers in the offseason after skating in 51 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2019-20 The 30-year-old began the season on the Rangers’ Taxi Squad but was promoted to the roster after Tony DeAngelo was placed in hockey exile It was also special given that it was Bitetto’s first goal in nearly three years but it took on more meaning given that the defenseman was born and raised in Long Island to score a goal like that after not scoring for nearly three years at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the team you grew up around is pretty incredible which is as sublime as you will see given the skill involved also came in the game where the Rangers wore their famous Lady Liberty jerseys for the first time since they were brought back via adidas’ Reverse Retro rollout it was also a big goal given that it gave the Blueshirts a two-goal lead and really gave them the platform to push on and secure what was a huge win in what is a loaded East Division it was the kind of moment that you would find in a Hollywood script and even Rangers Head Coach David Quinn was bemused when he first saw his third-pairing defenseman taking the puck all by himself behind the net and then through the Capitals defense Coach speaks the truth. 😂 pic.twitter.com/WQlXxsup6Q While Anthony Bitetto is hardly a household name and with all due fairness he probably won’t be even now for those of us who grew up loving hockey and loving a certain team watching someone who has bounced around in the NHL score an absolutely insane goal for his hometown team was pretty special and it is a moment we’ve probably all lived out in our dreams time and time again Those are the kind of stories you can really get behind and cheer for and Anthony Bitetto is a player you can really root for given his journey to get to where he is now which is scoring absolutely incredible goals for the New York Rangers Coach speaks the truth. 😂 pic.twitter.com/WQlXxsup6Q Rich Bitetto knows what it takes to be a wrestling champion Bitetto won the NJSIAA 140-pound state crown as a Hackensack senior and now as the owner/operator of Bitetto Trained in Teterboro So when Bitetto raves about Justin Onello’s potential “When all is said and done and Justin’s high school career is complete I think he’s going to be one of the best our state has ever seen,” Bitetto said A seventh grader at Tenakill Middle School in Closter Onello has been on a wrestling rampage highlighted by his winning both the New Jersey and national 12-and-under championships He’s currently the nation’s top-ranked 12-year-old at 130 pounds North Jersey powerhouses Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic have already talked to Onello about attending their schools “Those are some of the best wrestling schools in the country,” Onello said “Going to a school like that would be a dream come true.” The first of Onello’s three biggest victories came last November when he traveled to Tulsa and won U.S.A Recreation Wrestling’s national crown at 130 pounds Wrestling for his Closter recreation program team Onello started 2017 by winning his sixth New Jersey district championship and fourth regional crown before capturing the state’s 130-pound championship March 10 Onello added one more huge trophy to his shelf when he won the 140-pound title at the War at the Shore National Tournament in Wildwood “Justin is the best in the country at his age right now,” Bitetto said “We’re all excited to see how far this goes.” Onello was a “quiet kid who sat in the corner” and “wrestled a lot of the second-tier kids.” When Onello returned to the wrestling room after a short summer break Bitetto says he’d “taken on a completely new identity.” “Justin’s commitment to the sport is not normal,” Bitetto said Onello commitment includes training with some of New Jersey’s best high school grapplers including Bergen Catholic freshman Robert Howard who placed second in the NJSIAA state championships’ 113-pound class last winter “Justin responds to coaching almost instantly when he’s on the mat,” Bitetto said aggressive and blessed with tremendous physical strength they usually rely on strength as their means of winning Onello has dominated despite suffering from two serious physical handicaps Onello was born with an extra thumb on his left hand which was surgically removed when he was a baby the end of his removed thumb has grown inside his skin resulting in tremendous pressure and pain in that spot a benign tumor appeared on Onello’s left thigh about two years ago His father John says it’s “a lump about the size of a tangerine.” Justin suffers severe pain when he’s hit or falls on that spot and is often forced to take injury timeouts during his matches “It’s a huge shock and a lot of pain when I get hit there,” Onello said I won’t let anything stop me from winning a match.” both problems will be corrected when Onello reaches the end of his next growth spurt it’s fair to say nothing will get in Onello’s way His goal is to stand atop the same Atlantic City podium that Bitetto did 21 years ago “That’s my dream … winning a high school state championship,” Onello said “If I keep working hard and trying my best Metrics details The mild activity of basaltic volcanoes is punctuated by violent explosive eruptions that occur without obvious precursors Modelling the source processes of these sudden blasts is challenging we use two decades of ground deformation (tilt) records from Stromboli volcano to shed light on the short-term (minute-scale) conduit processes that drive such violent volcanic eruptions with source parameters spanning seven orders of magnitude all share a common pre-blast ground inflation trend We explain this exponential inflation using a model in which pressure build-up is caused by the rapid expansion of volatile-rich magma rising from depth into a shallow (<400 m) resident magma conduit We show that the duration and amplitude of this inflation trend scales with the eruption magnitude indicating that the explosive dynamics obey the same (scale-invariant) conduit process This scale-invariance of pre-explosion ground deformation may usher in a new era of short-term eruption forecasting The 3-July event tragically caused the loss of one life; however if the explosion had occurred only a few hours later hundreds of tourists visiting the summit would have been severely affected with even greater tragedy we analyze the ground tilt measured during Stromboli’s explosive eruptions in 2019 to identify a systematic pre-blast inflation trend which we interpret as the response of the volcanic edifice to the pressure growth induced by the rapid gas expansion inside the conduit We show that this exponential inflation pattern is common to a wide range of explosive events spanning almost five orders of magnitudes in intensity and associated volumes This scale-invariant ground deformation opens new perspectives to explain explosive dynamics and paves the way to improved volcano monitoring with obvious benefits for hazard assessment and mitigation The amplitude of the tilt increases by almost one order of magnitude from regular (~0.1 μrad) to major explosions (~1 μrad) and again to paroxysms (~10 μrad) Note how the exponential rate becomes progressively more evident when the explosive activity becomes more intense and how ground inflation becomes visible at ~150 s (black arrow) before a regular explosion ~300 s (blue arrow) before a major explosion and more than 600 s (red arrow) before a paroxysm the expansion model calculated for the 28 August paroxysm shows a best fit of 0.98 for a volumetric expansion ratio of V/Vo = 12 and an expansion duration of 590 s where z is the depth at which the gas with density rg is expanding in the magma batch ρ and η are the bulk density and viscosity Assuming ideal gas behaviour and that gas expansion starts at depth zo the ideal gas law (PoVo = P(t)V(t)) can be rearranged to show that the initial gas volume (\(V_o = \frac{4}{3}\pi R_o^3\)) in the magma batch will grow as a function of the depth z(t) upon ascending: it is possible to relate the duration of inflation to the initial depth (zo) and radius (Ro) of the rising magma batch: where c = 3/5 represents the integration coefficient. Equation (4) implies that if fragmentation occurs at the surface (zi = 0) the time required for the gas-rich magma to reach the surface will depend on the ratio \(z_o/R_0^2\) A similar solution (expansion time tb of 590 s for a volumetric expansion ratio V/Vo of 12) is derived for the 28 August 2019 eruption (best fit: 0.98) Considering that expansion ends at the explosive onset assuming zi is the fragmentation level in the conduit) the starting depth zo for the expansion of the gas-magma mixture will depend!on zi and on the atmospheric pressure (zatm = Patm/rg) this is the first example of a warning issued to authorities shortly before a volcanic explosive eruption occurred and to the population before a tsunami was generated which we interpret as the magma column being squeezed outside the vent by the expansion of the gas-rich magma batch Our results offer a new perspective for monitoring volcanoes Applications of this pattern matching methodology can overcome caveats in using raw tilt signals in real time which have long prevented their use as effective monitoring tools persistent exponential rate of deformation provides a robust statistical basis for an early warning alert system grounded in a quasi-deterministic approach ground deformation opens new avenues to image volcanic processes at different time scales and we foresee further improvements of the actual early warning alert system through the integration of other monitoring techniques in the near future Data provided by the network are integrated and interpreted to define the explosive process step by step at a one second resolution Ground deformation is recorded by using 2 borehole tiltmeters (Pinnacle series T5000) with a sensitivity of 1 nrad at a 1 Hz sampling rate that are installed at a depth of ~6 m Each seismic station is equipped with a Guralp CMG-40T broadband sensor (natural period: 30 s) sampled at 100 Hz and 24 bits in a cylindrical pipe with radius a by the following equation: where µ is the rigidity modulus and G is the Green’s function relative to the station at a distance x from the conduit (Fig. 5): where ℎ1 and ℎ2 are the top and bottom depths, respectively, of the portion of the conduit that generates the ground deformation and \(R_1 = \left( {x^2 + h_1^2} \right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\) and \(R_2 = \left( {x^2 + h_2^2} \right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\) are the associated distances between the station and the portion of the conduit representing the source (Fig. 5a) For an ideal Poissonian solid (Poisson modulus of 0.25) Then, for a cylindrical source of length L = h2 − h1 and radius a, (V = πa2L), combining Eqs. (5) and (7) We caution that our open-conduit deformation model does not account for the effects of topography on the measured tilt signal finite element model (FEM) accounting for topographic effects returned very comparable results suggesting that while topography may have a large effect on the tilt direction it plays a minor role (<15%) in the tilt amplitude represented by the normalized theoretical ground inflation Real-time pattern matching analysis is applied every second in a 350 s long backward window An early warning is triggered when the best fit R(t) is >0.85 and the tilt variation in the considered time window is >0.3 µrad. Testing of this early warning algorithm using tilt records over the past 14 years (from 2006 to 2020) shows (Supplementary Fig. 4) that the three paroxysms of 15 March 2007 and 28 August 2019 are automatically detected almost 5 min before the onset of the eruption with no false alerts an early warning alert system is fully operational at Stromboli and is linked to an acoustic alert network for the population All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article (and its Supplementary Materials) or available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request Preface to special issue “The phreatic eruption of Mt Eruption frequency patterns through time for the current (1999–2018) activity cycle at Volcan de Fuego derived from remote sensing data: Evidence for an accelerating cycle of explosive paroxysms and potential implications of eruptive activity Whakaari/White Island (241040) in Volcanoes of the World Segmented lateral dyke growth in a rifting event at Bardarbunga volcanic system Intrusion triggering of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull explosive eruption The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano Implications of magma transfer between multiple reservoirs on eruption cycling Magma chamber behavior beneath a volcanic 375 edifice Micro-tilt changes preceding summit explosions at Semeru volcano Mechanism of explosive eruption revealed by geophysical observations at the Sakurajima Tilt change recorded by broadband seismometer prior to small phreatic explosion of Meakandake volcano Inflation-deflation cycles revealed by tilt and seismic records at Stromboli volcano Inflations prior to Vulcanian eruptions and gas bursts detected by tilt observations at Semeru Volcano Tilt prior to explosions and the effect of 390 topography on ultra-long-period seismic records at Fuego volcano Modeling the dynamics of a phreatic eruption based on a tilt observation: Barrier breakage leading to the 2014 eruption of Mount Ontake Eruption prediction aided by electronic tiltmeter data at Mount St In Volcanic hazards: assessment methods and monitoring (Latter J Mechanisms and dynamics 400 of strombolian activity Basaltic explosive volcanism: constraints from deposits and models Open-vent volcanism and related hazards: Overview Understanding Open-Vent Volcanism and Related Hazard In Risk and Uncertainty Assessment in Natural Hazards (eds Volcanic hazard assessment at Stromboli based on review of historical data Aeolian Islands (Italy): present eruptive activity and hazards Volcano seismicity and ground deformation unveil the gravity-driven magma discharge dynamics of a volcanic eruption explosions at open-vent volcanoes: the case of Stromboli (Italy) Dynamics of the 5 April 2003 explosive paroxysm observed at Stromboli by a near-vent thermal The 15 March 2007 explosive crisis at Stromboli volcano Italy: assessing physical parameters through a multidisciplinary approach Crystallisation driven by decompression and 430 water loss at Stromboli volcano (Aeolian Islands) The December 2002–July 2003 effusive event at Stromboli volcano Italy: an insight into the shallow plumbing system by petrochemical studies A model of degassing for Stromboli volcano degassing and ascent at Stromboli: new insights into the volcano plumbing system with inferences on the eruptive dynamics Stromboli numerical simulation of the tsunamis 440 generated by the Sciara del fuoco landslides (Stromboli island Models of ground deformation from vertical volcanic conduits with application to eruptions of Mount St Dynamics of the shallow plumbing system investigated from borehole strainmeters and cameras during the 15 March 2007 Vulcanian paroxysm at Stromboli volcano Source mechanisms of explosions at Stromboli volcano determined from moment tensor inversions of very long period data 450 The shallow plumbing system of Stromboli Island as imaged from 1 Hz instantaneous GPS positions Ground deformation caused by magma ascent in an open conduit Numerical investigation of temporal changes in volcanic deformation caused by a gas slug ascent in the conduit Flow‐to‐fracture transition in a volcanic mush plug may govern normal eruptions at Stromboli The implications of gas slug ascent in a stratified magma for acoustic and seismic source mechanisms in Strombolian eruptions Valve-like dynamics of gas flow through a packed crystal mush and cyclic strombolian explosions Magmatic gas composition reveals the source of slug‐driven Strombolian explosive activity CO2-rich gas trigger of explosive paroxysms at Stromboli basaltic volcano Seismic precursors of a basaltic paroxysmal explosion track deep gas accumulation and slug upraise Stromboli an open window on the deep feeding system of a steady state volcano Pichavant, M., Le Gall, N. & Scaillet, B. Gases as precursory signals: experimental simulations, new concepts and models of magma degassing. In Volcanic Unrest. Adv. Volcanol. (eds Gottsmann J., Neuberg J. & Scheu B.) 139–154 (Springer, Cham, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/11157_2018_35 Homogeneous bubble nucleation in H2O- and H2O-CO2-bearing basaltic melts: results of high temperature decompression experiments NanoSIMS results from olivine-hosted melt embayments: magma ascent rate during explosive basaltic eruptions Chronology of the 2007 eruption of Stromboli and the activity of the Scientific Synthesis Group The onset of the 2007 Stromboli effusive eruption recorded by an integrated geophysical network volume and grain size of tephra fall deposits Download references This work was supported by the Italian Civil Protection in the framework of the DEVNET project Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia All authors contributed in the data collection All authors analysed the data and contributed to finalizing the manuscript helped integrate the warning procedure into the Italian Civil Protection system supervised the project and the collaborations The authors declare no competing interests Peer review information Nature Communications thanks Francisco Delgado Nico Fournier and Jost von der Lieth for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21722-2 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Metrics details Epidemic outbreaks are extreme events that become more frequent and severe associated with large social and real costs It is therefore important to assess whether countries are prepared to manage epidemiological risks We use a fully data-driven approach to measure epidemiological susceptibility risk at the country level using time-varying information We apply both principal component analysis (PCA) and dynamic factor model (DFM) to deal with the presence of strong cross-section dependence in the data We conduct extensive in-sample model evaluations of 168 countries covering 17 indicators for the 2010–2019 period The results show that the robust PCA method accounts for about 90% of total variability whilst the DFM accounts for about 76% of the total variability Our index could therefore provide the basis for developing risk assessments of epidemiological risk contagion It could be also used by organizations to assess likely real consequences of epidemics with useful managerial implications The question of countries’ preparedness to manage epidemiological risk must be addressed from a long-term perspective It is likely that the world will continue to face epidemic risks which many countries are still ill positioned to manage In addition to climate change and urbanization global population displacement and migration—now happening in nearly every corner of the world—create favorable conditions for the emergence and spread of new pathogens Countries also face an increasing potential threat of accidental or deliberate release of deadly engineered pathogens which could cause even greater harm than a naturally occurring pandemic Scientific advances that help in fighting epidemic diseases have also allowed pathogens to be engineered or recreated in laboratories cross-country disparities in capacity and inattention to biological threats have exacerbated preparedness gaps Measuring country preparedness emerges as a key real policy challenge for both countries and organizations we choose different versions of principal component analysis (PCA) as well as dynamic factor models (DFM) to deal with the presence of strong cross-section dependence in the data due to unobserved common factors We conduct extensive in-sample model evaluations of 168 countries covering 17 indicators during the period 2010–2019 Our results show that the robust PCA method explains more than 90% of total variability whilst the DFM explains about 76% of the total variability Our paper contributes to the literature in the following ways: it builds on previous studies by proposing a substantially improved index of epidemiological susceptibility risk that is fully model-based and data-driven tested and validated according to advanced statistical techniques (see section Results) We use alternative analytical estimation models based on unsupervised statistical learning methods which make neither a priori assumptions on the relationship among the input variables nor a subjective decision on the variables to be possibly dropped our data-driven approach does not need to define a target variable thereby avoiding a further risk of subjectivity The only model assumption lays on the number of components built on the original variable space reflecting the desired level of captured variability and predictive ability lie on a linear space and be orthogonal (i.e. No correlation ensures that each new principal component or dynamic factor describes a specific and unknown in advance latent phenomenon through the linear combination of the initial variables We produce the index values with different methods which allow policy makers to assess country preparedness according to specific needs and objectives beside the efficiency of the learning algorithm (often ensemble models do the job) the selection of leading variables and the preprocessing phase in general play a key role in producing accurate assessments We have placed special emphasis on these aspects in our analysis prediction accuracy is limited due to the short period of data availability difficulties in tracking the movement of people changes in the incubation period and mutation of the virus but also inappropriate algorithms and models prediction is essentially a short-term research enterprise the overall preparedness of a country is a crucial long-term factor that guides the making of optimal decisions in response to an epidemic prediction the GHSI scoring may not be suitable for determining priorities and comparing countries with one another calling for a further refinement of the index process that rationalizes the index’s extensive focus on developed countries and health-related variables and its weighting methodology They propose a better alignment of the JEE measures with the timing and depth of the country responses which also reflect the contribution of international assistance in these areas The index measures a wide variety of hazard risks and less so epidemiological ones and its multi-level and complex construction also makes it less flexible and less suitable for use as a policy tool The domains are the management of incident and information the improvement of occupational and environmental health conditions community engagement and planning conditions and the surveillance of health security conditions After reviewing these occupational and environmental health domains we observe no inclusion of indicators of occupational health and safety but only measures of environmental health it covers only one country (the U.S.) for only a few years we do not find evidence of using the NHSPI to predict real outcomes in the US economy The HMSPI uses four domains of surge capacity: staff the HMSPI is a static measure and of interest mainly to the US researchers that have measured aspects of epidemiological risk we refer more directly to those that have had important policy implications employment prospects and psychological responses This includes the percent of variance explained by the first principal component of each PCA method per year Further, we can provide useful visual insights by exploring the temporal evolution of the ESR index values for each country in a world map. Figure 1 reports the global distribution of the ESR index for DFM methods (the PCA one is available in the Supplementary Information). Index evolution over years for some countries. Disease outbreaks are shaded in red. Figure is generated with R software56 Epidemic outbreaks are extreme events that are perceived by the population to be more frequent and severe mainly due to the increased globalisation and interconnections The COVID-19 pandemic is an extreme risk event that has unfolded with tremendous speed and breadth Epidemics cause huge real costs for institutions and countries It is therefore important to evaluate the extent to which countries can identify and manage epidemiological risks adequately Despite significant improvements in infrastructure and governance worldwide many countries remain unprepared to adequately identify and manage epidemiological risks we have proposed a country preparedness evaluation framework that countries and institutions could use to manage the contagion and consequences of epidemic risks The framework is based on the development of a composite indicator which we call epidemiological susceptibility risk index (ESR) we use objective and regularly reproduced information that accounts for the role of infrastructure This integrated view of measuring epidemiological risk is in line with the general directions proposed by the WHO We complement previous efforts at assessing country preparedness by proposing a methodological framework that makes the assessment of preparedness more policy-driven and expanded around the world our proposed framework uses a data-driven approach to constructing the index that utilizes both PCA and DFM methods and their variants for achieving dimensionality reduction after accounting for data characteristics and missing values the robust PCA method shows very good performance whereby the first dimension explains about 90% of total variability the nature of its construction prevents it from capturing properly the temporal latent dynamic of the data We therefore use the alternative DFM method for this purpose Albeit somewhat less efficient in comparative terms (the first component explains about 76% of the total variability) the DFM method must be considered as the benchmark model since it properly models the temporal dynamics which are important in capturing epidemic outbreaks across a wide range of countries during the 10 available years Our ESR index is fully data-driven and does not allow for arbitrary and subjective choice of weights that could impair its predictive efficiency This framework and index could provide the basis for developing risk assessments of epidemiological risk contagion after the outbreak of an epidemic but also for ongoing monitoring of its spread and social and real effects It would also allow for useful comparisons in country preparedness and performance This framework and index could be used by firms to assess likely real consequences of epidemics and could therefore have managerial implications in addition to help managing epidemiological risk the framework could be useful in aligning country and corporate policy to environmental sustainability considerations and responsible behavior it takes into consideration ongoing regulatory initiatives that stress the importance of non-financial risks due to climate change our framework could be revised and extended towards various directions to support decision making One way to improve it is to increase the data series availability mindful of the missing data problem using more advanced techniques Another way to extend it includes the addition of new relevant dimensions that may capture other aspects of epidemiological risk As research on the sources and spread of Covid-19 continues which might inform the re-construction of our ESR index Another way would be to apply alternative data dimensionality reduction techniques and compare the predictive results The extensive check on the index’s predictive power remains to be accomplished by applying it to diverse real-world situations “individual intercepts” and “individual intercepts and trends” for the underlying Augmented Dickey-Fuller test implying the acceptance of alternative hypothesis of stationarity for the input variables time-series Higher values of these variables are associated with a lower risk of a country being susceptible to epidemiological contagion or they indicate better preparedness to manage these risks the selected variables reflect factors and conditions that the literature has highlighted; they are objectively (not perceived) measured across countries exhibit a low incidence of missing values and they are reproducible on a periodic basis We did not include time-invariant factors (e.g. genetics) for we intend the index to capture mainly policy-relevant dynamic influences we did not include time-varying factors relating to the environment conditions (e.g. rainfall) and slowly changing institutional factors (e.g. We believe these factors should act as external controls mediating the predictive effectiveness of the ESR index on real behavior rather than being constituent elements of the index itself We do acknowledge the limitation of choosing certain variables than others or many more We do believe there is room for future improvements in the index’s conceptualization and construction An advantage of this construction is that our ESR index is mainly a policy-based and not a perceptions-based measure which allows us to explore its effects on real behavior largely devoid of perceptions which would make it more severely prone to endogeneity The aim of our analysis is to extract a synthetic indicator that summarizes at best the relationship among variables in a lower dimensional space We apply two alternative but complementary statistical methodologies to reduce dimensionality and construct the index: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Factor Analysis (FA) PCA aims at creating new variables from a larger set of observed covariates where each one is a linear combination of the Y original variables The model is represented by the equation \(C=w_{1}Y_{1}+\ldots +w_{i}Y_{p}\) \(Y_i\) are the original variables and \(w_i\) are the weights of the linear combination for \(i=1,\ldots ,p\) models the measurement of latent variables seen through the relationships they cause in a set of Y variables The model is represented by a set of equations \(Y_{i}=b_{i}F_{i}+u_{i} \(F_i\) are the latent factors and \(b_i\) \(u_i\) are the parameters of the combination Recalling that our dataset has three dimensions we use PCA to model country/variable interaction for each year whereas FA to model country/time interaction we create a low dimensional (1 way) indicator explaining the maximum variance of the data and considering each year separately we estimate a single latent component able to capture the temporal interactions among the original variables We describe the application of each dimensionality reduction method below in more detail To ensure the stability and robustness of results we apply and compare three different PCA techniques: regular PCA PCA aims at finding new and wise linear combinations of the original data in a way that the amount of explained variance of the data is maximised Those combinations are mathematically constrained to be mutually orthogonal (that is uncorrelated) and are called Principal Components (PC) or loadings Given a \(n\times p\) data matrix \(\mathbf{X }\) where n is the number of observations and p is the number of variables we want to find the \(k\times p\) Principal Component matrix \(\textit{C}\) with usually \(k<<p\) such that the projected data matrix \(\textit{W}=\textit{X}{} \textit{C}^T\) The maximization problem is stated as follows: Since we do not rely on the classical PCA but we seek for a robust estimation of the Principal Components we can decompose the data matrix X into a low rank component L that represents the intrinsic low dimensional features and an outlier component S that captures anomalies in the data we produce both a robust estimation and a sparse representation of the principal components by adding a sparsity constraint on the matrix C The associated maximization problem is stated as follows: \(\psi \) and \(\phi \) are regularizing functions (i.e we evaluate a temporal dependent version of FA called Dynamic Factor Model (DFM) using all the available years within the same model Given the \(p\times n\) matrix \(\mathbf{X }\) the model assumes that there exist some \(k\times n\) factors \(\mathbf{F }\) such that their mutual interaction over time can be expressed by a \(k\times k\) interaction matrix \(\mathbf{A }\) and the observed variable can be expressed as a linear function of the factors themselves through a \(p\times k\) loading matrix \(\mathbf{C }\) The problem can be solved as a system of equations: We assume \(\varvec{{\hat{C}}}\) to be diagonal in order not to double-count correlations within the observed variables and because cross-country interactions are already modelled through the VAR the final index ESR will be represented by the scores matrix W and the factor matrix F respectively One of the goal is to select the optimal number of components k as a trade-off between the maximal explained variance and the smallest value of components k Applying a dimensionality reduction technique by merely maximising the amount of explained variance with the smallest set of components could be misleading and conduct to hardly interpretable results we compare the fitting power of the produced indexes to a baseline benchmark We accordingly estimate several parametric and non-parametric regression models to produce comparisons of the produced ESR index with the original set of variables the following macro-economic variables: real GDP per capita Our validation process aims at demonstrating the relevance of the new index in representing the information conveyed by the original component variables If the modeling ability of the composite ESR index measured by the root mean square error (RMSE) is comparable to the original one based on the initial variables we can conclude that the produced indicator is not only satisfactory according to the chosen dimension reduction technique but also effective in terms of predictive power within a simplified framework Opening Remarks for Spring Meetings Press Conference (2020) The World Health Organization. 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The impact of economic crises on communicable disease transmission and control, a systematic review of the evidence. PLoS ONE 6(6), e20724; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020724 (2011) Foodborne disease control: A transnational challenge International Cooperation in Health 81–108 (2001) Crisis Preparedness: Asia and the Global Governance of Epidemics (The Brookings Institution techniques of persistent failure in state capability for implementation Human Capital and Health: What is the Evidence R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing Measuring financial stress in transition economies Measuring financial development in the middle east and north africa: A new database Monitoring financial stability: A financial conditions index approach Some financial stability indicators for brazil Banco Central do Brasil Working Paper (2012) Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels Sparse Principal Component Analysis via Variable Projection Holmes, E. E., Ward, E. J. & Scheuerell, M. D. Analysis of multivariate time-series using the MARSS package https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/MARSS/vignettes/UserGuide.pdf (2018) sparsevar: A Package for Sparse VAR/VECM Estimation (2016) Download references This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program “PERISCOPE: Pan European Response to the ImpactS of COvid-19 and future Pandemics and Epidemics” Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03322-8 Sign up for the Nature Briefing: AI and Robotics newsletter — what matters in AI and robotics research Pro Hockey Rumors October 15, 2016 at 3:57 pm CDT | by Leave a Comment While he will accompany the team on their road trip to Western Canada early next week he still isn’t ready just yet to return to the lineup Schwartz was originally expected to miss at least a month with the injury and it’s about halfway into that timeline currently Head coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t have a firm expectation of when Schwartz should return to the lineup but it would appear he’s pretty much on schedule at this time Other injury news and notes from around the league: Log in Register Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League Register November 19, 2016 at 6:45 pm CDT | by Leave a Comment It must be mailbag day on the NHL beat. Earlier we linked to Joe Haggerty’s piece on the Bruins and now Mike Chambers of The Denver Post chimes in answering some tough questions regarding the Avalanche. First and foremost, Chambers discusses Gabriel Landeskog and what his expectations are for the gifted power forward based on his talent and the fact he was the second overall pick in the 2011 draft Landeskog has to start producing 30-goal seasons in order to live up to his billing Landeskog posted a career-high 26 goals in 2013-14 and since has recorded seasons of 23 and 20 markers He has netted four goals in 15 games this season which would put him on a full-season pace of 20 – 21 Landeskog is a good NHL player and is the Avalanche captain but with Colorado once again off to a slow start Colorado needs him to start being great if they want to sneak back into the playoff race the five-year veteran left wing is out of action due to a lower-body-injury There were rumblings that Colorado could shake up its core this past summer and one player rumored to perhaps be moved in such a scenario was Landeskog GM Joe Sakic instead kept the core intact and simply made a couple of changes around the edges if Colorado doesn’t start playing better soon they may revisit that choice and Landeskog could be made available later this season January 9, 2018 at 10:06 am CDT | by 3 Comments Bitetto was in the final season of a two-year deal and would have also been eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer Additionally, a few minutes later, the team announced a two-year deal for Matt Irwin also worth $1.25MM Irwin was on a one-year deal that was set to expire in the summer and thus had to wait (like Weber) for January 1st to sign an extension Weber, Irwin and Bitetto certainly don’t play huge roles on the team, but their presence as the third-pairing or extra man is still valuable. Until the Predators acquired Alexei Emelin to help cover for Ellis’ long-term injury Irwin and Weber were the go-to pairing for around 11-13 minutes a night The two played in all 22 games in last season’s Stanley Cup run and can be relied upon in at least a limited capacity The Predators now have seven defensemen and eleven forwards signed and penciled into the NHL roster for next season meaning that their remaining ~$12MM (depending on where the cap lands) can be used for landing a big fish on the open market or bringing in more salary in trade GM David Poile has done a masterful job of retaining the core pieces of his team while adding through trade when necessary and has built what looks like a sustainable winner at this point Getting three depth pieces under contract for the league minimum is only the latest example Free Agency| Nashville Predators| Newsstand| Transactions It’s sad when NHL players don’t get paid like MLB Part of that is because the NHL lacks well behind in yearly revenues to those sports Another part is due to the NHL’s complete lack of a good television contract($2 billion vs NBA’s $24 billion And then add in that nearly half the NHL’s teams aren’t actually making money which has helped stagnate the salary cap where the high end guys in the NFL can easily double or even triple what the high end NHL guys get you can get a splinter and be released with little to no compensation young players in the NHL are far better compensated than young MLB players It doesn’t balance it out completely but their are some aspects to NHL player compensation that surpasses other leagues Also the salary cap is a huge part (and consequently roster sizes) The NBA for example has a $99m soft salary cap for about 15 players The NFL has a salary cap of $167m for 53 players plus IR players ORADELL — It's always big news when Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep take the mat but it was a different kind of news this time around With Clovis and Paramus adding to a must-see quad Thursday night the biggest news coming out of the four-team showdown was that Don Bosco coach Chris Bitetto had resigned earlier in the day “I just have some family matters that I’d like to keep private right now,” Bitetto said when reached by phone I obviously want to be there to support our guys Bitetto graduated from Hackensack in 2001 and is considered one of North Jersey’s most successful high school wrestlers of all-time was a three-time state finalist and won a state title his sophomore season He had been the coach at Don Bosco since 2011 after coaching under Dave Bell at Bergen Catholic for three years “If and when I decide to get back into coaching I’ll take the experiences I learned at Don Bosco and hopefully utilize them.” Don Bosco will wrestle for the first time without Bitetto tonight at 6 p.m against Clovis before taking on Bergen Catholic Bitetto coached all five Don Bosco state champions “Right now I have to deal with my own issues and they’re very understanding of that,” Bitetto said “I just hope that these guys can stay focus and achieve their goals.” Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com Football on Facebook Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices July 23, 2020 at 12:02 pm CDT | by 2 Comments Though the Seattle Kraken have stolen the news of the day in the NHL there are still 24 teams preparing for the upcoming 2020 playoffs and trying to navigate their way through a pandemic Two players among those 24 teams have admitted to testing positive for COVID-19 though his diagnosis came with plenty of confusion Ouellet first tested negative when he arrived at training camp before then testing positive and going into quarantine He never experienced any symptoms and then subsequently tested negative multiple times to be allowed to re-join the group The defenseman isn’t even sure if he ever actually had the virus though did confirm to Lu that a blood test confirmed antibodies Winnipeg Jets defenseman Anthony Bitetto meanwhile tested positive on June 24, according to team reporter Mitchell Clinton He apparently quarantined himself for 29 days and told Clinton he “was pretty lucky to not have to deal with the more serious symptoms.” Bitetto returned to practice today for the first time The two players join a small group that has admitted to testing positive the NHL is not releasing information on individual players Montreal Canadiens| Winnipeg Jets You have it even when you don’t have it we are looking back on the top wrestlers in North Jersey history The main criteria is success on the high school level particularly in the state individual tournament But success at the college and senior level have an impact as well we take a look at the best at the middle weights Bierdumpfel went on a remarkable run at Don Bosco winning a state championship at 138 pounds as a junior and taking second place his other three years A four-time district champ and three-time region champ Bierdumpfel graduated with a 123-15 record before going on to Harvard Only four other North Jersey wrestlers have made the state final in all four years: Nick Suriano Three years after watching his brother Rich take home a state title Bitetto scored one of his own with a win at 135 pounds That was one of the defining moments for Bitetto who went 130-4 at Hackensack with four state medals He received All-American honors as a senior after earning four county Cabanillas and his twin brother Nicky made up a powerful 1-2 punch for the Spartans during their run of seven straight county titles Ricky made three trips to the state final and won gold in 2018 He went 127-19 during his high school career which included one year at Bergen Catholic Massenzio didn't lose a match during his senior season and went out as the state and national champion at 171 pounds Massenzio (129-13) pinned Moorestown's Mark Thompson in 71 seconds Maybe the best wrestler in Passaic County history McFadden was a two-time state champion who built DePaul into a wrestling power After placing second as a freshman and sixth as a sophomore he took home NJSIAA titles at 145 and 160 as an upperclassman he broke the Passaic wins record at 161-8 and led the Spartans to their first county and state championships in more than two decades Moone is also the answer to a trivia question as the first three-time state champion in New Jersey history He won gold in three straight years (at 125 Teaneck scored the most team points in the tournament he stood alone as the only three-time state champion in Bergen County Monaco (110-8 career) didn't allow a single takedown as a senior an extraordinary feat that helped him win his second state and fourth regional title After placing second in the state as a sophomore he went back-to-back at 135 pounds later in his career He also led the Mustangs to a three-peat at the Passaic County tournament Norgaard won three state medals with the Green Knights and each one got better and better then first during an undefeated senior campaign he earned a 134-6 record with the Green Knights four district and three region championships Pruzansky was selected to The Record's Best of the Century Team after winning the first two state titles in Passaic County history He became the 130-pound champion in 1964 and 1965 and later placed third at the Senior AAU National Tournament Passaic High's only other state champion is his brother Len Pritzlaff (127-4) went undefeated during his junior and senior seasons and capped his career with three straight state titles The first one came at 134 pounds and made him the Golden Bears' first individual champion in two decades He also filled up his trophy case with four district four region and three Bergen Holiday titles Raucci accomplished something no other Leonia wrestler has by winning a pair of state titles Wells was a two-time state champion at Pascack Hills and one of the most dominant wrestlers the region has ever seen Wells went 110-8 with the Cowboys and never lost a district or region match His 83 career pins were once the state record GREATEST WRESTLERS: The best at the lower weights in North Jersey history GREATEST WRESTLERS: The best at the upper weights in North Jersey history Email: farrells@northjersey.com Twitter: @seanfarrell92  Few events capture the imagination of local sports fans like the BCCA Holiday Wrestling Tournament The annual event draws hundreds of fans to Hackensack High School and settles the debate over the top wrestlers in Bergen County.  it appears that this season will be the first without the championship since its inception The wrestling season has been pushed back to March and multi-team events are currently banned due to concern about the spread of COVID-19 we asked North Jersey coaches to share their favorite moments and memories from the holiday tournament and grew to be the largest single tournament in the nation Pascack Hills entered the tournament in 1971 I can remember the two most exciting matches that stand out in my mind. In 1998, Chris Bitetto from Hackensack defeated our guy Justin Frohlich (In the 1981 regional finals,) Pete Georgoutsos from Bergenfield beat Tim Doherty in a wild match most people would agree that those two matches stand out in their minds Justin Frohlich from Pascack Hills - titled the Match of the Century that Bitetto won 18-17. Bitetto was a returning state fourth and Frohlich was a returning state sixth and the match lived up to the hype. Bitetto was down by nine and rallied back Taylor Trumbetti from Pascack Hills - It was my first year coaching at Hills and I am also a Paramus alum. 145 starts the finals and 140 is the last weight (back when there was a 140-pound weight class). If Cirello beats Trumbetti Paramus wins the overall team title over Bergen Catholic and it will be the first time a non-parochial wins the BCCA in 19 years. Cirello beat Trumbetti Trumbetti ended up getting his revenge in the Region final winning the match as time expired.   3. 2016 - Kyle Cochran of Paramus vs. Mickey O'Malley of Hasbrouck Heights.  Cochran was a returning state champ and O'Malley was a returning finalist who bumped up a weight. Cochran had been controlling the match but O'Malley hit him with a five-point Peterson roll to take the lead. Cochran ends up tying the match in the third and wins it in overtime. Those two ended up each winning a state title throughout their careers along with being state finalists and multi-time medalists. Cochran is starting for the University of Maryland and O'Malley is starting for Drexel University.    the BCCA created a committee for special circumstance seeds.  For example or a repeat eighth grader or an incoming freshman who had already placed at national level tournaments. However there was always some anticipation to see where that wild card was going to draw into the tournament. To take it back even further you needed to make the quarterfinals to even have a shot at a top-six medal so sometimes you'd have this frosh phenom in the pre-quarters against a top-three seed upperclassman and whoever lost was out of the tournament. I am glad that we have gotten it right but I do miss that early round war that should have been a semi-final or final.      At the 1999 BCCA Wrestling Tournament, Bergen Catholic junior James Weck entered the tournament as an unheralded 135-pound wrestler most notably top seeded Dennis McSweeney of Lyndhurst But this was destined to be James' BCCA Tournament to shine beating wrestlers who he had never previously defeated forever in the shadow behind other high-profile wrestlers James was matched with Dennis McSweeney in the finals What made James so exciting was his ability to put opponents on their backs Down by four points with under one minute left There were grown men with tears in their eyes after watching James' come-from-behind victory James was the people's champion – always humble and grateful became the first father and son BCCA Champions in the history of the tournament (An addendum to this story: Bergen Catholic's Dominic Santoli and Gene would become the second father and son duo to win the BCCA Tournament.) Predictions for the 2000 BCCA Tournament did not include James Weck winning a medal at the 130-pound weight class James was reduced from an underdog to a non-contender It was difficult to explain to James how he had been written off after beating a future state finalist in dramatic fashion James was not only dogged and exciting to watch James had an arm-throw that he would set up with an overhook – unorthodox and not always guaranteed to succeed James hit his arm-throw and put Romeo on his back pinning him – cementing his legacy as a two-time BCCA champion and New Jersey state place-finisher James Weck was a special young man both on and off the mat and one of the proudest Crusaders to ever take center mat What I think is truly special about the BCCA Holiday Tournament is that there is such a "family" feeling to the whole event The people who run the tourney have done so for years and years and have strong personal connections to the history of the tourney I believe it's this family feeling and the specialness of our Bergen County wrestling community that brings people back year after year or how long ago their children graduated.  2 is when we had three champs in a row in 1998 - 103 Steve Hult and 119 Ryan Hult (2 PV brothers as champs in the same year and Dave's dad Greg is a former Bergenfield wrestler and one of the people who has been helping to run the tournament for decades).  1 is when my son Matt won the 152-pound championship in 2018 (along with Tommy Chiellini at 182) Matt was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler The last time was 50 years prior to that in 1968.  My favorite memory of the BCCA Tournament was 2017 when Elmwood Park took home its first county group title since the early 90’s We stayed to see who got (Most Outstanding Wrestler) we all just looked at each other in shock.  Just getting together and seeing all the coaches it’s a great group of guys and always something I look forward to.  and a group title at the BCCA Holiday Tournament I could not be more proud of these guys for all their hard work and dedication. This was a great step to what’s ahead for the rest of the season The wrestling community is a close-knit group and the BCCA tournament is like a yearly wrestling family reunion that kicks off the season I always found it fitting that the tournament is close to New Year's a time when we reflect on years past and look forward to the future The BCCA’s tradition of remembering past accomplishments while seeing new stars arrive couldn’t fit the theme of the holiday more perfectly I’ve know some of the people from this tournament most of my life and it’s always a time we all come together and share the bond that our love for the sport of wrestling has created Sean Farrell is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app Email: farrells@northjersey.com  Twitter: @seanfarrell92  Congratulations to Homecoming King Ethan Udell and Queen Theresa Bitetto At Half Hollow Hills High School East’s Homecoming game the home team defeated Smithtown High School East 27-7 Udell and Bitetto’s names were officially announced at halftime Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. The association that governs high school sports in New Jersey has no plans to sanction Don Bosco after an incident involving eighth-graders working out in its wrestling room with the Ironmen came to light over the weekend the executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association said Tuesday that the NJSIAA was satisfied with the steps taken by school officials and in accepting the resignation of coach Chris Bitetto “As soon as [athletic director Brian McAleer] caught it the school self-reported the incident and dealt with the coach internally,” Timko said That eighth-graders were working out in the Don Bosco wrestling room was revealed last week after Bitetto suddenly resigned as coach just hours before the Ironmen’s matches Thursday against national power Clovis (Calif.) and Bergen Catholic Don Bosco must submit a “corrective action plan” to the NJSIAA describing the steps it will take to ensure a similar incident does not happen again But Timko said as long as the association is satisfied with the plan it has no intention to take action against the program “Primarily because they were so proactive in dealing with the issue,” he said McAleer referred all inquiries related to the incident to Don Bosco principal John Stanczak “I would characterize the association as being pleased that we took quick and decisive action,” Stanczak said “We reported it immediately and dealt with it.” will provide a written action plan to the NJSIAA “We have a code of conduct that we have coaches sign and part of that is adherence to all rules of the NJSIAA.” Stanczak added: “The kids in the program did nothing wrong I would not have liked to see them get penalized There was an adult in the equation who maybe did the wrong thing Assistant coach Tom Farinaro was elevated to interim head coach following Bitetto’s resignation When asked if Farinaro will be the coach through the end of the season “Tom Farinaro is the interim head coach of the Don Bosco wrestling team.”