Naples Daily News Weekend Digest Miss something this week? Catch up on a few of our big stories with this quick digest

Brides-to-be enjoy Bridal Blast

It wasn't Zach Friedlieb's corny pickup line that first drew Alexis Gonzalez to him, but his sense of humor is one of the reasons she stuck around.

"I asked her for a Band-Aid and she asked me why," Friedlieb, 35, said. "I said, 'Because I scraped my knee falling for you.'"

She looked up at him and couldn't help but laugh.

"He gets a little out of control sometimes," she said.

The newly engaged couple joined a throng of other spouses-to-be at the National Association of Wedding Professionals' Bridal Blast at Germain Arena Sunday afternoon.

Caterers provided samples of cakes and food for the reception. Bridal shops displayed wedding gowns in all styles, from curve-hugging dresses to ballgowns. Vendors offered a variety of services, including DJs, tent and table rentals and photo booths. Hundreds of people packed the chairs and bleachers to see models walk the runway in wedding gowns and tuxedos as part of a fashion show put on by a collaboration between Gulf Coast Town Center stores The Tuxx Man and Laura Jacobs Bridal.

Imagine Solutions Conference asks attendees to imagine the future

From cars without drivers to hospitals without doctors, there was no shortage of ideas to consider Monday at the Imagine Solutions Conference.

Hundreds packed into a tent on the lawn of the The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in North Naples to talk about what will shape the future.

First up in an impressive lineup of speakers was Juan Enriquez, who started with an early morning quiz for the audience. He asked attendees to get into small groups to see how many large companies they could name in the U.S. that did not exist a couple of decades ago, giving them 20 seconds to think about it. When time was up, Uber and Lyft were among the answers.

Then, Enriquez gave the audience another 20 seconds to answer the same question about European companies. It was decidedly more difficult.

"There is a lot more churn in the U.S.," said Enriquez, author of "Evolving Ourselves."

In the U.S., new waves of companies have wiped out the existing order, and these waves of destruction cause systemic changes and issues, he said.

Spring training: Boston Red Sox going back to the basics this spring

Baseball, more than any other professional sport, lends itself to all sorts of advanced metrics and statistical analysis. The most important math in baseball, however, is that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This spring, the Boston Red Sox will see a renewed focus on forming team chemistry, instilling sound fundamental practices, and an emphasis on the individual player and what they can do to help the team win.

"Everyone in the clubhouse has something that they are dealing with or working through individually, and now we have to be able to set that aside and meld as a team, to come together as a team," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "That's what's going to set a very talented group apart from the rest of the pack, how cohesive we become as a team."

That was one of Farrell's central themes in his speech to the team before the team's first official full-squad workout at the Fenway South Player Development Complex on Wednesday.

"What we do internally and how cohesive we remain, having one another's back, protecting one another, that is the core and center of us, and one of the main ingredients for becoming a tight-knit team," he said of his opening statement.

The Red Sox spent the first day of workouts practicing the fundamentals like bunt coverages, defensive rotations and a lot of fielding practice. Outfielder Rusney Castillo, who is dealing with flu-like symptoms, was the only position player not taking part Wednesday.

Three candidates for Naples mayor highlight their vision, then take a few jabs

The three candidates running for Naples mayor played nice, for the most part, for the first hour of the Tuesday night debate hosted by the Naples Daily News. Then came the closing statements.

Mayor John Sorey, up for re-election, quoted Ronald Reagan, thanked his supporters and listed the local politicians that have endorsed him. To close, he took a dig at his opponent, City Councilman and former mayor Bill Barnett.

"Yes, you have to listen," Sorey said, a nod to Barnett's campaign slogan, "Leadership By Listening." "But listening hasn't gotten us much. We have to listen and put that into action going forward."

In her closing statement, City Councilwoman Teresa Heitmann said she was forgoing her planned remarks. Heitmann said the city has devoted too much time and resources toward Fifth Avenue South and not enough attention has been paid toward River Park, the city's mostly poor, majority black neighborhood.

It was the only time the neighborhood was addressed during the debate.

"River Park has been neglected," Heitmann said. "We have not spent funds appropriately for low-income housing and affordable housing."

Barnett and Sorey have previously said that affordable housing in the city is virtually unachievable.

Naples mother gives a second gift of life to her son

A routine sports physical back in August changed 14-year-old Dylon Jacob's life — and likely saved it.

Doctors noticed the Naples middle schooler had extremely high blood pressure and suggested his mother, Lindsey Jacobs, have him checked out. But Jacobs felt the problem couldn't wait. She rushed him to the hospital that day.

Doctors would later determine the eighth grade youth football player had Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. Kidney disease.

"He had no symptoms. None," Jacobs said. "Thank God he had that sports physical."

The following months would be filled with doctors visits and close calls, trips to Miami twice a week for dialysis treatment and consuming worry for Jacobs, who stopped working to care for her son full-time. When doctors determined Dylon would need a new kidney to survive, Jacobs, 32, volunteered.

"I was just mainly scared for him," Jacobs said. "What if my kidney wasn't good enough? What if he rejected it? All my thoughts were about him, not myself. The mom adrenaline just kicks in and you do whatever it takes."

On Jan. 28 mother and son went under the knife together. Now, they're recovering together in a Miami hotel where they have to stay so they're in proximity to the hospital where they continue to have daily blood work.

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