Taking gambles with sports

by Danny Martella SENIOR SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER

On New Year’s Eve, the University of Georgia took on Ohio State University in the College Football Championship semi-final. Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles lined up for a game winning field goal that would send them to the National Championship. The clock struck midnight as he hooked the ball way left of the uprights, leading to bettors starting 2023 with a financial loss.

Sports betting has increased in popularity exponentially over the past couple years to the point where an estimated $100 billion were bet on the NFL, and hundreds of millions of dollars on college football last season alone.

PASPA, or the Bradley Act, was a nationwide law that banned sports betting in 1992, until it was overturned in 2018, opening the door for a once-shady industry to launch into mainstream status. Since the lifting of PASPA, it has come down to individual states to decide if they want to allow sports betting. So far 36 states have legalized sports betting, including D.C., while the other 15 states have yet to join the party. Maryland legalized sports betting in 2021 but online sports books did not launch in Maryland until November of just last year due to complications in Maryland law that required extensive research into making the sports betting market equitable for smaller, minority-owned businesses. There are various types of sports bets you can make. Most sports betting falls into one of three categories: Pari-mutuel wagering, fixed odds wagering, and exchange wagering. Pari-mutuel wagering is where all the money from a bet gets placed into a pool. The total is reduced for taxes and fees, while the remaining pot

proposition bets and in-game betting

trainers could be, she realized the job was a great fit for her because of her love for sports and medicine. “All day I get to watch sports and help people,” Dyson said.

Dyson moved to Maryland from St. Louis, Missouri after wanting a change. She saw the job offering at RM and realized her spouse went to the school, so she thought it would be a perfect opportunity. “I didn’t want anyone else to have it…it was perfect timing,” Dyson said. Dyson also shared how important she thinks having an athletic trainer at a school is. “When it is in-house, it saves you and your parent’s money, you can get to know me, and you will see me all the time,” Dyson said. In her opinion, having a more familiar face can help athletes feel more comfortable asking for help and getting treatment.

Sophomore Ari Harder-Krehbiel recently hurt her shoulder and went to Dyson for help. “She always provides me with the resources I need to perform my best at practice and it’s nice that we can see her every day,” Harder-Krehbiel said.

On a daily basis, Dyson helps athletes with a large variety of issues. “I examine a lot of injuries. I do a lot of wellness promotion, sending people rehab plans, stretching, foam rolling, body recovery, taping elbows and wrists, and providing ice,” Dyson said.

Athletic trainers are educated in many different areas such as nutrition, kinesiology, biology, etc., so they are able to deal with various problems. If an athlete feels they need medical treatment or gets injured during practice, Dyson is ready to help however she can. During practice time and after school, Dyson can be found in the training room or walking throughout the school to different practice locations such as the gym or track. “Sometimes things overlap, so right now I’m providing all coaches with walkie-talkies so they can call me if someone needs me,” Dyson said. This is just one of many new precautions Dyson is implementing to ensure student-athlete safety. Having Dyson at RM will help countless injuries from going untreated and unnoticed. From small problems like taping fingers to larger and more serious injuries, Dyson will be a familiar face to help. “I do it all but I love it so I don’t complain,” Dyson said.

Managers: secret to teams success

by Emma Tyser SPORTS WRITER

agers are chosen and given SSL hours for their time and work.

is split up based on the result of the bet, and how much each individual contributed. Exchange wagering is when players bet against each other rather than a sportsbook. This can be a more affordable method as the house fees are usually lower than mainstream sportsbooks. Fixed odds wagering is the most common type of betting. Within this category, there are various subcategories including: fractional odds, point spread, parlays,

Some bets are not about results of the games but outcomes of plays or other unrelated events. This is called proposition betting, also sometimes called “prop bets,” which is another common form of betting. Some common ones include; who scores first, what the coin toss will be, what color the gatorade that the winning team pours on the coach will be, and how long the national anthem will be. Finally in-game betting, or live betting, is betting throughout the duration of a game, for example, on specific plays. In Maryland, sports betting has exploded as an economic asset. Retail betting had been live for a year before mobile betting finally reached Maryland. This later release created more demand that burst when it hit people’s phones. Playmaryland.com predicts that Maryland could collect $481 million from sports betting in 2023, while also becoming a top 15 sports betting market in the U.S. $704,000 reportedly went towards the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which prioritizes equity in Maryland school systems. Sports betting can be used as a source of income for someone, with winnings coming out to be hundreds of dollars. “Since it’s not the summer and I’m not working currently, I do it to make money,” a RM student said.

Most would argue that a good team is founded on the five C’s; communication,camaraderie, commitment, confidence, and coachability. Or, that a team only runs from coach leadership. But at RM, the sports teams have team managers; the hidden ingredient in the recipe for a quality and hardworking team. In the winter season, the managers of the basketball team have been shown to present the most dedi cation and allegiance in making sure this season runs smoothly.

In order for the team to work, our managers work to do things ranging from filling up athletes’ water bottles to working the scoreboard at practices or running the camera during games.

“We help out with their laundry as well as the stat book to and be there for the team,” sophomore boys JV and varsity bas ketball man ager Ari Harder-Kreihbel said.

At RM, the selection process for becoming a team manager is particular, beginning with talking with the coaches. Students explain their reasons for wanting to be a manager along with reasons they are a good fit. The amount of students looking for the job makes it a competitive application. Once coaches have considered their options, team man-

“About six or seven girls ‘applied’ to be a manager. Four of them were chosen and then all given different duties that rotate every game,” Harder-Kreihbel said. Although the teams work from within, managers are there to collaborate in order to make that setting a more comfortable place that athletes feel welcome.

It is most important that the athletes feel that they can be themselves, and are surrounded by trusting people to make that possible.

“We attempt to stay behind the scenes and let the season run its course,” junior JV and varsity manager Buma Jah said. In doing this the coaches don’t have to think about logistics, and are able to give their full coaching commitment to the players.

In high school a team needs open transparency, and that managers. As als, team managers strive for honesty and integrity which allows for trust within the team. Separately, RM’s managers strive for adaptivity and willingness. In order to accomplish this, managers need a level of ambition that allows them to work quickly on their feet. “They have been working hard to make sure the team is prepared to play and perform to the best of their ability,” JV boys basketball coach Jamaal Schools said.