Is sports betting a reliable source of income?

By: Milling Galloway

Sports betting is an addiction that many people struggle with. Which pops the question can sports betting bring in a steady income. If we are going to look into this, first you have to understand what sports betting is. Forbes states, “Sports betting is the act of risking money on the outcome of a sporting event or any aspect of a sporting event. The goal is to turn a profit.Sports betting includes wagers on the moneyline, spread, Over/Under, parlays, props and futures.Multiple factors determine how much money sports bettors can win.” So, if you were asking the question of if it’s gambling. The answer would be yes. Unlike other gambling ways sports betting is the most reliable of them all. Unless you know nothing about what you are going to gamble on. ElitePickz mentions, “Professional sport bettors rarely sustain long-term winning percentage above 56% and sometimes the lowest win rate of 53 – 54 %. The break even winning percentage of a profitable sports bettor is typically 52.4%.” This truly isn’t that bad of odds and you also have to put in perspective of how many non-knowledgeable people make bets. I personally think sports betting could be a profession. It’s kinda like being a stockbroker, just with sports. Some sports bets can give you a max payout of a lot of money. The bad thing about it though is that the risk can be very high. Losing money is a common theme among people. But not me, just kidding I am not old enough to bet. When I turn the appropriate age, I might dabble into the sports betting industry. In my opinion nothing can beat sitting back on the couch and relaxing. Also you will be making money at the same time. What gets better than that? Nothing does, so sports betting could be a sustainable profession.

Will Sean Strickland win his next matchup against Shara Magomedov?

By: Wyatt Meyers

There’s a lot of excitement about Sean Strickland’s next fight with Shara Magomedov in the UFC, for good reason. The current middleweight champion, Strickland, is famous for his creative fighting technique and powerful striking. Having fought some of the hardest opponents out there, he has a significant advantage from his experience. Strickland is skilled at applying pressure to his opponents, making it difficult for them to settle into a routine. What really makes him stand out in battles is his ability to adjust.

However, Shara Magomedov is a strong prospect in the middleweight class. His mix of striking and fighting talents make him an intimidating challenge for anybody. He has been winning fights lately, showing that he is not scared to go for the victory. Because of his dynamic fighting style, Magomedov may quickly change up his strategies, leaving his opponents wondering.

It’s clear that Magomedov’s growing fame and Strickland’s championship experience will come together as they get ready to fight. It’s likely that Strickland will concentrate on maintaining distance and stopping Magomedov with blows. Magomedov, on the other hand, is likely to try to narrow the distance and use his grabbing abilities to gain the advantage. 

The future of the middleweight division and the fighters both depend on this matchup. Strickland’s reign as champion is strengthened if he wins.  However, Magomedov might enter the title picture if he pulls off an upset, creating new chances for fights down the road.

Fans are generally anticipating strong action from this fight, which has the potential to completely change the middleweight division’s future.  Given how hard both competitors have trained, their fight is sure to go down as a career high point.

Has Fortnite finally fallen off?

Braelen Lewis

Fortnite has been on the verge of death for a while now but has been able to hold on. This is due to its numerous collabs and new updates, but in the last months it has become silent. With almost nothing new and the active players on the game has been on an active decline. This is also due to Fortnite’s marketing team not doing very well with posting regularly and in general just making good content which reaches large audiences. Honestly though, in my opinion Fortnite is a dead game due to the repetitiveness of the gameplay and that all the people who used to love the game have all grown up and moved away from video games as a whole. It could also be argued though that another reason why it has fallen off is due to all of the new competitors coming out with massive games such as call of duty black ops six and space marines two. This could also be an argument for the case that Fortnite has not died and will return after people get bored of these games. The game is also dying due to the fact that people have grown up and their love for single person story games has risen and Fortnite can not compete with these games of which some are named beautiful pieces of art such as games like Red Dead Redemption two and Fallout four. In general I believe that Fortnite needs to invest in a new dlc or need to come up with a huge update to the game play for their games to return to the top of the charts, which they were at for such a long time before. Certainly Fortnite is a dead game now due to boring updates and no new outstanding content. Surely they need to expand their ways and come up with something like a campaign to gain back their title as the greatest game ever. 

Cardinals Are Looking Scary Heading Into Week 4

By: Henry Jones

In all honesty, the last three weeks of NFL football have been the most enjoyable in a while. Though my Arizona Cardinals have a losing record being 1-2, we are surely shocking the sports world. Both of our losses have been by a single touchdown, and our win was by a significant amount of points. Not to mention all the teams we have played are significantly dominant teams. To give you better perspective on how our team is playing, Kyler Murray is a top 15 ranked QB and threw a perfect passer rating in the week 2 game versus the Rams. While this is very promising, there is also our rookie wide receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., who has been producing as well. Despite the scary week one performance only producing one catch for four yards, he took a big leap forward going for 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone. Not only is this impressive for a rookie, Harrison Jr. is just the 13th receiver since 1991 to achieve this goal.

Another thing to notice is that our rushing game has also taken a jump. James Connor, our running back, has been a demon on the ground, amassing 189 rush yards and two touchdowns. Pairing him with the mobility of Kyler Murray is surely something for teams to watch out for. Now to talk rankings. The Cardinals are currently second in their division with the most points scored out of all their competitors. You would think since we have a more points scored than allowed in our games we would be positive, but no, our defense always seems to find a way to sell. It’s times like these when I am looking forward to the draft when we can pick up a 6’5 250 lb defensive stud to reinforce our line. To wrap up, it is hard to predict whether we will end up losing the rest of our games, or sneaking into a playoff spot, but I can for sure say that we will kill the Panthers when that game rolls around.

Baking with Benson

By: Benson Elmore

Say it is your birthday, and you need the most awesome cake ever from scratch, well look no further, I have the best birthday cake recipe ever. 

The ingredients required for this masterpiece are

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole milk

Once you have these your ready to get to cooking!

First, here are the steps to prepare your kitchen/appliances for awesomeness…

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two round cake pans.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them well after each time you make a new addition. Then, stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the round pans.

Now it is time to get to baking…

  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. 

Next, you want to make the frosting

Here’s the ingredients 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Food coloring (optional)

Now, here’s how you make it

  • In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy.
  • Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until combined.
  • Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. If you want to color the frosting, add a few drops of food coloring and mix until well incorporated.

Now it’s time to assemble this masterpiece

  • Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a layer of buttercream frosting on top.
  • Add the second cake layer and frost the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining buttercream.
  • Decorate with sprinkles or any other decorations you like.

Now serve up this awesome cake to the birthday boy/girl for the best birthday EVER!!!

This week’s Crumbl Cookie Preview

This week’s lineup of Crumbl Cookies is (September 16-21)

My ratings are:

  1. Brownie batter 

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A gooey chocolate cookie packed with semi-sweet chocolate chips and topped with delectable brownie batter.

I have not tried this cookie but I love brownies and this sounds so good. It would be the best because the reviews I have watched say that it is served warm and the chocolate chips in it are a good add in.

  1. Raspberry cheesecake ft. Philadelphia cream cheese

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A true, classic vanilla cheesecake baked over a buttery graham cracker crust, then topped with a tangy mouth-watering raspberry spread and a dollop of whipped cream. 

I would love to try this cookie because I love cheesecake and strawberry would be better on top instead of raspberry in my opinion, but it still sounds really good. Cheesecake is my favorite and this is very unique to make this a new flavor, served chilled is also the best.10/10

  1. Caramel pumpkin cake

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A fluffy pumpkin cookie, topped with a swirl of smooth caramel cream cheese frosting and a light sprinkling of pumpkin cookie crumbs.

Cream cheese frosting is the best kind of icing and to mix it in with caramel and pumpkin is genius. Pumpkin is not my favorite, but I like how it’s not only a pumpkin cookie, and they added more flavors in it.

  1. Semi sweet chocolate chip

Crumbl Cookies’ description: Chocolate chip, but make it chunky—a delicious cookie filled with irresistible semi-sweet chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Even though this is a weekly flavor, it is a classic and you can never go wrong with the basics. The sea salt adds a sweet and hint of salty flavor, and everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie.

  1. Maple cinnamon square

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A moist, fluffy cinnamon square marbled with brown sugar cinnamon butter and smothered with a light maple cream cheese frosting.

Again with the square cakes and I don’t know why they keep doing these. It’s not a good idea to sell things other than cookies in my opinion. I don’t like maple at all and although there is cinnamon also, it doesn’t do it much better. It’s not in last place because of the cream cheese frosting. 

  1. Fried ice cream

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A delicious cinnamon cookie with smooth white drop buttercream and topped with a fried ice cream streusel.

Confused as to why they would pick this flavor. I feel like no one would buy this and the picture of it online looks like it has crunched up Frosted Flakes on top of it. Fried ice cream streusel doesn’t even make sense and I feel like they only chose this as a flavor because they’re running out of ideas.

Country Songs That Will Make Your Day Better

By: Lucy Buxton

6 Summer Country Music Concerts To Look Forward To | Uloop

In no specific order, I will be naming and going into detail about country songs that will increase your mood. 

The first song that will cheer you up and my favorite song of all time, “Feathered Indians” by Tyler Childers. I’ve never heard someone say a negative thing about this song. It’s impossible to. This song carries a good upbeat tune that is very catchy but the words make it the most joyful. My favorite line in this song is, “But up till now there ain’t been nothing that I couldn’t leave behind”. Although that is very grammatically incorrect, it makes me think of all I have been given and how hard it will be to leave behind but reminds me that God closes doors to open new ones. 

The second song on my list is “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” by Travis Tritt. This one is pretty self explanatory. It’s a good reminder of how some days aren’t always the best but to be thankful for the days you are alive. My favorite part from this song is “And it’s a great day to be alive, I know the suns still shining when I close my eyes. There’s some hard times in the neighborhood but why can’t everyday be just this good.” Again, the song really emphasizes life is what you choose to make of it.

The third song on my list is “People are crazy” by Billy Currington. Billy Currington explains he wrote this song after riding around the country in Alabama and thinking of two things that always remain true. God is great and people are crazy. The song explains Billy meeting a random guy out on the town one night and they end up talking about their lives. Billy thinks nothing of it until later on when the old man Billy talked to the night passed away and it turns out he was a millionaire and left all his money to Billy.  Obviously, this story is pretty far fetched but it shows how much the little things in life mean to people.

The fourth song on my list is “Crash and Burn” by Thomas Rhett. Rhett explains the meaning of his song is to fail spectacularly. It romanticizes failing but not always looking at it as a bad thing. It demonstrates not taking life so seriously. It’s about a guy who doesn’t have the best luck finding love but it sounds so happy. It’s a different take on how to deal with bad or unexpected things in a bright light instead of moping around and wasting time. I just like this song because it reminds me life keeps moving forward even if you don’t.

College football 25 is the best game 

By: Bryce Hanson

    College football is the highlight of many peoples lives. Every Saturday 18 to 24 year old men put their lives on the line to play an entertaining game for us fans to watch. And if you want to admit it or not everyone of those fans wish they could be part of the game. Well  luckily for those fans it’s now possible. With one of the most entertaining games named College Football 25. 

     This game has everything a person would want: The complete college experience. From keeping your grades up to have an eligible GPA, to practicing your butt off to maybe becoming a starter, it has it all. But this game doesn’t just stop at being a college athlete, you can also be a head coach for a struggling team and you have to rebuild them, or be the coach of a dominant power house and keep their legacy alive. One thing that puts this game ahead of the rest is the amount of teams you can pick from. It doesn’t matter what conference your favorite team is in, if their D1 they’re in the game. Another thing that just makes this game so special is the complexity of it, like I said you can be a coach or a player but there is also just quick play were you can play as any team against any team for fun. Then you have ultimate team where you try to get the best college players ever and put them all on one team. Another thing I love about this game is that it’s not easy. Most games have an easy mode that just makes the game too easy so you can’t lose but in this game anything can happen. 

Why Lifting Weights is Necessary for Athletes

By: Ford Wilder

To begin, there are numerous reasons why all athletes should utilize the weight room to some extent. Using the weight room could be that extra push an athlete needs to be great instead of just good. Many athletes overlook lifting weights and only work on skill work and practice of their sport or sports. I am here to tell you why that may be setting them back, and how the weight room is vital to athletes.

The first of many reasons is the most important one which is increased strength. By lifting weights and getting stronger, one’s sports performance will continue to rise. This is because an increased output in power allows athletes to become faster, quicker, more agile, and have more force and stability in their upper and lower body. Not only will you have a higher force output, but by lifting weights you will also cause hypertrophy, increasing the size of your muscle fibers. Not only will you get stronger and more athletic by lifting weights, but you will also become more toned and look the part. Balance the weights with a well-balanced diet and you will see the great benefits to come with your athletic abilities and performance.

Next off, weight lifting also is vital to injury prevention. While some injuries are inevitable, the latest research suggests that resistance weight training can assist heavily in preventing musculoskeletal injuries. This is because by lifting weights with the correct form and targeting the right muscle groups you can increase stability and support in your body. By utilizing the weight room athletes can prevent injuries and also get rid of them by strengthening the surrounding ligaments and muscles around the affected area.

Lastly, lifting weights is very beneficial for one’s mental state. Many studies show regular weight training can boost one’s mood and decrease anxiety. This is because lifting weights and exercising releases endorphins which play a major role in having a good mood. Also, lifting weights can improve brain health because studies show that resistance training can increase neuroprotective factors. One of these factors is the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor which is linked to learning and memory.

To summarize, many athletes overlook the importance of weight training and how it can enhance performance. This is why athletes should begin a weightlifting program and pay attention to the benefits that come with it.   

Ranking the Seasons: Winter

By: Alexis Dawkins

            Winter is my least favorite time of year. Being cold is the worst thing on the planet, but a few good things can come from winter. To start off, there is Christmas. Even though I hate winter, Christmas is the best time of year. Having time with family and getting gifts: what could be better? Santa comes for the kids, and they have the best time setting up cookies and milk for him. Then there is New Years. This is a monumental time every year because we end one year and start a new one. Everyone tries to make new year resolutions but we all know how those go. A month into the year and a majority of people have forgotten about them. 

           Valentine’s day also is in the winter. February 14th is the day that couples love. Everyone giving out chocolate and flowers and stuffed animals is a big part of Valentine’s day. Sometimes, depending on where you are, it may snow. Not in Sumter but in a lot of places it may snow a few feet. If it does snow then it is a great time for friends and family to get together and play outside. Even if you live in South Carolina where it doesn’t snow you can go places like Virginia and go snowboarding and snow skiing. This is a great way for families to bond and make memories that last a lifetime. 

           This also is the time for basketball season for all the basketball lovers out there. The winter is the best time to have bonfires too. They can be fun in the summer but they are better in the winter because they heat you up in the cold of the winter. 

           Even though I do not like winter, it is still a fun time of year for those who do like the cold.