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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 18h

The @wpdatateam.bsky.social used hundreds of real people's TikTok data to show how the app sucks people in and keeps them there. In 5 months, the lightest users doubled their time on TikTok (to over an hour a day!), swiped faster and opened the app more: www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...

A chart showing that casual users opened TikTok 8 times a day -- up from 4 five months' earlier. Power users opened the app 20 times a day on average, and that stayed constant over time.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 19h

Sportsbooks generate far more revenue per dollar wagered on parlays than straight bets.

And yet the popularity of parlays is soaring.

Sportsbooks heavily promote these bets — and many people probably never bother to do the math to understand why they're such a bad deal.

Story: bit.ly/47hUFwJ

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 1d

Terrific work here on parlays, replete with data on just how lucrative they are for sportsbooks.

Craziest stat to me: In Maryland, parlays have made up 36% of sports bet spend this year -- and 67% of sportsbooks' revenue.

Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 1d

How America’s favorite sports bet is fueling sportsbook profits

Parlays are becoming more popular, accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Post analysis of betting data. Bettors lose billions a year on these bets.

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/inter...

Americans can’t stop betting parlays. Sportbooks are cashing in.

As betting booms, parlays are accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Washington Post analysis of state data.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 1d

This story was the brainchild of sports data reporter @emilygiam.bsky.social, who collaborated with @katiperry.bsky.social and @asteckelberg.bsky.social to allow you to try parlay betting yourself. It's often not pretty

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 1d

Parlays have become incredibly popular, with many betting apps encouraging these high-stakes multi-leg bets. But as legs are added, the chance of winning drops faster than the growth of the potential payout - which means sportsbooks have the advantage. Explore the math and and try your own bets:

Americans can’t stop betting parlays. Sportbooks are cashing in.

As betting booms, parlays are accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Washington Post analysis of state data.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 1d

We simulated what your bank account would look like if you kept betting parlays. Here we consider a five-leg parlay with -110 odds per leg. And we assume you're no better than random chance. (You probably aren't.)

You might get lucky every so often, but breaking even in the long run is very hard.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 1d

The sportsbooks’ advantage is obvious in the data: Operators bring in far more revenue for every dollar wagered on these bets than they do straight bets. Parlays account for about one-third of the total amount wagered, but they generate roughly two-thirds of the sportsbooks’ revenue.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 1d

But parlays *heavily* favor the operators — not because of the low win rate but because of the math going on behind the scenes.

As legs are added to the bet, the chance of winning drops faster than the growth of the potential payout.

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/inter...

Americans can’t stop betting parlays. Sportbooks are cashing in.

As betting booms, parlays are accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Washington Post analysis of state data.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 1d

How America’s favorite sports bet is fueling sportsbook profits

Parlays are becoming more popular, accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Post analysis of betting data. Bettors lose billions a year on these bets.

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/inter...

Americans can’t stop betting parlays. Sportbooks are cashing in.

As betting booms, parlays are accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Washington Post analysis of state data.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Caitlin Gilbert @caitlingilbert.bsky.social · 3d

🤳EXCLUSIVE: We analyzed real data from over 800 U.S. TikTok users to reveal how the app transforms casual users into power users.

Extremely proud of this one, over a year in the making w/ @richardsima.bsky.social Leslie Shapiro @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social

wapo.st/4obueib

Here’s how TikTok ‘power users’ end up scrolling 4 hours a day or more

Washington Post reporters analyzed data from over 800 TikTok users to learn how the app turns people into power users, some of whom spend hours per day scrolling.

wapo.st

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 9d

update: this U.S. worlds team kind of feels like an advertisement for the University of Florida gymnastics program

Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · Aug 11

U.S. elite nationals kind of feels like an advertisement for the University of Florida gymnastics program

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

USA Gymnastics @usagym.org · 9d

Introducing: The 2025 U.S. Women’s World Championships Team presented by Xfinity

⭐️ Skye Blakely
⭐️ Dulcy Caylor
⭐️ Joscelyn Roberson
⭐️ Leanne Wong

Non-Traveling Replacement Athletes: Jayla Hang & Ashlee Sullivan

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 10d

Wow! Dulcy Caylor wins the all-around at the U.S. selection event and earns a spot on the worlds team. A big surprise but she hit today.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 13d

And now Claire Pease, who won the U.S. Classic, is also out with an ankle injury.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 14d

U.S. national all-around champion and 2024 Olympian Hezly Rivera will not compete at the world championships selection event due to an ankle injury, she said on Instagram.

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 29d

The Washington Commanders, who have the oldest roster in the NFL this season, tonight face the Green Bay Packers, who have the youngest team in the league.

Washington is the NFL’s oldest team. Not just this year, but in nearly two decades.

Thursday night’s game in Green Bay isn’t just a meeting of NFC heavyweights. It’s also the youngest roster in the league against the oldest.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 29d

There's no perfect way to define rosters because they're in flux. We used Sports Reference's rosters and limited to players who appeared in a regular season game.

Fwiw, we tested the analysis with all players on those rosters and by weighting for number of games played, and the trend holds up.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 29d

Turns out, this is the norm for Dan Quinn's teams. In Atlanta, he often had among the oldest, if not the oldest, team in the league.

wapo.st/4gp9NM2

Washington is the NFL’s oldest team. Not just this year, but in nearly two decades.

Thursday night’s game in Green Bay isn’t just a meeting of NFC heavyweights. It’s also the youngest roster in the league against the oldest.

wapo.st

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · 29d

The Washington Commanders are *super* old (i.e. 28.6 years old, on average) — older than every team this season & all teams since 2007.

story with @tomschad.bsky.social

wapo.st/4gp9NM2

Washington is the NFL’s oldest team. Not just this year, but in nearly two decades.

Thursday night’s game in Green Bay isn’t just a meeting of NFC heavyweights. It’s also the youngest roster in the league against the oldest.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 29d

Tonight's game isn't just a meeting of NFC heavyweights. It's the league's youngest team (Green Bay) against the oldest in nearly two decades (Washington).

Reporting w/ @emilygiam.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

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Reposted by Emily Giambalvo

Jesse Dougherty @jessedougherty.bsky.social · Aug 27

Behold, the 10 best college football towns in America (courtesy of friends and me @washingtonpost.com, including a cameo from the great @rodger.bsky.social): www.washingtonpost.com/travel/inter...

The 10 best college football towns in America

From the frenzy of Madison, Wisconsin, to the woodsy charm of Eugene, Oregon, these college football towns are a must-visit for any fan.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · Aug 23

DMV gymnastics alert! Charleigh Bullock, a 15-year-old who trains in Burke, Va., had a great showing at the Junior Pan American Games.

She won five gold medals — team, all-around, bars, beam and floor.

Her top scores this year on bars are the best in the country among juniors and seniors.

USA Gymnastics @usagym.org · Aug 23

drum roll, please 🥁...

Team USA gymnasts won 3️⃣1️⃣ total medals at the Junior Pan American Games!

Artistic athletes added the final five after another successful day of competition in Paraguay! Read More! ⤵️

U.S. gymnasts win five medals on final day of 2025 Junior Pan Am Games • USA Gymnastics

Charleigh Bullock, Addalye VanGrinsven and William McCrea collected the final honors for Team USA at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games, winning five medals to conclude the competition Friday with the...

usagym.org

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · Aug 11

After rough U.S. Classic, Hezly Rivera's eight solid routines were huge for her.

Another contender: Jayla Hang, who had mistakes Friday but the third-best single-day AA on Sunday. She was great earlier this year. Very much in the mix to win worlds selection event & get automatic spot on team.

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · Aug 11

There isn't a deep field world medal contenders. But two big developments last night:

– Leanne Wong's Cheng on vault (which immediately boosted her worlds hopes + medal potential)
– Skye Blakely's excellent bars and beam (events where the U.S. field is behind the best gymnasts in the world)

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Emily Giambalvo @emilygiam.bsky.social · Aug 11

Simone Biles and the other biggest stars from Paris are absent from the competitive floor. A new Olympic cycle has begun.

A look ahead at how this year's group of U.S. gymnasts might fare against the world's best:

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olymp...

U.S. gymnastics dominance will be tested with Simone Biles and others absent

Hezly Rivera, the lone Olympian in the field at nationals, won the all-around title. She might lead the Americans at worlds this fall.

www.washingtonpost.com

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