Maximus Decimus

Absolutely no chance of corruption there! I used to be naive and very trusting and thought all talk of heated balls etc was conspiracy nonsense. Then they basically admitted to it with the 98 World Cup!

As a Widnes fan, I'm hoping KR play themselves in the final.

I don't think he did, but he certainly could've done. He just would need to see which is which ball is where and then put his hand in to find it. He does look like he's looking in rather than looking for the hole. While they're reading out the first team he's pretty much looking in. The teams are well placed but of course the RFL would prefer it if Catalans didn't make it. Hull KR are the current best ranked of any of them. Again, I doubt very much he actually did, but if it'd been a draw with an easier route and he'd have pulled it out for Saints.... I suppose it's about pre-empting possible controversies before they actually happen.

Are the RFL so strapped for cash that they can't afford to heat the balls anymore?

Got anyone thinking I've lost it, here it is and I must say it looks worse second time! https://x.com/BBCSport/status/1908891902172164437

I watched the semi-final today, and was a bit surprised by the draw at half-time. They invited Stuart Pearce down, which was great and he spoke well about the game. They also had Jon Wilkin there. When it came to the draw, they had this large bowl with a hole cut in one side, that seemed quite large. Pearce put the balls in and made sure to look completely away before drawing out Hull KR. However, Wilkin took a look to see where he needed to put his hand before looking away and drawing. It seemed very open to abuse IMO. He could easily have seen the 3 numbers, grabbed the one he wanted and then swirled the other balls around. I'm not for one second saying that he actually did this, just that he could have done . But when one person drawing is a big Warrington fan, and the other is a Saints legend (who played for Hull KR) you're almost asking for controversy. On a completely separate note, I'm sure the RFL are pleased that Catalans drew Hull KR in the draw.

It wasn't well organised, which was baffling because they knew about the pre-sales. In the North Stand (the main Widnes one) they had one set of turnstiles open. The queues were nearly round the stadium and they had to put the kickoff back. Inside the stadium, the queues were so bad for the bar, I didn't bother going. They essentially have a set up that is used to a couple of thousand diehard fans, and didn't bother to upscale any of it for a crowd of 7000 many of whom wanted to properly drink. There were two choices on the beer, Guinness and Coors which is bizarre in itself. I didn't see any trouble, but when I was in the queue regretted not taking my lad to the South Stand. There were a lot of young men who clearly haven't been for a long time, and were probably thinking it wouldn't be competitive so were more interested in getting hammered. It wasn't particularly similar to the make up of a crowd during the SL days. The balance between families and young men was askew. I purposely moved to the far end near the unpopulated side in anticipation. As I said, I didn't see anything and had a great time. It was like a game I haven't seen for years at Widnes, probably 2016, and might not see again for a long time if ever. It helped that we did well so people were in good spirits.

It was like a blast from the past. A good old-fashioned blood and thunder derby. I wasn't planning on going until today, just couldn't face a 70 odd nil drubbing. It went pretty much as well as I could've hoped. Widnes we're almost perfect today. Very few errors, plenty of decent attacking play and did everything they could in defence. Wire were very poor I thought, especially in the first half. Dropped loads of balls, and didn't offer very much outside of the forwards. They essentially only won because of their superior fitness. At 60 minutes, you started to wonder could it happen? It's the hope that kills you...

It's an improvement on the interim system of forcing everybody to buy a ticket from the ticket office on the other side of the stadium. It added an unnecessary step and led to many missing the start of games!

Yeh exactly this. It's about the rivalry more than anything. It's my first game for quite a while and I was really in two minds. I didn't fancy paying to see Widnes get hammered by Wire but as the day got nearer I thought better of it. I'm just hoping for something to shout about. I remember before Widnes got to SL the first time, we played Leeds and it was 10-10 at h/t before Leeds pulled away to win 46-10 something like that. I'd take that today. It being my first time in a while, I'd forgotten what it could be like to watch Widnes. I currently have a pdf ticket and an e-ticket, which is fine apart from the fact they have two different start times on them. One says 5pm and the other 6pm.

Not as dominant, but still very successful. His numbers absolutely hold up, and his ability under pressure was obviously very good. For a bit more context, he still holds the record for the highest ever average in a Worlds final, and his lifetime average is over 100.

Eagles

Eagles and Bills

Chiefs, Lions, Eagles, Ravens

The worst bit was his insistence he was robbed still. I've never seen a robbery where 90%+ of pundits agree.

As for my darts journey, I've tried it all over the years. When I started, I thought I'd just try to figure out a throw that worked but soon got frustrated with the inconsistency. Then I went down the route of seeing what was good technique alongside proper practise routines and even had my throw examined. This hasn't necessarily helped scorewise (which is important) but I tend to know what went wrong. This can lead to a situation where I can't settle on one stance or style of throw and just keep flipping from one to another. I'm definitely better than when I first got a board again 4 years ago, but I'm still in the low 50s. There have been some real shoots of improvement over Christmas, that haven't quite transferred into the average yet. For instance, I've hit 12 proper 180s in my life, and 6 of them have been in the last month. The key is I still really enjoy it. There are times when it's frustrating but they are not nearly as often as the times I've had enjoyment out of it. I've noticed a big difference in the appeal of darts recently with family, friends and colleagues talking about playing a lot more.

As someone who has played quite steadily on and off for a few years, I can definitely second this. Tbh I probably thought it was just a case of playing a lot and I'd get better, and if I had the time to dedicate I could be as good. There is a guy on YouTube, Ronnie Rickner, who is doing the 10,000 hours experiment with darts. He's currently 2,000 hours in. He has got better but just entered Q school and exited in Stage 1 with an average of 66. He's been better than this, but darts is like that, it isn't consistent improvement. There are a couple of famous examples of players who say they were good pretty instantly, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis being famous examples. I think the number of players who have succeeded despite bizarre throws is testament to how much it is down to natural hand-eye coordination.

It's a decent idea, but you're right about it. Also, I've never warmed to the new format. Maybe it's better for the fan who goes, but week after week it's pretty repetitive.

Chargers, Ravens, Bills, Eagles, Commanders, Vikings

Pretty much all the classics have been mentioned. In no particular order, my faves are: Only Fools Father Ted I'm Alan Partridge Peep Show The Office (UK and US) Blackadder Royle Family Phoenix Nights There are loads of other good ones like Derry Girls, but the classics are ones you can watch again and again. I was surprised not to see a mention of Gavin and Stacey. Maybe it's a bit mainstream, and I get that Cordon is a polarising figure but it's objectively a good show and very rewatchable. It also made me realise that we're perhaps seeing the death of a certain type of mainstream sitcom that can command a Christmas special watched by a huge portion of the country on prime tine BBC 1. Now Gavin and Stacey is done, I genuinely can't think of one that even has the potential of filling that slot on the horizon.

Ravens, Steelers, Falcons, Texans, Eagles, Colts, Commanders, Packers, Buccs, Bills, Chargers, Cardinals, Broncos, Rams, Dolphins, Lions

He dominated tbh, and it never seemed in doubt. A phenomenal talent.

Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core, they've used it for a couple of years. It's certainly much better than my Argos paper dartboard I had in the late 90s!

Haha, the board is lovely, so much brighter and the wires are really set into the board. There are probably better seeming apps, but the Russ Bray one has the most features. The rest also struggle to replicate a real-life player. Even if you set it to a 37 average player, if they have 3 darts at a double they'll usually hit it. At least Russ Bray lets you have a few legs in the madhouse!

Talking of playing Darts, the wife got me the dartboard they use on TV for Christmas. I use the Russ Bray app to play against the computer as well as sporadically playing online. I've been playing longer form matches akin to what they do at the Worlds, and there is a physical aspect to Darts that most wouldn't realise. Your arm starts to suffer after a while and the leg you balance on is affected. The upside has been a slight improvement, and my 4 180s (I've previously gone months at a time without hitting one) I've also broken by checkout record (129) but don't know how I feel about it. I nailed the D16 and the T19 before it, but accidentally hit double top when going for the treble with my first dart!