gingerjon

The BBC that have been bigging up Vegas all week, who had a report on both Breakfast and the evening news about it, and who put out a BBC Sport push notification for this match, and who are covering it on the radio. That BBC?

I would have said yes but, unfortunately, I now know too much.

9.30pm, we're three minutes in

The short version is: the pitch is small and the markers do not represent reality but the games will be played as if they do. The longer version: see the other thread.

I see we're taking the Super League tradition of "not starting anything like on time" to the USA. A country where baseball and basketball games start at times like 8.07pm.

I think it's this. It's a Fox live event so Sky will have had to pre record their stuff.

Even in that little clip, he shows why he's so good. Just effortlessly welcoming you in, sharing his passion, *and* being erudite and fun.

They do have a point.

Obvious troll is obvious.

Politics. Reported.

We do need to ask the NRL how to get stories onto TV. (I may make this joke more and more, to the ensuing hilarity of all reading).

Put V’landys keeps saying he loves the international game. A “solution”, if you’re doing it for visibility, would be to stage a women’s standalone fixture. We’ve seen the level of media interest that can be generated.

It didn’t change when we played each other more and the SL teams won. Why would it change in the future by doing the same?

Not remotely but without the Super League teams and fans this year, the Vegas event is not as shiny a diamond as last year. Still bright, still lovely, just not as bright, or as lovely.

Going on what is available so far: 50k is the expected number, it's said 10-12k are Wire/Wigan. That means 38k aren't. 38k is lower than the 40k from last year. If those numbers turn out to be wrong, I'll change that opinion but that's where we are so far.

Decent segment on BBC Breakfast this morning. Still, the RFL will need lessons on getting Vegas onto British TV, I'm sure.

What did they score and what was incorrect about the scoring?

I think saved is fine. It would be a lot smaller this year without the Brits.

If the numbers quoted as coming from the UK are right then it needs to be above 55k or else you've lost fans from the USA and Australia. That's not great in terms of longer term viability especially as you're really unlikely to be able to do that trick each time. But 50k will look good in the stadium and the value to the NRL and Super League in their domestic markets, obviously there is no real value to the USA and we are hopefully no longer pretending there ever will be, is significant.

Which second tier comp are you talking about? Is it the one whose presence has saved the Vegas experience for this year?

We need to be realistic. In three years time, the season launch for the NRL will not be in Las Vegas.

Away to Cork City. But my eyes are on the Welsh League Cup final where I’m hoping my actual “we” aren’t too embarrassed. We have fluked into the final but are bottom of the table and on a shocking run of form. A “win” for us against the cuckoos of TNS will be staying within three goals and maybe scoring one of our own.

Then it should remain dead.

The WCC should be a stand alone event. Vegas does not need more hurled at it. Those two reasons make “stick the WCC onto Vegas” a poor idea. It holds both events back rather than adding to either.

It’s a really bad idea.