Your occasional reminder that Rugby League Logic dictates when blowouts happen in Super League it's because the competition is poor, but when it happens in the NRL it's because the winning teams are good. Make it make sense...

Your regular dose of second-hand car nonsense is here...

Baby Forces Sale@babyforcessale.bsky.social · 11h ago

Apologies for the delay, we've been down the rabbit hole of Lotus Seven clones. Should you buy anything other than a Caterham? Is THE Ari Vatanen really selling second-hand cars on Facebook Marketplace? These questions and more not answered! Listen to the #podcast here: pod.fo/e/62c7bf

It's great the World Rally Championship is going to be back on the BBC next year, but if their coverage doesn't look like this then I'm cancelling my subscription.

Connor Robinson shattered rugby league’s record for consecutive successful goal kicks on Sunday - and can still add to that tally. A few words on that, other remarkable kicking displays, and whether the record is now unbreakable. Read here: theballisoval.substack.com/p/heres-to-y...

My takeaway is PVL needs to stick to yelling at clouds about the AFL. And that he's not as smart or shrewd as people over here think he is. He's just smart and shrewd compared to some British RL administrators. Pretty sure even Big Nige wouldn't tee off on the players like this, though...

Liam@www.maroonobserver.com · 2w ago

Following the lead of our glorious leader, I am using the last few weeks of the season to experiment with format in the interests of making a more streamlined and entertaining rugby league-themed product. www.maroonobserver.com/p/this-is-ho...

My latest Rugby League World feature is now online, with ex-Super League star Brad Singleton on ending his playing days at hometown club Barrow and his first steps into coaching up the Cumbrian coast at Workington. Read here: www.totalrl.com/brad-singlet...

History made for London Broncos in the 1895 Cup final as they repelled the Widnes Vikings invasion of Warrington, but the capital club have their eyes on a bigger prize. Read more here: theballisoval.substack.com/p/broncos-ey...

Some proper commitment to the bit from Scarborough Pirates here. Imagine the fun they could have had in the social media age...

Forty20LIVE@forty20live.bsky.social · 3w ago

Today in 1991: Huddersfield win 22-18 away at Scarborough Pirates. #RugbyLeague

Bank Holiday trip out to the HJS for the 1895 Cup final. Supposedly a neutral venue, but about as close to a home game as Widnes Vikings could have asked for.

To add on the branding piece: why face the furore of changing red to navy blue last time, and then not retain it, move to royal blue on the shoulders, and have socks that do retain the earlier shade (on the official photo shoot). tbf, I don't think the RFL's new marketing manager has started yet...

29 August 1895. 6.30pm. The George Hotel, Huddersfield. The birth of the Northern Union. 'I say with Mark Twain's bold, bad boy that we glory in the sentence of outlawry pronounced on us, as freeing us from tyrannical bondage of the English [Rugby] Union'.

The lights going out at Castleford while they're getting tonked by Catalans on the night they celebrate their centenary is the perfect metaphor for their 2026 season

Look, maybe I'm just being picky here. But Harry Smith and Mike McMeeken wearing shirts from other sports made by rival kit manufacturers for the England RL World Cup kit launch video doesn't exactly seem like marketing best practice... 🤷‍♂️

No, we haven't been asked to host the Top Gear reboot. We can't think why...

Baby Forces Sale@babyforcessale.bsky.social · 3w ago

On our latest episode: An EV conversion Fiat 126 and a Peugeot 207 courtesy of @thealso.bsky.social, and the birth of a horrifying new trend in online car sales. Plus, how BMW made its owners even angrier. Listen here: open.spotify.com/show/1JYJcAp...

Rugby league’s summer era hasn’t always been kind to Widnes Vikings, but the team once known as the Cup Kings could lift some silverware on Bank Holiday Monday when they face London Broncos in the 1895 Cup final. My latest on Substack here: theballisoval.substack.com/p/growing-th...

The summer wind is a Raider, pillaging just for fun. They'll knock you 'round and upside down, and laugh when they've conquered and won.

Another day, another rugby league adventure. Barrow Raiders against Leigh Leopards in the Women's Super League followed by the small matter of the Cumbrian derby against Whitehaven for the men.

Going to tell the Barrow PA announcer to play a submarine dive alarm for every set restart from now on...

Liam@www.maroonobserver.com · 4w ago

I think if the set restart is going to be a permanent fixture, then every stadium should have a different sound effect. Like church bells in villages. Could even be different when the home or away team gives them away. Give this monstrosity some personality.

Perfect afternoon for a nice friendly South Cumbria derby between Dalton and Millom 🏉☀️

My latest Substack post is a dive into some salary cap numbers in PREM Rugby and Super League, and a look at whether Henry Pollock could get that £1million contract Eddie Hearn thinks he’s worth in league or union. Read here: theballisoval.substack.com/p/henry-poll...

So, this is where we find ourselves...

You love to see it

My latest Rugby League World feature, on Doncaster head coach Richard Horne, is now online. Read here: www.totalrl.com/richard-horn...

New post on Substack looking at Huddersfield Giants’ decision to play home games at Dewsbury’s FLAIR Stadium from 2027, and why a “medium-term” move 10 miles down the road might turn out to be more long term. Read here: theballisoval.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

Super League clubs tomorrow when Big Nigel's briefing them on the NRL investment offer...

Been getting slack with the editing of these recently, but we're still here as long as there's mad shit being listed on Facebook Marketplace...

Baby Forces Sale@babyforcessale.bsky.social · last mo.

On our latest #podcast, we look at two very different cars with very silly names in the Mazda Bongo and the Subaru Justy. Plus, when Margaret Thatcher turned pitchwoman for the Rover 800. Listen here: pod.fo/e/532129

Some Saturday morning reading for you on Wakefield against Leeds. This Sporting Life, the Watersplash final, and a look at a rivalry which is about more than just West Yorkshire bragging rights for the first time in nearly six decades. Read here: theballisoval.substack.com/p/this-sport...

Why are Nottinghamshire hosting Northants at Derbyshire's out-ground today? I'm all for taking games to out-grounds, but muscling in on your rivals' turf because you've pimped your home out to the 16.4 for a month is a bit much. County cricket really doesn't help itself at times.

The Office: Jim Halpert Shrugs

ALT: The Office: Jim Halpert Shrugs

static.klipy.com

That England selection meeting for the Pakistan series...

Another one from the archives on Substack, looking back at when six - count them, six! - players were sent off when Huddersfield and Wigan met in March 1981. One can only imagine the sort of sanctions today's Match Review Panel would have handed down. More here: open.substack.com/pub/theballi...