Author's Notes: I want to thank everyone who has left a review on American Dueling. You folks have given me a lot of feedback and have blown me away with the interest you have showed. This chapter is going to be moving towards the exhibition duel as well as revealing the consequences that Syrus and Alexis are facing should this go wrong. I do not own Yugioh GX and will not profit off this work.

Chapter 3: Discuss the Game

The ADL offices were housed in an office building in Chicago. The rent was cheaper than New York. When one entered the offices, the first thing noticeable was there was a bank of cubicles. This was no mistake, as the cubicles housed the workers that were responsible for the streaming network. It was critical to have the streaming network fast enough and worth the money that fans paid for in order to watch the match duels, as well as access replays and statistics.

As one walked further in the offices, they would come across the liaisons that worked with each team. Syrus had set that up because he had been tired of getting calls about venue issues, salary disputes, scheduling, and other headaches on his day off. It had been easier for him when there were 14 teams, but with expansion in the last 3 years, that became impossible. There was some grumbling that Syrus had become too impersonal and was harder to reach directly these days for the league managers.

In the back, was Syrus's office. It was a sleek office that had a desktop computer with dual monitors. He also had a screen that displayed the latest dueling news, as well as teleconference facilities so he could never miss anything going on in his league.

Alexis had flown in from New York after her last class on Friday, unsure about what exactly her role in this would be. She had been off the mainstream dueling world for years, and had contented her life to teach. This was different, because Syrus had been someone who had been with her through all the trials of her time at Duel Academy, and had never asked for anything in return.

She checked in at the receptionist and indicated she was here to see Commissioner Truesdale. A few minutes later, Syrus walked out and there was a beaming grin on his face, his eyes lighting up like he had just seen someone who would mean a world of difference to him.

They walked into his office and sat down. Syrus said "I take it that you intend to find out your opponent. Alexis nodded and said "Yes, of course Sy." Syrus turned his laptop around, and the opponent was revealed.

Syrus said "You will be dueling one of the best in the league, and someone who has plenty of professional experience. He is the face of the marquee team in our league, the New Jersey Generals. His name is Harrington Parker, and he duels with a Cyber Dragon deck. He takes after Zane."

Alexis studied the image, and noted that she had heard of Parker in her head. Parker was not good enough to get into her school, so he went to the Chicago academy and had become their number one student, and had been recruited by the Pro League. Parker had dueled there for a year, but had quit because his agent had stopped getting duels in favor of more marketable hotshots. Parker was now 28 years old and had been the star of New Jersey's dominant dynasty.

There were 20 teams in the league, and no divisions or playoffs. Syrus had wanted to keep the format simple, even though most American sports leagues had some sort of playoff format or divisions. The rationale that Syrus always said was that every team was going to play their opponents the same number of times. This meant that Syrus was leaving a huge amount of money on the table, potentially millions of dollars.

Alexis said in a calm voice "Harrington Parker. I hear he is good, and we tried to get him as an amateur. So, tell me about this match and what exactly are you going to do if this does not work?"

Syrus gulped, and seemed to be flustered. "Well, I, uh, don't like to admit this very much. 3 years ago, we were offered a deal by a cable sports network to carry our league. It was valued at $250,000 a year for 4 years, with the expectation that we would become like the other American sports leagues. We had just recently set up our streaming where each club would get a cut of the advertising revenue, and we 100% controlled the product. The network deal would have ruined our streaming platform, since we would have blacked out national appearances."

Syrus turned his head to the map of America on his wall, and pointed to the dots on the map. "We have 20 teams, and our league is based on the idea that every team gets treated the same. Our biggest draw is the New Jersey Generals, who are based in suburban New York City. Our smallest market team is the Anchorage Lights. Every team gets an equal share of the streaming revenue. I turned down the network deal because I wanted to make sure that no team gets treated differently or dealing with the accusations about network bias. Did we leave money on the table? Yes! Did we lose market access and make it difficult to get the casual fan who watches cable sports on their free time? Of course! I got roasted over the coals for this! In fact, if this exhibition event doesn't raise revenue in a year, I'm gone and the league could be in serious trouble and go belly-up."

Alexis was stunned at hearing the news. She had always thought that Syrus was doing okay at his job, but she never thought that Syrus had things that bad. She looked him over, and could see the level of stress in his eyes and shoulders. The man had been trying to his job, and had made a decision that could be such a negative one for a lot of people.

She looked down at him and said "You are taking a risk on me, but I am willing to do this. I still get the urge to prove myself at times, and I would be able to blow off teaching for a bit since this would help my school. Syrus, you have always been the person who stepped up when we were in crisis all those years ago. It saddens me that none of our friends from school could have helped you, and I owe you at least one favor. I will make some calls, and see what I can do to get more publicity."

Syrus jumped up high into the air and pumped his fist. "Thank you so much Lexi. You will get $20,000 to participate and cover travel expenses. Your name still carries weight here thanks to your teaching level."

After the meeting, plans were arranged. Syrus had bought time on Fox for 2 hours on Saturday, December 17. The duel would take place at the theater at Madison Square Garden, and would be advertised on television aggressively. This was a gamble for the ADL, and it would be important to get the viewers to tune in. Would this work?