I stayed on and watched some good matches in the singles 501. Several top Americans competed including Johnny Kucynski, Darin Young, Bill Bell, Jimmy Widmayer and Tim O'Gorman. Tom Waterman from the Corner Bar made it to the semi-finals with some fine darts, losing to Fred Krueger.
I ordered a meatball sub and sat to watch the finals, which featured Fred Kreuger against Darin Young. Both had shot well to get to that point and were ready for a good match. Unfortunately, they had difficulty scoring and traded the first two legs. In the tie breaker, Fred was a little more solid and reached the double just ahead of Darin. Two darts at double top went awry, and Darin had three clear shots at a double. He was unlucky as well. Fred was relieved to finally hit the winning double after they played hot-potato with the game for another round.
Dave and Nikki Passenti agreed to take me in as a third person in the mixed triples. I started well with a 140, and we got down to the double well in advance of our opposition. Unfortunately we got stuck on a double seven which we failed to take out despite each of us getting a crack at it. Our opponents made us pay and I was again a first round casualty. Frank Nagy from the Bottoms Up team in Elizabeth also made short work of me in the luck of the draw doubles. Overall, I shot about what I could expect considering the lack of practice lately, and I know what I will have to work on.
Dr. Bob and I had some great practice sessions between matches playing 170. I was looking good on my two dart outs so that will give me some encouragment with two big tournaments approaching in January, including the Rae Chesney Tournament in Philadelphia and the New York/New Jersey Open. We drove home this morning and had some great conversations about darts that I might share in some future articles.
To change the subject, the novel writing is going well. I must have looked quite a sight on the Long Island Railroad train, typing away on my laptop computer. Every once in a while the train would lurch and I would have to grip it to keep it from sliding off my lap down to the floor. However, I made steady progress and can now proudly announce meeting the 30,000 word milestone.
I am unsure of whether I will meet the goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month, but I have no doubt that I will finish soon.
I was touched to hear how much my friends in the Elizabeth Dart league miss my weekly column chronicling the dart matches. Sorry I could not play this season guys! I hope to come back next season. Best wishes, and until next time good darts!
2 comments:
You just want to get past the first round so you can settle - I really know the feeling!
That was exactly it. I shot well enough to get in a position to win, but was not quite settled down enough to hit the crucial doubles. It was good to get back to a tournament and I will look forward to playing in two more in January. The one in Philadelphia has about $25,000 in prize money, so it draws some good dart players.
Kevin
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