Corner Bar Dart Team and Friends

Here is a picture of the Corner Bar Dart Team right after winning the playoffs!

Back Row, Left to Right, Chris Bills, Dr. Bob Lillie, Tom Waterman, Fran, Dave Hascup, John Daddio. Bottom Row, left to right, our substitute (what is that guys name?!) and Kevin Liebkemann. Not pictured: Michele Hascup.

In case you were wondering, yes I did play while wearing a long sleeved dress shirt and tie. I may not always throw the best darts, but I am always the best dressed!

This weekend I am faced with a darts dilemma. On Saturday there is a charity tournament but it is also my mother-in-law's birthday party. Hmm, that is a tough one.

Then on Sunday is the ADO East-West Allstar Regionals. I have a shot at making the Nationals if I play well. The only problem is that my Grandmother's 90th birthday party in San Antonio is the day after the Nationals in Connecticut, and the dart league banquet is the same weekend in New Jersey. Could you see booking that flight....New Jersey to San Antonio to Connecticut to San Antonio to New Jersey! After I figure out what I can get away with I will decide which event(s) I will attend this weekend. So, my next article could be about a charity tournament, the ADO East-West Allstars, or (gulp) my mother-in-law's birthday party. Tune in early next week to find out.

Corner Bar Wins League Championship

Corner Bar faced Bottoms Up in the finals of the Elizabeth City Dart League playoffs tonight. The bar filled up with spectators, players and friends to watch the final match of the season. As usual, I led us off in singles 301. My opponent and I doubled in well enough, but nerves got the better of us and our scoring was off. My opponent was unlucky on his double and I nicked the first leg with a 56 out. The second leg was a repeat of the first. Mediocre scoring, my opponent missed a double, and I hit mine. It was a close one, and I was grateful for the win. Tommy followed behind me and took both of his games comfortably.

Dave had the most exciting game of the night. You are never more than 6 darts away from winning a 301 game, as Dave demonstrated. After winning his first 301 leg, Dave had trouble doubling in. When Dave finally hit a double 20 to leave 261, his opponent was on an out. Dave hit a 140 to leave 121 and apply some pressure on his opponent's outshot. It must have worked, in that his opponent missed his double. Dave capitalized with a brilliant 121 out (60, 33, 28).

John followed with a 2-1 win against a strong opponent who challenged him all three games. Our opponents picked up some momentum with their first point. Chris had some double trouble on his outs against Tom Freel, who capitalized with a 2-1 win for Bottoms Up. Dr. Bob then faced Frank Nagy, who continued his run of good form to take 2 more points for Bottoms Up. We emerged from singles 301 with a 13-5 advantage, and needing 4 more points for the victory.

Dr. Bob and I were up first in pairs 501. Our scoring was mediocre again but I hit a 140 to give us first crack at the out. Unfortunately, our doubles deserted us and we ended up in the madhouse on double 1. Our opponents had a golden opportunity to nick the leg, but they missed and I managed to sink the double 1. The second leg saw some more mediocre scoring, but I hit a 100 to get us down to the out first. Dr. Bob left me 20 to clean up, and I hit it with 10, double 5. Those wins left us needing only 1 point to secure the Championship.

Next up for Corner Bar were Tom and John in pairs cricket. Frank Nagy won the bull and the start for Bottoms Up. Frank was on fire, hitting big shots when needed and Bottoms Up won the first leg comfortably. This gave Tom and John the benefit of the start in the second leg, which they used to good advantage. Frank from Bottom's Up was still hot, and hit several critical 5 mark shots to keep pace in a see-saw battle. The game was almost even coming down to 15's and bulls. Tom closed the bulls, and Bottom's Up failed to rack up enough 15's to deny John a game shot on the next turn. John sank three single 15's to close out the game and the victory for Corner Bar, by an overall score of 17-6.

The teams visited for awhile after the match and enjoyed recounting the season. We get along well with the Bottom's Up team and all look forward to playing again next season. What a run we had...31 weeks of regular season undefeated, and then 3 playoff wins for the title! I took a team picture with my non-digital camera, and I will post it after getting the film developed. It was a lot of fun playing in a new league and getting to know so many new people. Now that I think of it, I have played in a lot of leagues...three in Philadephia, five in Louisiana, and five in New Jersey! Best wishes to all my new friends from the Elizabeth League, and I hope to see you at some local tournaments. At very latest, I will see you in the fall when league starts up again. Until then, good darts!

League Finals on Tuesday, and The Future Of The New Jersey Darts Blog

Over six months of weekly league dart play comes to a finale Tuesday night, as the Corner Bar meets Bottoms Up in the playoff finals at Corner Bar in Elizabeth, NJ. Wish us luck!

I started the New Jersey Darts Blog for several reasons. First, I love darts. Second, I love to write. My job as an attorney has me writing every day, but non-legal writing is a very different thing. I wanted to get back into regularly writing about other things. As one writer told me, it is best to stick with what you know. With a league dart match every week, I knew that I would always have material for at least one new article per week...especially with the interesting characters on my team!

I also noticed that there are surprisingly few people who write regular, original articles on darts. Dartoid entertains us with his adventures as the irreverent dart world traveler. There are always reports on professional darts players and matches. However, most of us experience darts by playing at our local pub or in a league, and/or at local tournaments. I want to cover that world in my writing. On this site, you can read what happened in every one of Corner Bar's 30+ league matches this year, and in some of the charity and other local dart tournaments.

With the season drawing to a close, things will be changing a bit. I am not playing league this summer, but I still plan to write at least one article a week. Necessarily, the subject matter will change a bit. You can expect some more articles about technique, practice, and trips to tournaments, because that is what I will be thinking about. I will be working on improving my game and taking some extra time on the practice board. As work and other obligations allow, I will go test those skills at some tournaments. When fall rolls around, I will likely be back in League play and writing about that.

PDC U.S. Open Revisited

One of the great things about the PDC U.S. Open in Connecticut was that it allowed regular guys like you and me the chance to hang out with the best dart players in the world for a couple of days. I got a great reminder of that when I was browsing on SEWA darts and came across some digital pictures that one of the American players took. Check them out by clicking on this. You can see pictures of Ronnie Baxter and Jelle Klassen, who knocked me and Tom out in the second round.

Basically, for the price of a Friday Night Madness ticket (about $40) you could visit with world champion dart players, and get to say hi or have a drink with a lot of the stars we see playing on TV. They were all quite nice about taking the time to visit. I would be surprised if attendance doesn't pick up a lot at the next one, for both spectators and players.

Updated New Jersey Area Dart Calendar

More action is coming up for New Jersey dart players. Here are the tournaments that I know about that are within a reasonable driving distance.

May 26, 2007 First Annual Legends Classic at Joker's Bar, 7312 Castor Avenue, Philadelphia, PA (215) 725-6201, is announced on the Philly Darts site. Play against seeded Mr./Miss Philly finalists in a 301, best of 5 single elimination tournament. Play starts at 2 pm. Click here for more information.

June 2, 2007 Tanya Goss Memorial Dart Fundraiser, benefiting Camp Happy Times is scheduled at Shore Hills Country Club, 501 Morse Place, Landing, NJ. Signups at 1:30 and play starts at 2 pm. Click here for more information.

June 3, 2007 American Dart Organization East-West Allstar Regional, at the Irish American Club, 95 Kearny Avenue, Kearny, NJ. I heard that the starting time may be moved up to Noon, so check that out before you go. Click here for more information.

July 19-22 $10,000.00 Macamoodus Dart Tournament, in South Glastonberry, Connecticut. Bring your tent for this fun tournament! Click here for the flyer.

August 10-12 $20,000.00+ USA Dart Classic, in Stamford Connecticut. This one brings them in from all over the country, and hosts the ADO East-West Allstar finals and the 501 National Championships. Click here for the flyer.

Let me know if I missed any.

Corner Bar Semi-Final Playoff Report

Corner Bar faced Knights of Columbus in the league semi-final playoff on Tuesday night at home. Knights of Columbus is the fifth place team, with a respectable 22-10 record. We had some good matches with them over the season, and looked forward to another one. Before the match, we warmed up and traded stories about the PDC Open. Several of the guys who did not make it this year will definitely be looking forward to next time.

As usual, I led us off in singles 301. I felt confident and it showed with a quick twelve dart victory in the first leg. In the second leg I took two rounds to double in, but my scoring was strong enough to close the gap and take out the double before my opponent had a shot.

Tom followed me with some impressive scoring, including a nice 180 in the first leg. He had a shot at 56 out for an 8 dart 301 game, but missed. He still won the leg, and followed up with another win in the second leg. John won a close match 2-1 with some solid shooting against a good opponent. Dave had the lowest count singles 301 game with a 9 dart leg, and won both of his games. Chris struggled with his outs a bit but also won two straight. That left Dr. Bob with the opportunity to clinch the 17th point and the match win if he won two straight. The good doctor did not disappoint and took both legs with some clinical finishing (no pun intended for our podiatrist friend). The end result was Corner Bar victorious by a score of 17-1.

Our friendly opponents congratulated us and visited for awhile. After that we wandered down the street to Bottoms Up to watch the other semi-final match. Bottoms Up played Mulligans at home, and managed a win despite a spirited effort by their opponents. We joked around with our friends awhile. One of the Bottom's Up team members of Italian descent offered to take the Corner Bar team "fishing" on Monday. Hmmm....what's that bag of cement doing in front of the boat? We traded stories about the "old days" of darts and talked like dart players do...about Cricket strategy, stories of games gone by, and the like.

It's not easy to pick man of the match this week! Tom had a 180, but Dave had the lowest dart game. They will have to share the honor. Next Tuesday night is the grand finale of the season, with the Playoff finals at Corner Bar. The match will feature Corner Bar vs. Bottoms Up, and it begins at 8 p.m. Anyone over 21 wishing to come watch is welcome! Corner Bar is at 747 Edgar Road, Elizabeth, NJ. Until then, good darts!

A Great Time At The U.S. Open Of Darts

I just returned from a fun weekend at the PDC U.S. Open of Darts. The tournament provided a remarkable opportunity to meet and play against the top dart players in the world. I warmed up on Saturday on the same board as Raymond Van Barneveld and got to visit with plenty of dart stars from the U.K. What a rare opportunity!

The Mohegan Sun provided a first-class venue for darts. Meeting rooms each held a number of boards, with plenty of practice space for the early round matches. The only mistake was that they only had one bartender set up...imagine having 160 darters and only one bartender! Some feature games were played in the Cabaret Room, which had a fantastic stage set up with TV cameras, announcers, and the works.

I had the first match on my board against a local player, Ken Guiliano. The format was 501, single in, double out, best of 5 sets, with three legs per set. I got off to a great start, winning the cork and taking the first set two games straight. Ken started the second set, but I broke his throw and was able to win the second leg for a 2-0 set advantage. I started the third set and held my throw, but Ken managed to win the second leg. I again held my throw in the third leg to secure the first round victory. I felt good because I was shooting about as well as I have in practice, at about an 18-20 dart pace. Given my limited practice time, that is about what I expected.

I knew I was in trouble when I watched the next match, which was Tom Sheets vs. Ronnie Baxter. I would play the winner. Ronnie is one of the top players in the world and he showed it by whitewashing Tom, who was not shooting that badly. Ronnie was finishing a lot of his games at 15 darts or less, and was nailing his doubles. At that pace, I would be lucky to even take a game off Ronnie!

Sure enough, my turn came around. Ronnie showed no signs of slowing down. He won the cork and started off with a couple 140's, taking the first leg before I got a look at a double. I held my throw in the second leg by virtue of a couple of tons followed by a timely 113 outshot. Whew! Avoided a total whitewash! Ronnie just smiled and I could almost see the gears shifting in his head. He picked his game up a notch and took took the third leg in 14 darts for the first set, despite some pressure after I hit a 180 to get in range to nick the leg if he missed. More of the same followed in sets 2 and 3, during which I only had two other opportunities to win legs. I congratulated Ronnie for the well-deserved win, and could not fault myself for shooting poorly. I was still shooting at the 18-20 dart per game pace, which is pretty much where my game is now. He just shot at a 15 dart pace!

After scoring the next match I had time to wander around, watch some matches, and visit some friends. My Corner Bar team mate Tom Waterman won a hard fought first round match against local star Guy Desaulles. Like myself, Tom had a rough second round match, courtesy of young Dutch star and former BDO World Champion Jelle Klaasen. Tom played well, but Jelle was scoring so well that he did not give Tom any chances.

There were several early shockers. Jim Widmayer from Staten Island had an incredible run this weekend by knocking off the World #3 ranked player, Colin Lloyd. Jim advanced farther than any American, to the top 16. American Fred Kreuger also raised some eyebrows by knocking out English star Andy Jenkins, and advancing to the Top 32. Ray Carver and Chris Linkous also advanced to the the Top 32. Bill Davis, Roger Carter, Larry Butler, and several other Americans made the top 64, which yielded a nice $1,800 payout for each of them. Johnny K unexpectedly crashed out in the first round to an unseeded player. U.S. Womens Champion Stacy Bromberg gave English star Kevin Painter a scare by taking the first set off him in an excellent televised match. Kevin went on to win but he acknowledged it was not easy!

I wandered from room to room and got to see matches with plenty of top dart stars, including Phil Taylor, Michael Van Gerwen, Raymond Van Barneveld and many others. What a great day of darts!

I then hung around the casino until the World Dart Challenge started. That featured the team of Johnny K and Raymond Van Barneveld in an exhibition challenge match against Ray Carver and Phil Taylor, all televised on Fox Sports "Best Damn Sport Show." The Cabaret Room filled up and I sat with some of my LB Darts friends and fellow New Jersey Dart Player Dave Marienthal. We cheered and heckled as appropriate throughout the match.

What a match it was! Johnny K played Phil and managed to take one game out of five. Next, Ray Carver played Raymond Van Barneveld and he only took one game out of five. After that, Ray played Johnny 5 games. Johnny won 3-2, hitting some nice 100+ outshots. Ray also hit a nice 170 out. Van Barneveld then beat Taylor 4-1. The last part of the exhibition match was pairs 501. Taylor and Ray hit some big shots. Ray particularly impressed with a nice 136 out shot, going triple 20, double 18, double 20. It was not enough however, and the team of Johnny K and Raymond Van Barneveld took home the first World Dart Challenge Trophy. It was a great show, and a lot of fun.

I promised the family a nice day out Sunday, so I did not go see the stage matches. However, by all accounts they were great. Check out full accounts on the PDC darts website by clicking on this. I will definitely attend next time, even if it just means letting someone like Ronnie teach me a dart lesson again. It was definitely worth the price of admission! Until next time, good darts.

U.S. Open of Darts on TV This Weekend

If you cannot make it to the Mohegan Sun for the U.S. Open of Darts this weekend, make sure to catch it on TV! At 2:30-3:30 on Saturday there will be some live coverage on the Versus Network (formerly Outdoor Life). Fox Sports Network will cover a special live event involving Phil Taylor, Raymond Van Barneveld, Johnny Kucynski and Ray Carver, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday night. For flyers with more information, check out the ADO website by clicking on this.

Playoffs Quarterfinals: Corner Bar 17 Linda's Driftwood 4

Corner Bar faced Linda's Driftwood at home for its quarterfinals playoff match tonight. Everyone was hitting well, resulting in a nice 17-4 victory for Corner Bar.

Today was a day for unexpected visitors. Tom brought his son to the Corner Bar. Also, an interesting woman wandered in for a moment, but had to leave when the bartender objected. This did not distract us from the task at hand, however. We warmed up and were feeling good as the Linda's Driftwood team wandered in.

I led us off in singles 301 against their top shot, Jack Ruela. In the first leg, I didn't get in until my fifth dart, which, along with the advantage of the start, gave Jack the edge to win the leg. By then I had relaxed and got in on the second leg with a respectable 115. This time I made it to the double first and quickly took out a 56 with two darts. In the third game I also managed a quick out, for a 2-1 victory. John, Chris, and Tom won their matches 3-0, and Dave managed a 2-1 win, with a nice 148 in-shot along the way. Dr. Bob was unlucky with the doubles, and dropped his match 1-2.

We emerged from singles up 14-4, needing only 3 more points to secure the victory. Dr. Bob and I were up first in pairs 501, against Jack and his partner. I scored reasonably well in the first leg and we kept pace. As the Linda's team got under 100, Dr. Bob left me an 84, which I converted in unconventional fashion (5, 57, 22). In the next game, my good scoring continued, and Dr. Bob left me a 29. I missed my set-up shot (13), and then tripled a number I was trying to single (3) but managed another unconventional close (6, T3, D7). In our league, when a team wins the first two legs, they win all 3 points. That gave us our 17th point and the victory. We then visited with the team from Linda's who congratulated us and wished us well in our next match.

The guys wandered over to Bottom's Up, and saw the end of their match. I visited with some of the old dart players there, who recalled playing some of the old dart legends like Nicky Virachkul and Conrad Daniels. Some of the guys said they would like to come watch the U.S. Open, so Tom and I might get a cheering section.

I felt good about my performance tonight, and it gives me confidence going into the PDC U.S. Open. My outshots were strong. In 3 of 4 games I won, I hit the double on the first dart. My scoring was not blistering, but it was reasonably good. I felt focused and relaxed on the oche. I will get in some practice in the next two days, and then it is off to Connecticut on Friday night. My next report will be after the tournament. Until then, good darts!

PDC U.S. Open Dart Tournament Preview

I like the way the Professional Dart Corporation runs tournaments. You pay in advance and they draw the brackets in advance. You know exactly when you are shooting and on what board over a week in advance. If the other guy is not there, they move on. It is a nice, no-nonsense approach which I like.

Next Saturday, I will be on Board 15, and my first opponent is Ken Guiliano. I haven't met Ken but I have heard he is a good shooter from around Norwich. If I advance, I get the winner of Ronnie Baxter vs. Tom Sheets. Ronnie is the top seed on Board 15, and I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years back in Las Vegas. He shoots at a quick pace and his nickname is "The Rocket".

Another Corner Bar member, Tom Waterman, has drawn against local Connecticut player Gus Dessaules in the first round. If Tom advances, he likely faces former World Champ Jelle Klassen in round two. Jelle better watch out...Tom has been hot lately! For more matchups, check out the draw by clicking on this.

It helped to play in two tournaments recently. Good competition definitely lifts my game up, and I am enjoying tournament play better than I have in a long time. The chance to see the best in action and actually play against them in competition is really a treat! All dart enthusiasts within a reasonable driving distance should either be playing or watching this one.

Regular Season Recap & Playoff Preview

Corner Bar finished the regular season, and the playoffs have begun. Now is a good time to reflect on the regular season. Accounts of each week's play are available on this site. The team included myself, John Daddio, Tom Waterman, Dr. Bob, Chris, Dave Hascup and Michelle Hascup.

The team won all 31 team matches. Breaking that down by total number of legs of darts won/lost, Corner Bar won 814 and lost 209. In cricket, Corner Bar won 164 and lost 22, which is 88.2%.

Tom had the league's highest win percentage in 301 singles play (91.4%). I ended tied with Frank Nagy from Bottom's Up for second in that category with 89.3%. Chris won 84.6%, Dave won 82.7%, and John won 76.8%, followed by Dr. Bob with 67.9%.

I ended up with high sharpshooter points for the league with 13,284, followed by Tom Freel from Bottoms Up with 11,181. Dave Hascup was third in sharpshooter points with 10,034. League high out honors went to Chris with a nice 170. Dave shared the league's third best high out with a 152.

Tom and John both hit 3 in a bed in cricket. Tom had the lowest dart 301 game (7 darts), while I had an 8 darter. Corner Bar team members hitting 180's this season included myself, Tom, Chris and Dave.

Michele understandably was out a lot of weeks. I guess having a baby is an acceptable excuse to miss a few weeks of darts! She neverthless had some memorable moments including almost beating two guys in a two-on-one 501 game.

Playoffs begin Tuesday. Of course, we are all excited about the big U.S. Open in Connecticut next weekend. I will be there and ready! Practices are going well, although I still have a lot of rust to shake off. Expect another report after Tuesday's playoff match. Until then, good darts!

Grateful Darts Tournament Report

The Grateful Darts Tournament is known for its cool shirts (see above). The tournament was held this weekend in Kearny, New Jersey, at the Irish American Club, which is right next to the store front featured on The Sopranos. This year the field was small but the quality was high. In attendance were several top American shooters including Johnny K, Darin Young, Bill Bell, Bill Davis, Marily Popp, Marcia Loche, Tom Sawyer, and more then a few other A level shots. A lot of my Jersey friends were there, including Corner Bar Team members Dave and Michele Hascup (with baby), John Daddio, and Tom Waterman. I also enjoyed seeing to Nikki, Heather, Courtney, Todd, Laurett, Joe, and a lot of old Jersey and Philly dart friends. I did like last week and decided to catch the Sunday events, as I had a busy Saturday with family obligations. I was hoping to build on my improved performance in league last week, and I am happy to announce mission accomplished!


I showed up just in time to ask for a mixed doubles 501 partner. Allison obliged by shooting with me, and who do we draw out of the gate? Darin Young and Laurett Meddis! We were all slow off the mark trading the first two legs. In the decider, Darin and I both started out hot with two tons apiece. The game was close until Darin hit a 140 in his third round, and I fell off with a 55. Laurett hit a nice shot to leave Darin thirty two, while Allison chipped in to leave me with 96 in the unlikely even that Darin failed to convert. Darin was unlucky, wiring the 32 on the wrong side, and I took an unconventional 96 out for the win (1, T19, D19). Allison was delighted, as she had Darin as a partner last night and reached the finals of the blind draw. We advanced to the quarters, but then our luck ran out. I was nevertheless pleased, because I was scoring much better and felt more comfortable on the oche.

Brian, one of the tournament workers, volunteered to shoot doubles cricket with me. We drew up against a strong team of Jim Newman and Dick Keen. They won the start and pretty much annhialated us the first leg! I regrouped in the next leg despite falling behind early, and strung together several rounds of nice 5 and 7 counts to take the win. The decider was a well fought leg. Everyone shot very solidly for a close game. I kept closing and scoring, but it was never enough to get a chance to close 20's after we fell slightly behind. Jim was particularly hot on the 20's, hitting first dart triples several rounds in a row, which ended up making the difference. While we did not win, I felt vastly improved from last week.

I stayed for the singles 501, and my first opponent was Todd, who was my unfortunate doubles partner from last week. I struggled with my doubles and he nicked the first leg with a nice 80 out (D20, D20). While we both continued with scoring difficulty, I managed to take the next two games to advance. I won the next two matches with some better scoring and finishing, around a 20 dart pace. I made it to the quarter finals where I played Brian. There we both faced adversity, because the floor had an appreciable tilt to the left at the oche! Brian adapted better than I did and managed to win. Reflecting on the day, I am happy with the pace my game is progressing. Definitely more tournament time will help.

As usual, there was a lot of fun outside of just the tournament. Karaoke was set up in the bar, and several of the dart players took a crack at it. Johnny K has a nice voice and did some Country & Western favorites. Pete Perlongo, our Italian Stallion, belted out some Frank Sinatra tunes quite well. Heather sang several songs, and Allison even took a turn.

Johnny was shooting well this weekend, but all of us got a reminder how anybody can have an off day! There was a bullshoot raffle, where you could buy tickets and then you get 3 darts to hit a double bull. If you hit, you get the pot. If you miss, they draw another ticket, until someone hits it. Plenty of people who drew their ticket decided to give it to Johnny and then split with him if he hit it. Well, one person did that, and Johnny missed. Then another, and another...and so on, until finally, after 5 times missing, Allison's ticket was drawn. She appeared to seriously think it over, but gave her ticket to Johnny. Finally he hit it, after 18 darts!

Thanks to Heather and all the Tournament organizers for a fun time! I will be off next week, but I will still write an article on the upcoming U.S. Open at the Mohegan Sun. Until then, good darts!

Week 31: Perfection Achieved!

The last week of Corner Bar's regular season featured a big match at home against the second place team, Bottom's Up. We always have a friendly, fun, but competitive match with Bottoms Up. We were hoping to finish with a win and a perfect regular season, while Bottom's Up definitely wanted to show us what they could do in the playoffs. Bottom's Up has a respectable lineup and we knew that we could not take it easy.

Things started with a scare. I led us off in 301. Despite getting in and down to an out quickly, I ended up stuck in the madhouse on double 1. My opponent took good advantage to take the first game. My poor form continued (see last article) and I also missed chances to take the second game. Tom followed behind me, barely winning a 2-1 match against his opponent, who had chances to win in all three games. The heavy artillery was definitely not firing, and it would be up to the rest of the team to step up and get some wins! Luckily John, Dave and Chris obliged by winning their matches. Dr. Bob dropped a close 2-1 game against Frank Nagy. We emerged from singles up 11-7.

I was greatly encouraged in my doubles 501 match with Dr. Bob. The triples were falling in for me at last! A 135 and a 100 got us quickly down to an out, and I hit a double 14 for the first leg. Some more decent scoring in the second leg set up Dr. Bob for a nice out for the win. Tom and John had an exceptional cricket match, including back-to-back 7 marks, and then Tom icing the game with a six mark (Triple 15, single bull, double bull). Dave and Chris won the second doubles 501 to secure the win and perfect season. We pulled off the triples matches with some continued good form. Many games came down to the doubles and could have gone either way.

Man of the match goes to Tom this week. His 301 games were off, but his cricket was excellent. Also, because I lost two singles games and he only lost one this week, he will likely edge me out for the singles win percentage title for the season. I will likely retain honors for the most sharpshooter points on the season. Chris has high out for the season with a 170. More importantly, the team finishes with a perfect 31-0 record!

Corner Bar gets a bye next week and then it's playoff time. My next report will likely include the Grateful Darts tournament. After that, it is off to Connecticut for the PDC US Open! My better form in the final games at league gives me at least a glimmer of hope of shooting well in Connecticut. Maybe a good weekend of darts in Kearny this weekend will give my game a much needed kick-start. Until then, good darts!

Maui Waui Follow Up Report

I made it over to the Maui Waui Tournament on Sunday, which was fun and well attended. Many of the usual suspects were there, including Philadelphia's Bill Davis and Todd Harrington. Other big shots in attendance included Tim O'Gorman, Fred Kreuger, Bill Bell, Jimmy Widmayer, Marilyn Popp, and Dayton Strawbridge. Corner Bar members Dave, John, Tom and I were there, and I caught up a bit with some of my old Jersey dart friends...hi to Nikki, Bobby, Kevin, and all the gang!

The Tournament was held in the Ringside Pub in Caldwell New Jersey. The entire spacious upper floor was dedicated to darts. It sounds like I missed most of the fun by not making it there for the Saturday events. Reliable sources report that things got weird. Apparently, at some point Bill Bell and John put on skirts. Unfortunately, they were denied admission to the Women's doubles event. The facial hair must have given them away.

I wandered around and eventually found a partner for doubles cricket. The poor guy...I have been in poor form the last two weeks and gave him virtually no assistance. Since I was an early casualty I watched some other good matches. The most memorable was a doubles cricket match featuring Tom and Kevin vs. Dayton and his partner. Dayton opened with a C9 (Triple 20, 19, 18). What followed was a collosal battle in which Tom hit a gutsy 7 mark to close 20 and 19 even though they were behind on numbers and points. This eventually allowed them to get ahead on bulls and win the game. Dayton kept pumping in the triples, and he and his partner ended up winning the next two however.

I was no better in singles 501, trying to struggle through some terrible form. Fred Kreuger took me out in the first round with some respectable 18-20 dart games. Bill Davis ended up winning the singles 501 and cricket. I have been impressed with his game and he will definitely be one to watch at the PDC Open in Connecticut later this month.

Next month I am off to the Grateful Darts Tournament where I will look for another doubles partner with a strong back and a good sense of humor...or maybe the dart gods will smile upon me once more! Until then good darts.