Kelly's Report November 21, 2011 Lazur Locked on Target!

We had a good time Monday night in managing a clean sweep. In American Baseball darts, that means we won three four-person team matches. Man of the match has to go to Mike Lazur, who scored 41, 41, and 42. Now that's consistency.

Gary and I usually lead off for the team, with Mike and Tom bringing up the rear as our stronger players. Gary, who has a 19 average, managed high 20's in the first 2 games, fortunately lifting up my own lackluster performance. When Gary fell off in the third game, I picked it up, putting in an above average performance for me with a 34.

I ran into a situation in the first game which reminded me of the virtue of Winston Churchill's famous quotation "Never, Never, Never give up!" (he might have included a few more nevers in there). It was one of those close matches where you have to figure every mark counts. All the way through the eighth inning, I was having an awful game, looking to come in at about 9 under average. The other team shot first and left us needing to hit well in the final inning to win. I was up first, and if memory serves had hit no better than a four mark in any inning that game, with several 1's and 2's.

Something clicked as I toed the oche for the ninth inning. The board seemed closer, and the doubles and trips stood out like the broad side of a barn. I let fly a trip-trip-double for a nice 8 mark and sighed with relief. Gary, Mike, and Tom mopped it up for a close win. Whew. No more 8 mark innings for me the rest of the night, but that shot gave me the confidence to shoot better in my next two games.

The team is currently in first place but we still have some challenging games coming up. Until then, good darts.

Back in the saddle again!

After a long time away from the blog, I am finally back! Why was I away? Simply put, work and an injury conspired to leave me with little free time. Several months ago, I ruptured my achilles tendon while exercising. The injury severed the tendon that connects my calf muscle to my heel. The daily rehabilitation exercises for that are pretty time intensive.

I am back to playing league darts, since I don't have to stand too much. Function is slowly returning with the guidance of some good physical therapists (shout out to Craig and Jen at St. Peters in New Brunswick). I am hoping another two months and I will be back to my normal activities and work out.

Currently I am playing American Baseball darts once a week at an in-house league in Neptune, NJ. Kelly's Tavern treats us right, feeding us a nice dinner with some good drink specials. Like most American Baseball leagues, it is handicapped to give everyone a fair shot at winning. Our four man team includes me, Tom Waterman, Mike Lazur, and Gary. I'm not used to being the team noob, but I still don't yet have the hang of the "Widdie" darts. It will be a continuing learning experience.

Keep looking for more posts. I will report the team results weekly, and as I become better able to venture out and maybe hit some steel tournaments I will cover those as well. Until then, good darts!