New Jersey Darts

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

2011-11-22T19:55:00.002-05:00

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!

2011-11-22T19:34:00.002-05:00

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!

Fun Darts in Philly

2011-01-11T06:24:00.002-05:00

I had a blast this weekend in Philadelphia at the Rae Chesney Dart Tournament at the Raddison in North Philly. It's always good to catch up with my old friends from Philly. This year we made it a family trip, and I took Margaret and my eight year old, Oliver, along to throw in the youth events.

Oliver likes to swim so we spent a fair amount of time inbetween events in the indoor swimming pool, playing games and watching the snowflakes fall outside. On Saturday he threw in the 6-12 year old division. The young kids throw on a standard board, and play single in, single out 401. Oliver was much younger than his competition, but had some good rounds throwing my wooden American Baseball darts. He managed to take one of three legs off his opponent Edgar, which was a good confidence booster.

The next day was a youth-adult event, and Oliver again managed one leg off his opponent Tyler in a best of three legs event. The youth-adult event has the same format. The youth diddles and starts, and the adult cannot take the out. The adult basically drops out after score gets low enough for the youth to hit the out. At one point Oliver was looking at a 116 out. He hit the double bull, and then a 16. I held my breath as he lined up the bullseye with his third dart. It was off in another zip code, but then I laughed at my expectations. Hey, the kid is eight years old, after all!

The winner of both events was a 12 year old named Ed, who had a great game and deserved the win. Congrats Ed!

The only event that I threw in besides that was the singles cricket event. It was one of those days when I was distracted and the darts just would not go where I wanted them. My opponent took good advantage and I was a first round casualty.

As a reminder, the New York New Jersey Open is this coming weekend. I have some family obligations so will unfortunately miss it this year, but don't let that stop you from going.

Dave Who?

2011-01-11T06:02:00.002-05:00

Dave Hascup was out last night in our American Darts League match against the second place team at Kelly's, so Howie kindly subbed. The last time we played that team we won but it was a nail-biter. That time each game came down to the last inning and a stray dart or two could easily have determined the outcome. With Dave out, we knew we would have to hit well.

Maybe it was a weekend of throwing darts in Philly, but something picked my game up big time. In the first game everything seemed effortless and I hit a nice 45 game. The rest of the gang was a bit off that game, but it was good enough for a team win. I settled back to a more typical 33 and 34 the next two games, and had to count it a good night because Howie, Tom, and John picked up the pace. We managed a sweep, which puts us out in front by a comfortable margin at this point. After the win, Howie said "Dave Who?" (Just kidding Dave!)

When I have a good night I try to think about what was different so I can try and reproduce it. I definitely felt relaxed and focused. I was not thinking too much. When my turn came I would just walk up to the line and throw. That's not much to go on, but it's something.

Getting Out of A Slump in Darts?

2010-12-22T15:19:00.006-05:00

Dave, Tom, John and I had a great night in the Kelly's League last Monday in what is known as the "Bumper Week." The idea is that the first place team plays the second, third against fourth, and so on, which can give a team a chance to close the gap with the one in front of it. We were in first by about a half dozen points.

We had a monkey to get off our back. In the last several weeks, we had uniformly shot terrible in the first game of the match, usually losing it. Some weeks, we picked it up a bit in the next two and won, but we did lose two of our weekly matches. This week however, everything clicked and we managed a sweep, placing us well out in front in the league standings. Everyone played solid for the whole match.

That got me thinking about what people do to get out of a slump. When I say slump, I don't always mean just a decline in your general level of play. It might be some small aspect of your game. Maybe your third dart is always off. Or, like us, your first game was always off. How do you adjust? Do keep just plugging away and hope things will get better?

I always like to see what other people have to say so I searched around. A guy named Karlheinz Zochling had a detailed and interesting way of looking at declines in a dart player's general level of play. He views them as inevitable stages in gaining expertise, with the key being working through the slumps. His theory is that talented dart players progress quickly at the beginning, but then often hit a big slump. Some give up at the point, but others keep playing through the ups and downs, with a general, gradual trend towards better darts. That can be frustrating for someone used to their earlier rapid improvement.

Zochling's theory makes sense to me. Let's say you started out averaging about 10 or 12 points per dart (30 to 36 points per turn), and after six or eight months you are averaging a respectable 20 points per dart (60 a turn). Should you expect to be averaging 30 points per dart (90 per turn) in another six months? While anything may be possible, it's not very likely to happen. However, from the perspective of the talented beginner, they are thinking "Why am I improving so much slower?" They may start thinking much more about their game, trying different things, and their average slips to 15 points per dart. The real frustration sets in. Zochling's idea is that the darter who keeps at it will gradually regain that loss, and go through a series of ups and downs, generally trending upwards, improving overall.

Another writer at nicedarts.com cautions dart players against considering a few bad nights as a slump. His advice boils down to staying positive and not overthinking the problem. He advocates for calming your nerves, and against changing your throwing style. I agree in part. Sometimes you might be off because you are tired or distracted by something going on in your life. If that is the diagnosis, the cure is sticking with your regular throw until your head gets straight.

All I would add to the nicedarts.com author's point is to check your throw when you feel your game is off for more than just a few days. Do a video recording of yourself throwing a practice. Are you doing something that would clearly hurt your accuracy? If so, the video should reveal it. Otherwise, it's sometimes difficult to notice bad habits that can creep into your throw. If your throwing style and fundamental form looks good, no changes should be needed. On the other had, if you notice some bad habit cropping up, best to nip it in the bud.

After taking all of that in, it seems likely that our Kelly's team slump was likely the result of all of us being tired. Dave, John, and Tom have been hitting the weekend tournaments a lot lately and have come in exhausted on Monday night. Work has been keeping me more busy than usual so I have usually come in tired. We were fresh last week, and we all shot well. No need for any big changes.

We are off next week for the holidays and I am writing from New Orleans. Happy Holidays to everyone and I will look forward to posting again soon!

2010 Darts Gift Review Part 2, Incredible Edible!

2010-12-18T06:02:00.005-05:00

There are many dart gift ideas out there, and I like to point out what I find. Before saying more, I need to give my usual legal disclaimer. I have not tried out many of these products. I list them because they look interesting. I'm not vouching for the quality of the products or the vendors by listing them. So, caveat emptor. Also, I have not accepted any money or other benefit from any of the vendors. I do this blog because I enjoy darts and I like to write! If you have experience with any of the gift ideas that I have mentioned, good or bad, feel free to leave some comments.

With all that out of the way, its time to wander with me through the web's offering of edible dart gift ideas. The Chocolate Vault still sells nice looking chocolate dart boards and darts. They even have a dart lollipop.

Homemade gifts are nice, and Christmas is the season for baking and decorating. Check out these interesting ideas for making dart cakes. This one particularly caught my eye. As another sign that the British know how to do darts right, one London bakery makes a giant dart cake that serves 35. I found a Georgia bakery that makes a delicious looking dart cake as well. Got a sugar craving yet?

Let's go from sweet to salty. Some clever folks have made dart gift baskets using a dart board as a base. One popular one features salami, beer cheeses, crackers, and cookies, and there is a less expensive basket with just the cheese. Of course, there is no reason not to let your own creativity loose. Buy a dart board, pick a theme, and add your own items. There is plenty of advice out there on how to make a good gift basket, and you can customize the goodies to things you know the recipient will like.

No gift review is complete without a truly strange idea, and I found one for you. One of my favorite websites to browse is worth1000.com. The idea of the site is to have photoshop contests around a theme. People come up with some creative or just plain zany ideas. They post the results for all to see. Imagine my surprise when one creative genius came up with the idea for a dart pizza. I have not yet found a pizzeria that will make one, but what a great idea...so just imagine your perfect dart birthday party.

1. You go to the pub, order some dart pizzas and play a few games with your dart buddies.
2. The PDC Dart Girls join your friends in singing happy birthday, then you eat your dart birthday cake, and open your dart gift basket.
3. Pinch yourself to see if you have died and gone to dart heaven.

A special shout out to the guys at Darts Around the World. They were kind enough to interview me last night along with my friend Rags, my favorite darts graphic design guru. If you have not already checked out the Darts Around the World podcast, get with it!

2010 New Jersey Darts Holiday Gift Review, Pt. 1

2010-12-14T00:44:00.003-05:00

Christmas and the New Year are close, and it's time for the New Jersey Darts annual gift review! Those familiar with past reviews will remember that I like to focus on extraordinary dart-related items. Don't look here for your standard gear, as there are already plenty of places for that.

My first installment will review two great places to find a variety of dart gift ideas: Zazzle and Cafe Press.

The basic idea of these online shops is simple. People submit graphics, and they will put them many types of items. Lucky for us, they have many interesting dart graphics to choose from. In the past, they were limited to things like shirts, mugs, keychains, and carry bags. However, technology has marched on and now you can get a dart i-Pad or dart i-Phone case. Want to take some footage of your next ton-eighty? Do it in style with the Darts Flip Mino HD Camcorder.

If you know someone with a new future doubles partner coming into the family, there are many items to pick from. Cover mom in some darts maternity wear and then follow up with a dart baby onesie and even a dart Teddy Bear. Don't leave Fido out, they have dart pet food bowls, and even dog T-shirts. They really do think of everything.

True fanatics might like dart shoes, which they could use to ride on a dart skateboard. Dart Christmas stockings and some holiday ornaments are there for those who have almost everything. If that does not work, consider the selection of dart ties, which is expanded from previous years. You can even send your dart buddies holiday greetings with dart postage stamps. Hoping to learn darts by osmosis? Try the dart pillows.

Each site has over a thousand interesting dart-related designs, and when you find one that you like, presto! You have a gift. They even allow you to customize and personalize some of them.

I have been following the dart offerings on these sites for a few years, and they have certainly improved. It will be a rare case where you won't find something to get for a dart player there.

Part of the fun of these sites is just browsing through the graphics. Sure, they have some lame ones, and they need to refine their search engine a bit. You will have to scroll past some poison dart frog and lawn dart graphics at times. However, they do have some good ones too. I won't spoil your fun. Check them out.

In my next installment I will reach beyond these sites to find even more rare and custom items. Until then, good darts!

New Jersey Dart Calendar November 2010 to January 2011

2010-11-17T04:12:00.004-05:00

The weather may be getting cold in New Jersey but the dart action is getting hot! Check out these upcoming events.

-Saturday Nov. 20, 2010, USA Dart Club open qualifier for the ADO Cricket Regional, The Rock Bar, 414 Main Avenue, Clifton, NJ, 973-916-1888. The qualifier is noon sign ups and 1:00pm starts/$20 dollar entries. Contact Mark Onsdorf 973-207-9512(prodigyds@aol.com) for more details on the qualifiers. Thanks to Bob Race for the report.

-November 26-28, 2010 the $10,000.00 Long Island Fall Classic, at Holiday Inn Airport, 3845 Veteran’s Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma, NY. Click here for the flyer. This is an open steel-tip tournament.

-Bob Race reports that immediately before the Long Island Classic, at the same location, the ADO V-III Cricket Regional will be held. This will be open to ADO members in the region, on Friday Nov. 26th, with 10:00 AM sign-ups 11:00 AM start. $110 entry, unless you qualified at an event (see above). Winners get a trip to the ADO Cricket Nationals.

-Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, the $1,000+ USADarts.com Open, at The Rock Bar and Grill, 414 Main Avenue, Clifton, NJ. This is a 100% payout open steel-tip tournament. Click here for the flyer.

-Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, Johnny K's 3rd Annual Toys for Tots Soft Tip Dart Tournament, at Tower's Bar, 1478 Tomhicken Road, Fern Glen, PA 18241. Click here for the flyer. This is an open charity event.

-Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, Toy Drive and Dart Shoot, Tacony Billiards, 6201 Keystone St., Phildelphia, PA. Registration Noon - 1:45 p.m., start at 2:00 p.m., bring a new unwrapped toy. This is an open charity event. See phillydarts.com for more information.

-January 7-9, 2011, the $25,600+ Rae Chesney Dart Tournament at the Radisson Northeast, U.S. Route 1 at Lincoln Highway, Trevose, PA (just north of Philadelphia). This is an open steel tip tournament with youth events as well. Click here for the flyer.

-January 14-16, 2011, the $10,000.00 New York New Jersey Open. This is an open steel-tip event (more information coming).

If I missed any please let me know.

A String of Wins And Some Talk About Stance

2010-11-17T03:42:00.003-05:00

Our Monday night team at Kelly's in Neptune, NJ, has enjoyed a string of wins in the past few weeks. Last night I had the rare distinction of the high score in the first of three games, with a 43. Tom, Dave, and John all have higher averages than I do in American Baseball darts, so that felt good. They got their games on in the next two, which was good because my performance fell off. Overall it was good enough for a team win.

In the previous week, in which Dave was off to England, Howie Dirks filled in well with a nice 36 average. That performance helped us win, and put us in first in the league standings. So far so good!

I have put more time on the board in the past few weeks and my steel tip game is picking up. I needed to alter my stance to fix a problem. I had been leaning my body weight more forward on the ball of my front foot, with bad results. This put more pressure on my ankle, which was getting stiff and sore after about 45 minutes of play. I needed to eliminate that distraction from my game.

My new stance still has much of my weight on my front foot, but it is centered more towards the middle or heel of the foot. The net effect is that it does not stress my ankle. As with any fundamental change, it feels awkward at first. It is starting to feel more comfortable which is paying dividends at the oche.

I am busy researching for my dart gift review, which should be coming out in the second week of December. I will be out next week for Thanksgiving holiday, with Howie filling in as I visit some family in Texas. Who knows, maybe I can find a good game out there.

Later today I will post a calendar of upcoming dart events in the New Jersey area. Until then, good darts!

Kelly's League 2010 First Two Weeks

2010-10-21T03:30:00.005-04:00

Well, I'm back, and there is a lot of catching up to do! I spent this summer doing a variety of fun stuff. A family fishing trip to Alaska, which I have done the past three years, went very well. Check out my Dad with our daily catch. Don't bother asking where our secret hot spot is :).

Work and a long list of other projects kept this dart player away from the board more than he would like. I found myself looking forward to the fall Monday night American Darts in-house league at Kelly's Bar in Neptune, NJ this year. Last year was my first year playing American Darts, and I struggled a bit to get used to the light weight, wooden darts. However, by the end of the year my averages were improving and the team of Tom Waterman, Dave Hascup, John Daddio, and myself ended up winning the league regular season and the playoffs. It was a great time.

For my readers who aren't familiar with American darts, some of my earlier posts from last year about this time will explain all. It's a different game, on a different board, with different darts than the traditional steel tip game.

League started up again two weeks ago and we got the old team back together. I started practicing a few weeks before and it paid off in my first week. I hit my first nine count in league play, which came at a great time. One of our opponents had just hit a nine count right before, so my shot cut their rally short. The rest of the team had a solid performance to take home the win.

This past Monday we took a clean 7-0 sweep, though the match was actually remarkably close. We won the first game handily, but in the second game we were very much behind until the last two innings. We barely squeezed by with a one point win in that game, when Tom, our last shooter, hit a three mark in the ninth inning. Tom had the high game of that match with a very respectable 53 marks.

In the third game, we lost the start, and fought a see-saw battle that ended up with their last shooter, in the bottom of the ninth inning, needing a four mark to tie, and a five mark to win. He shot a double with the first dart, and we all groaned. His second dart hit a single. The third dart seemed to fly straight for the double, but nose-dived at the last possible instant. The scorekeeper had to carefully inspect the board and squint to determine that the dart barely landed in the single section instead of the the double. It was a tie! The game went to the 10th inning, and we won the tiebreaker. Whew! In each of the last two games, one dart landing slightly differently out of over a hundred thrown, could have easily altered the outcome.

I had fun catching up with my teammates. Dave is off to England next week to discuss working on the website for the WDF. Tom Waterman's son Evan is now hosting a "Darts Around The World" podcast, in which Tom, Dave and their friend Bones particpates. I listen to a lot of podcasts on my daily commute to and from work, and they had me cracking up with thier antics. You can check them out at the link above or on iTunes.

Future plans for this blog include giving you regular updates on our team escapades each week. I also plan to post a list of upcoming dart events in the area, and as the holiday season approaches, I will do my yearly dart gift review. Those of you familiar with my previous reviews will recall that it focuses on the more unusual items. Until next time, good darts!

A Darts Homecoming

2010-05-09T13:50:00.003-04:00

I am now down in New Orleans, my old home, visiting family and going to a legal education conference. How could I resist bringing my darts along and wandering around to the old haunts where I learned to play darts?

Last night I decided to go to my favorite of them all, Third Base Sports Bar, on Causeway Blvd. in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. Any dart player visiting the New Orleans area would do well to come by Third Base and catch the Saturday night luck of the draw.

After finishing my dinner I saw that it was around 8 p.m. I was running late, so I called Third Base and asked about the tournament. They were glad to take my name down and hold a place while I drove over.

When I walked into the bar, it was like stepping into a different time, ten years earlier. I saw to my delight that Third Base was still a Mecca for darts, with a half dozen steel-tip boards set up along a wall, all with DartMaster scoring machines. Pick up games were thriving. The flooring was done specially with a border at the perfect distance to substitute for an oche, and the lighting was perfect. The large room made it easy to walk around behind the dart players without bumping into anyone. Reasonably priced beer and drinks. I took a deep breath and let out a happy sigh. This was my idea of a Dart player's paradise.

I did a double-take as I glanced at the faces...almost the exact same crowd of dart enthusiasts as was there ten years ago, before Katrina ravaged the city and scattered a lot of them. Old friends, who I had missed but not been able to see in so long. Some new faces too. I smiled as I walked into the room.

I spent the next hour catching up with this great group of about two dozen throwers as we competed in two blind draw tournaments. No easy competition here! Some fine shooters were there including Scott Wollaston and his brother Jimmy. Ernie Comardelle and his brother Jason. The owner, Keith Villafranco. Mike Labat, Ronnie, Bones, and a great group of competitive players made it a real fun tournament. Before I knew it I looked at my watch and it was 2:30 a.m.

I was totally exhausted. I had woken up at 4 a.m. the previous morning and Margaret drove me to Philly airport for a long day of travel. I reluctantly said my goodbyes and headed back to get some sleep. What a good day. Six hours of darts and visiting with old friends. Does it get any better than that? Well...maybe if I had hit that double 20 out against Scott Wollaston :)

2010 Kelly's Playoff Finals, 3-1 Victory!

2010-04-18T18:34:00.004-04:00

Tom, Dave, John and I won a hard-fought 3-1 victory in the Kelly's Playoff Finals Saturday afternoon in Neptune, NJ. We were up against Doyle's team, which beat us once in the regular season, and we knew we would have to throw our best to make up the seventeen marks that we would give up each game in the best of five match.

We got off to a great start in the first game, with all of us shooting a few marks above average. Still, it came down to a big ninth inning that put the game just out of reach by a four mark margin.

The second game was one of the best of the season. EVERYONE on both teams was hitting well, but Doyle's team was especially hot. Their high scoring made it difficult for us to make headway against the handicap, and they managed to survive our late surge in the eighth and ninth innings. We never like to lose, but it was one of those games where you had to acknowledge that everyone shot well and they deserved the win. We put in a team score of 154 marks, nine marks above our average, and still lost.

The third game proved to be pivotal. At first we thought we were cursed. You know the story, bad deflections, good darts falling out of the board, many shots just outside the wire. Tom, Dave, and John eventually got out of their funk, but I shot an awful nine marks under my average. Nevertheless, they covered me with a huge eighth and ninth inning that brought us back from the dead. With Doyle's team left to shoot in the ninth, they needed about 12 marks, if memory serves. This was the crucial inning.

Their opening shooters hit well, leaving Doyle, their final shooter, only needing two marks to tie and three to win. At that point, we figured it a likely loss, since Doyle lead the league averages and had shot brilliantly all season. I figured the odds of him not getting three marks were, at best, 1 in 10. Doyle lined up the first shot, and it flew high, just outside the triple wire. His second shot fell low, just under the single. You could have heard a pin drop as he launched his third dart straight into the red double. Their team breathed a sigh of relief, as Doyle's two mark at least tied the score of the third game. The four of us looked at each other in surprise at the unexpected opportunity. This game would go to the tenth inning to decide the winner, with us to throw first.

It's an interesting emotional roller coaster ride to go from resignation of a likely defeat, to hope, to confidence of a win, but that is exactly what happened. Despite my dismal performance earlier in the game, I hit a huge seven mark in the deciding tenth inning. Tom, Dave, and John also obliged for an untouchable 25 mark team performance in the tenth. Doyle's team was not able to match it, and we won the game for a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth game, my confidence was a bit restored. I managed a slightly over average performance. Dave, John, and especially Tom were hot. Doyle's team shot well, but just a bit under their previous level. It was enough for us to take the game and the victory by a 3 games to 1 margin. Man of the match has to go to Tom, who was hot after the first game.

What a great season! The team won the playoffs and the regular season. Tom shared honors for high game in the league (56 marks). Dave got high series. Doyle had the high average for the season. As for myself, I learned how to play a new dart game. Great thanks to Laser, who runs the league, and to Kelly's for showing a lot of dart players a really good time. I look forward to next season.

Kelly's League Playoff Semi-Finals, Another Close Call!

2010-04-14T06:19:00.002-04:00

This past Monday night we played a close fought semi-final match in the Kelly's American Baseball Darts in-house league. This time we played a team with some new players, and faced a daunting 42 point handicap in each game of the best of five series.

In the first game Dave and I could not find the mark and we each finished several points under our averages. This lead to a dismal 135 point team performance, which was not enough for the win. This was a wake-up call, and everyone picked up their performance for the second game. Both John and I ramped up our game substantially, each finishing 8 points over our average, while Tom and Dave shot decent games as well. We took the second game, leaving the match tied at 1-1.

I felt unstoppable in the third game. I had tight groups on the doubles, and ended up with a nice 47 point game. Everyone was shooting well and we won the game with a comfortable margin to hold a 2 games to 1 advantage. One more win and we would make the finals!

Our opponents were not willing to lay down. Their first two players picked their games up, challenging John and I, who typically lead off for our squad. While we still were focused, we were plagued with a series of unlucky shots that game. For instance, the first dart would be dead-on in the middle of the double, while the next two would deflect off the flight just enough to go outside the wire into the non-scoring area by a hair's breadth. It was enough to tilt the balance in our opponent's favor, and we found ourselves yet again tied at 2-2, playing a final game for the match.

I was struggling to keep focused by that point and noticed that I was having difficulty keeping my groups of darts tight on the target. In what seemed a repeat of last week, we turned in a solid but not spectacular performance, and the our opponents' game dropped off a bit, allowing us the win. I was a few points under average that game, while the rest of the gang shot a bit better. It was enough.

We play the final playoff match at Kelly's on Saturday, starting at 12:30. Darts at lunch time. Wish us good luck!

Darts for Dreams Does it Again!

2010-04-13T17:32:00.002-04:00

Congratulations and a big New Jersey Darts tip of the hat to Gary Yourman and the gang at the Greater Trenton English Dart League for doing an incredible job at the Darts for Dreams charity event in Hamilton, NJ on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Gary reported a preliminary figure of appx. $18,300.00 raised for the NJ Make A Wish Foundation, and still counting. Gary promised to give a recap soon, and I will certainly post it.

I took the family out for a great day of darts. Oliver was proud to beat his record with 490 points in 51 darts (not bad for an 8 year old). I tried a round with my widdies and my steel tip darts, and shot better with the widdies, somewhere between 1100 and 1200 points. I even got Margaret to keep score for me :) More importantly, we raised big money for kids with disabilities, enough to sponsor several wishes. Who says a bunch of dart players can't make a difference!

Gary reports that Paul Seladones and Christina Williams had men's and women's high scores, and the Quaker City English Dart League won the team event. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated and helped make the event possible.

Darts for Dreams Charity Event in Hamilton, NJ Today

2010-04-10T08:39:00.003-04:00

New Jersey area darters should get out to the Dart for Dreams Charity event today! The event lasts between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and allows us to throw darts and support NJ Make a Wish Foundation.

The event is at the VFW Post in Hamilton New Jersey. It is tricky to find because Mapquest does not always find it and nobody I could find on the web seems to provide directions. Click on this link for a map showing the location. I will be there around 1 p.m. and hope to see you there!

Kelly's League Playoffs Round One: Expectations

2010-04-07T21:30:00.003-04:00

On Monday night our American Baseball darts team started the playoffs as the top seed and a favorite to go through in Kelly's in-house league in Neptune, NJ. Of course the handicap system evens the playing field considerably and we would be giving up 25 marks to our opponents in each game in the best of five team match format. It was still anyone's game.

We started out hot and won the first game. John and I beat our averages by about eight points each, more than compensating for Tom, who was a bit off form early on. In the second game we broke it open with a monster 30 mark round (Two 8 marks, Two 7 marks), the best of our season, and went on the win that game as well.

Meanwhile, between turns, we watched the NCAA Mens College Basketball Final. Little Butler College, a Cinderella story, was up against the mighty Duke Blue Devils. The plucky Butler Bulldogs stood firm and matched Duke throughout the first half. We looked forward to wrapping up our dart match in the third game so we could enjoy the rest of the basketball game on TV.

The momentum shifted. Our steady scoring fell apart in the third game, and our opponents found their stride. Before we knew it, the game was over and we lost. No worries. We still had a 2-1 lead on the match. We were determined to wrap it up in the next game. Meanwhile, we watched the Butler Bulldogs relentlessly keep pace with Duke's powerful squad. You could almost feel the anticipation of an upset in the air.

We focused on the darts and collectively shot a respectable 157 marks the next game. Only problem, it was not enough. Our opponents shot out of their skins and produced a 162 mark performance, about 30 marks better than their previous efforts. The match was now tied 2 games to 2. The next game would decide the match, and the losers' season would be done. They were pumped up, shouting with each good shot. We grimly looked on.

At the same time, Butler and Duke went into the latter part of the second half in an epic see-saw battle in which the lead frequently changed hands.

It was getting late, after 11 p.m. We flogged our waning concentration and attention for a final effort. Despite our best intentions, we could only produce an average team performance that game. John and I shot a little below average, while Tom and Dave shot a little above. The only difference was that our opponents missed some key shots towards the end, allowing us a win.

We paused that last game a few times so we could watch the basketball game. Butler had two final shots in the last minute to win. Both shots missed by narrow margins, crashing off the rim and bouncing out. On winning our game, we breathed a sigh of relief not unlike that of Mike Krzyzewski, Duke's coach.

Keeping up with expectations is never easy. Sometimes you are glad just to grind it out and get through. I wonder what that is like for the very top players, like Phil Taylor, when expectations are always sky high. Not easy, I am sure.

Man of the match goes to Dave, whose steady performance anchored us. John hit a big 9 mark shot and deserves honorable mention. We play again next Monday for a spot in the playoff finals.

Kelly's League Update

2010-04-07T21:28:00.003-04:00

Work got the better of me and I have not been able to post in awhile. To catch you up, our Monday night American Baseball Darts team at Kelly's in Neptune, NJ got hot and we won the regular season. We are now in the playoffs, and my next post will give you an account. Two more rounds and we win!

Slipping Into The Lead! 5-2 and 7-0 Wins in Kelly's League

2010-01-31T21:09:00.003-05:00

The past two weeks have been good to our little foursome! Two weeks ago we faced the first place team, which held a three point advantage on us overall for the season.

You dart players out there will know what I mean when I say we had a good night. Some times, not nearly often enough, everything clicks. You automatically do things right without even having to think about it. The doubles and the triples look like the broad side of a barn and your darts are like guided missiles on the way to their target. The first two games against the first place team were like that. We were not going to lose. It was not until the third game that we cooled off a bit. Even then, their anchor was forced to hit a five mark for the win in the final inning, which he managed to avoid the white wash. We got out with a 5-2 win, which drew us even with them on points for the season.

Last week we found that same good form in the first two games. I was flying high because my old hometown American football team, the New Orleans Saints, booked their first ever ticket to the Superbowl. I even let Dave buy me a beer :O John and I shot great the first two games, and solid performances by Dave and Tom put us over the top. In the last game, our performance dipped, but we still managed a win for a rare 7-0 sweep. The team we were tied with for first place the prior week lost, vaulting us into first place for the season. WOOT!

I did have the distinction of being the only one on the team to blank a round last week. It was in the last inning of the last game! :( Luckily the guys did not give me a hard time because we were happy with the win. I can just imagine the ribbing I will get next week!

The season is far from over, so anything can happen. However, like the Saints, it feels nice to be on top for a change. Until next time, good darts.

Kelly's League Report, January 11, 2010, 7-0 Win!

2010-01-11T22:32:00.003-05:00

We danced on the razor's edge all night and got our first clean sweep! The scoreline was a great injustice to our opponents, who played a phenomenal match. I cannot recall ever having played a team match that was so close, yet resulted in such a lopsided final score.

Our opponents had the benefit of a 13 mark handicap. In the first game they were on fire, and we found ourselves down 39 marks by the fourth inning. Yikes! We kept on fighting and John and I found our stride in the last three innings. The game was barely within reach in the ninth inning, and following good scores by John, Dave and myself, our anchor (Tom) needed to hit his last dart to win the game. Tom nailed it for a one point victory. To give an idea of how close that is, each team had over 150 marks in that game. Tom's last dart in the ninth inning was the first time all game we had the lead. Whew!

In the second game we started out hot, but our opponents surged in the middle of the game. We again found ourselves down in the ninth inning, needing to hit big to win. In a replay of the previous game, Tommy needed to hit a good score to win, and he obliged. This time we won by four marks.

We went into the third game nursing the small 5 mark margin from the previous two games, hoping to hold on to the wood. By the time the game reached the eighth inning we had a double-digit deficit again, and were looking at prospect of losing the two points for that game as well as the extra point for the wood. Some good darts cut that deficit to 7 marks going into the 9th inning. Our opponents were off, hitting only 10 marks in the 9th inning, leaving us needing 17 marks to tie, 18 to win.

John and I stumbled, hitting only 5 marks between the two of us. That left Dave and Tom needing to hit 12, which is no easy feat. Dave hit six, and Tom again needed to play the hero. His first dart hit a single, and his second a double. You could hear a pin drop as he lined up his final dart. Only a triple would tie it. Anything else and we lost the last game. The dart flew and it struck so close to the wire between the double and the triple that you could not tell what he scored until you walked right up to the board. A triple!

That made us play the 10th inning as a tie breaker, and on the momentum of Tom's shot from the last inning we coasted to victory. The margin through all three games, with each team scoring close to 450 marks, was only 5 marks total. What a close match! Tom definitely deserves man of the match for facing must-hit situations at the end of each game and coming through each time. Until next time, good darts.

2010 Rae Chesney Tournament Update

2010-01-09T18:07:00.002-05:00

Oliver and I are at the Rae Chesney Tournament in Philly, having a good time. I have yet to throw a dart, but I plan to shoot in the youth/adult and the singles tomorrow. I have not kept up on the results but I just heard them call Darin Young and Sean Downs in the top 4 of the singles, as of 6 p.m. I will pass on results as I get them. Good luck guys!

Kelly’s League, Splitting the Wood with a 5-3 Win

2010-01-07T18:05:00.001-05:00

Last Monday featured a clash of the two teams with the lowest handicaps. We gave up only 7 marks to our opponents and knew we needed to have all the pistons firing. They had a blazing start in the first of three games, while we were slow out of the gate. I finished with a dismal showing of five marks under my average, and Tom, John and Dave did little better. We lost by 19 marks, leaving a lot of ground to make up to have any hope of capturing the wood (most total marks on the night).

We showed signs of life in the second game. While nobody had a spectacular performance, everyone shot on par and we finished five points up. Our opponents lost some steam and it was good enough. We still faced the daunting task of winning by 15 marks plus the handicap in the final game to capture the extra point for the wood.

This time, we had the hot hands and our opponents cooled down. By the 7th inning, we were 15 marks up and looking to take the wood. Unfortunately we faltered in the 8th and 9th innings. While we had won the game, they could still win the extra point for the wood. They needed 13 marks to tie, and 14 to win the wood. We could only sit and watch as their first three players shot, leaving their anchor needing 5 marks to tie, six to win. He hit two doubles, and we all held our breath. Why does it seem so many games come down to that last dart? If he hit a double they won the wood. If he hit a single, the wood was tied. If he missed, we won the wood. He let the dart fly and it deflected into the single. A tie. We both got the extra point.

I had a below average first game, but the second and third games I shot slightly above average (31). I feel like I am ready for a break out game, 40 or above. I am missing a lot of darts right on the wire and my groups are tightening up. Soon! I can feel it coming.

Going into this match we are second in the league, three points out of first. We are definitely within striking distance.

I get to lay down the wood darts and pick up the tungsten this weekend for the Rae Chesney Tournament in Philadelphia. I look forward to seeing some old friends there, and you can expect a full report. Until then good darts!

Adding Word Verification For Comments

2010-01-04T17:04:00.002-05:00

I have resisted adding additional security to the blog to make commenting more convenient. Unfortunately,it seems that a few spammers have targeted the blog. I am adding simple word verification for comments. We will see if that keeps them away.

By the way, we are playing league tonight, and the Philly Tournament is this weekend. Lots of news to report soon.

2010 Darts for Dreams Charity Tournament Save The Date

2009-12-30T05:55:00.003-05:00

I always enjoy supporting charity events and the Darts for Dreams tournament has successfully raised over $40,000.00 for the Make A Wish Foundation of New Jersey in the past several years. Gary from the Greater Trenton English Darts League passed the following information on to me about this year's tournament:

It will be on Saturday, April 10th, from 1 PM until whenever. Doors will open at noon, but officially, the start is 1 PM. Location, VFW 3525, 77 Christine Way, Hamilton NJ (Right off the Rt 33 WEST Exit from I-295). Information: www.njdarts.com/gtedl and click the big Darts for Dreams link. Email other questions to trentoncharitydarts@comcast.net.

Gary mentioned he will have a flyer out in the next couple of weeks.

Kelly's League Two-Week Update, 5-2 Wins

2009-12-30T05:37:00.005-05:00

The past two weeks were kind to us with back to back wins. I am happy because I am starting to break out of the doldrums and get a better feel for the wood darts. My groups are tightening up and when I do miss it is not by as much as in the early weeks. Even better, last week I had a decent first game. The pattern that was developing was 1. awful first game 2. mediocre second game 3. good third game. I hit in the 30's in all three games last week, which was nice.

Ironically, last week the team lost the game in which we all shot the best. The other team was just hotter then.

Last week was a riot because the other team was picking on Tom big time. Tom always kids around with this group and they must have figured it was time to kick it up a notch. The heckling included singing funny songs when it was Tom's turn to shoot, or alternatively loudly demanding that everyone in the bar be silent when it was Tom's turn. If Tom had a bad round, it was "Hear ye, Hear ye, Tom has just shot a ...." announced loudly to the entire league. Poor Tom! He somehow managed to keep his cool, and actually responded with a nice 48 in the final game. Man of the match has to go to Tom for dealing with the situation with a good sense of humor. I can't wait to see what happens when we play these guys next. Payback time?

Our next match is in the first week of January, as we were off this week. Until then good darts.

More Christmas Gift Ideas

2009-12-06T08:37:00.004-05:00

I saw another website that is similar to Cafe Press, which offers many dart-related products. Zazzle has hundreds of interesting ideas. One thing I had not seen before was dart shoes, and they had some nice shirts. I particularly liked the wolf and spider dart shirts.

2009 Christmas Dart Gift Review

2009-12-05T05:52:00.003-05:00

I always like to review dart products, especially when the time comes around for gift giving. What better time than Christmas for that?

Lets start with darts christmas ornaments. I saw a Santa playing darts tree ornament on Amazon. The Ornament Shop also had a nice dartboard ornament, and there was a similar one at Bronners. That inspired me to check Cafe Press, which had a remarkable variety of simple dart ornaments (click here to see).

Candy and chocolate are usually safe gifts, and I found two previous recommendations are still available. You can combine a toy and candy for young darters with the ball dart, offered by Candy Direct. Another source is The Chocolate Vault, which features chocolate dart boards and darts. One new thing I saw on ebay was a dart rice paper cake topper.

Several places include darts and food together in gift packages. Amazon has a "Bulls Eye Gift Set" that includes an assortment of cheeses gift wrapped on a dart board. Gifts and Baskets has a similar set that also includes nuts, cookies, meat, and caramel corn.

I hope this gives you a start on your Christmas shopping, and drop a comment if you see any interesting holiday dart gift ideas.

New Jersey Darts Calendar December 2009 and January 2010

2009-12-05T05:19:00.002-05:00

There is plenty of upcoming open steel dart tournament action in December and January for New Jersey area darters. Next up is "The Rock" on December 11 and 12, 2009, sponsored by the USA Dart Club with a $2,750 guarantee. Men and women cricket singles and a luck of the draw are on Friday, with singles 501, doubles, and a luck of the draw on Saturday. The event will be at 414 Main Avenue, Clifton, NJ, and see the USA Darts website for the flyer. It's small, but also a great opportunity for new dart players to come out and try a tournament.

Next comes the Rae Chesney Memorial Dart Tournament, on January 8-10, 2010. The Chesney celebrates its 15th year and reports a prize fund of $25,600.00+. The tournament is at its usual location just north of Philadelphia at the Radisson Hotel in Trevose, PA. Besides the usual singles, doubles and luck of the draw events, there are youth contests as well. For more information see the Philly Darts website, which has the full flyer. This is the first major tournament of the year and draws good darters in from all around the country.

The following weekend (January 15-17, 2010) is the New York New Jersey Open, sponsored by LB Darts. This year's flyer reports a guaranteed prize fund of $10,000.00 and offers singles, doubles, mixed triples, and luck of the draw events. The tournament is in its usual location at the Islip Holiday Inn Airport on Long Island, which offers a reasonable darters rate of $69 per night. For more information see the LB Darts website, which has a flyer. The hotel is accessible via the Long Island Railroad and a shuttle from the hotel.

Until next time, good darts!

Kelly's League Report, Week 5 Loss 2-5 and Week 6 Win 5-2

2009-12-02T07:26:00.002-05:00

The past two weeks at Kelly's ended up a wash on points as we lost week 5 by a score of 2-5, and won week 6 by the same margin. Everybody was off form except Dave in week 5, and we were unable to overcome a large handicap (about 35 marks if memory serves) in all but the first match. Credit due to the other team though, who hit well above their average.

This past week we all bounced back well. John was out so we had a subsititute. We all shot to a reasonably good standard. Nobody had an exceptional performance, but nobody was off form either. Our opponents were skilled and we only had to give up about a dozen marks. We won the first game, and then lost the second by a single mark. Credit to their captain, who was in the pressurized situation of having the last dart of that second game, needing to hit one mark to tie, two to win, with a partial block from a previous dart. He hit the double to avoid the whitewash. In the third game of the night we shot well and won comfortably.

I finally started hitting better as I develop a feel for the wooden darts. My form seemed to be getting worse in weeks 3-5 but things improved last week. My best score was 36 marks, which is a 4 mark average. That will give me something to improve on. Until next week, good darts!

Congratulations to Pennsylvania Darter Darin Young

2009-11-19T18:54:00.004-05:00

I checked on Planet Darts for the results of the Grand Slam of Darts and noticed that Darin made it through his group to the top 16. Darin beat English stars Adrian Lewis and Dennis Ovens to advance. He will play again Friday against Scotsman Robert Thornton. See the report of his latest match here. Good luck D!

Darter's Anxiety

2009-11-18T06:55:00.002-05:00

It's always fun to coin a new phrase. Darter's Anxiety... a condition felt by a dart player under stress in a match...may result in sweaty palms, racing heartbeat, loss of focus and missed shots. This surely came in to play in our Monday night match at Kelly's Tavern.

Everyone reacts differently to tension at the oche. Some darters are as cold as ice and nothing phases them. Others may react if money is on the line, a lot of people are watching a match, or in a pressurized situation at the end of a game. Psychiatrists call things like this "stressors." Personally, one of my stressors is when my fate is no longer in my own hands in a game.

On Monday night we were playing the first place team and had to give up 45 marks a game due to the handicap system. Ouch! Stressor one. We were hot in the first game and made up the handicap easily. For some unknowable reason, we fell apart in the second game. Everyone but Dave posted our worst performances of the season. We went into the decider trying to figure how we could kick start our games and avoid our first overall loss of the season. Stressor two.

We shot first in the decider, and our skills were showing some signs of life. We made slow but steady progress against the 45 mark handicap. However, we went into the final inning about 8 marks behind. We were only able to produce a mediocre round of 16 marks, leaving our opponents with the normally easy task of hitting 8 marks (2 for each player) to win. We were resigned at that point to a likely defeat, and our fate was out of our hands as we watched them throw.

The first player scored 3 marks, and the next 2 each scored 2 marks. Their final player, who had been shooting well, needed only 1 mark to tie, and 2 or more to win. He hit 1 mark in the first shot, and had two darts in hand to just hit a single mark to win the match for the night. I could hardly bear to look. His next dart missed high. The room fell silent and you could almost see the tension in the air. His next dart fell low, and we all let out a huge sigh of relief at the unexpected result. The tension drained right out of us.

The league rules stated that to break the tie we had to throw a 10th inning, straight up with no handicap. We threw our best inning of the match (23 marks) and won easily, for a final score of 5-2. It was not pretty, but we were relieved with the result. Man of the match has to go to Dave, who was the only one seemingly unaffected by whatever ailed us that night. He posted a nice performance of 49 marks in the first game while we all struggled. All of us will be looking to bounce back with better performances next week. Until then, good darts!

Good Luck, Bad, Then Good Again! A 5-2 Win in Week 3.

2009-11-12T06:33:00.005-05:00

I returned last Sunday night from a nice week-long vacation in Florida. With the weather starting to turn here in Jersey it was nice to relax and catch some warm rays by a swimming pool. The day after my return found me back at Kelly's Tavern for another match with the guys. I found that despite being out last week I did not miss a match because league play was postponed due to the Governor's election. Good luck there!

Dave was out this week but arranged a substitute so we had a full complement of four. We started off hot against a new team that had only started playing darts two seasons ago. We had to make up a 38 point handicap but in the first game we eliminated that deficit by the fifth inning. I posted my best game so far, scoring 42 points. That's between 4 and 5 marks per round on average.

Just to show how quick fortunes can change, in the second game none of us were hitting well. At the same time, our opponents hit their stride, shooting some excellent innings. We rallied late in the game to narrow the deficit to eight marks by the last inning. In the ninth inning, our opponents threw, and our first three players made up some of the ground. The game literally came down to the last dart. Tom was the last to throw, needing a difficult shot of seven marks to tie and eight or more to win. The first dart hit a solid triple, and a hush settled over the crowd. The second struck the double, leaving the game shot in Tom's hand. You could almost see the sweat dripping off our opponents. Tom let the third dart fly and it raced right between the two darts, struck a flight, and deflected out of the scoring area. Bad luck, and our opponents picked up two points for the second game!

This setback only seemed to motivate Tom, who started out the third and final game on fire. We rallied to an easy victory in the third match, with Tom leading the way with a League high score of 56 in 9 innings (between 6 and 7 mark per round average). Our margins of victory gave us the extra point on the night, so we finished with a 5-2 win. To top it off, the team contributed to the 50/50 raffle and we won that for the second time in three weeks. Good luck there!

John had three very solid games, but man of the match has to go to Tom for his remarkable performance in the third game. I am still struggling to get a feel for these light wooden darts but I am having some improvement. I posted scores of 42, 29, and 35 which was better than last time. Hopefully that will keep improving.

Thanks to Kelly's for providing a great spread of food including pasta with seafood, chicken and hot dogs! We all had a great time, and I look forward to playing again next week. There is some good tournament action coming up for Jersey darters that I will report soon as well. Until then, good darts!

2009 Maryland Open Results and 2009 ADO Cricket Regionals

2009-10-29T06:03:00.006-04:00

We had a bye this week so no American Baseball dart reports. I will also be out on vacation next week so the guys will be getting a sub for me.

The rest of the team went to the Maryland Open last weekend while I was busy helping throw a halloween party for my son. I noticed some results posted. My team mates did well! John Daddio finished second and Dave Hascup took top 8 in the Friday 501 doubles LOD. John and Dave later teamed up for a top 8 finish in doubles cricket. Tom Waterman and his son Evan finished top 8 in the open doubles 501 and the mixed trips. Tom had a second place finish to Darin Young in singles cricket. Darin must be eating his Wheaties, as he won both singles and doubles events. Good job guys!

For New Jersey area cricket lovers I recently got an e-mail from Bob Race that the ADO Cricket Regionals will be held Friday, 11/27/2009, 10 AM sign-up, 11 AM start at the site of the Long Island Fall Classic:

Holiday Inn Airport
Islip/MacArthur
3845 Veteran's Memorial Highway
Ronkonkoma, NY

The cricket qualifier is only open to ADO members and will send qualifiers to the ADO Cricket Nationals next year.

Of course, the $10,000.00 Long Island Fall Classic follows, which is an open steel-tip tournament and great opportunity for New Jersey area darters to test skills against top American shooters. Laurett and Buddy always throw a great tournament, and I hope to see you there!

Limping Over the Finish Line With A 4-3 Win

2009-10-21T06:55:00.006-04:00

Here is a picture with my cell phone of the outside of Kelly's Tavern, the home of our in-house American Baseball dart league.

This past Monday we only managed a 4-3 win. It was one of those nights where we started off OK but flagged off while the other team got hot. Under the handicap we gave up 37 marks per game, so we knew we had to hit something. Our opponents were Joe, Al, John and Brian.

The first game everything seemed to go reasonably well, although I was struggling to hit any good innings. John and I ended up with low scores, but Dave and Tom picked us up with some high scores and we surpassed the handicap by a 12 point margin. This carried over into the second match but we started falling off near the end. The game was close and we went into the ninth inning needing 11 marks with only Dave and Tom left to throw. It was one of those high tension moments and Dave hit a huge 8 mark turn to leave Tom with an easy three marks for the win, which he hit easily. Close call, and that gave us 4 points and secured the win for the night.

That is where it went downhill! Joe, Al, John and Brian caught fire, hitting some huge opening innings that matched our scores. We were able to make no headway against the 37 mark handicap until the middle innings, and by then it was too late to catch them. They took the final game by a large enough margin to earn the extra match point for having the largest overall cummulative margin of victory, which I learned is called "covering the wood." Ironically, the final game was my best at 30 marks, but that was still lower than my efforts last week.

Tom, Dave and I had some fine pick up matches afterwards where I was hitting better. Tom hit a sweet 50 mark game after starting off with a 9 mark in the first inning.

The reports of good bar food at Kelly's were well founded. I had a nice hamburger for dinner and the other dishes I saw looked delicious. We have a bye next week, and I am on vacation the following week, so I will post on some other dart-related topics.

Kelly's Dart League Week 1: 5-2 Win!

2009-10-12T23:41:00.003-04:00

My first season of American Baseball Darts started tonight at Kelly's Corner Tavern in Neptune, New Jersey. The core of our old Corner Bar Dart team from the Elizabeth Dart League came back together, including Tom, Dave, John and myself. My old readers will know that I have played a lot of steel darts, but never competed in American Baseball darts. I was looking forward to playing, and tonight we managed a 5-2 win over Lou, Paul, Chris and Bob in our opener.

Kelly's Corner Tavern was new to me, but Margaret told me it has long been known as a good place to stop for a hearty late night or early morning meal along with something to wash it down with. The location in Neptune near the Jersey Shore adds to its popularity. The dart area is in the downstairs bar where five American Baseball dart boards are set up. The boards are well lit and the room has a large center area for the darters to gather. As you would suspect with the name, it is an Irish bar, and the decor reflects that. The bar served us hot wings and meatballs. Reasonably priced beer kept the crowd happy.

I gave the guys a scare by barely showing up in time, having made a wrong turn on the way there. With a short warm up I jumped into the first game.

Most of my readers are steel tip players, so a brief explanation of American Baseball darts is in order. The players from each team take three darts at all "innings" (or segments of the dart board) between the numbers one and nine. The cumulative number of marks scored is added, and the team with the highest number of marks wins that match.

This league employs a handicap system known as an eighty percent handicap. Each player's average number of marks is reported, and added to make a team total. The team with the lower total starts with eighty percent of the difference in marks. This makes the games competitive, while giving some reward for skill. In our match tonight, we had the higher total so our opponents started each match with twenty-three marks.

I was surprised at how much of a team game this is. The league format is to have three team matches of four vs. four. With no individual games, there is much more incentive to cheer for your team mates, which happened a lot. Two points are awarded for each match won. The final point goes to the team with the highest total number of marks on the night, including the handicap. A total of seven points are at stake each week.

We started the first match slow, but made up the handicap by the final inning. A bad round on nines cost us the first match by about two points (148-146 marks), and we were down 2-0 points. We rebounded with some huge innings in the second match, particularly on 3's and 4's, to score a big win (155-127 marks). In the third match we started out slowly again, but strong innings on 6, 7, and 8's gave us the win (151-142 marks), along with the extra point for highest number of marks. We finished with a 5-2 points win on the night.

I have some general observations on how this game differs from steel tip darts. The darts are very light, perhaps under five grams. Also, their shape (see above) makes it difficult to get tight groups. Darts must be placed around each other, because deflections are severe. The conventional wisdom seemed to be shooting for the doubles, because errors on either side still could net singles or triples. The light dart and different board will take getting used to. Everyone uses the same set of darts for the whole match. The player up to shoot next scores the preceding player, retrieves the darts, and then shoots. Hand signals are used to indicate the number of marks scored.

Man of the match tonight was Dave, whose stats for one match added up to a respectful 50 marks (about five and a half marks per turn). My best was 35 marks, which is about 4 marks per turn, and considered okay for a new player. Louie from the other team had a nice 36 mark game. John managed a 38, and Tom hit a 42. It was a night for the first week jitters and I was compelled to donate a quarter for the unfortunate distinction of blanking a round. I was comforted by the occasional clink of a quarter on some other tables, though they may have just been leaving tips.

Next week I will try and bring a camera so you can see some American Baseball Darts action. Until then good darts!

New Jersey Darts Is Back, American Style!

2009-10-06T20:11:00.007-04:00

After taking some time off I am back and excited to be playing my first season of American Baseball League Darts! Did you miss me? :)

I am teaming up with some old Corner Bar team mates (John, Dave, and Tom) for some good fun on Monday nights. I have months of catching up to do with these guys, so the stories should be especially good next week.

The venue will be Kelly's Corner Tavern in Neptune City, NJ. I am a beginner at American baseball darts, so it will be interesting to see how I adapt. For any of you foreigners who are scratching your heads, thinking, what in the world is a bloody American baseball dart, here are some pictures:

Just to be different, us crazy Americans have our own wooden board too.

I will be doing weekly stories, just like in the Corner Bar days. Our opponents will be whole new cast of characters, so it should be interesting. Look for the first report next week!

A Study In Accuracy: The Slingshot Man

2009-04-11T09:10:00.003-04:00

I was checking out funny videos on You Tube when I came accross a video on "The Slingshot Man." His real name is Rufus Hussey. He is a sixty-five year old man who appears to be the Phil Taylor of slingshooting. He lives out in the country near Asheboro, NC. In the video he displays remarkable feats of accuracy, including throwing up a walnut and then a quarter, and hitting each with his slingshot. Then he picks bugs off of his plants with his amazing slingshot skills. Check out the video on You Tube. It would be interesting to see what he could do with darts. While the skills are different, I find that people who are accurate with a gun or bow tend to be quick studies in darts.

Catching Up On News

2009-04-09T22:04:00.007-04:00

No, the blog has not gone to the dogs! Many events have conspired to keep me from posting lately, such as my new responsibilities as a dog owner. Here is a picture of the new member of the family, a Bassett Hound named Rainbow. The story of how he got the name is funny.

We picked him out at the Tri-State Bassett Hound Rescue. They were calling him Rambo, but my son thought he heard "Rainbow." Unfortunately there was no convincing him that Rambo was a more manly sounding name, and I suppose you have to pick your battles. So Rainbow it is. He's a good dog, quite content to curl up on the floor and watch me practice. The picture shows him in training for the upcoming 2009 New Jersey Boardwaddle, in which hundreds of Bassets will cruise the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ together on April 17-18, 2009. If you're there be careful not to trip over all the big ears.

Back to darts. I was a bit bummed out that I had to miss the charity dart event in Philly because of a change of family plans. However, I am glad to see it was another huge success. Keith McCarthy reported on PhillyDarts website that 148 dart players showed up and raised $12,000.00 for charity...Great job Philly!

So how has my practice been going? I have been sneaking in some time on the board and had a very positive development recently. I found an old set of darts that I probably have not used in about eight years. They are fatter and heavier than the set I was using, with a fairly smooth barrel. I couldn't even tell you what brand they were. Just for laughs I picked them up and good things started to happen. My groups consistently tightened, and I felt like I had a lot more control over the dart.

I have a theory about why I am more comfortable with the old darts. I have big hands. To grip a thinner or smaller dart I have to close my hand tighter, creating a more crampy feeling that probably hinders my grip and release. I remember at an expo John Lowe talked about how he sometimes missed his big old darts because they had a better feel and he could control them more easily. We'll see if the old darts keep working for me.

I am taking off all next week so I will have no excuses not to post. I will be catching up on news and passing it along. Who knows, I might even sneak out to a LOD or two. Until then, good darts!

Varuna Cup 2009 Flyer Out

2009-03-22T08:53:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Bob Race for forwarding the announcement that the $5,000.00+ Varuna Cup will be held in Brooklyn, NY on April 17-19, 2009. This is an open tournament with singles, luck of the draw, doubles, and a mixed triples event. Click here for the flyer in pdf format.

2009 Philadelphia Cancer Shoot and Virginia Beach Coming Up

2009-03-09T20:01:00.004-04:00

Any New Jersey darters who missed Darts for Dreams this past weekend can still do something for charity by attending the 3rd Annual Philadelphia Cancer Shoot later this month. The event will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 1:00 p.m., at Philadelphia House (formerly Jokers), 7312 Castor Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. The format will be luck of the draw doubles, $10 to enter, with $1,000 in prize money. All proceeds will go to benefit the worthy charity Crossing The Finish Line, which offers respite for families of people with cancer.

The same weekend 23rd Annual Virginia Beach Dart Classic will be held in (where else?) Virginia Beach, VA. Click here for the flyer. This year's tournament features $35,310.00 in prize money which is sure to lure many of the top national players. This will likely clear the field a bit for a lot of you local players to go to the Philly Cancer shoot and show your stuff!

Darts for Dreams 2009 a Great Success!

2009-03-08T20:10:00.006-04:00

Congratulations to Gary Yourman, the Greater Trenton English Dart League, the sponsors and everyone who attended the Darts for Dreams charity event on Saturday. It was another record year with over $16,000.00 raised for the New Jersey Make-A-Wish Foundation. Click here for Gary's report. Some highlights were that 18,300 darts were thrown. Paul Seladones of the Quaker City English Dart League had high score on the day with 2,780 scored in 100 darts. Many winners donated their winnings back to the cause.

My seven year old son Oliver (pictured above) and I attended the event and had a great time. Oliver and I practice at home but he has never thrown in a formal dart event before. It's great that his first experience is a charity event. He had no trouble throwing 100 darts for a score of 745. I have no doubt he will improve on that for next year. He was also thrilled because everyone got a gift bag and he won a door prize. I was able to throw my hundred and ended up somewhere around 2250. I had a couple of 140's but a few too many 26's and 45's!

One of the families whose wish was sponsored by the funds raised in last year's Dart-A-Thon appeared and gave a moving talk about what it meant for their young daughter to get her wish. The young girl had an incurable metabolic disease and her room needed a complete makeover for the medical equipment that she needs to function. They gave a heartfelt thanks for the support provided by the generous darters and sponsors.

Gary (pictured above with Oliver) and the untiring folks at Make-A-Wish and the GTEDL are already setting goals to raise $17,000+ next year. Congratuations again and best wishes.

Hot and Cold

2009-02-15T19:04:00.003-05:00

I'm not describing my dart playing, but rather what the temperatures around here are doing. Some days you can walk around in short-sleeved shirts and others are like this picture of my backyard that Margaret took last month. All you can do is wait for spring I suppose. At least it does not effect dart practice!

Dart Photos

2009-02-14T09:02:00.002-05:00

Margaret has been experimenting with post-production work on digital pictures. Here is one she did of me and Oliver after last year's tournament at the Mohegan Sun. Let me know what you think.

New Tournament in Massachutses

2009-02-12T22:08:00.002-05:00

I received a notice that the Montachusett Dart Association is having a nice small weekend tournament ($4,100+) on March 13-15, 2009, in Leominster, MA. That is a bit of a haul for New Jersey dart players, but well within reach for a weekend road trip. Click here to get the flyer.

Work has been interesting but time consuming lately, which explains my less-than usual posting on the blog. Things look to normalize next week so you will be hearing more from me. I have been reading some other books lately that aren't necessarily about darts, but should have some good parallels.

NJ Darts Book Review: The Dart League King

2009-02-10T05:56:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I finished reading a book written by Keith Lee Morris called "The Dart League King." How could I resist a book with a title like that? In September Dartoid did a good review of the book. I will leave the literary reviews to the literary reviewers, and focus on one narrow question: How well did Morris capture the feel of a dart league night? My readers from way back know that a lot of my early posts were weekly accounts of league matches, so I find that particularly interesting.

Morris quickly caught my interest in the first fifteen pages by describing the buildup to league night. The team captain, Russel, has conversations in advance with his friend about matchups for a big league night. Anyone who has filled out a roster for a league match knows what I am talking about...all the little distracting anxieties about who you should play where to maximize your team's chances of winning.

I also enjoyed Morris' description of the dart bar in question, the 321 club, and how the players interact with the setting and each other. There is live music at the bar that tends to distract the dart players, and they complain about it. That amused me, because every dart bar has something like that, and the acquired ability to tolerate it is something of a home field advantage. At the Corner Bar in Elizabeth, there was a loud buzzer that went off any time someone walked into the adjacent liquor store...usually when you were lining up that shot for a game-winning double!

Then Morris describes how dart players sometimes try to reach a "zone" where they feel loose but not too much so, usually involving a certain number of beers, drinks, etc. One of the characters describes how he looks forward to the Thursday night league match, but dreads going to work the following Friday morning after a night out. Very authentic.

The players from the opposing teams inevitably size each other up while warming up, but at the same time there is a loose cameraderie. There is a bit of trash talking but it is good natured. I also found that authentic and he did a good job of creating the feel of it.

I particularly liked it when Morris reached into the heads of the players. One of the top players, Russel, has a case of the nerves and Morris describes it as follows: "it was as if his motor memory had suddenly been erased...and so his heart struck up against his chest like a little hammer and his fingers pulsed strangely...Russel missed and missed and missed." In my opinion, he did a good job of describing a character who has let nerves get the best of him. Haven't we all seen that!

Morris also does a great job of examining the pressure of a game winning shot. It's not always so easy to hit that single bull with your last dart when you have a bar full of people looking at you, the room goes suddenly silent, and there is a good looking woman in a short skirt in your peripheral vision.

Morris obviously knows the game and I was not surprised to learn that he plays darts. His descriptions of the games played and strategies as they progress reflected that knowledge. He weaves some interesting tales and characters around a dart league night, and I recommend his book to all adult dart players. This one is not appropriate for the young due to frequent profanity and some violence. That being said, the profanity and violence are not gratuitous. They fit the story and the characters. Until next time, good darts!

Darts for Dreams 2009

2009-01-26T06:24:00.002-05:00

The Fourth Annual Darts for Dreams Charity Dart-A-Thon is announced for March 7, 2009, with doors opening at noon and darts starting at 1 p.m., at the following location:

77 Christine Way
Hamilton, NJ

All proceeds will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey. This is a great event that allows dart players to get out and support a worthy cause while doing what we love to do. Click here for the flyer.

I have attended this event and it is a lot of fun. Last time the format was that you pay a certain amount to throw a hundred darts. You keep score and report it. The top thrower every hour won a prize, as did the overall winners for the day. Of course, it may be different this time! They also had a raffle. I hope to see you all there!

Live From The 2009 Rae Chesney Tournament in Philly

2009-01-10T15:48:00.002-05:00

It's Saturday at about 3:45 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in North Philly, and the men's singles cricket is underway with 256 entrants. Earlier today in the men's pairs 501, Tom Sawyer and Tim Curtin from Massachutses overcame Joe Slivan and Mike Sansoucie from Florida in a close match in the finals.

I managed to find a partner for the pairs and we got through the first round, only to lose to Dick Keen and his partner. Dick took out a nice 78 in two darts in the first leg, denying me a shot. In the second game I hit a ton to leave my partner 40, but Dick again hit is double 4 on the first dart. In singles I again had the second round blues. I shot well the first round to take a sweep, but lost the second when I could not hit a pesky 18.

Many top shooters are here, including Darin Young, Bill Davis, Chris White, Jim Widmayer and many others from accross the country. I will take a rest during the mixed trips this afternoon and I am contemplating shooting in the luck of the draw tonight. Tommorrow is another chance with the singles 501 and pairs cricket events. I will provide updates as I am able.

2009 PDC World Championship Finals

2009-01-06T07:32:00.002-05:00

The 2009 PDC World Championships featured Phil Taylor against Raymond Van Barneveld. Taylor won it with an amazing 110+ three dart average over the course of eight sets (each best of five legs). Barneveld only managed one set despite averaging over 100 himself! The standard of play is really impressive now at the top. Here is a link to the PDC's reporting of the final.

If you would like to follow the Lakeside World Professional Chamionships, they are going on right now and you can see updates on the World Dart Federation's website.

I am practicing for this weekend's tournament in Philadelphia and look forward to seeing a lot of you there. Reports will follow.

Holiday Baking NJ Darts Style

2009-01-01T18:30:00.005-05:00

While I am neither a baker nor an artist, I got in the spirit this holiday.

Happy New Years

2009-01-01T11:25:00.002-05:00

Best New Years wishes to everyone. I am back from a great holiday in North Carolina. It was quite an interesting scene for Christmas at my brother's house with fifteen people celebrating, including five kids. My little nephew got a dart game and I could not resist playing some.

When I returned home and checked the news I was glad to see that Bill Davis of Philadelphia had a big day at the PDC World Championships, beating defending World Champ John Part in the first round. Check out the Phillydarts website which has a link to an interview with Bill right after his win. What an amazing crowd they have for that event! Bill dropped a tight match in the next round to Barrie Bates, who was hitting some big checkouts.

I just finished booking my reservations at the Radisson NE Philadelphia for the Rae Chesney Tournament (flyer available at Phillydarts), and hope to see a lot of you there. I have some good new ideas for articles on darts that will be coming out in the next couple of weeks, and I will be sure to include some good pictures and reports from the tournament.

Happy Holidays To All Dart Players

2008-12-19T23:10:00.005-05:00

I am off in the morning to visit family in Greensboro, NC. Best holiday wishes to all dart players and I look forward to seeing a lot of you in January in Philadelphia and Long Island.

January 2009 Upcoming Tournaments

2008-12-09T21:33:00.003-05:00

January offers a great chance for New Jersey area darters to play in two back-to-back weekend tournaments.

-January 9-11, 2009, the $26,500.00+ Rae Chesney English Dart Tournament, in North Philadelphia, Pa.

-January 16-18, the $10,000.00 New York/New Jersey Open, in Long Island, NY.

Both are open to the dart playing public and within an easy drive for New Jersey area darters. The Philadelphia tournament brings in great players from around the country not to mention Philly's finest. The NY/NJ Open is also a fun tournament with great competition. Until then, good darts!

2009 Lakeside World Professional Championship Qualifiers

2008-12-04T23:12:00.003-05:00

Every year people get a chance to qualify for a spot in the Lakeside World Professional Championships through a playoff event, which was held today at The Spa Bridlington, in England. It's a grueling format, requiring you to play best of three five-game sets each round, and usually having to beat about six progressively difficult opponents to advance. That could easily mean over fifty legs of 501 to make it through. Many good darters are there from around the world because the Winmau World Masters follows the next day.

The U.S. masters team was there and here is the report from the BDO website. For the men:
-Brian Blake defeated two opponents before getting knocked out in the T16 of his group.
-Jim Widmayer beat one opponent, ending in the T32 of his group.
-Scott Wollaston defeated two opponents, ending in the T16 of his group.
-Tim O'Gorman beat his first opponent but then lost in the T16 of his group.
-Steve Brown won his first match but lost in the T16 of his group.
-Chris Linkous lost his first round match.
-The furthest American was David Schuyler, who defeated four opponents and finished in the T4 of his group, just two opponents from qualifying!

For the Women:
-Sandy Hudson lost her first round match.
-Mary Jo Chesney won her first match but then was out.
-Christine Medina defeated two opponents before crashing out.
-Stacy Bromberg was the furthest American with four wins, eventually being defeated in the quarter finals.

While none made it through, they appear to have won more than they lost against good competition. The slate is wiped clean for the next event, the Winmau World Masters. Check the BDO website over the next couple of days to see how everyone is doing. Good luck to the team.

2008 Long Island Fall Classic Report

2008-11-30T17:53:00.004-05:00

I'm just back from the Long Island Fall Classic and I had a fun time this weekend. My dart weekend started Saturday morning, when I arrived at the tournament just in time for the men's pairs cricket. I immediately ran into a lot of my old Corner Bar teammates, including Tom Waterman, Dave and Michele Hascup, and John Daddio. Within fifteen minutes I was set up with partners for the men's pairs cricket, mixed triples and the Sunday mixed doubles event with some Long Island dart players. I didn't realize I was that popular!

As the event started I was going to score for my friend Tom Waterman and his doubles partner Tom Sawyer from Massachutses. If you've read the blog through the Corner Bar days, you know that the Corner Bar team mates like to kid around alot. Unfortunately for them I saw Michele Hascup and Nicole scanning the crowd for a scorekeeper for a ladies match. I turned to both Toms and said, "Sorry but they look a lot better than you two."

"So that's how its going to be!" said Sawyer, with both of the men shaking their heads as I walked away to score the ladies match. Not to worry though. I saw that the men had won their match and needed a scorekeeper for the next round.

"Now that I've had a beer you look a little better," I told them as I took the chalk.

Unfortunately I was cold in my men's pairs cricket. My poor partner was Joe from Long Island, who was a good shot but who also struggled. If memory serves we were out in two rounds. The trend continued in the first singles event, where I did not start improving until it was a bit too late in the deciding leg.

Gail Payne and Tom Waterman were my partners in the next event (mixed triples 601). I started off solid, improving on my scores as we defeated two teams. However a hitch developed where I was unconsciously standing up a bit with my forward leg as I threw the dart. It was wreaking havoc with my scoring until Gail pointed it out and I was able to correct it in time to hit a clutch double in the second round. Thanks for diagnosing the problem Dr. Gail! We were knocked out in the third round by a team including my new friend Dennis from New York, who like myself loves both darts and fishing. We struggled a bit with the trips and they played a bit more solidly than we that round.

The gradual improvement continued into the blind draw, where I hit some nice shots to get us through two rounds before eventually dropping out when the triples deserted us. To sum up the first day, my overall performance was below par but I felt good that I was able to improve steadily after a poor first event, and successfully correct a technical problem in mid-event. The confidence is still there, even though the competition skills are rusty.

The early event the second day was mixed doubles 501 and my partner was Debbie from Long Island. I was up early practicing to make sure that I was not standing up with that front leg when I threw. The result was more steady improvement that was good enough to get us through to the third round before eventually bowing out when we had a few unlucky shots. Good shooting Debbie!

Laurett Meddis got me another good Long Island player for my last event, which was men's pairs 501. Bob was ready when we started our first round and we scored well enough to get us to the double first in each leg. What I really liked was that we hit the double on the first dart each time. We were hotter in the second round match, hitting some tons and I also contributed a 140 on the way to another victory.

The real challenge came in the quarterfinal match, where we faced Tim O'Gorman and Jim Widmayer. Tim and Jim are leaving for England on Tuesday to represent the U.S. in the Winmau World Masters, and their form reflected it with steady 100 or 100+ scores and quick outs. Bob and I were feeling tired by that point and the triples that were coming so easily the previous round were no longer there for us, resulting in a sweep. We were a bit consoled that a top 8 finish entitled us to a little money back on the event. Good luck to Tim and Jim at the World Masters. If they continue in the form that I saw they should do well.

I spent a lot of time visiting with both old friends and new. I was able to catch up a bit with Skip from South Jersey, Fred Krueger, Laurett, Buddy, my old Corner Bar team mates, and some friends from the Elizabeth league. Darin Young competed in the tournament, and he was in good form following his return from England with victories over Terry Jenkins and Colin Lloyd. I look forward to seeing them all again in Philly in January.

I also learned a lot about my game. While there are some darters that can not compete for a good while and then jump right back in and do well, that's not me! It took several matches before I started feeling comfortable on the oche. I also tired after a few hours and my game suffered for it. No doubt, I will need to do some regular competing to improve. For me it seems kind of like training for running. If you don't get out, train, and compete you cannot expect to do well. With two big tournaments coming up in January I will be able to work on that. Until next time, good darts!

Time For Fun at the Long Island Classic

2008-11-26T16:01:00.002-05:00

I reached my goal of writing 50,000 words in the month of November for National Novel Writing month, so I am going to the Long Island Fall Classic this weekend. This is the last big one of the year for New Jersey area dart players and I do not want to miss it.

The tournament is open to all, but for ADO members there is a Cricket Regional competition this Friday in the same location. I won't be able to make that one because I cannot get away until Saturday, but good luck to all of the competitors.

I will give the usual report on all of the dart-related activities upon returning. Everyone have a nice Thanksgiving!

Darts Good for your Brain?

2008-11-20T22:08:00.002-05:00

I suppose when you start getting over 40 years old it's time to start paying extra attention to all that stuff about living healthy, so that's how I found myself coming across an article on how to keep your memory sharp. Apparently ginkgo biloba is not the answer. One of the recommendations is to do math in your head instead of doing it on a calculator, and what is steel tip darts but doing math without a calculator?

I wonder if this article will cause a backlash against electronic darts scoring machines? Imagine what the other guys will now claim. OUR dartboard with the chalkboard promotes healthy brains, while THEIRS with that fancy automatic scorer will turn them to MUSH! Perhaps a FDA-style warning should be put on electronic dart machines...something like "playing darts without manually calculating scores had been shown to cause memory loss in some dart players."

The problem is that a lot of dart players are taking one step forward while taking another back. You calcluate your score, and brain cells pop up and flex their muscles. Then you take a sip of alcohol and they die a horrible death. You calculate another score and....well you get the picture.

I can't wait to hear the excuses people will use to go play darts all the time..."But honey, I have to go practice my math or I'll start forgetting things, like taking out the trash, your birthday, our anniversary..." Somehow, I don't think that will fly.

Good darts until next time. I am working hard to finish 50,000 words on my novel before next Friday so I can go to the Long Island Fall Classic. If I remember that is...I suppose I better unplug my Dartmaster III!

Grand Slam of Darts

2008-11-20T21:56:00.003-05:00

I've been following the Grand Slam of Darts on the PDC website and have noted some good performances by Pennsylvania star Darin Young. The format appears to be group round-robins with the top two from each of eight groups advancing to the top 16. Darin battled out of his group with wins over Colin Lloyd and Terry Jenkins. In his 5-4 win over Jenkins, Darin averaged a respectable 92.43 per round. In the top-16 Darin went down 10-4 to Raymond Van Barneveld, who was shooting well. Still, not a bad run for Darin.

A lot of the usual suspects are left in the top 8, including Taylor, Barneveld, and Terry Jenkins, Gary Anderson, Mervyn King, Mark Webster, and Darryl Fitton, along with Australian Simon Whitlock. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Bullseye News

2008-11-09T07:37:00.003-05:00

I subscribe to Bullseye News and enjoy reading some of the articles. In the September/October 2008 issue I saw a few things that caught my interest. First, Paul Seigel a/k/a Dartoid reviewed a book by author Keith Lee Morris called "The Dart League King." It looks like it might make a perfect holiday season gift for a dart player who likes to read (hint to Margaret).

Speaking of gifts for dart players, Bullseye News announced that it will have an official holiday gift guide for dart players. My readers know that this is a subject I enjoy, and I have done two dart gift guides on this blog. I'm always interested in new ideas and look forward to seeing what they come up with.

Finally, British ex-pat Steve Brown wrote a lengthy article on 501 outshots that is a good read. I have met and played Steve several times and we have had some good conversations about another common interest (fishing). I found myself nodding my head in agreement many times through the article. It's a great read for anyone who plays a lot of '01.

Back to writing on my own novel. I am over 20,000 words now, shooting for 50,000 by the end of the month.

Kevin's You Tube Dart Video Review

2008-11-06T22:22:00.003-05:00

Every once in awhile I like to check out dart videos and it has been awhile since I last looked. Weird is definitely the theme for what I found on You Tube. I found one that had a funny sequence in the middle where one dart player is distracting another at the oche:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6shkR42E610

Although I don't really get the dog staking out his territory thing.

Next, rating high up in the history of bad ideas that won't work, we have water darts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksQ86XNwIA8

Next is one I don't quite get, kind of like James Bond plays darts or something:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSMEl9E6Cls

Not much of a video here, but hey, its a song about darts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e50EcdWJqL8

Now here is some dart players who know how to have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjymW5spdqY

Let me know what you think, and pass on any more good ones!

Anybody Dressing Up For Halloween?

2008-10-31T07:00:00.004-04:00

I am still undecided what to wear for Halloween. My son wants me to be an Ogre...I haven't been that strict with him, have I? I have a pirate outfit that might do. Of course, some people are scared of lawyers and I wouldn't even have to change when I get home for work :)

The costume pictured to the left is featured at the costume supercenter.

Rae Chesney Dart Tournament 2009 Details, and U.S. Team Winners

2008-10-30T04:37:00.007-04:00

Happy Halloween to all dart players! The board pictured to the left was found on the Goldieloo Woodworks website.

The first big tournament for New Jersey area darters in 2009 is the $26,500.00+ Rae Chesney English Dart Tournament in Philadelphia. The flyer recently appeared on the PhillyDarts website, and announces that the tournament will be held on January 9-11, 2009 at the familiar location (Raddison NE Philadelphia). I always enjoy this tournament as the prize money is good enough to bring in people from all over the U.S. It's nice to catch up with old friends. Needless to say I will be there although I am still looking for a doubles partner.

According to the ADO website Chris White, Ryan Barnett and Marilyn Popp won the U.S. Team Competition recently and will represent the U.S. in the World Cup next September in Charlotte, NC.. I have not met Ryan before, but I have played Chris and Marilyn several times. They will do a fine job. The rest of the team will be determined by 2008 point totals in the ADO system.

Practice has been going well for me lately. I feel relaxed and have been getting some good games in. The main thing lacking is time to go to more tournaments, but I know I have to be reasonable about such things with work and all. The next good one within reasonable driving distance is the Long Island Fall Classic. Happy Halloween to everyone, and until next time good darts.

Back From North Carolina, And The Latest Dart News

2008-10-21T05:39:00.004-04:00

I returned Sunday from a nice family camping trip to North Carolina, where the WDF World Cup of Darts will be held next year. We went to the Asheville area and took in some of the great scenery in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The colors were changing in the higher altitudes with a lot of red and gold foliage. We visited the Biltmore Estate, the largest privately owned home in America, and climbed the mountain at Chimney Rock Park. Oliver learned how to shoot a slingshot, we visited with our friend Mary who drove up from South Carolina, and then visited my brother's family in Greensboro. It was a nice time.

There is some good dart action coming up in November for New Jersey area darters. On Saturday, November 8, 2008 between noon and 5 p.m. there will be dart exhibition and clinic in New York City at Blatt Billiards, featuring Jim Widmayer, Bill Bell, Tim O'Gorman, and Joe Swick. The flyer indicates that there will also be discounted dart supplies on sale. It sounds like a great excuse to go into the city for a fun day of darts.

According to the Phillydarts website, on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. the finals of the Larry Wiz Memorial Cricket Chamionship of Philadelphia will be held at SmokeEaters Bar in Philadelphia, at 7681 Frankford Ave., tel. no. (215) 338-4188. Qualifiers for the event have been running since June and many of Philly's best dart players will be competing. Please note that you cannot compete if you have not already qualified.

New Jersey area darters should also be gearing up for the $10,000.00+ Long Island Fall Classic on November 28-30, 2008. The Fall Classic is always a good tournament and it's the last nearby weekend tournament of the year.

Practice has been going well with some slow but steady improvement. I will keep you posted on the latest developments. Until then, good darts!

Dart Practice Going Well

2008-10-05T10:56:00.002-04:00

I have put some time on the practice board at home and I'm feeling good. Like last weekend I am more relaxed on the line, leading to better form and execution. With winter coming on soon I will probably be able to put in some extra practice. There are fewer outdoor activities to distract me then.

The only weekend tournament coming up is in Long Island at the end of November. However, the Rae Chesney tournament in Philadelphia is tentatively scheduled for January 9-11, 2009. Those will give me some targets to shoot for as I work on improving my game. A lot of my posting in the next few weeks will likely focus on what I am doing in practice and plans for getting ready for the upcoming tournaments. Until then, good darts!

Maui Waui 2008 Report

2008-09-28T20:16:00.003-04:00

I attended the Maui Waui Dart Tournament today in New Milford, NJ and had a great time today. Pictured are Dave Hascup of USA Darts and John Daddio. A lot of my old Corner Bar dart teammates were there, including Michele and Dave, Tom Waterman, and John. More of the North Jersey usual suspects were present and Dave reported over sixty entrants in the singles event on Saturday. It was great to catch up with old friends.

It has been several months since I have attended a tournament and I knew some rust would be showing on my skills. The only two events I could play in on Sunday were mixed triples 601 and singles 501. Luckily I was able to pick up a team for the mixed trips on the fly. We met Bill Bell's team in the first round and gave them a game, but they were a bit more steady and ended up winning two straight. I hit a few tons but a few 40's as well, and missed my only shot at an 80 out. Bill's team went on to win the mixed triples.

In the singles 501 my first round opponent was ADO President Buddy Bartoletta. Buddy is a great guy and we had some good conversation. In the first leg I was on again off again but built up a decent lead down to the out. Buddy gave me a big scare at the end, going 81, 81, 180 to leave a single dart out. He was unlucky the next round missing the double and I managed an unconventional 32 out on my last dart (S8, D12). The next game I was luckily more solid in my scoring but almost lost out as I kept missing on a 38 out. I limped over the finish line just before he got a crack at it.

In my second round I faced Jimmy Widmayer, a Staten Island player currently ranked #2 in the USA. Jimmy is another good guy who has done very well on the circuit lately. He won the cork but I started out solid with a 100, 140. I managed to take the first game with a quick finish. My scoring was off in the second game, but he almost let me in by missing two rounds at the doubles. I was sitting on 68 when he took it out. In the decider, Jimmy won the cork and it proved to be an important advantage. He opened with 125 and I started with 134. After 15 darts apiece he was on 32 and I was on 78. Jimmy didn't play around this time and took the 32 out with his 16th dart. I never like to lose a close one but Jimmy deserved this one, as he shot better today. Dave will be sending me final results, which I will print after I receive.

Overall, I can't complain as I was averaging at about an 18-21 dart pace and I have been away from tournaments and leagues for awhile. A little improvement on that with some time on the practice board will make me competitive.

Before our match I had a great talk with Buddy about the international darts scene. The World Cup of Darts is coming to North Carolina next year and I look forward to checking it out. I am already blocking out my calendar and plan to volunteer to help out for the event. Unfortunately I am not in good enough form presently to qualify for the U.S. Team! I also inquired about the possibility of darts in the London Olympics. Apparently, the WDF is lobbying energetically for it and the next step might be instituting drug testing at the big sanctioned dart tournaments. It's good to see that people are doing what needs to be done to give it a real chance at happening. Darts. Olympics. Wow, that would be great! We will see.

The next big weekend tournament for New Jersey darters will be The $10,000.00+ Long Island Fall Classic. Laurett and Buddy always run a great tournament, and this one will be held on Nov. 28-30. I am back to posting regularly, so look for more articles weekly. Until then, good darts!

Maui Waui, Make That Sunday!

2008-09-27T18:45:00.002-04:00

Child care arrangements got mixed up a bit and it looks like I will be going to the Maui Waui Sunday instead of today. I did throw a bit with Oliver today for practice. Until then, good darts!

Maui Waui

2008-09-27T08:28:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posting. New responsibilities at work have kept me more busy tha usual. However today I am going to the Maui Waui dart tournament in New Milford, NJ and I look forward to writing an article on Sunday. I hope to see some of you there!

Buried Treasure

2008-08-12T02:26:00.003-04:00

Margaret was looking through old pictures and uncovered this one. I am at a festival with my infant son (now six years old) strapped to my chest as I try to win a prize by throwing darts. As I recall, you had to hit one of the yellow dots on the picture of the knight fighting the dragon. I won a stuffed dragon, which he still has. It's not easy to throw with a kid strapped to your chest!

Back From Alaska

2008-08-10T13:23:00.004-04:00

I got a lot of fishing done in Alaska, and just got in from a nice week away. Here are pictures of some of the fish I managed to catch.

I got to see my friend Jeff and his family, including four of his kids and his wife Michele. All of them play darts! He could have his own doubles tournament in the house. I will include more pictures and information soon. Until then good darts, and I hope everyone had fun at the USA Classic in Connecticut.

Adding to my last post, here is a picture of Jeff and family, who I had a good dinner with at a place called Sal's, a diner in Soldotna Alaska. We were unable to play darts because summer is the busy season around Alaska, and the only action was in Anchorage.

North To Alaska!

2008-07-31T23:50:00.003-04:00

I am leaving early tomorrow morning for a ten day fishing trip to Alaska. As usual when I travel, I am packing along my darts just in case I stumble across a dart board on my journey. I am also working to schedule a visit with my friend Jeff Olson, who is the ADO Regional Director for Alaska.

I met Jeff at an ADO Nationals about a decade ago and it would be hard to find a nicer guy. His wife Michelle also plays darts. Jeff sent me an interesting Alaskan dart trophy that he won at the Alaska Open. The award was an engraved Ulu, which is a special fan-blade knife used by Alaskan natives. I have greatly appreciated the gift as I use it regularly to cut vegetables, fish and to perform other tasks in the kitchen. I look to return the favor as I am bringing a New Jersey specific gift to Jeff & Michelle.

Needless to say, I will not be able to play darts in New Brunswick next week. However, we will resume play the following week. Good luck and best wishes to everyone gong to East-West Allstars, the ADO 501 National Championship, and the USA Classic in Connecticut weekend after next!

Week Two At The Ale n'Wich

2008-07-30T21:27:00.008-04:00

It was another small but fun group at the Ale n'Wich this week. Poor Doug was exhausted after three hearings in two days and needed to get home and rest. Anu was busy with a big training event and also had to skip. Sandra and Rosita filled in for a fun evening of darts.

Sandra was relatively new to darts but had played some before. Rosita had never thrown a dart before. Both surprised me with some good darts. Sandra showed a remarkable ability to hit the bull. Here she is pictured with her first one of the night.

Rosita proved to be a prodigy, hitting three triple 20's in her first night of ever playing darts! She managed to hit the winning shot in our practice 301 game, and won two games of tic-tac-toe darts. Here she is after her second victory. It looks like I have some mixed doubles tournament partners in training!

I took thirty minutes in my lunch break and had a great round in a practice routine that I call cricket count-up. It is a great way to gauge where you stand as far as cricket skill. You take three darts at each cricket number, i.e. 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, Bull. You count the total number of marks that you hit, and then you can easily figure your average. The following chart reflects my opinion:

-21 marks: Average of 3 marks per round. Equivalent of averaging up to 60 points per turn in 501. Good enough to do well in a local league.

-28 marks: Average of 4 marks per round. Top contender in your local league and ready to compete at big tournaments. Equivalent of 70-80 points per turn in 501.

-35 marks or more: Average of 5 marks per round. One of the top contenders at big tournaments. Equivalent of 90 or more per turn in 501.

Every once in a while you have a great run when doing this routine. I managed a 39 today, aided much by a nine-count on 17's. That is the best one I have done in the past three years...too bad I cannot average that much! My other two tries were in the mid 20's. Still, it feels good to know that I still have some competitive games in me.

Larry Wiz Cricket Dart Tournament in Philadelphia

2008-07-30T06:56:00.005-04:00

Fun and competitive cricket qualifiers are now going on in Philadelphia for the Larry Wiz Memorial Cricket Championship. Eight qualifying tournaments are held, with four players advancing from each one. The dart players who qualified then square off at a final tournament scheduled for Nov. 8, 2008. The tournament director, Bob Brooks, recently confirmed that the tournament is open to all. This looks like a great chance for New Jersey area darters to test their cricket skills! Here is the schedule, which can also be accessed at Philly Darts. As always, call and double check before going to make sure there were no changes.

#1 July 16, 2008 Wed. at Curran’s -Reg. 7-7:45 p.m.; 8:00 p.m. start
#2 July 27, 2008 Sun. at McNoodles -Reg. 1-1:45 p.m.; 2:00 p.m. start
#3 Aug. 10, 2008 Sun. at Sean Thornton’s -Reg. 1-1:45; 2:00 p.m. start
#4 Aug. 27, 2008 Wed. at Smoke Eaters -Reg. 7-7:45 p.m.; 8:00 start
#5 Sept. 10, 2008 Wed. at Curran’s -Reg. 7-7:45 p.m.; 8:00 pm start
#6 Sept. 24, 2008 Wed. at McNoodles -Reg. 7-7:45 p.m.; 8:00 p.m. start
#7 Oct. 8, 2008 Wed.- Sean Thornton’s -Reg. 7-7:45 pm; 8:00 p.m. start
#8 Oct. 19, 2007 Sun. at Smoke Eaters -Reg. 1-1:45 pm; 2:00 pm start
FINALS:Nov. 8, 2008 - Smoke Eaters –Reg. 12-12-45 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. start

ADDRESSES and phone numbers of Philadelphia Bars:
CURRANS – 6900 State Road, (215) 331-8628
McNOODLES – 7358 Frankford Ave. (215) 624-9409
SEAN THORNTON’S – 2401 E. Allegheny Ave. (215) 651-9362
SMOKE EATERS - 7681 Frankford Ave. (215) 338-4188

Darts in New Brunswick On Wednesday Again

2008-07-29T07:07:00.002-04:00

I will be going to the Ale n'Wich in New Brunswick again on Wednesday (tomorrow) with some friends from work between 6 and 8:30 p.m. Anyone in the area is welcome to come by and join in the fun. Darts, food, drink, and friends. It should be fun, and according to the weather forecast you will not need a boat to get there this time!

New Jersey Dart Calendar Update August-October 2008

2008-07-26T06:42:00.005-04:00

There is some great dart action for New Jersey area dart players coming up:

August 8-10, 2008: $20,000.00+ USA Dart Classic in Stamford,Connecticut (click here for the flyer). This is an easy drive for New Jersey area darters and it is always a great open tournament. Don't miss the ADO East-West Challenge and 501 National Championships on August 8, right before the tournament. Unfortunately, I will be in Alaska and will have to miss this year.

Sept. 27-28, 2008: $3,500.00 Maui Waui. USA Darts has announced that the fun open tournament will be at the New Milford Athletic Club, in New Milford, NJ. As far as I can tell, the flyer is not out yet on this one.

October 24-26, 2008: $7,500.00 Maryland State Open at the Holiday Inn Laurel West in Laurel, Maryland (click here for tournament information). This will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Let me know if I have missed anything and I will add it in.

First Wednesday at the Ale n'Wich

2008-07-24T07:24:00.007-04:00

Mother Nature did her best to interfere with our first night of darts at the Ale n'Wich on Wednesday night. The skies opened up with a torrent of rain, a tornado watch was in effect, and wouldn't you know I had forgotten my umbrella!

I gave Anu a ride from work and we parked across the street from the pub and waited for the rain to at least temporarily slow a bit. We then had a laugh as we dashed out to cross the street, stepping into running water that was about halfway up to my knees. It reminded me of being at Hurricane Harbor, a nearby water park that I go to with my son. Only difference was we were wearing our work clothes instead of bathing suits!

Upon entering the Ale n'Wich we met Doug, who had arrived early and had a pitcher of Yuengling waiting. Soon after we sat down to dry off a bit, a pizza that I had ordered from Pauli's arrived and we enjoyed a nice meal. Pizza and beer is a favorite, especially in a college town like New Brunswick. As the time came to play darts, we were feeling drier and happier.

Doug had played darts years ago, but Anu was new to the game. I explained how scoring worked and we played a game of 501 and cricket. Both Doug and Anu played well and steadily improved over the course of the evening.

I then showed them one of my favorite fun dart games, which is darts tic-tac-toe. To play you draw a tic-tac-toe board #. Place numbers in each square. Each player gets a turn, and if they score one of the numbers in a square, they claim that square for their own. The object is to get three squares in a line, either vertically, horizontally or diagonally, just like the traditional tic-tac-toe game. Whomever makes up the game chooses what numbers go in. For beginners, easy numbers can be put in the squares, and for more advanced players higher numbers can be used.

I set up the board for Doug and Anu to play. Since Doug and Anu were new, the highest number I used was 60 (in the center square). Doug won the cork, and his first dart was an excellent triple 20 to claim the center square. Anu was impressed but immediately followed by claiming a corner. The game progressed in see-saw fashion, with each temporarily getting the upper hand, only to have the other cut off a line with a critical shot. In the end, all squares were claimed except a lowly 14 in the upper left hand corner square. Doug had a shot at it to force a tie, but just missed. Anu stepped in and hit the shot for a win. It was a fun night of darts, and thanks to Doug and Anu for braving the elements that understandably kept a lot of people from coming. Next week we have a good crowd interested in attending, and I will give a report. Until then, good darts!

Introduction to Darts

2008-07-21T22:16:00.002-04:00

I have always enjoyed showing new players the basics of how to play darts. When I was new I was fortunate to have friends willing to take the time to show me the game, so it's nice to pass it along. That has made me interested in finding some good material for new players.

Of course, a new player could not go wrong purchasing some of the helpful books that are available. George Silberzahn's How to Master The Sport of Darts offers a serious and comprehensive approach. Those who enjoy a dose of humor with their instruction may benefit from Master Lo's advice in Mike Orav's well-illustrated classic Become Your Darts. Other popular books include Fundartmentals by Frank Pratt (catchy title!) and A Bar Player's Guide to Winning Darts by Fred Everson. The American Dart Organization's Book of Darts also contains much useful information. I have read all of these books and would recommend them.

Of course, free online advice abounds on the rules of various games. I found a useful basic description for beginners at Wikipedia. Dartchucker also has a good beginner's description of '01 games and the American cricket game.

Above all, darts should be enjoyable. Learning the game and meeting the people then becomes fun. Feel free to share any good information you have found for beginners by commenting. My next report will be after our first gathering at the Ale n'Wich. Until then, good darts!

Darts in New Brunswick: Ale n'Wich Next Wednesday

2008-07-20T12:15:00.003-04:00

Last Friday I went to a pub in New Brunswick called Ale n'Wich to see if it would be a good place for a group of us to play darts on Wednesday nights. It's hard to find a place with steel-tip darts in New Brunswick, but Ale n'Wich is set up with a board right next to the bar.

Several things recommended the Ale n'Wich to me. First, the pub has a history of having open luck of the draw shoots on Tuesday nights. Robert, the manager, seems supportive of darts and interested in having us play there. Next, the parking (a major concern in New Brunswick) is a bit easier than some of the more centrally located pubs. In the food department, the pub only serves bar snacks but people can order delivery or bring their own food in (not drinks of course). New Brunswick has some excellent take out food so dinner will not be a problem. There is a nice outdoor patio. Last, but not least, is the Wednesday night drink specials. According to a poster on the wall, Wednesday night specials include $2.50 well brands, with a good selection of beer and $2 specials on Miller and Rolling Rock. While there is only one board, we are starting small so that should not be a problem.

I have often lamented that there is what I call a steel-tip darts "dead zone" in parts of central New Jersey. There are leagues in Elizabeth and Trenton, but very little east and south of those locations, like around where I live in Jackson. New Brunswick does have some venues with the American wood boards, such as Stuff Yer Face and Old Queens. While I like both games, I enjoy steel a bit more. I am excited about getting something going close to where I work.

I have a good group of new players from work interested in coming. If any of my dart-playing friends from around New Jersey are interested in coming, please feel free to join us. The first two or three weeks we will probably just have open play. Depending on interest I plan to consider an in-house league. I will be there starting around 6 p.m. this Wednesday. Until then, good darts!

By the way, best wishes to all New Jersey darters who went to the Macamoodus Tournament in Connecticut this weekend!

Catching Up On Old News - Desert Classic

2008-07-13T09:41:00.003-04:00

When I am out of town I usually fall behind on dart news. I was interested to read the reports on the Las Vegas Desert Classic, which took place a week ago. Phil Taylor continued his excellent form to defeat James Wade in the final. The PDC has a detailed account, documenting Taylor's sensational 105 per turn average.

The furthest American in the competition was Pennsylvania's Darin Young, who progressed to the final 16. Darin lost a close match to Mervyn King, by a score of 8-6 with both players averaging over 90 per turn. Philadelphia's Bill Davis lost a nail-biter in the top 32 to Mark Walsh, by a score of 6-5. Roger Carter from Georgia didn't make it through the qualifiers, but hit a perfect nine dart 501 game, for which much congratulations are due. Judging from the reports it was a great week of darts in Las Vegas.

Darts in Edison and New Brunswick, Anyone?

2008-07-12T10:08:00.003-04:00

I inquired around at work and got a great response from people interested in playing darts. My job is in Edison, New Jersey. I am looking around Edison and New Brunswick for a good pub to play some after work dart games, perhaps on a Monday or Wednesday night. Do any of you know a good place to play? I might end up convincing a pub owner somewhere to let us put up a board or two.

Kevin's 2008 Dart Gift and Accessory Review Part 2

2008-07-12T07:25:00.002-04:00

I've covered dart shirts and now its time to survey other dart gifts. Everyone needs a good rucksack from time to time. The "Let's Play Darts" rucksack would make a nice gift for a dart player to carry all of those extra necessary items around in.

ZZ Top's lyrics go "Coz every girl crazy about a sharp dressed man" You can take care of your sharp dressed man with a nice dart gift box set featuring a dart tie clip and cuff links. Dart jewelry can make a nice gift. Atlanta Darts offers a silver dart and earring set. Some very nice dart pendants are available at Designet International under "sports jewelry". Darts Corner offers a selection including belt buckles, earrings, and a wide variety of key chains.

Unique and creative gifts are special. I found one website where a woodworker offers to make custom dart cabinets to order. He has pictures of his work and some of his examples are interesting. I particularly liked his Superman dart cabinet.

Being different is great and all, but sometimes things are just odd. For example, see the "Badger playing darts." Here is one I missed earlier, as well...dart socks. You can also buy "nail darts" which look odd, but might be fun to learn to throw.

I was looking at some Japanese dart websites and I saw an interesting product that combines a dart stand with a series of shelves. It looks like it would be great for a small apartment. Unfortunately, you may have to read Japanese to figure out how to order it!

Then there's the category of dangerous gifts. Don't let your wife or girlfriend catch you playing the "Hit the Right Spot" talking dartboard. Almost guaranteed to offend...stay away from this one! Dart Corner sells the "darts crack" practical joke, which lets you attach something to the tip of your dart. When you throw it at the board it makes a very loud crack, startling your opponent.

Speaking of danger, if you have wood floors then you need to, as we say in New Jersey, "buy a little protection." Nodor sells a super thick rubber dart mat to limit the collateral damage to your floor from all of those unavoidable bounce-outs.

I have noticed several products coming out combining cards and darts. There is the "Deal a Dart" card game. An Austrailian company puts out a "card darts" dartboard. A similar idea with a different board is available at Card Parlour Darts. For you American "Widdy" dart players, there are wood boards with cards, bowling, golf, and baseball themes available at the americanstyledarts website.

There are more gifts to cover, and I will be looking at dart books next time. Until then, good darts!

Back From Vacation In Cape May

2008-07-07T06:49:00.003-04:00

I am just back from a nice 4th of July holiday vacation in scenic Cape May, New Jersey. The weather mostly cooperated for a relaxing time on the beach. Unfortunately, this delayed the rest of my dart gift and accessory review, which will be following this week. In that area there was not much darts to be played except the wooden American Darts game that is popular in the Philadelphia region and along the New Jersey shore.

My son Oliver and I just could not go four days without doing something to improve our accuracy however. We invented a game on the beach which he called "rock bombs." We filled his small beach pail half-full with water and then marked a line a few feet away in the sand. We then gathered a half dozen stones of various sizes from the beach. The object of the game was to toss the stones so they landed with a satisfying splash in the pail. The player getting at least one in could move backwards a foot the next turn, and draw a new line in the sand. If no stones went in, then the player had to move a foot closer to the pail.

This works well because each player can stay within a comfortable range for his or her throws. It kept his six year old's attention span for a good while. Also, the rocks which land in the sand can be washed in the pail of water between turns. My foot is 12 inches long, so I could pace off the distances well. I ended the day at a distance of 12 feet.

I have always noticed that different sports that put a premium on accuracy have fundamental things in common. For instance, whether you are talking about riflery, archery, golf, hitting a baseball, playing "rock bombs" or darts there are several things a person does to improve accuracy. For instance, focus upon target, being relaxed, eliminating unnecessary movement, and some form of follow-through generally pays dividends. Fun little games that work on these basic skills can likely improve overall accuracy and provide variety in dart training. I would be interested in hearing what non-dart related accuracy-type games you all play.

I will be working on the rest of the dart gift and accessory review and will have it out by the end of the week. Until then, good darts!

Kevin's 2008 Dart Accessory Review Part I: Greeting Cards and Shirts

2008-06-27T07:08:00.002-04:00

When I started working on the dart accessory and gift review this year I was able to find much more than previously. For that reason I will have to split my review into parts. Today I will cover dart greeting cards and dart shirts.

Dart greeting cards are great for the dart playing significant other in your life. I found some good ones starting with the one Margaret gave me for Father's Day made by Clicks & Wishes, a division of American Greetings. It actually has a small video display on it that shows a dart hitting a heart bullseye when you open the card. It then directs you to www.clickwishes.com/hubbydarts where you can play a game of darts online. No purchase necessary to play the dart game by the way. The pro level guy is pretty challenging. I noticed they have another dart card that you can view at the Clicks & Wishes website. http://www.clickwishes.com/surprise/index.pd

While browsing at a gift shop I found one by Carlton Cards that shows a scene at a pub with two inflatable dummies at a table with several darts lying around, and dart board in the background. The caption reads "He knew it was a dangerous sport, but he liked to live on the edge."

Cafe Press remains a great source for finding dart logos for many things, including greeting cards and the like. You need only go to Cafe Press, search for darts, and you will find many. Some examples include

-An interesting "Dart Shredders" card design http://www.cafepress.com/shreddersshirts.175615613

-The "Dart Devil" http://stargazerdesigns.net/index.cgi/stargazer/stargazerdesign.198500961

-I also like the "Dart Evolution" design, available for greeting cards and calendars.
http://cards.cafepress.com/design/19457817

-The "Darty Night" design may suit the artistically inclined and is available on calendars.
http://cards.cafepress.com/design/27913708

-I also saw a Dart Calendar with the saying "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." http://calendars.cafepress.com/item/darts-calendar-print/126682909

Unique dart shirts can be fun gifts. Cafe Press is great for this as well. One particular site called "My Dart Shirts" http://www.cafepress.com/dartshirts has some funny ones (some vulgar), with my favorites being "180 IQ" and "Don't Make Me Point Up On You" featuring a cat trying to throw a dart. I hope that no cats were injured in the making of that photograph :)

For the serious dart player there are many options, including some high quality shirts made by dart manufacturers and shirt companies. You generally pay more but you get something that is made for competition. BW darts in the U.K. has such high quality shirts and will put custom logos on them. http://www.bw-darts.com/shop/83/index.htm I liked their Wayne Mardle Hawaiin dart shirt. Other sources offer similar services, some of which include:
-SSS http://www.ssscanada.com/darts.html
-Skor http://members.shaw.ca/skorrembroidery/dartshirts.html

Some professional dart players have websites and offer their own custom shirts. For instance, Phil Taylor's website offers adult and child sized dart shirts for kids as young as two years old. http://www.9dart501.com/xcart/home.php?cat=3&catexp=3 If you are buying for a fan of a particular dart pro, you need only find the player website (or their sponsor) and check for merchandise.

The possibilities are endless, of course. Nowadays a nice comfortable shirt with a pocket can be taken to any good airbrush artist or T-shirt store for some custom work. It seems these types of stores are usually in malls near where I live. Custom graphics or pictures on the computer can now easily be made into iron-on transfers for shirts and other items.

Now for my legal disclaimer. I have not tried all of these products and cannot guarantee their quality. The purpose of my review is to point out what is available for people interested in buying gifts for dart enthusiasts. I don't get a percentage of any purchases or advertise for anyone. However, if someone with a product wants me to review it I will. There is much more to review! I will be following up with more dart products as work permits me time to do so, probably within the next week. I will also be fiddling around with the website to make it a bit more easy on the eyes. Until then, good darts!

Darts in Print

2008-06-20T06:58:00.003-04:00

Oliver and I like to look for darts in television shows, movies and print. A lot of shows have dartboards in the background. I was skimming thorough the July 2008 issue of Reader's Digest when I came across a half-page picture of an outdoor carnival dart game in an article about refugees in Burma. Judging from the writing on the picture, you pay about sixteen cents to throw and win a beer if you hit a bullseye. No why can't we get our local bar to run a promotion like that?

Work is progressing on the new dart product review. I should be done this weekend, so look for it early next week. Until then, good darts!

A New Look and a Father's Day Present

2008-06-15T22:17:00.004-04:00

Today was Father's Day in the USA, and my wonderful wife Margaret gave me a great present. I hinted that I would love a new banner for my New Jersey Darts website and that is exactly what she delivered. I love it!

If you know me, then you can appreciate the humor that is packed into the banner. First I am well known for attending league and tournament events dressed in a suit, or at least a long-sleeved dress shirt and a tie. For that reason, Margaret had to put a picture of me dressed up in the banner. So why am I so over-dressed when I play darts? My team mates know that I come straight from work at a law firm, so I generally am just wearing my work clothes. Believe it or not, once you get used to them, you feel comfortable.

Margaret pokes more fun at me by using a theme similar to the TV gangster show The Sopranos in the banner. The Sopranos show is based in New Jersey, so it makes a good connection. Also, the main characters tend to dress well. The humor comes in because I am probably about as different a person as you could imagine from a Sopranos character, being mild-mannered. Also, I limit my shooting to dart boards!

We changed some colors to match the theme. Let me know what you think. Thanks Margaret!

Congratulations to Gary Mawson & James Wade

2008-06-09T21:56:00.002-04:00

Some Americans flew across the pond to participate in the UK Blue Square Open this past weekend against many of the top names in darts. Gary Mawson had a fantastic run all the way to the finals before eventually going down to James Wade by a score of 11 legs to 7. Click on this to check out the PDC's coverage of the final. Mawson reached the finals by defeating Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld, who was fresh off a victory over Phil Taylor. Congratulations to both Gary and James.

Another Addition to the Calendar

2008-06-09T21:47:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Robert Race for sending me an announcement for another event:

American Darts Organization U.S. National Team Qualifer
Regional Event
Date: July 12, 2008
Time: 10:00 AM sign-ups, 11:00 AM Start
Place: New Milford Athletic Club, 126 Boulevard New Milford, NJ 201-261-9682
$110.00 entry per person (no personal checks please). For each $880.00 raised, 1 individual will advance to the Nationals in Austin, TX on 10/10/08. All 501 round-robin event. Winners at the Nationals will represent the U.S. in international competition.

Also, don't forget that next weekend is the ADO Allstar Qualifier, with more round-robin 501 action.

As I type this, New Jersey is in a record breaking heat wave with the temperatures reaching about 100. The sweat is dripping from me despite the best efforts of my tired air conditioner. The fan is going full blast, causing my practice darts to stick in the board sort of sideways.

I am still working on the gift and accessory review. It will be about a week and I will have enough material to write it. Until then, good darts!

New Jersey Darts Gift and Accessory Review 2008 Coming Soon

2008-06-03T21:52:00.002-04:00

One great thing about my new Feedjit counter is that it gives me an idea about which web pages from my blog are the most popular. Most people view the recent articles. I was pleased to discover that people look at my old articles too. Of my old articles, my Darts Gift and Accessory Review last year is by far the most popular. For that reason, I will be doing an updated Dart Gift and Accessory Review for 2008. Give the people what they want!

I will rely on your input as well as my own research, so don't be shy about e-mailing me or commenting with information on interesting products. This year I will also solicit information from dart manufacturers and merchants. If you remember my last review, it focused on dart-related gift ideas and products other than darts, flights and shafts. It ranged from the bizzare (abstract art) to the tasty (chocolate darts) to the utilitarian.

To give you a taste, just in case someone is looking for Father's day gifts (shameless hint to Margaret & Oliver) one store can impose a digital picture that you send them on a high quality bristle dartboard. The samples look very good (click here). They also do dart cabinets. Of course, you have to be careful what picture you put on the board. Family members, spouses, girlfriends, or bosses might fail to see the humor upon finding you throwing darts at their picture. I can only imagine they must be doing a booming business with the political campaigns lately...I wonder how many Obama, Clinton, and McCain dart boards are out there already.

Another store trying to cash in on the Father's day rush is selling a "Bullseye Treats Dartboard Gift Set" for Father's day, complete with dartboard, darts, cheese crackers, salami, sausage and mustard. Trying to sell to dart players by exploiting our love of good food is likely an effective strategy. You won't find any tofu or bean sprouts in that gift set!

Don't forget to send me links to any interesting online dart accessories or gifts. The more interesting or strange the better. I will include the best in my review. Until then, good darts!

Funny Video

2008-06-01T05:44:00.003-04:00

You can see some interesting videos on You Tube on about any subject, and darts is no exception. Check out this funny one featuring Wayne Mardle (click here).

Updated New Jersey Area Dart Calendar, May-September 2008

2008-05-31T04:03:00.002-04:00

Here are some upcoming reported dart tournaments within a reasonable drive for New Jersey area dart players:

June 14, 2008, ADO All-Stars 5-3 Regional
10:00 AM sign-ups - 11:00 AM Start
The Varuna Boat Club - 2806 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY - 718-646-1357
(reported by usadarts.com)
This is a round-robin style 501 competition for ADO members to advance to the ADO East-West Allstar event and U.S. 501 National Chamionships in Stamford Connecticut this August.

July 17-20, 2008 Macamoodus Dart Tournament, $7,500.00
South Glastonbury, CT
This is a fun open tournament run at a local Elks Lodge. Singles, doubles and luck of the draw events are offered. A lot of dart players take advantage of the on-site camping and there is a nearby hotel.
http://www.macamoodus.com/

August 8-10, 2008 USA Dart Classic, $20,000.00+
Stamford Marriott
243 Tresser Blvd.
Stamford, CT
This is a great open tournament an easy drive away for New Jersey area dart players. The USA Dart Classic features many of the best American dart players from around the country, as it directly follows the ADO East West Allstar event and the U.S. 501 National Championships on August 8. Here is the flyer:
http://www.bullseyenews.com/images/2008_usa-classic.pdf

September 5-7, 2008 Washington Area Open Dart Tournament $10,000.00
Holiday Inn, Washington – Dulles International Airport
45425 Holiday Drive
Sterling, VA 20166
(703) 471-7411
Click here for the flyer

September 27-28, 2008 Maui Waui Tournament, $3,500.00
New Milford Athletic Club
New Milford, NJ
Save the date and dust off your Hawaiian Shirt for this fun local tournament. It is an open tournament with singles and doubles events. I haven't seen the flyer yet but usadarts.com has announced the date and location.

Let me know if you learn of any other dart tournaments and I will be glad to post them.

You Know You're A Dart Player When ...

2008-05-26T07:55:00.002-04:00

I hope that everyone has a nice Memorial Day. Instead of rushing off on vacation like many people I decided to spend some time at home with family. One of the chores I worked on was to clean out my old car, which I plan to donate to charity. It's an old 2001 Hyundai Elantra. It still runs fine, but it had accummulated a lot of stuff under the seats and in various nooks and crannies over the years.

That's where we get to the "you know you are a dart player when..." part. A thorough cleaning of the inside of my car yielded the following lost dart treasure:

-3 complete sets of darts
-4 sets of flights
-1 set of flight 3 protectors
-4 sets of shafts

One extra set of darts could possibly be explained by the fact that I always liked to have spare darts in the car in case I lost my regular darts. But three sets? Hmmm...I don't know why I had that many! I suppose it is not unreasonable to have several sets of shafts and flights handy though.

I cleaned off one of my old set of darts (Unicorn Phil Taylor 23 grams) and tried them out. They worked great, although a lot of the finish had worn off over the years. I am contemplating switching back from my Piranhas. We will see after a few more practices. Until then, good darts!

Cricket Strategy & Being Predictably Irrational

2008-05-20T23:28:00.003-04:00

There are few dart-related subjects that will generate more debate than cricket strategy. For my non-U.S. readers, the dart game that we call cricket is called Mickey Mouse in England. I just received my new issue of Bullseye News and there were re-prints of Tony Payne's articles entitled "Thermonuclear Cricket."

What many of us enjoy about cricket is that it involves more strategy than the '01 games. Strategy counts a lot in cricket when players are scoring at close to the same level. What you hit on any given turn can effect what your opponent has to do. Tony Payne's old articles describe how he learned to best maximize his advantage to win the close games.

Now I will make a connection with what I have learned to call being predictably irrational. Don't worry- I will make a connection to darts soon! I am borrowing the term from a man named Dan Ariely, a professor in behavioral economics at the Massachutses Institute of Technology. Mr. Ariely wrote a book called Predictably Irrational, which I found fascinating. He also has a website (click here). He looks at common irrational everyday behaviors that people do in all sorts of areas, and conducts scientific experiments to figure out how often and why we do them. Some of the answers are surprising.

Now, the connection with darts. In cricket, people have many conflicting theories about what strategies are the most efficient for winning. Often, they are very wrong. Players decisions on when to point and when to close numbers are often misguided, and Tony's articles point out how you can exploit players who use irrational strategies.

One that I particularly like to use in a close match is the concept of not wasting marks. Let's say, for instance, an opponent hits 3 marks on 20 the first turn to close it. What should you shoot at? Many players would immediately try to close 20. Not Tony, because that is the "predictably irrational" choice. Tony points out that if you go single, single, triple (five marks) on the 20 that your opponent already closed, you are only getting credit for three marks. If you do the same on 19 (which is still open), you get credit for all five, closing and scoring 38 points.

So why are so many people fooled into taking the "predictably irrational" choice and closing 20's in that situation? Something in us wants to close the big number. It seems to make sense in our brain somehow, that if the opponent scores one 20 on his next turn, you will need two 19's for score to better it. That is clearly a bad strategy in our example though, because the one-point per mark deficit that you avoid by closing the 20 is very small compared to the 38 point advantage that you get by scoring the extra marks on the 19.

Using Tony's strategy, it is clear that the player should not "waste marks" by shooting at numbers that the opponent has closed early in the game. If one player is wasting the marks in such a fashion, and one is not, the player who is not wasting marks will soon build an insurmountable lead if both are hitting equally well (of course, as Tony mentions, if one player is hitting many more marks than the other, even perfect strategy will not make a difference).

I remember when I was finally getting decent in cricket and averaging over three marks per round. I can recall plenty of practice games with Scott Wollaston where he would close 20's, I would close 19, he would close 18, I would close 17, etc. One would have all the odd numbers and the other the evens. We both knew Tony's cricket strategy and employed it. Luckily, very few others do. Until then feel free to exploit their predictable irrationality!

Taylor Wins U.S. Open

2008-05-18T22:52:00.002-04:00

Phil Taylor won the U.S. Open, defeating Colin Lloyd three sets to none. Taylor's semi-final match against Dennis Priestly was also remarkable. He averaged 111.35 per turn over three sets. Dennis averaged 103 per turn and did not even win a set. That is some great darts from both players. The other semifinal featured Arizonan Dave Fatum against Colin Lloyd. Lloyd slipped through in the final leg, for a 3 sets to 2 victory. Click here to get the PDC's coverage of the semi-final and finals. Once again the PDC has put on a great event here in the states. Thanks to the PDC and everyone involved, including Laurett, Buddy, Joe and crew.

North American Dart Championships

2008-05-18T06:23:00.003-04:00

I was due to throw in the NADC so I warmed up on my Board with the other competitors. The turnout of 242 players was significantly higher than expected, which was good news for the event. Everyone is assigned to a board and a mini-bracket in advance. Darin Young (the seeded player) and the other six of us would fight it out on Board 5, with the winner finishing in the money at the top 32, and advancing to play against other Board winners.

I like how the PDC organizes the event. Every match is laid out and there is an official standing by to immediately deal with any delays or problems. If a player is not there to start promptly, his/her match is forfeited, which does away with a lot of gamesmanship. Scott Henning won the first match on our Board (Scott-I owe you a round!). I was up second against Cameron Paine from Maine, USA.

Cameron and I both struggled to find any form, either in scoring or taking outs. We found ourselves tied at 3 legs apiece, going into a decider in the best of seven format, with Cameron to throw first. Fortunately, I settled down and hit a nice 14 dart game with a 93 out (T19, D18) to advance. It certainly could have gone the other way easily.

I next faced Tom Sawyer, a fine shot from Massachutses, who had dispatched Scott Wollaston in the first round. My form was unfortunately no better, and Tom was hitting consistent 18 dart games, resulting in his ultimately winning four legs to one. As Darin had defeated Scott Henning on the other side of the bracket, that left Tom and Darin to play the board final.

Darin is human like the rest of us, and has good days and bad. Against Tom, he had a very good day. As I had lost the last board semi-final, I got to score the match. Darin hit four 180's in five legs, winning with two 13 dart games, and a 15 and 16 darter. I heard Tom mutter "saved it all up for me, huh Darin?" with a wry grin. Tom shot well, and if Darin had missed doubles he would have been ready to take a chance. Darin wasn't offering any chances today though.

I then wandered over to watch fellow New Jersey Darter Buddy Lessig play. He was hitting exceptionally well earlier in the U.S. Open, and his good form continued. Buddy's remarkable day continued as he knocked top seed and World Champion John Part out of the tournament and won his board, eventually finishing in the top 16.

I wandered around and watched several other matches. Jim Newman made it to his board final against Johnny K and gave him a good match. A missed double or two cost him, and Johnny took that Board. Philadelphia's Bill Davis continued a great day of darts and won through his board and down to the final four, to be played on Saturday on stage. Joining Bill in the last four were Darin Young, Chris White, and Brad Wethington.

Between matches I visited with a lot of people that I had not seen in awhile. British ex-pat and current Missouri resident Steve Brown and I had a nice chat. We both love to fish so it was mostly stories about recent fish caught and of course ones that got away. It eventually got late so I had a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

On Saturday the NADC final four played off, and I would do best to refer you to the nice article that the PDC wrote covering the event (click here). Darin Young, who won my board, beat Bill Davis in the semi-final (7-5) and then won against Brad Wethington in the final by a score of 7-6. What a finish! With $10,000 more in prize money for the winner on the line, Brad had two darts at a double. Brad just missed double 20 and double 10, and Darin hit his next dart for a nice 13 dart finish. How must that feel to walk up to the oche, look at a double, and know ten grand is on the line? Next time I see Brad or Darin, I will have to ask them.

The U.S. Open played down from 16 to 8 players on Saturday, and again I would do best to refer you to PDC's good coverage of the event. Two Americans advanced to the top 8, including Dave Fatum with a win over Bill Davis, and Ray Carver with a win over Wayne Mardle. Chris Mason ended Roger Carter's excellent run, and Ronnie Baxter knocked Gary Mawson out of the tournament. Joining them in the last 8 are Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, Mark Dudbridge, and Colin Lloyd.

U.S. Open and NADC Part One

2008-05-17T19:13:00.003-04:00

Here is my first report of several on the PDC's U.S. Open and NADC. I arrived Friday early and checked into my hotel in Niantic, Connecticut. After wandering around a bit in town I drove in to the Mohegan Sun Casino, which hosts both events.

First, the good dart gossip. As soon as I found the registration area, I bumped into Laurett Meddis, Buddy Bartoletta, and Joe Hogan and his wife. We had lunch together and I was excited to get confirmation that the World Cup of Darts is slated to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September 2009. I have already volunteered to help out the event. For those of you who don't know Laurett, Buddy and Joe, they work tirelessly in organizing and putting on big dart events in the U.S.A. They are very dedicated to the success of darts in the U.S.A. and they deserve a lot of thanks.

Back to the darts. The first event was the U.S. Open. Because I was not competing, I was free to roam around, watch some great floor matches, and visit with friends. I quickly ran into George Silberzahn and Jay Tomlinson, with whom I renewed my Bullseye News subscription. Once the action got underway I watched some great matches with Phil Taylor, Ray Van Barneveld, and many other stars of the PDC circuit. I enjoy watching these guys throw. Their form and technique are so good, it makes you want to watch and absorb as much as you can. After awhile though I wanted to see how my friends were faring.

Scott Wollaston won his first round match with Stacy Stevens (no $5 bets this time:)). Scott crashed out the next round though. His mom and brother Jimmy had made the trip up from New Orleans and it was good to visit with them.

Fellow Corner Bar teammate Tom Waterman pressed John Part and won a set, but John turned up his game and won the rest. I watched John later in some board matches and American Roger Carter shot a remarkable game to defeat John and win the board. Roger plays out of Georgia, and I've seen him at dart tournaments since I started playing down in New Orleans.

Other Americans played very well. Gary Mawson picked off Ray Van Barneveld, and Johnny K defeated Vincent VanDerVoort in a thriller that went down to the last leg. Texan Davis Snider defeated Darin Young and Englishman Steve Beaton. New Jersey Darter Buddy Lessig was red hot, winning his board with a victory over Andy "The Hammer" Hamilton. Ray Carver won over Alex Roy to win his board and then beat Buddy Lessig to make it through to the top 16. Roger Carter defeated Mark Walsh to book a place in the last 16. Philadelphia's Bill Davis won his board and then defeated Tony Eccles to make the last 16 (all top 16 matches to be played Saturday). David Fatum made the top 16 cut with wins over Davis Snider and Steve Panuncialman. That means five Americans in the top 16, which shows good improvement considering the top level of competition. I witnessed a lot of 11 to 15 dart games, and quite a few matches came down to a double or two determining the outcome.

The field was so big that the NADC was delayed in starting by almost an hour. I will follow up with accounts of the NADC floor matches, and then day two of the U.S. Open. Until then, good darts!

North American Darts Championship Draw Review

2008-05-12T19:33:00.004-04:00

The PDC has posted the draw for the NADC and there are some more great matchups. I find myself on Board 5 along with several skilled dart players, any of whom could win the tournament if they have a good day. My first match is against Cameron Paine, and the winner of our match faces the winner of Scott Wollaston and Tom Sawyer. Darin Young is on the other side of the board, so it will be very competitive. Whoever is hot could take the board.

New Jersey darter Buddy Lessig is on Board 1 on the far side of #1 seed John Part. Buddy usually shows up well at the big tournaments, so he will be no easy opponent, especially considering the short format. Another New Jersey Darter and Corner Bar team mate Dave Hascup managed to grab a board without a seed (#6) but Matt Malone and Dayton Strawbridge will provide some competition.

Philly star Bill Davis is the seed on Board 9, but Dave Fatum and several others will make him work for it. Two of my buddies are on Board 10, including New Jersey dart player George Timpone and fellow lawyer Jerry Van Loan. Both are skilled enough to take the board if they have a good day.

Some good local New Jersey area matchups will take place on Board 13, with Tom Waterman and Jim Newman facing off in the first round. Johnny K is on the other side of that board, so it should be a competitive one. Two good matches are up right away on Board 17, with one of the Boston area's best, John Finnnegan, opening against Paul Lim, and then the winner facing Canadian star Gerry Convery. Tim Grossman will likely be waiting for the survivor on the far side of the board. Between Paul, John and Tim that is three former American Champions on one board, along with one of Canada's best!

The fun starts this Friday, and I will be looking forward to it. Until then, good darts!

PDC U.S. Open Draw Is Made

2008-05-09T20:42:00.004-04:00

Planetdarts has posted the draw for the PDC U.S. Open, with some fun matchups showing up early. I will mention some interesting early matches, focusing on some of my friends and people who read the blog.

Raymond Van Barneveld, the number 1 seed, drew Chris Russano in the first round. I have shot a few pairs events with Chris, who is known for his liking for 19's instead of 20's. Chris used to live on Long Island but has since moved out west. Good luck Chris...make him work for it!

Ronnie Baxter, who knocked me out last time, drew Jerry Van Loan first round. Jerry is a lawyer from New York. He is a nice guy and a fine shot who will give Ronnie a game if he is hitting well.

Johnny K drew Vincent Van De Voort, a Dutchman, in round one and that promises to be a good match. Paul Lim will play local New Jersey darter Robert Race.

Board 10 will feature a nice first round match up between some skilled Americans, Darin Young and Davis Snider, with the winner possibly facing Steve Beaton the next round. I got to play Steve once at the Desert Classic and he beat me four legs straight in a best of seven event, with his worst game a 14 darter! He had used all his best against me though and lost the next round. That's darts I guess.

My friend, Corner Bar team mate, and fellow New Jersey darter Tom Waterman always complains that he gets a tough draw in these events. Last year it was Jelle Klassen, who was on fire when he played Tom. This year it is no different, with poor Tom facing John Part in the first round on Board 13. Tom is a fighter and well capable of giving John a good game, but I can just imagine hearing him muttering under his breath right now. Roger Carter, Isen Veljic, Matt Malone, and Colin Monk will also make Board 13 quite a contest.

Robert St. Onge from New Hampshire drew the honor of playing Phil Taylor first round. Local New Jersey star Buddy Lessig faces Pat Breithaupt in his opener, with Jim Widmayer and Robert Heckman battling to play the winner of that match on board 21. It will be interesting to see who emerges from that one. New Jersey darter Dave Hascup opens against Keith Conner.

One fun first round match that I will want to see involves New Jersey Darter Stacey Stevens against Scott Wollaston, who was a top dart player in the New Orleans area when I lived down there and was first getting involved in darts. The first time I came to New Jersey was with Scott for ADO Nationals about 10 years ago, and I remember watching the two of them play at Courtside Bar in Clifton NJ, for $5 a man. They have had a rivalry going ever since, so get ready to hear some humorous trash talking in that match. The winner of Adrian Lewis vs. Jerry Convery will await whomever comes out on top.

Jim Newman, the top qualifier in the recent GHS tournament, faces John Garramone in the first round. Jim is in good form and will be able to give anyone a competitive game.

I will be covering events Friday and Saturday, but I will be out Sunday for an unavoidable family obligation. For that reason, I am not competing in the U.S. Open, but I will compete in the North American Dart Championships as it finishes on Saturday. Once that draw comes out, I will let you know. Until then, good darts!

Another Big Tournament in the USA?

2008-05-07T19:39:00.004-04:00

I had heard rumors swirling of another big tournament coming to the U.S. next year. I checked it out and Dartsworld and the World Dart Federation indicate that the 2009 World Cup of Darts will be held in Charlotte, USA in September, 2009 (I assume North Carolina). This is an interesting event that features teams from many countries competing for honors in singles and team events. Americans can play to qualify for a team through the American Dart Organization. As more information comes out I will pass it on.

GHS Tournament Results

2008-05-05T20:30:00.002-04:00

George posted the winners of the GHS Players Tournament as follows:

Group A:
1st- Benny Amodei
2nd-Gary Yourman
3rd- Jim Newman
4th-Anthony Marchei

Group B
1st-Chris McLaughlin
2nd-Skip Stranghan
3rd-Ray Wolf
4th- Rick Arcangel

Group C
1st-Ted Northrop
2nd-Bill Cobb
3rd-Josh Hill
4th-JR Richardson

Congratulations to all!

GHS Tournament Report

2008-05-05T06:06:00.003-04:00

The GHS Tournament was held at Joker's in Philadelphia on Sunday, and I had fun participating. Everyone was divided into three groups, A, B, or C based on qualifier scores, as mentioned in the previous posts. With a qualifying score of 779, I ended up being the last person to miss the "A" group, which put me at the top of the "B" group. We each then played four matches, with the top four in each group advancing to group knockout rounds.

My first round match was against an A group player, John Newsome, who is a good dart player out of South Philadelphia and one of the top shooters in the Old English Dart League. John was hitting the triples well and easily beat me down to the double in each game. However, he was having trouble hitting the doubles, just enough to let me catch up. Fortunately for me, I hit my doubles right away and took an undeserved 3-1 win.

My scoring improved in my second match and my confidence with the doubles was still high, and I won 3-0. My third match against Erik was a mirror image of my first match against John. I beat Erik to the double easily in the first leg and kept wiring the inside of the doubles until I got stuck on double 1. Erik eventually caught up and took the leg. In the second leg, I again got to the double first, and after two rounds of misses Erik hit a nice 72 out (T12, D 18) to make me pay. I battled back, winning the next two legs and forcing it into a tiebreaker. I had a look at a 121 out but missed the set-up shot (T20, 14 instead of 11), and left myself 32. Unfortunately I did not get a shot at it, as Erik hit a big 94 out (T18, D20) to win that match.

Even though I came back with a 3-0 win in my fourth round match, it was not enough to finish in the top 4 of my group to advance. Four others had won all 4 matches. Close, but not quite.

It was a great day of darts. Everyone got to play at least four rounds against players of different calibers, with a handicap system in effect that spotted points. That made even the top players have to work for each game.

Jokers put out a nice lunch buffet for the dart players, incuding chicken, vodka penne, pasta salad, and baked ziti with cheese. George kept the tournament running smoothly and efficiently (see picture above) with every match laid out on a ticket in advance for each player. Once I get the final results, I will pass them on. After that, all eyes turn to Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Casino for the PDC U.S. Open and the North American Darts Championship on May 16-18. Until then, good darts!

New Jersey Darts Milestone

2008-05-01T18:52:00.002-04:00

I noticed that New Jersey Darts just passed a milestone of 10,000 hits! I usually get about 20 to 30 a day, from a diverse and interesting bunch of people around the world who share in their interest and enjoyment of darts. I still enjoy writing the articles, and thanks for everyone's interest.

GHS Qualifier Report

2008-04-30T22:31:00.005-04:00

After work today I trekked down south to the Mt. Royal Inn to participate in a qualifier for the GHS Player's Tournament. The Mount Royal Inn is a historic sight in the town of Mt. Royal, which is on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River and a bit south of Philadelphia. The qualifier is simple. You take 11 rounds of darts (33 darts) and total the score. Those scores are then used to place you in different groups for the main tournament on Sunday.

From sad recent experience in practice, I knew I was only averaging in the 70's per round. I resolved to be content with a score of 770 or above tonight. Luckily I met that standard, just barely, with a 779. Not bad for being tired after a long day at work. I played some pick up games of 301 with Anthony and George after and we had fun.

George mentioned that one player scored just a bit under 1100 in an earlier qualifier, which is a nice average, close to 100 per round. I figure my 779 will likely not be good enough to put me in the top group, but perhaps it will get me in the second group. We shall see. The main tournament is Sunday, so I will be in Philly and reporting this weekend. Until then, good darts!

North American Darts Championship and Coming Events

2008-04-22T21:57:00.003-04:00

I signed up for the North American Darts Championship yesterday and I am looking forward to heading up to Connecticut next month to try for my share of the $50,000 prize money. The event starts on Friday May 16 and culminates on that Saturday night with staged semi-final and final events. I am currently scouting out some good places to stay around the Mohegan Sun Casino, where the event is held.

Margaret and I like to explore when we travel. We usually make it a family trip, as there are some great nearby attractions for the kids. We found Dinosaur Crossing which is a big hit with my six year old, and nearby Mystic Seaport has a lot of activities. On one trip, Margaret and I discovered an interesting guy, Ken Oaks, who designs and makes furniture. We wandered into his store in Niantic, CT on the way home from the tournament one year (click here to see his store, En Casa). Ken used to be an engineer, but decided he likes designing and making furniture better. He also plays guitar. We now have a tradition of stopping at his store on the way home and buying one of his pieces every year.

I was set to sign up for the PDC U.S. Open as well, which takes place on the same weekend. Unfortunately, I had an unavoidable family conflict come up for that Sunday. I am still debating whether to sign up anyway. Only the quarter finals, semis and finals of the U.S. Open are on Sunday, and I would have to play out of my skin to get there. I generally don't like to enter an event that I know I wouldn't be able to finish though.

There is a lot of good local dart action to build up to those events. Next week George's qualifiers will be held for his GHS Tournament (mentioned in earlier posts). I plan to be there. Until next time, good darts!