Wednesday, November 29, 2006

WRITE UP FOR WEEK # 10: SWEEPS WEEK AT KATE KEARNEY'S

CAPTAIN'S LOG: DART DATE: 11 - 26 -06

It was a festive night at Kate Kearney's, all 7 current Dartbag team members were on hand, and a special guest appearance by Lou Henry brought the total to 8. Hope made the scene. And when Nellie and Jess showed up with their friend, that made an even dozen on hand to enjoy the scene. There was football, good wings, beer, a lively crowd... just about all the ingredients for a good time.

The 'Bags would face off against Three-Pronged Approach. The last time (and first time) we faced these guys they pasted us 15-9. Uncle Tony was throwing darts and cringe-inducing language around and the bad guys routed us at our own building. So The Dartbags (Most Drinkin'est and Friendliest Dart Team in NYC TM) were looking to return the favor. Keepin' it classy, of course.

The Captains faced off in the first set. Captain Hamdy of 3-Pronged vs. Captain Furious of the Dartbags. Frank rolled with an 8 turner to take the first game, nearly gave the second one away before hitting D-1, and won a close battle in final leg. 3-0 good guys to start.

They say we all have our demons. And it's true. The score sheet said Pike played Paul Wang in the second set, but Pike's true opponent was "Thumonculus", the little thumb demon invisible to all save Pike. Thumonculus (composite artest rendering here) has bedeviled Glenn all year by swiping his scythe into Glenn's first metacarpal bone during his backswing, causing drops or errant throws. Pike won some battles (see 295 ASPs), but on Monday, Thumonculus won the war. (Damn his black soul!) But much credit must go to Paul for the victories. 3-3. (Note: This is not the same creature as Seamus the Invisible Leprechaun who sits above the board at Keeley's and blocks Lou's darts after Louis has been drinking Double Diamond IPA. Did you know that if you Google "Seamus the Invisible Leprechaun" you get multiple Dartbags hits? Try it. It's fun!).
Cup took on Takashi in set 3. This was a good one.. Cup took the first game in a tight contest. He dropped leg two before winning another close battle. This makes back to back weeks for Cup taking 2/3 off a tough opponent. How locked in was Cup? He had 4 rounds in which he hit at least two T-19s for a total of 484 ASPs.

Last up was Vince against another tough customer, Mr. Clean look-alike, Dax. He too finished in the semi-finals of the Singles tourney. (Like I said, tough team). 'Cenzo took the first, before dropping a pair of close ones. 6-6.

On to Cricket. Dax and Scott faced off against Vince and The Captain. Revenge would be Vince's. Some solid darts all around and trip 16s or 15s from Vince when it seemed like we needed them most made the difference. A sweep for the good guys, and the with that we were up 9-6.

But in the second set, Tarek and Takashi were sharp. Cup chipped in with an R-7, but the 'Bags couldn't hold off the big 3-Pronged attack. Another sweep. 9-9.

Pike and Nellie had to head home, but not before Piker left us something to think about. It's time once again for...

Hair Care Tips from Glenn:


"Winter's coming and that means 'tis the season for white flakes - dandruff that is! How often do you shampoo? If it's more than twice a week, you may be running the risk of drying out your scalp. Here's a way to perk up your locks without 'hitting the bottle'. Apply jojoba oil to the ends, wrap in plastic, then go to bed and sleep the night through. It's a great way to vitalize your 'do during the dry season. Try it! You'll be 'leading the league' in shine and balance in no time" - Glenn

Thanks, guy. We'll definitely check that out.

Frank and Tim played Dax and Scott in the first set. The Captain brought his A-game and the good guys rolled in leg 1. Tim did the honors in the second set getting us in and then out (D-Top). And a double-4 for the Captain completed the sweep for the 'Bags. 12-9.

But the team of Tarek and Takashi was once again too much in the final set, yet another sweep. And with that, the final score was 12-12.

It was punch-counter punch all night long. Six of the 8 sets were sweeps. (3 a piece). It would have been nice to have walked away with a win. But a 3 point improvement after the egregious beating last time speaks well of the effort. Plus, this was a particularly fun evening. Good crowd. On a bittersweet note, Cup has migrated south for the season (much like a Canada Goose or a Larchmont Grandma). But if he can commute from Mainland China, he can handle Key West.

Props to Cup for his 729 ASPs -- a new personal record, I believe. Props also to the Capt. for going 9/9 on the evening. Props to everyone for making it a fun night.

ASP Recap:

Cup: 729
Frank: 610
Vince: 400
Pike: 295

Monday, November 27, 2006

It's GO TIME!: Part 1 - Streets of Fury

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvY6MXZO1hA

Follow the exploits of New York's Finest at McQuaidbrothers.com

(feel free to forward and rate highly while you're at it).

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

WRITE UP FOR WEEK #8: TURNABOUT IS FAIR PLAY

CAPTAIN'S LOG: DART DATE: 11 -14 -06

In week 1 we caught a Who Darted? team who was a little off their game and made them pay to the tune of 16-8. Since then they have gotten their act together and sprinted up to the top of the division. Coming off a string of blow out wins, they were looking to get some payback on the good guys of George Keeley. This time we were on their turf, Finnerty's.

The old Finnerty's was a pit. The room was cramped, the bathroom door was two feet behind the line, the double 20 ended where the ceiling began, it was hotter than hell, and they had an air conditioner that seemed to kick on when the dart was midflight and blow it sideways. It was a tough joint. But this new Finnerty's location is a lot nicer. The area is still cramped, but gone are the hazards of the old place. And they still had pitchers for as little as 7 bucks.

It was a light showing by the 'Bags. Cup, Tim, Vince and Frank were the only ones to make the scene. Perhaps that was for the best. The scene was pretty grim.

First up was Frank vs. Kats -- just like it always is. Frank took the first narrowly missing a 96 out before turning it into a D-2. But Kats roared back in the second game racking up a Ton and Ton-80 to win a quick one (20 darts). The final match was a close affair, but Kats took that one as well. 1-2.

Vince played Andre Chin in the second match. The game were well played, with Andre getting down and getting out quickly in the first two. But Vince is harder to sweep than a frat house floor on Sunday morning and he took the third to put us at 2-4.

Cup went up against Rob E in the third set. Cuppa was sharp. Sitting on 113 in game one, he went... T-19, 16, D-20 for a sweet three dart out. He took the second before dropping the third game, 4-5.

BFT faced off against Dennis in the third set. The Friendly one got out of the gate slowly and dropped the first. Tim hung tough in game two and when Dennis struggled to hit is out, Tim was steady as a rock. He nailed a D-16 to even the set at one a piece. In the third set, Dennis came out firing and turned in a 21 darter for the W. 5-7.

Amazing what not gettin swept can do. Who Darted? shot well. Patch, mucho all stars, etc. 3 of our 4 guys dropped their sets. But Cups 2/3 makes us down only 5-7 heading to cricket.

Vincenzo and Joey Pep took on Hayes and Kats. They dropped the first in a heartbreaker, but stormed back with relentless darts to take the next two. And like that, we were down just 7-8.

FrankenTim took on Andre and Rob T. It was the Andre show. The good guys were poised to take the first game but a huge round of of T-18, 20, D-17 by Andre to get 3 closes changed everything. Andre would chip in later with a second R-1 (T-16, T-15). The 'Bags would drop all 3. 7-11 heading for doubles.

Cuppa Joe and Frank faced Andre and Rob T. Cup got us in, Frank chipped in with some nice countdown #s and Cup took us out. Clinical stuff. In the second game, Frank got 'em in, Cup rang up a nice 130, and Frank nailed a D-X for the win. But the 'Bags dropped the third one. 9-12.

The third set belonged was Kats. Vince and Tim gave it their best effort. Tim chipped in with a couple of all star rounds, but they couldn't keep up the pace. Kats put up nearly 600 ASPs, and took out 88 and 94. Sweep for the Finnerty's boys. and a 9-15 loss.

The fact is, we ran into a very talented and team that shot well. How well? Well Kats and Andre put up 1050 and 979 ASPs each. Both of those totals would be Dartbag records. And they were full of clutch darts all night long. You could tell that despite their amiable nature... they wanted revenge for week 1. And with the way they shot, it was one of those nights where if we didn't hang tough, we could have found ourselves on the wrong end of one of those 18-6, 20-4 type of ass whoopins. No one likes to lose, but you gotta tip your cap on this one. Better to take heart that we know we can beat tough, first place teams like this one. (After all we're still ahead on the season series 25-23). Kudos to the team for hanging tough and to Cup for managing 6 of the 9 Ws.

All Star Recap:

Vince and Frank: 519
Cuppa Joe: 468
BFT: 193

Friday, November 10, 2006

VETERAN'S DAY


We send our heartfelt thanks to those who served -- inlcuding our own Tim Sheahan, Captain USAF Ret.

And we remember those who gave their lives for our country.

"May the wings of liberty never lose a feather" - Jack Burton.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

WRITE UP FOR WEEK #6: BACK IN THE VIN COLUMN

CAPTAIN'S LOG: DART DATE: 11 - 06 - 06

(NOTE: Special thanks to co-writer Cuppa Joe for providing much content this week.)

It was a good night at the GK. The Dartbags (Drinkin'est and Friendliest dart team in NYC TM) discovered the refreshing smoothness and powerful punch of Hoptimus Prime (which also gets credit for being one of the all time coolest names for a beer). We had a good crowd - Vince, Tim, Glenn and Nell (who had to leave early), Marty, Gemma, Jess and Cup. We hung out late and had fun. And -- for a refreshing change of pace -- we got a win . Hard to beat that.

Pike battling injury (much like Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series) faced off against Kevin in the first set. It was an impressive, yet frustrating performance. Pike managed to rack up a Dartbag record 646 ASPs. Even Glenn's hair hit a 95. But his boxer's thumb made it difficult to maintain consistency. He had 3 dart fumbles at the line (only one of which was recovered). Kevin also shot well and was quick to hit his doubles. The result were two disappointing losses. But Glennjamin managed to push through the pain and win an X war in the final frame to get us on the board; 1-2 Taint.

Frank faced off against Jim in set 2. The Captain was solid, but gave away the first game when Jim raced down from 190 in two turns to steal a victory for the bad guys. You can call the Frank, "Abbie Hoffman"... cause he was stuck in the 60s. 6 turns of 60 in the 2nd game set the pace and Frank nailed a D-10 for the win. The 3rd game was a close affair, but sitting on 4, The Furious One went 2, D-X to even the score at 3-3 for the day.

Cuppa faced off against Mark... or was it Ian Gallagher? Mark is 6'5'', he wore a t-shirt from his alma mater, Williams College, and bears a striking facial resemblance to original Dartbag, Big Ian. It was truly spooky. Anyway. Mark starts out the game by zipping a 97. How does Cup respond? First dart T-17. Oops. Second dart, T-19. Third dart... T-19 again. A TON-65? Are you kidding me? This officially marks the first and only time a Dartbag will ever hit this number. All 3 games were quick and hotly contested. When Cup took out a 70 to win another nailbiter he nearly broke Frank's hand doing a high five. 5-4 'Bags

Last, but certainly not least, was Vince vs. Rob. Vincenzo came out gunning with a T and T-25 on 2 of his first 3 throws. He finished the first game in 21 darts. Rob didn't know what hit him. But we did... it was Angry Vince. His second game was nearly as good and he finished in 9. Rob found his stride in the final game smacking 6 or 7 straight 60s to land on 40 and Vince actually was trailing sitting on 78. Vince stepped up and went first dart 5. (No problem). Second dart T-19. Third dart D-8. Good morning, good afternoon and good night. Great stuff from Vincenzo who combined 460 ASPs and "the deadliest closing from a Dartbag ever" according to Cup, who had a ringside seat.

Cup: He was so good I was laughing while I was keeping score.

Big sweep = 8-4.

But things would take a turn for the worse when Frank and Cup played Dartbag nemesis James O'Brien and Mark Raisbeck. James began the game by going R-5, R-7, R-5. Twos, threes and fours usually keep you in the game. But not this time. The 'Bags shot pretty well, but couldn't match the pace. It didn't help that Mark was chipping in with big rounds of his own (e.g., R-7, R-5). The 'Bags dropped the first two, but the final game was the one that was difficult to swallow. In a bullseye contest in which we were ahead 4-3, the normally reliable pair of Frank and Cup lost their way and gave away a win that was theirs for the taking. A bitter pill. 8-7 'Bags.

Cup: We ran into a buzzsaw named James O'Brien. (who hearby is known as Buzz)

It was up to Vince and Tim to right the ship. Vince was still sharp. He began the first game with an R-7. With heavy lifting from Vince and Tim chipping in, they never looked back. The second game saw a closer game, but it seemed like everytime Tim went to put 19 points on the board he'd hit a triple. Vince chipped in with an R-6. The result was a fat 130 pt lead. But 3 bulls from Kevin quickly turned the game back into... well, a game. We pointed. They hit bulls. Neither would give in. Neither would miss. It went on and on. Here's a brief list of things that last an hour.

A flight to Washington, D.C.

Five minutes of the
Rachel Ray Show. (please don't ask me how I know this)

Vince and Tim vs. Kevin and Paul in cricket.

Ugh. Cuppa Joe had to yell "Wake up, Frank" twice during the match as The Captain kept score. (I wasn't sleeping by the way... just resting my eyes.) Eventually the good guys won. During the match, Tim got so frustrated he punched the wall hard enough for some people to wonder if he had broken his hand (thus joining Glenn and Frank on the hand-related injury report). But being the martial artist that he is, he knows how to punch wood. Let's just say, Tim's hand (and his Cornell University ring) won that battle.

In the third game... I don't actualy know what happened. I was asleep.

I mean resting my eyes.

But we lost that one. 10-8.

Frank'nTim played Buzz and Paul in '01. Decent darts by the homeboys, but Buzz was better. In the final frame, Frank came up big to hit a D-X to salvage a point and make it a 11-10 lead.

Vince'nCup finished off the evening against Drunk Jim and Kevin. In the first game Cup was on 104 and hit a 57 on his first dart. Sitting on 47 he called a conference on what to do next, against his better judgment he went for the 15... and hit a triple. Sitting on X he pondered what to do next.

Vince: You didn't come here to lay up... C'mon guy!

Drunk Jim: Yeah, go ferr thewinn, man! Thasa good out!

Cup said "F*** it". Well, he didn't literally say, "f*** it". But it undoubtedly captured the inner dialogue that led to his decision: Go for the win. Dart three was just high. Dang. The good guys sat on XX for a while but weren't able to drive the nail home and dropped game 1. But on the strength of quick ins, mucho 83s from Cup and more restaurant quality darts from Vincenzo, the took the final 2 games (the last on a clutch double 1 from Vince). The strong finish resulted in a 13-11 win.

Major kudos to Vince for his manliest of darts and, what I believe is a Dartbag record for ASPs. (Glenn may have hit more one time tho, gotta check). Cup looked like he was beginning to find his stroke too. We may be rounding into shape. Which is good. Because we have red hot Who Darted? in the next game on the road.

Fine work. Sorry about the lateness of the recap and special thanks to Cup for the co-authorship. We'll see you next time.

All Star Recap:

Vince: 820
Pike: 646
Cup: 457
Frank: 233
BFT: 101
Glenn's Hair: 95

Monday, November 06, 2006

HALLOWEEN DART PHOTOS (RECAP BELOW)

FROM WATER...

... TO WINE.

ACTION VINCE

JESUS SAYS, "I LOVE YOU, FARTICUS."

CAPTAINUS FURIOUS


FATHER HEF

HOPE AND GINS

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY


BUNCH A DARTBAGS


OUR FRIEND, JEN (FROM ACROSS THE STREET)


JEWS FOR JESUS?

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

WRITE UP FOR WEEK #5: HALLOWEEN DARTS

CAPTAIN'S LOG: DART DATE: 10 - 30 - 06

It was the night before Halloween (Halloween Eve), the second spookiest night of the year. In the dark ages of Ireland, the Celts believe that on this night the spirits of the dead arose and roamed the mortal world. The Irish would hold pagan rituals with large bonfires (and I'm pretty sure excessive drinking) to ward off the return of the evil among them.

The Dartbags (The Drinkin'est and Friendliest - and now Spookiest -- Dart Team in NYC TM) decided to get into the spirit of the Halloween by dressing up in costume and haunting the Grassroots Tavern (and engage in excessive drinking). They would face off against the heretofore unknown team of Flight Risk. Would it be a trick or a treat? Here's the spooky recap...

On hand were Frank (Mark Antony), Cup (Jesus), Vince (A sommelier), Tim (Father, Hugh Hefner), Marty (Farticus), Gins (A happy drunk) and Hope (Playboy Bunny).

Pike had planned to attend but a late night in the office kept him away, so the Captain, Marcus Antonius, kicked off the proceedings in his stead. He went up against Scott D. The first game with a solid, unspectacular effort. A lot of LXs. A lot of near Cs. After a late charge by Scott made it close, Frank closed out on with a Doub X (that's 10, not 1) . Unfortunately for Mark Antony this second game would be his Battle of Actium. (chirp... chirp.... chirp. Okay, that means he lost). But the Roman came to bury Scott, not to praise him and rebounded strongly with a crisp X turn effort ending with another Doub X. 2-1, SpookyBags

Up next would be Cuppa Joe, dressed up as The Messiah himself vs. Tom. His first game was simply divine and he closed out an 11 turn victory with T-33 and a D-2 out. Unfortunately, in his next two games there would be no doubting Thomas and the Holy One just couldn't seem to find the double. This of course led to a flurry of jokes. e.g.

Tim: You can walk on water, but you can't hit a double 4?

Omer: Just turn the other cheek.

Gins: Hey, he who is without sin cast the first dart.

And so on. Personally, I believe the momentary glitch is directly attributable to Sympathy For the Devil coming on the jukebox during the second leg ("I was 'round when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain"...). Man, that just ain't right.

Vince followed JC's effort by taking the first game. Not VINtage (that's a sommelier joke) but good enough. He even hit 2 Ts and a T-40 along the way for good measure. He managed to let Michael wriggle off the hook in game 2. But, as with Mungo from Blazing Saddles ("Don't shoot him... you'll just make him angry.") We know with Vince that beating him has the same effect. He walked away with a W in leg 3 taking out 60.

Overall, the Dartbag Spectator give him a score of 92 and describtes Vince as "Bold, but not ostentatious. An intense player, well rounded, that takes several minutes to fully open, but holds up well and provides a smooth finish"

And with that, the Spooky Dartbags were up 5-3.

Up next was Fr. Hefner vs. Omer. Omer brought his good darts with him, but Big Friendly Hef managed to hang tight. In the first two games he had shots at outs before the opportunities quickly vanished. A slight variation in throwing technique seemed to help him regain the suave style that he is known for; back to back 97 and 95 put him on 80 and looking good. But Omer sitting on 95, wouldn't give him the chance going T-19, D-19 on two darts to end the party. Tip your cap. It's all you can do. 5-7 Flight risk heading to Cricket.

Frank'nTim started off against Jim and Tom. Tim gave Frank a pep talk.

Tim: Pretend they're Gaul.

It worked. The Captain came out firing with III Round IVs to start. The good guys cruised to an easy with Tim providing the "nightcap" with a D-cork. In leg two... well, let's just say the 'Bags were the Romans, Flight Risk were the Gauls and leg two was the Siege of Alesia. I don't think I need to tell you what happened there!

But I will. (We won in a rout.)

In the final leg, the 'Bags trailed big, but sought graces from Jesus. Cup made the sign of the cross to convey his blessing and the match turned around. It may have started as a tension-lightening joke, but it worked. We felt the Power and the Glory. Tim caught fire and started closing numbers 2 marks at a time. Frank hit V XVIs to put up some points and Tim sealed the deal with a bullseye to eke out the greatest miracle since the loaves and the fishes.

Veni.... vidi.... and vici. (8-7 'Bags.)

Up next were the wine experts, Cup and Vince. They faced off against Omer and John creating the somewhat uncomfortable match up of Mohammed vs. Jesus. The 'Bags were up nicely in game 1, but Omer hit an R-7 to turn things around and the Grassroots gang rallied for a surprise win. In the last 2 legs, the 'Bags were game, but it wasn't enough. Omer was en fuego and the home team to two more hard fought victories. 10-8 Flight Risk.

On to Double 01.

Vince and Tim squared off against Michael and Scott in game 1. We dropped that one and the slide was now 4 games in a row. But the Dartbags rallied strong. In game two they got in early and Vince uncorked a T-35 (juuuuust missed a patch) to create some separation and later sealed the deal to win a close one and stop the bleeding.

The final leg would be another close battle. With Flight Risk poised to exit on 32. Tim was sitting on 85, Tim went for the T-15, but caught a T-10. On 55, he promptly put one in the heart of 15, and after a brief moment to gather his conentration smacked the D-20 for a class finish! Great work by America's favortite bon vivant and soft-core pornographer! This really fired up the troops (Maybe even a bit too much because Jesus's free "wine refills" had us pretty buzzed by that point. I don't know if they did "chest bumps" at the Wedding at Cana, but bouncing bellies with someone who outweighs you by 100 lbs is a risky proposotion after 3 bottles of beaujolais). The score was 10-11. The W put the 'Bags in a position to win the day with a sweep.

The 'Bags' Frank and Cup would face off against Omer and Tom, the other team's toughest pair. Frank got the 'Bags in on the first round and some double-in trouble for Flight Risk let them build up a lead. Cup put the game away with a D-2. The second leg was nip and tuck. After Cup busted on 77, the other team missed their 40 out to land on 32.

Cup: Pick me up.

Frank obeyed the Lord and went Trip XIX, Doub X on two darts to close out the second leg. The Dartbags would drop the final leg to end the proceedings in a 12-12 tie -- which has been par for the course the last few weeks.

Nonetheless, this was a fun night. We didn't play our best darts, although, to be fair, if they didn't have Omer, we probably walk away with 14-15 points. I think the first annual (semi-annual???) Halloween Dart Night went quite well. It's difficult to take yourself (or the game) too seriously when you're dressed up like a complete jackass. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a bigger crowd. But fate conspired against us that evening. Thank you to all who made the scene and got into the spirit of it. Next week is at GK versus The Taint.

See you there.

ASP ReCap:

Sommelier: 475
Jesus: 348
Father Hef: 287
Mark Antony: CCV