WRITE UP FOR WEEK #6: HANGING A CROOKED NUMBER
CAPTAIN'S LOG: DART DATE: 04 - 24 -07
The Dartbags seemed to be putting it together last week, going on a 8-4 run to earn a tie with the first place team. This week, they would be playing the division laggards, The Bull Busters, in a tilt at George Keeley's on Amsterdam -- our home turf. It was nice to be back in familiar surroundings... the sounds (AC/DC on the box), the sights (friendly faces, including Lillian and her friend, Christine) and the smells (Colin's traditional pregame souvlaki). Yep. It was good for the soul. But would it be good for the standings? The Captain's Goal for the week (to borrow an old baseball term): Hang a crooked number on 'em. Fact is, we need points, and this was an opportunity. Here's what happened.
Frank started out against PJ and hit the ground running with a Ton and a Ton-35 two rounds later. He cruised to an 8 round (24 dart) victory. But then the dry erase markers gave out... All of them. So we had to wait for Ginsberg (always a team player, thanks, guy) to run to Duane Reade and buy more. By the time he got back, the Captain's mojo was gone. The Cap blew a big lead and couldn't double out. The third game was a close affair, but a D-5 sealed it for the good guys. Whew! The Captain hates looking bad in front of his girlfriend. 2-1 'Bags.
Frank was followed by the The Alpha Dog of the Dartbag Wolfpack, G Pike. Glenn faced off against Kevin who had the misfortune of playing while on crutches. Pike took the first with solid darts (9 rounds.) He was even sharper in game two with an 8 rounder (23 darts) in which he took out a 76 in classic fashion (T-20, D-8). The third game was more of the same with another 9 round victory. The unofficial motto for singles is: "keep it under 10" (rounds). Pike did so in all 3. The scary thing is, he didn't even shoot that well. (He only had one all star round.) Good stuff from IYH, who's feeling it more and more each week. 5-1 'Bags
Tim faced off against Keith in set #3. Tim was playing hurt for the 'Bags, with a serious hamstring injury that hampered his ability to walk or even bend his right leg. (If only Carl "I Can't Pitch Tonight Because I Got A Paper Cut Opening My 6 Digit Paycheck" Pavano had such guts.) Tim on one leg couldn't keep pace with Keith, who shot very well. 5-4, 'Bags
At this point we moved on to Cricket.
Vince and Frank faced off against PJ and Keith. The 'Bags were lackluster and the other team couldn't miss. And when PJ hit an R-9, the 'Bags were down big. The other team had everything closed but the bulls and had 162 pts on the board. (I can't believe I just wrote that. Did we suck THAT bad? That's unbelievable.) The 'Bags went on a big bull run, with Vince hitting bulls and closing numbers and back to back C-3s from Frank. But the comeback came up short. In the second game it was more good darts from the Bull Busters. It turned into a stubborn back and forth point war. Three 18s from the 'Bags, 3 17s from the Busters. Four 18s for the 'Bags, 4 17s for the other guys. A well played game. But a better played game by the other team. Damn. 0-2 in cricket. The D'Bags turned it up a notch in the third game and a big R-6 for Vince helped put it away.
Gotta tip your cap to them, as well as ask them a question:
Frank: How the hell are you guys in last place?
PJ: We've been penalized for roster problems and have had trouble fielding a full team.
It sure as hell isn't their cricket game. That was probably the best cricket we've faced all year.
Up next was Pike 'n Colin vs. Kevin and... no one. He would be playing Canadian style which prompted Vince to say:
Vince: Make sure you mention that, not only did he play Canadian, but he was on crutches.
Indeed. Gins, who is new to the squad this year, seemed confused by the lingo.
Gins: So... let me get this straight. Canadian style is when you play a man down... and you're a cripple?
Not exactly, Gins. You also have to wear a beaver pelt hat, drink Molson and punctuate all of your reports to the scorekeeper with, "eh?" See here for a reference.
This game went about the way you'd expect it to. Except, even slower. Between, the less than scintillating play and the dropping and picking up of crutches every third turn, I swear time stood still.
Maybe that's why it's called a Canadian match. Because...
it's...
so...
freakin'...
slow...
(eh?)
Three more points for us. 9-6 'Bags. On to doubles.
We sent out Glenn and Vince to take on PJ and Keith. The D'Bags were sharp. Glenn got us on quickly and both he and Vince kept up the pressure. And good thing too. The other guys were pretty sharp in their own right. The 'Bags won the first game when Pike took out a D-8. Game 2 was a humdinger. After Keith opened for the other team with 62, Pike responded with a massive TON-52 ON! (Nice, guy). But while we were celebrating that, PJ popped a Ton-20. But while they were celebrating, Vince responded with an 85 of his own. This was the way the match went. Back and forth, both teams throwing bombs. Vince finished what Glenn started with a D-20. It looked like we took their best punch in game two, because in the final leg, the 'Bags just steamrolled 'em. Kudos to Glenn and Vince. 12-6.
Franken'Tim played Kevin and late arrival, Matt Traub. We had never played him before, but it became pretty clear in warmups that this is an A-1 shot, playing in A-3. The other team jumped ahead and on the back of Matt's big darts. The 'Bags never got a whiff of a double. In the second leg, Matt was tonning it up and the 'Bags just couldn't seem to count it down. Six rounds in, they were on 78 and we were on 300-something. But the 'Bags counted down and the Bull Busters let them. Part of the reason? Math. You never want to leave a 38 for someone when you have a huge lead. Why? 19 + 17 + miss = XX. That's why. And several rounds later, when Tim left Frank on 40, the Furious One took it out first dart.
Matt (to his team): We just blew a 300 point lead.
Yep. As I've said before, "Dartbags never quit. We suck sometimes. But we never quit."
In the last game, we once again fell behind because of Matt's bludgeoning. (He would finish with 538 ASPs in doubles and numerous 85s). But this time we didn't let it get so out of hand. Eventually, Bull Busters turned a D-20 out into a D-5 out, into an XX out. And that's where they stood. But Tim had given Frank a very makable 94 leave. First dart, T-18. Second dart, just north of the D-20. Third dart... D-20. And, like that, the Dartbags had stolen another point. 14-7 'Bags.
At this point we had Vince and Matt play out their singles matches. Vince never backs down from a challenge, and this was no exception. Matt lit up more ASPs in game one, but Vince hung tough and took out a D-20 to take the first point. At this point, Matt had to be scratching his head. He was shooting the lights out, but had lost 3 in a row. Despite solid darts from Vincenzo in the next two, Matt and his 660 ASPs (1198 for the night... w/o cricket) took the next two legs to conclude the night's play. Your final... Dartbags 15: Bull Busters 9.
Last week, I asked the question had the Dartbag machine rumbled to life or would we backslide into sloppy darts. I think the answer is clearly the former. This Bull Buster team was a lot better than advertised. They have lost a bunch of points that have had nothing to do with their level of play. We got some guaranteed points in cricket, but we also allowed them to add a name to the doubles line up after the fact and go back to singles to finish the evening. Cuppa Joe had a good take on the event's proceedings:
Cup: 15-9 isn't bad. And we would had even more if Sasquatch didn't show up and put his big foot in our hole.
Roger that. But as Cup (and everyone else agreed), it was an easy decision to go back and play the matches. We haven't earned the nickname "Friendliest Team" for nothing. This is a dart league played in bars, for crying out loud. Frankly, any team that would refuse to accomodate a guy who couldn't get out of work, is either A) missing the point of dart night or B) just plain chicken. (If they beat you, they beat you. Play the damn match!!).
The stated goal of the evening was to hang a crooked number. Fifteen is pretty crooked. We'll declare victory on this one and look to play next week up at the Gaf (Home of the White Hawk) to play Nomads no more. This team has a couple of top notch shooters. We'll need to play well.
A few props:
Props to Cup for finally finishing the refined logo, from the previous 'sketched' version. Complete with team tag and trademarked slogan!
Props to to Glenn for finishing the night 9 for 9 (did I catch a "niner" in there?)
Props to George Keeley for adding a new dart page and to our friend, The Dart Dog for his kind words and journalistic excellence. (Give 'em hell, Reds!)
ASPs:
Frank: 356
Vince: 340
Glenn: 247
That's not a lot, but as RJ used to say, "All star points don't mean sh*t."
That is all.
-Captain Furious
The Dartbags seemed to be putting it together last week, going on a 8-4 run to earn a tie with the first place team. This week, they would be playing the division laggards, The Bull Busters, in a tilt at George Keeley's on Amsterdam -- our home turf. It was nice to be back in familiar surroundings... the sounds (AC/DC on the box), the sights (friendly faces, including Lillian and her friend, Christine) and the smells (Colin's traditional pregame souvlaki). Yep. It was good for the soul. But would it be good for the standings? The Captain's Goal for the week (to borrow an old baseball term): Hang a crooked number on 'em. Fact is, we need points, and this was an opportunity. Here's what happened.
Frank started out against PJ and hit the ground running with a Ton and a Ton-35 two rounds later. He cruised to an 8 round (24 dart) victory. But then the dry erase markers gave out... All of them. So we had to wait for Ginsberg (always a team player, thanks, guy) to run to Duane Reade and buy more. By the time he got back, the Captain's mojo was gone. The Cap blew a big lead and couldn't double out. The third game was a close affair, but a D-5 sealed it for the good guys. Whew! The Captain hates looking bad in front of his girlfriend. 2-1 'Bags.
Frank was followed by the The Alpha Dog of the Dartbag Wolfpack, G Pike. Glenn faced off against Kevin who had the misfortune of playing while on crutches. Pike took the first with solid darts (9 rounds.) He was even sharper in game two with an 8 rounder (23 darts) in which he took out a 76 in classic fashion (T-20, D-8). The third game was more of the same with another 9 round victory. The unofficial motto for singles is: "keep it under 10" (rounds). Pike did so in all 3. The scary thing is, he didn't even shoot that well. (He only had one all star round.) Good stuff from IYH, who's feeling it more and more each week. 5-1 'Bags
Tim faced off against Keith in set #3. Tim was playing hurt for the 'Bags, with a serious hamstring injury that hampered his ability to walk or even bend his right leg. (If only Carl "I Can't Pitch Tonight Because I Got A Paper Cut Opening My 6 Digit Paycheck" Pavano had such guts.) Tim on one leg couldn't keep pace with Keith, who shot very well. 5-4, 'Bags
At this point we moved on to Cricket.
Vince and Frank faced off against PJ and Keith. The 'Bags were lackluster and the other team couldn't miss. And when PJ hit an R-9, the 'Bags were down big. The other team had everything closed but the bulls and had 162 pts on the board. (I can't believe I just wrote that. Did we suck THAT bad? That's unbelievable.) The 'Bags went on a big bull run, with Vince hitting bulls and closing numbers and back to back C-3s from Frank. But the comeback came up short. In the second game it was more good darts from the Bull Busters. It turned into a stubborn back and forth point war. Three 18s from the 'Bags, 3 17s from the Busters. Four 18s for the 'Bags, 4 17s for the other guys. A well played game. But a better played game by the other team. Damn. 0-2 in cricket. The D'Bags turned it up a notch in the third game and a big R-6 for Vince helped put it away.
Gotta tip your cap to them, as well as ask them a question:
Frank: How the hell are you guys in last place?
PJ: We've been penalized for roster problems and have had trouble fielding a full team.
It sure as hell isn't their cricket game. That was probably the best cricket we've faced all year.
Up next was Pike 'n Colin vs. Kevin and... no one. He would be playing Canadian style which prompted Vince to say:
Vince: Make sure you mention that, not only did he play Canadian, but he was on crutches.
Indeed. Gins, who is new to the squad this year, seemed confused by the lingo.
Gins: So... let me get this straight. Canadian style is when you play a man down... and you're a cripple?
Not exactly, Gins. You also have to wear a beaver pelt hat, drink Molson and punctuate all of your reports to the scorekeeper with, "eh?" See here for a reference.
This game went about the way you'd expect it to. Except, even slower. Between, the less than scintillating play and the dropping and picking up of crutches every third turn, I swear time stood still.
Maybe that's why it's called a Canadian match. Because...
it's...
so...
freakin'...
slow...
(eh?)
Three more points for us. 9-6 'Bags. On to doubles.
We sent out Glenn and Vince to take on PJ and Keith. The D'Bags were sharp. Glenn got us on quickly and both he and Vince kept up the pressure. And good thing too. The other guys were pretty sharp in their own right. The 'Bags won the first game when Pike took out a D-8. Game 2 was a humdinger. After Keith opened for the other team with 62, Pike responded with a massive TON-52 ON! (Nice, guy). But while we were celebrating that, PJ popped a Ton-20. But while they were celebrating, Vince responded with an 85 of his own. This was the way the match went. Back and forth, both teams throwing bombs. Vince finished what Glenn started with a D-20. It looked like we took their best punch in game two, because in the final leg, the 'Bags just steamrolled 'em. Kudos to Glenn and Vince. 12-6.
Franken'Tim played Kevin and late arrival, Matt Traub. We had never played him before, but it became pretty clear in warmups that this is an A-1 shot, playing in A-3. The other team jumped ahead and on the back of Matt's big darts. The 'Bags never got a whiff of a double. In the second leg, Matt was tonning it up and the 'Bags just couldn't seem to count it down. Six rounds in, they were on 78 and we were on 300-something. But the 'Bags counted down and the Bull Busters let them. Part of the reason? Math. You never want to leave a 38 for someone when you have a huge lead. Why? 19 + 17 + miss = XX. That's why. And several rounds later, when Tim left Frank on 40, the Furious One took it out first dart.
Matt (to his team): We just blew a 300 point lead.
Yep. As I've said before, "Dartbags never quit. We suck sometimes. But we never quit."
In the last game, we once again fell behind because of Matt's bludgeoning. (He would finish with 538 ASPs in doubles and numerous 85s). But this time we didn't let it get so out of hand. Eventually, Bull Busters turned a D-20 out into a D-5 out, into an XX out. And that's where they stood. But Tim had given Frank a very makable 94 leave. First dart, T-18. Second dart, just north of the D-20. Third dart... D-20. And, like that, the Dartbags had stolen another point. 14-7 'Bags.
At this point we had Vince and Matt play out their singles matches. Vince never backs down from a challenge, and this was no exception. Matt lit up more ASPs in game one, but Vince hung tough and took out a D-20 to take the first point. At this point, Matt had to be scratching his head. He was shooting the lights out, but had lost 3 in a row. Despite solid darts from Vincenzo in the next two, Matt and his 660 ASPs (1198 for the night... w/o cricket) took the next two legs to conclude the night's play. Your final... Dartbags 15: Bull Busters 9.
Last week, I asked the question had the Dartbag machine rumbled to life or would we backslide into sloppy darts. I think the answer is clearly the former. This Bull Buster team was a lot better than advertised. They have lost a bunch of points that have had nothing to do with their level of play. We got some guaranteed points in cricket, but we also allowed them to add a name to the doubles line up after the fact and go back to singles to finish the evening. Cuppa Joe had a good take on the event's proceedings:
Cup: 15-9 isn't bad. And we would had even more if Sasquatch didn't show up and put his big foot in our hole.
Roger that. But as Cup (and everyone else agreed), it was an easy decision to go back and play the matches. We haven't earned the nickname "Friendliest Team" for nothing. This is a dart league played in bars, for crying out loud. Frankly, any team that would refuse to accomodate a guy who couldn't get out of work, is either A) missing the point of dart night or B) just plain chicken. (If they beat you, they beat you. Play the damn match!!).
The stated goal of the evening was to hang a crooked number. Fifteen is pretty crooked. We'll declare victory on this one and look to play next week up at the Gaf (Home of the White Hawk) to play Nomads no more. This team has a couple of top notch shooters. We'll need to play well.
A few props:
Props to Cup for finally finishing the refined logo, from the previous 'sketched' version. Complete with team tag and trademarked slogan!
Props to to Glenn for finishing the night 9 for 9 (did I catch a "niner" in there?)
Props to George Keeley for adding a new dart page and to our friend, The Dart Dog for his kind words and journalistic excellence. (Give 'em hell, Reds!)
ASPs:
Frank: 356
Vince: 340
Glenn: 247
That's not a lot, but as RJ used to say, "All star points don't mean sh*t."
That is all.
-Captain Furious
posted by Captain Furious at 1:07 AM
1 Comments:
RJ was/is right. ASP's don't mean a pile of cripe in the end.
9 for 9 means alot of stanky, septic, chemical-ass cripe. Way to go IYH.
Can't wait to get back and dump a whole bunch of stank-ass cripe on the bad guys for the second half push.
GUY!
Post a Comment
<< Home