Live Blogging Week 5

Let me discuss, for a moment, the concept of "home field advantage".  In most sports, home field advantage is consistently cited as a real benefit, despite the fact that it is rarely show to exist.  As Hoosiers so aptly depicted, the benefit in basketball should be minimal, since the court dimensions are exactly the same (and there are no weather effects).  Football fields are also the same dimensions, and both sides are subject to whatever the weather is.  Of course baseball fields differ in each stadium, as does grass length, but even then it is certainly not a given that the home team can overcome a disparity in talent.

And then there's darts.  It would seem unlikely that a home field could offer an advantage.  Standard board height, standard distance for the oche, usually similar noise in all bars, no weather effects, etc.  In fact, for the NYDO, it is a huge benefit to be on the road, because you don't need to do all the score-keeping.

But every once in a while, there is a night like last night.  Where the dart gods smile on the home team.  Where the board is just friendly enough with its bounces to make us happy, and where the lighting is just right.  Where the friendly confines of Ship of Fools play to our strengths and frustrate the hell out of our opponents.

I won't go in to it too deeply, except to say that if you want to hit a bull on OUR board, you better man up and stick one in the Hootie, or our board will shove it right back in your Blowfish.

Twos Can't Lose!

Going into the BYE week, The Ship holds onto a share of second place.  With a restful week, we should be ready to tear it up next week.

Live Blogging the Wedding

A beautiful day in Tahoe as we prepare for Jen and Turner's big day. Follow all the festivities here.

Sunset Over Lake Tahoe
(Dock / Paddle Boat)

Mr. and Mrs. Turner

The First Dance

Sunset over Lake Tahoe

Live Blogging Week 3

Dah Dum De-Dum. Dah Dum De-Duuuum.

Welcome to Week 3, where both love and darts are in the air.  Although Turner is out this week, we don't look at it like we are missing a player, but more like we are gaining a ShipWreck.

As always, follow all the action right here, while you are getting action.

Ship Slides In to Second Place

With a solid outing, The Ship slides up in to second place after Week 2.  Looking forward to continuing the move next week.   We need arms, as Braley will be making bank in AC, and Turner will be packin' up his game and headin' out West.

Live Blogging Week 2

Following a Week 1 split, The Ship returns home to face the Cork Suckers.  Look for a strong outing from the Ship as we aim to take break up the logjam in the division and takeover first place.  Follow all the action here on the blog, and remember, cork soakers are born, not made. 

Saigon Dart League

Congratulations to John  for taking The Ship international and bringing home the first Ship victory in Asia!  The battle raged at Ice Blue in Saigon, and from the looks of it, John took home the Bottle o' Gold label, and perhaps a little extra.  Our registration is currently in process for the next season of the SIDL.

Live Blogging Week 1

Who says you can't teach old darts new tricks?  The Ship may be 20 seasons old, but that doesn't mean we can't keep up with the kids nowadays.  We've got the latest in darts technology, and a cutting-edge site on the World Wide Interweb.

This week we will have a first for The Ship - a live update, as the match happens.  Follow the action live.  All the great throws, all the big outs, all the bulls, and all the smack.  Right here, in the comments.  Bring it!

Screw It. Let's Do It

Happy New Year!  As 2010 opens its arms to The Ship, things are looking bright.  There is change afoot for the entire Ship family, the team is sailing into the playoffs, and we are playing free-and-easy and having fun each week.  So, like a good NFL team that has locked up a spot in the playoffs, these last few weeks are a chance to tune up for the big games.

Rich posted two wins to start the night, as we came back from the long vacation with a rusty, but positive start.  Michael dropped two games in a bit of a shocker, as did Andrew.  But Steve came back and earned a split to put us down 5-3 after S501.

Rich / Andrew opened up Cricket with a desire to put last week's drubbing behind them, and two wins helped to that end.  Michael / Darian dropped two games leaving Michael a bit speechless and the Ship down 7-5.

John / Steve worked out some kinks to start D501, but dropped both games.  And the night ended with Rich / Andrew continuing to bounce back from last week with a sweep in D501.  The final score was a 7-9 loss for the Ship, but an easy-breezy casual night for all.  Next week is the last week of the regular season, and then it is off to the playoffs.  I will see you there, or I will see you on another time.


Props:  
Rich - Six wins, totally.  Totes McGoates.

Screwed The Pooch

Sometimes, if you need to deliver bad news, at least you can present it in a nice package.  That is exactly my strategy this week, given our recent performance.  It was ugly, but I'm hoping you will be distracted by the shiny new website.
 
Heading in to the week's action, The Ship was in first place by a seemingly comfortable six points.  Although we were facing the second-place team, anything better than an 11-5 loss would keep us atop the league.  But, before we could say "Upper East Side Democratic Party," The Ship was in deep trouble, dropping six of the eight S501 games.  Only Andrew helped stave off defeat, winning both of his games.

But, just like the Democrats' new healthcare bill, things got much, much worse in Cricket.  Rich / Andrew dropped both in the opener, despite leading by a mile in game two.  John / Darian also dropped two, and suddenly things were looking very bad for The Ship's lead.

The final, punishing blows were delivered in D501, as The Ship was once again swept away.  The 14-2 loss was a doozy, and left The Ship six points out of first place.  But, we have two weeks to make it back up before we head to the playoffs. 

Props:  
Andrew - The only wins of the night.

Scroooged

I was a captain of industry, feared by men, adored by women.

ADORED? C'mon, let's be honest, Lew. You PAID for the women. 

(OK, technically this is a continuation of last week's recap.)

No game this week.

Screwed Over

Let it never be said that The Ship's updates are not topical.  And since everyone else is talking about Mr. Woods' recent troubles, why shouldn't we?  Plus, given the fact that one of the ladies in the Tiger's Den will soon appear in a movie entitled "Screwed Over," it magically fits the theme.  So let's dedicate this one to Tiger and Holly Sampson. Sometimes, these updates just write themselves...

We hopped on our carts, grabbed our caddies and teed off this week at The Edge. But The Ship had a bit of trouble backing out of the driveway to start the night.  Rich threw up an eagle in the first round, winning both games.  Andrew, John and Dave all cashed in birdies with splits across the board.  So, lightly loaded on Ambien, The Ship had a few dings in its SUV, but escaped leading 5-3.  But the other team was hot on our tail, ready to crack our heads with a golf club if we weren't careful.

We approached the turn, and suddenly the wins started to accumulate like Tiger's list.  Rich / Andrew dropped the first game of Cricket, as the other team holed out on the 18th with a double-bull comeback.  But we bounced back with a win in game two.  Michael / Steve took home a set of green jackets with a sweep, putting The Ship up 8-4 and on the way to matching Jack Nicklaus' career major record.

Rich / Andrew knocked it stiff in the D501 opener with two wins.  Michael / John tapped it for a win in the final game, giving The Ship an 11-5 win for the night.  Take your name off your phone....

Props:
Steve - Two wins in his triumphant return.

Screw Up

I really do appreciate, the fact you're playing darts on Monday.  This week, many people accommodated my personal need to move our usual Tuesday match, so I could attend a Jimmy Buffett concert.  And, to paraphrase Jimmy, the bar maid brought a pitcher, another round of brew.  And honey, we sure did get drunk and I screwed us.

Despite playing at Bleecker Street, a favorite of The Ship, it was an uncomfortable Monday.  First off, we were all confused by the day, and as Turner said, this was supposed to be our "throw day," not a game night.  Plus, we were cramped in a corner because there were two matches being played.  The discomfort showed early, as both Rich and Andrew dropped two S501 games.  Dave got us off the schneid with a win, and John made us feel a little better with two wins.  But The Ship was in a weird position, down 5-3, and the plan to play on Monday was not looking good.

Cricket was equally disconcerting, as Rich / Andrew split, despite playing heads and tails above their opponents.  John / Fred also split, and The Ship was down 7-5 after Cricket.

John / Dave ran into a Monday buzzsaw to start D501 and dropped both games.  Rich / Andrew salvaged a little bit of the night with two wins to end the evening  Overall, though, it was a rough night, as The Ship lost its first match of the season.  I just bought a water bed, it's filled up for me and you... can dunk me in it.

Props:
Andrew - Dominating the AS points with 415.

Screw You Guys, We're Going Home

There is no place like home.  With home field advantage, home cookin', and homeboys, it is guaranteed to deliver that down home feeling.  After nearly a month away, it was good to be back home at SOF in front of cheering fans, and as always, home treated us well.

Rich rolled out the welcome mat with two wins to start.  Turner drew the short straw in the blind lineup contest and was swept in two games.  Michael came back with two wins, and Darian played homemaker with a split in the final two games.  The 5-3 lead was comforting, and the home crowd was warming up to the action.

Rich / Andrew met some home wreckers in the first game of Cricket, but they came back to clean house in game two.  Michael / John hit a home run on both ends of their Cricket match, putting The Ship up 8-4.

It was home sweet home all the way in D501.  John / Dave led off with a sweep, including some strong double outs.  Rich / Andrew kept the crowd around for a while, as the final game came down to an endless battle for double-one.  But two wins meant a sweep of all four D501 games, a 12-4 Ship victory, and a happy ride home for the fans.

Props:
Chris & Dan - For coming out for RINYC.

Andrew - For the theme.

 

Screw Cap

There is nothing like popping the top off a cold stout.  Smooth, refreshing, and just hits the spot... just like The Ship hit the spot on this night at Stout.

We popped the top on the night and unleashed a stream of wins.  Both Rich and Michael swept their S501 games.  But, after Dave was swept in his two games, Andrew swept his round.  With three sweeps in our favor, The Ship leapt out to a 6-2 lead.

The matchups in Cricket were a bit of a twist(off), as Rich / Dave started things off and were only able to earn a split.  John / Fred uncorked a win in their first game, and earned a split as well and The Ship held on to an 8-4 lead.

It was time to pop the champagne cork after D501.  Michael / John took the second of their two games, both of which were thrillers.  Rich / Andrew swept both games, nearly tossing a midget in the process.  With three wins, the final score was a lid lifting 11-5 Ship win.

Props:
Andrew - Undefeated, and a master of the double-out.