11/05/24
January 03, 2007
Some say it isn't a sport: but darts seems to be making a come back in popularity. It may even be an Olympic event in 2012. But was the PDC world final really 'the most gripping and compelling' sports action of last year?
It certainly wasn't the most gripping and compelling sports action of last year - but only because it happened this year! The final set on YouTube here. Watch that and tell me it's not sport! And the commentating is the best in sport - "Dutch mastery. It's like Rembrandt finishing the undercoat and looking for the gloss!" Don't think it can make it into the 2012 games now though, can it? I thought it was too late. Amateur will know. Someone page him.
posted by JJ at 09:31 AM on January 03, 2007
Would'nt care to watch it on the big screen but I do love playing Cricket at our family get together's. It gets pretty heated at times.
posted by texasred at 09:37 AM on January 03, 2007
Darts isn't a sport. It's a martial art.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:19 AM on January 03, 2007
It certainly wasn't the most gripping and compelling sports action of last year - but only because it happened this year! Yes, but I have my own little time zone, and today was the first day of work this year and so the start of the new year. Honest. :)
posted by Fence at 10:38 AM on January 03, 2007
The only sport where my namesake could actually be a performance enhancer. And agreed - the commentating is world class.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:49 AM on January 03, 2007
It's a martial art. Now there's an idea - paint the board on the player's bellies and they throw at each other! You could settle it using old navy rules... first guy to die, loses!
posted by JJ at 10:49 AM on January 03, 2007
I'm just here to echo texasred's comment. I *love* to play cricket at my favorite brew pub, but can't stand to watch it on the tee vee.
posted by NoMich at 11:06 AM on January 03, 2007
Now there's an idea - paint the board on the player's bellies and they throw at each other! You could settle it using old navy rules... first guy to die, loses! Sounds like a lesson from my dad. Him and his friends used to play the, "Let see how close you let me throw a knife at your leg before you chicken out" game. Maybe the same concept can be applied to Martial Darts for the 2016 Olympics.
posted by jmd82 at 11:11 AM on January 03, 2007
After darts makes a comeback, then it will be horseshoes.
posted by dbt302 at 11:30 AM on January 03, 2007
The Dudesons and Bam Margera played human darts. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5dtuNFjeDo
posted by urall cloolis at 11:54 AM on January 03, 2007
If you want to think about Bam Margera, he taped an episode where he played human pinata and another where he played human bowling, using oversized pins and Weeman as the human bowling ball. To tie sports here, Don Vito and Len Pasquarelli look like long lost twin brothers. Darts is a sport, and a cool one at that. However, the question is whether it belongs in London in 2012
posted by LA_Dude at 12:49 PM on January 03, 2007
JJ's right, the 2012 programme is set already. Doesn't stop these kind of claims from going around, though. Darts doesn't have a great chance for 2016, frankly, but there will be a vote sometime in 2009 -- plenty of time for campaigning.
posted by Amateur at 07:24 PM on January 03, 2007
Darts has NO CHANCE of ever being an olympic sport. It should be in the "competition olympics" along with bowling, poker, nascar, etc...
posted by urall cloolis at 07:39 PM on January 03, 2007
It certainly wasn't the most gripping and compelling sports action of last year - but only because it happened this year! That was really a bit special, even if the Dutch commentary ('tops!') tipped me to the winner. Now, when will Americans learn to play something other than Cricket?
posted by etagloh at 04:38 AM on January 04, 2007
OK, finally, I'm going to bite. What's cricket?
posted by JJ at 05:36 AM on January 04, 2007
I don't know about you, but the only way I played darts was in a bar drinking!! Will they have "drug" testing or alcohol testing for darts if it makes it to the Olympics?! They have to follow IOC rules right?!! Maybe they'll have a cop there to administer sobriety tests before you can play!
posted by lil'red at 08:27 AM on January 04, 2007
Booze is only prohibited in the following sports according to this list from WADA [.pdf - see page 10]: Aeronautic, Archery, Automobile, Boules, Karate, Modern Pentathlon (only for disciplines involving shooting - you can be wankered for the rest of it apparently), Motorcycling and Powerboating. I have an old copy of the list sitting on my desk from 2005. It would seem that billiards and skiing have been removed! Did Bode launch an injunction to fight for his right to ski pissed and then rack up a frame or two in the bar after? Suddenly the 10 metre dive aspect of my Olympic challenge seems a whole lot less daunting. It would appear to be well within the rules for me to be out of my head when I do it!
posted by JJ at 09:44 AM on January 04, 2007
JJ A very condensed and unoffcial explanation-Cricket uses numbers 15-20 and the Bullseye. You close the numbers by hitting said number 3x( double counts as 2x, triple as 3x.) Once you have closed a number, you can get points by hitting that number again. Winner is person with all numbers closed and most points. Drinking is required.
posted by devinsdad at 12:03 PM on January 04, 2007
This will send our British brethren's heads spinning: In America we can longer play darts at bars. Metal darts (the only kind any self-respecting man can play with) have been outlawed by the insurance companies who 'protect' pubs. They are considered a liability. Now the only dart boards are electronic with plastic darts. Cricket can't really be played on an electric board because it counts miss hits and throws that don't stick.
posted by r8rh8r27 at 12:37 PM on January 04, 2007
JJ - Cricket is a darts game. The object is to hit each number from 15-20 plus the bullseye three times. The first person to "close" the board wins, unless the opposition scores more points. See, once you have officially "closed out" a number, you can continue to score points on that number if your opponent has not yet closed it out. For instance, you and I are playing and I have closed out the 20, 18, and 17, You have closed out the 18, 17, 16 and bullseye. While trying to catch up to you on closing out numbers, I can continue to throw at the 20 and get points every time I hit it. Of course, until I close out the bullseye, you can outscore me with ease because you get 50 points for every hit after closing it out. There are rules in a lot of places. Just type cricket darts into Google. It's a fun drinking game - but only if you can throw darts. Drunks who have no dart-throwing skills get eaten alive in the game, much like amateurs in billiards.
posted by Cameron Frye at 03:50 PM on January 04, 2007
Sounds like killer to me. Also sounds like fun. When are we playing?
posted by JJ at 04:28 PM on January 04, 2007
One hundred and EIGHTTTTTTTTTTTY!!
posted by tommybiden at 10:11 PM on January 04, 2007
Sounds like killer to me. It's not quite the same as killer, which I found out to my chagrin when I played a brahma of a game only to find out that I was playing something else. And they're still playing at my local fake-pub, last time I checked.
posted by etagloh at 12:53 AM on January 05, 2007
I have been throwung darts for about 8 or 9 years on and off, nothing serious,and have only hit One hundred and EIGHTTTTTTTTTTTY!! ONE time. That is the hardest damn thing to hit!
posted by jojomfd1 at 03:06 PM on January 05, 2007
I can't say that I'm a huge fan of darts, but I did tune in for a bit of the final, and I was entertained. Then again, that may just be because I think the commentators are hilarious.