Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Regional Qualifier

The WDA membership came out and supported the Regional. 40 people entered the Blind Draw Friday and 46 entered Saturday. That raised $172 for the Youth program. There were 18 people in the "die hard" late blind draw Saturday night.

Another plus that came out of the Regional is there's a strong possibility a new league team was formed from new players during the Regional.

The only downside to the Regional was that only 3 players outside of Wichita showed up to qualify for the National playoffs. The WDA spent $2,200 to host the event. $1,100 for ADO entries, $1,000 for money-added blind draws and $100 to the Legion to help pay for the cost of opening the dart hall for 2 days.

As this was a BYOB event, the participants had substantially lower expenses even compared to the Legion's lowest in town drink prices. Perhaps if there are future BYOB events (Spring Fling), the WDA could charge a $1 or $2 admission and donate that to the Legion to help pay for utilities and air conditioning.

Monday, May 14, 2007

May Leaders

Thursday Night Leaders

May 10,2007...........................May 10, 2007
W/L %........................................Points Per Dart
(min - 8 games**)....................................(min - 8 games)

Tony Jessup 10-2 - 83.33%...............Kraig Moore - 18.12
Shawn Russel 13-4 - 76.47%..............Gary Boisen - 16.82
Merlin Suderman 11-4 - 73.33%........Dale Casey - 16.75
Clint Phillips 12-5 - 70.59%...............Brett Rogers* - 15.65
Dale Casey 9-4 - 69.23%....................Mike Seeley - 15.28
Josh Adams 6-3 - 66.67%..................Clint Phillips - 14.46
Rich Pike 12-6 - 66.67%.....................Rich Pike - 14.27
Gary Boisen 12-7 - 63.16%................Richard Cranford - 14.2
Jim Dunham 10-6 - 62.50%..............Bubba Leffew* - 13.96
Paul McPhillips 8-5 - 61.54%............Dave Rosendale - 13.69
Bob Rippel 8-5 - 61.54%
Jeff Prince 8-5 - 61.54%

* Have actually only played 7 games, but were included in PPD on the "close enough" rule. Not eligible for W/L % consideration.

** WDA stats all have one extra loss. Starting all players with their pre-season PPD's requires entering a loss into the WDA system.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

May Captain's Meeting Recap

No Captain's meeting in June. Next Captain's Meeting is July 3 at Post 256. That's minor compared to the rest of the meeting, but if anyone stops reading before they finish the good stuff, this is something that needs to be known.

14 players entered the Youth Qualifier and 2 will advance to the National Playoffs. Congratulations to Zach and Mz Thang.

There was discussion of the finances required to send 2 Youths and 2 parents to the Nationals. It's expensive and the WDA doesn't have unlimited resources. After a brief discussion it was unanimous that the WDA will continue to send 2 Youths to Nationals. A very positive and convincing attitude of "we will find a way" was the main topic of the discussion. There was a question whether this vote was setting a precedent that future administrations and Directors would feel compelled to follow. The Directors were overwhelmingly in favor of setting this vote as a precedent for the future of the WDA.

The WDA is still distributing the "yellow cards" where members fill out their contact information and anything they'd be interested in doing to help the WDA achieve its goals. Please take the time to fill one out - even if you are unable or choose to not volunteer. Please.

Speaking of volunteers. The WDA is hosting a Regional qualifier May 19 at Post 4. Chalkers are always needed at these events. One thing that keeps chalkers away from these events is the fear that if they show up, they'll be standing and chalking for 3 or 4 hours straight. Not this time. Chalkers are being asked to sign up for chalking duty in 1/2-hour increments. The hope is that this will make chalking more attractive to more potential chalkers. With enough chalkers, each chalker scores a couple of matches and then takes a break for a couple of matches. With plenty of available chalkers, there will be plenty of people to hang out with, relax with, talk to, and maybe shoot the breeze while enjoying a beverage. During these breaks, no discussions of removing the Vice-President will be allowed. This will be enforced by - dang, I forgot to get any volunteers for that.

Blind draws at the Regional qualifier are set for Friday,May 18 and Saturday, May 19. These are 80% payback with 20% going to the Youth Nationals fund. The blind draws will start at 8 PM. Signups will close in time to start the events on time, so don't be late. I know we're supposed to say Blind Draws start at 7:30 to get people there by 8.

Spring Fling is now cast in stone, chiseled in concrete and cemented in ink - or something like that. It's June 9 at Post 4. It's a Post 4 Pig Out, which is about exactly like a Burn Your Buns. Side dishes. Side dishes. Side dishes. Those are required to make these things work. Side dish contributions have been low at recent Burn Your Buns. We need a better response to keep these things going.

The Directors voted to suthorize a 3-year contract with the Radisson/Broadview - you know the place. The rental rate for the dart hall is guaranteed. Room rate increases have been capped at good rates.

The Directors also voted to stash money (to guarantee the Air Cap) in interest-bearing accounts. These will be timed to have the funds available in time to buy boards and guarantee payouts for the Air Cap.

Participation in weekend Blind Draws is low. Both Kelly's (Friday) and Post 4 (Saturday) have made commitments to the WDA with the expectation of some darters showing up for the Blind Draws. Kelly's put up 4 boards in a prime location. Post 4 has provided storage and repeatedly opened the public hall for the WDA when the revenues couldn't be expected to cover the heating or A/C costs. The message was pretty clear. If the WDA wants to continue getting favorable commitments from our sponsors, then the WDA membership needs to support those sponsors.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

League Leaders - April, 2007

Monday Leaders

April 30
Richard Selenke - 14.8
Tony Jessup - 14.34
Gregg Turner - 13.75
Sylvan Songer - 13.68
Mark Redeker - 13.68
John Messick - 12.91
Deacon Smith - 12.88
Rick Lowrey - 12.73
Rich Pike - 12.64
Richard Cranford - 11.61

April 23.............................................................April 16
1 - Richard Selenke - 14.8...........Richard Selenke - 15.35
2 - Tony Jessup - 14.53..............Tony Jessup - 15.14
3 - Gregg Turner - 13.75.............Sylvan Songer - 14
4 - Mark Redeker - 13.68............Gregg Turner - 13.91
5 - Sylvan Songer - 13.23............Mark Redeker - 13.64
6 - Rick Lowrey - 13.01.............John Messick - 13.32
7 - John Messick - 12.91............Deacon Smith - 12.88
8 - Deacon Smith - 12.88............Rick Lowrey - 12.84
9 - Rich Pike - 12.42..................Rich Pike - 12.42
10 - Richard Cranford - 11.61......Bill Scott - 11.94


April 9............................................April 2
(minimum - 5 games)

1 - Richard Selenke - 15.13........Sylvan Songer - 14.89
2 - Sylvan Songer - 14.91...........Gregg Turner - 14.06
3 - Gregg Turner - 14.37............Tony Jessup - 13.87
4 - Tony Jessup - 14.37..............John Messick - 13.61
5 - Mark Redeker - 13.64............Mark Redeker - 13.32
6 - John Messick - 13.5..............Richard Selenke - 13.15
7 - Deacon Smith - 13.43............Deacon Smith - 13.1
8 - Rick Lowrey - 12.82..............Rich Pike - 12.99
9 - Rich Pike - 12.57.................Rick Lowrey - 12.82
10 - Jeff Prince - 11.76
11 - Bill Scott - 11.75


Thurday Leaders

April 26....................................................April 19
1 - Kraig Moore - 18.44.................Kraig Moore - 18.32
2 - Dale Casey - 16.41..................Gary Boisen - 16.67
3 - Gary Boisen - 16.40.................Dale Casey - 15.86
4 - Brett Rogers - 15.65................Brett Rogers - 15.65
5 - Mike Seeley - 15.35.................Mike Seeley - 14.66
6 - Bubba Leffew - 14.27...............Clint Phillips - 14.58
7 - Clint Phillips - 14.21.................Rich Pike - 14.05
8 - Rich Pike - 14.14....................Richard Cranford - 14.01
9 - Richard Cranford - 14.1............Dave Rosendale - 13.99
10 - Dave Rosendale - 13.92...........Tony Jessup - 13.75


April 12...........................................April 5
(minimum 6 games)............................(minimum - 5 games)

1 - Kraig Moore - 18.35.................Kraig Moore - 18.57
2 - Gary Boisen - 16.36.................Dale Casey - 16.26
3 - Dale Casey - 16.04...................Gary Boisen - 16.06
4 - Brett Rogers - 15.65................Brett Rogers - 16.05
5 - Clint Phillips - 15.03................Mike Seeley - 14.73
6 - Mike Seeley - 14.4...................Clint Phillips - 14.62
7 - Dave Rosendale - 14.08..........Rich Pike - 13.91
8 - Rich Pike - 14.05.....................Dave Rosendale - 13.64
9 - Richard Cranford - 13.48.......Richard Cranford - 13.51
10 - Tony Jessup - 13.36.............Tony Jessup - 13.38






Wednesday, April 04, 2007

April Captain's Meeting Highlights

6 men and 4 women will be qualified for the regionals to be played in Wichita in May. The qualifying playoff will be at American Legion Post #4 on April 7.

The Spring Fling is set for April 28 at Legion Post #4. Signups at 2 and the first event kicks off at 3. The "traditional format" will be followed with a seeded blind draw followed by an open blind draw. After that, ladies' and mens' singles events will be held - if there are enough people who want to play those events. If you want the opportunity to play in some open singles events and test your skills against people who may not play in your leagues, this is your chance. The singles events will be totally dependent on the number of people who want the events.

The WDA is looking at ways to send 2 youth players to the Nationals. Some great ideas for sponsorships and some great fund-raising ideas were presented. Blind draws on Fridays at Kelly's will be 80% payback with 20% going to the Youth Fund. The Lizzards and David Garrett's team each pledged $100 to the Youth Fund. There will be 2 blind draws with the May Regional Qualifier. Both will be 80% payback with 20% going to the Youth Fund.

There are efforts being made for 2 media campaigns to promote Youth Darting. These wouldn't cost the WDA anything. I'd rather not comment on them. Free media campaigns are always subject to last-minute decisions by the people at the media outlet. Nothing is guaranteed right now, but there are people working on it and and good results seems likely.

Many significant issues facing the WDA were brought to the Board. Discussions tended to be lively and the focus was constantly on what's best for the Association.

My personal highlight of the evening was the round of applause after I made my report. My report was: "I have nothing". I have never before been appreciated so wholeheartedly for 3 words. It was like that was totally unexpected and had never happened before.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

League Leaders - March, 2007

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Monday Night Leaders -
............March 26..................March 19
1 - Tony Jessup - 15.52..........Mark Redeker - 15.91
2 - Danny Scott - 15.34..........Danny Scott - 15.23
3 - Sylvan Songer - 15.02......Tony Jessup - 15.08
4 - Mark Redeker - 14.21......Sylvan Songer - 15.02
5 - Gregg Turner - 13.9.........Gregg Turner - 14.37
6 - John Messick - 13.8 .........John Messick - 14.04
7 - Richard Selenke - 12.94...Rich Pike - 13.22
8 - Rich Pike - 12.83...............Deacon Smith - 12.84
9 - Deacon Smith - 12.41.......Rick Lowrey - 12.57
10 - Rick Lowrey - 12.08.......Jeff Prince - 11.5

..............March 12.................March 5
1 - Deacon Smith - 15.89........Danny Scott 16.72
2 - Sylvan Songer - 15.76.......Tony Jessup 16.71
3 - Danny Scott - 15.54.......... Rich Pike 16.04
4 - Tony Jessup - 14.83......... Sylvan Songer 15.8
5 - Charlotte Burns - 14.31.... Kelly Reeves 14.52
6 - Mark Redeker - 13.87.......Mark Redeker 14.5
7 - Rich Pike - 13.83 ...............Charlotte Burns 14.31
8 - John Messick - 13.74 ........Jeff Prince 13.93
9 - Gregg Turner - 13.47........John Messick 13.85
10 - Jeff Prince - 12.58...........Dave Andree 13.81
11 - Rick Lowrey - 12.57........
12 - Denise Lowrey - 12.52...

Thursday Night Leaders.
.............March 29
1 - Kraig Moore - 18.69
2 - Dale Casey - 16.26
3 - Gary Boisen - 16.21
4 - Brett Rogers - 15.75
5 - Clint Phillips - 14.62
6 - Mike Seeley - 14.56
7 - Alan Bubba Leffew - 14.07
8 - Dennis McHugh - 13.78
9 - Rich Pike - 13.64
10 - Richard Cranford - 13.51
11 - Dave Rosendale - 13.18
12 - Shawna Inkelaar - 13.08
13 - Tony Jessup - 12.94
.............March 22............................March 15
1 - Kraig Moore - 17.55...................Kraig Moore - 17.55
2 - Dale Casey - 16.26......................Gary Boisen - 16.1
3 - Gary Boisen - 15.84....................Dale Casey - 15.89
4 - Clint Phillips - 14.98....................Kenny Chamberlain - 15.66
5 - Dennis McHugh - 14.91..............Dennis McHugh - 15.31
6 - Brett Rogers - 14.71....................Dave Rosendale - 15.28
7 - Mike Seeley - 14.47.....................Clint Phillips - 15.09
8 - Alan Bubba Leffew - 14.07.........Alan Bubba Leffew - 14.07
9 - Kenny Chamberlain - 14.01.......Tony Jessup - 13.73
10 - Rich Pike - 13.52........................Brett Rogers - 13.73
11 - Richard Cranford - 13.51...........Rich Pike - 13.69
12 - Chris Roberts - 13.50

............ March 8.............................March 1
1 - Clint Phillips - 17.69.................Kraig Moore 18.26
2 - Gary Boisen - 17.35.................Dale Casey 17.35
3 - Kraig Moore - 17.25................Gary Boisen 16.99
4 - Dale Casey - 15.82...................Dave Rosendale 16.47
5 - Kenny Chamberlain - 15.25...Dennis McHugh 16.06
6 - Dennis McHugh - 14.98..........Clint Phillips 15.71
7 - Dave Rosendale - 14.85..........Kenny Chamberlain 15.66
8 - Rich Pike - 14.36.....................Shawna Inkelaar 14.82
9 - Alan Bubba Leffew - 14.07....Alan Bubba Leffew 14.07
10 - Brett Rogers - 13.92............Brett Rogers 13.92
11 - Tony Jessup - 13.73.............
12 - Shawna Inkelaar - 13.55.....

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Leaving comments

At the bottom of every entry there are 2 options. 1 option is is clicking on the number of comments. That takes you to a screen that displays previous comments and asks for your comments.

The other option is an envelope icon. That opens up an e-mail connection to me. That is great for private thoughts you would like to give to me and not share with the world.

To leave a commernt, click on the "Comments" thing at the bottom of the thread. You will need to put up a posting name. Comments will only appear after they have beren reviewed to eliminate obscenities, porn, unsuiatable content, spam, etc.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Spring Leagues Off To A Great Start

Both the Monday and Thursday leagues are off to a great start.

Thursday had some great darts. I don't have information from all the matches, but in the match between Wonders and Outlaws, Gaty Boisen had a ton-eighty, Jeff Prince and John Messick had hat tricks at the Legion. Checking in from Kelly's in the match between The Rats and Lizzards, Dave Rosendale also had a ton-eighty.

Wow!

Gonna be some interesting ppd's next Thursday.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Rules Points Of Emphasis

As many of you know, Kraig (our new Prez), is an analyst. I'm the guy in charge of rules and enforecement of rules. I'm likely to also be called an analyst, but with a different pronunciation on the first "a" in analyst.

Start matches on time. Darts are supposed to start at 7:30. The absolute limit is to start at 7:45. The only reason darts should ever start after 7:30 is for unusual circumstances that force the match to start late. Starting late is never expected on a regular basis. If you know you have to start late, please give the other captain at least 24 hours notice.

Turn in your scoresheets and fees on time. Losing 2 wins doesn't seem to deter some Captains from holding onto the scoresheets and money for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. That messes up the standings and gives the Sec/Treas more work to catch up the late scoresheets.

Memories of The Laid Back

Best dart bar - EVER! I've been to dart bars in Oklahoma City, Omaha, Tulsa, Austin, Nassau and who knows how many places I've forgotten, but The Laid Back was the best ever.

Steaks and burritos. If you had them, you know what I mean. If you never had them, you will never know what I mean.

The wedding. Rotten's "history of The Laid Back" and history of his relationship with Juanita was only topped by the music selections. A Hollywood script writer could not have written this. About 6 songs into what was already on the jukebox, most in attendance were already laughing uncontrollably. Then Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" came on followed by Janis Joplin's "Why, Why, Why". It's the only wedding I've been to where everyone was standing through the entire ceremony and lots of people were standing on chairs.

Rats and Lizzards. You always knew there was a fun time waiting for you when your team was scheduled at The Laid Back on Thursday.

After Air Cap blind draws and steaks. Some of the most fun I've had in darts were the blind draws after the Air Cap. Only the old-timers will remember Chad Sylvan (Air Cap MVP and top 5 nationally) and Rich Baldwin (top 5 in the world for being a jerk). That's what they were when I drew them for partners at The Laid Back. I'm not kidding when I say I carried those guys into money finishes at The Laid Back. They were burned out after the Air Cap and I was a better player in those days.

Buddy. Yep, my former dog is a favorite. Paul Murphy lost his wife, his job, his apartment and had to give his dog away. Buddy's AKC name was "Lord Budweiser Murphy". Buddy was a registered collie and an absolute ringer for "Lassie". Buddy made several trips to The Laid Back with Paul. Then made several more with Robby and me. Getting to know Paul at The Laid Back gave me 14 years of loyal companionship.

Butch Wagner. Butch is probably the guy who told Juanita and Rotten to try to get some dart players to their bar. Butch was the first Wichita darter I ran into at my first out-of-town tournament. He and Linda (Juanita's sister) were major factors in convincing me to go to more out-of-town tournaments.

Thank you, Juanita
Thank you, Rotten

It was a great run. Nothing lasts forever, no matter how much we wish it could.

I stopped by The Laid Back as it was closing for the last time. I gave Juanita a hug and we exchanged these words, "It's not good-bye, it's good night".

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Final Thursday Individual Standings

Here are the individual standings for the recently completed Thursday league. Standings are listed for ppd avg. W/L % and "Efficiency". Efficiency is a combination of ppd avg and W/L %. Efficiency tends to recognize players who win more matches than they should with the ppd average they have. Look out for the players with high efficiency ratings. They will beat you when you may not expect it. (Minimum: 10 '01 games played for all categories.)

Overall ppd:

Dale Casey, Lizzards.....................19.57
Danny Scott, Danny's Team........16.89
Clint Phillips, Rat Bastards..........16.10
Kenny Chamberlain, Lizzards.....16.07
Kraig Moore, Rat Bastards..........16.04
Robert Geer, Danny's Team.......15.86
Danny Evans, Danny's Team......15.19
Leanna Clifford, Black Widows...15.04
Dave Rosendale, Lizzards............14.74
Brett Rogers, Rat Bastards..........14.18

Ladies ppd:

Leanna Clifford, Black Widows......15.04
Sandy Diel, Fruit Cocktail...............12.59
Shawna Inkelaar, Fruit Cocktail....12.40
Diane Menard, Danny's Team........11.93
Katherine Fitch, Blaxck Widows....10.38
Karen Holman, Black Widows..........9.94
Lizabeth Hinckley, Black Widows....9.90
Kelly Balliet, Phun Phobia.................9.87
Joan Fitch, Black Widows..................9.65
Debbie Adams, Outlaws....................9.09

Overall W/L %:

Richard Selenke, Fruit Cocktail.......24-8......75.00 %
Clint Phillips, Rat Bastards...............20-7......74.07 %
Danny Evans, Danny's Team...........24-11....68.57 %
Shawna Inkelaar, Fruit Cocktail......21-10....67.74 %
Steve Stuckey, Danny's Team.........22-11....66.67 %
Bubba Leffew, David's Team...........20-10....66.67 %
Dave Rosendale, Lizzards.................16-8......66.67 %
Diane Menard, Danny's Team...........8-4......66.67 %
Dennis McHugh, Lizzards..................17-9......65.38 %
Shelley Hein, Fearsome 4some + 1.12-7......63.16 %


Ladies W/L %:

Shawna Inkelaar, Fruit Cocktail.......21-10....67.74 %
Shelley Hein, Fearsome 4some + 1..12-7......63.16 %
Debbie Adams, Outlaws......................6-5......54.55 %
Kelly Balliet, Phun Phobia.................17-15....53.13 %
Karen Holman, Black Widows...........10-9.....52.63 %
Katherine Fitch, Black Widows.........16-15...51.61 %
Lizabeth Hinckley, Black Widows.......7-8.....46.67 %
Joan Fitch, Black Widows..................10-13...43.48 %
Leanna Clifford, Black Widows...........6-8......42.86 %
Kerri Beard, Fruit Cocktail................ 9-12.....42.86 %
Sandy Diel, Fruit Cocktail..................12-16....42.86 %

Efficiency:

Shelley Hein, Fearsome 4some + 1....8.63....12-7
Bob Rippel, Wonders............................9.17....18-12
Debbie Adams, Outlaws.......................9.09....6-5
Richard Selenke, Fruit Cocktail........13.02....24-8
Diane Menard, Danny's Team..........11.93......8-4
Shawna Inkelaar, Fruit Cocktail.......12.40....21-10
Kelley Balliet, Phun Phobia.................9.87.....17-15
Eric Dyer, Rat Bastards.......................9.77.....14-13
Karen Holman, Black Widows.............9.94....10-9
Todd Hawkins, Outlaws.....................11.14....17-12

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Over-50 darters detting together

February 21, 2007, 7 PM at the Legion.

Get-together for darters 50 or over. Randy Scheltgen is setting this up and he has some great ideas on getting together and throwing darts for competition and fun. Everything is up for discussion. Formats, setup, etc. Be there to give your input and make it a fun night for us old farts and tell Randy how you'd like to do it.

One of the things certain to be discussed is possible sponsors for the "league". So far Geritol, AARP and Depends have shown some interest. Depends is looking solid. That would solve the problem of darters who always disappear to the bathroom when they're called to a board.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Air Cap Ramblings


It has been reported that the total costs for the Air Cap are around $11,000 (including payouts). With a breakeven on payouts and entry fees, that leaves $4,500 that is paid by WDA members. It's more if the entries fall short of the payouts. $4,500 works out to about $50 per year for every regular WDA player. That's about $1.25 per league night for every darter.

There is generally a good turnout of WDA members for the Friday night blind draws. After that, the participation of WDA members drops significantly. Historically, there is a core group of about 20 WDA players who enter and compete in Air Cap events other than blind draws. There is a smaller group that enters events to support the tournament. That smaller group is generally not competetive in Air Cap events.

The majority of payouts from the Air Cap usually goes to out-of-town darters. This year a significant amount of money paid to local darters will go to darters who do not support the WDA and do not contribute to the money, personnel or resources required to produce the Air Cap.
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There are advantages to bringing out-of-town darters into Wichita. It is interesting to see how the WDA's better players do against the better dart players in the region. For some WDA participants it's an opportunity to get beat by an unfamiliar face. For the group of players who spend the weekend at the hotel, it's almost a mini-vacation and for some it's one heck of a party.
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That's about the only real advantages there are for the WDA spending around $4,000 a year to produce the event. That works out to about $200 per WDA member that actually participates in the Air Cap (excluding the blind draws).
At some point the question must be asked: "Is the Air Cap a good use of that many of the WDA's resources"?
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Please note that comments only appear after they have been screened for profanity, spam or other unacceptable content.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Turkey Shoot Packs Legion

Imagine a local darting event with 10 dart boards set up and needing all 10 to play the prelimary round of a blind draw.

That happened at the Turkey Shoot when 52 people showed up for the Seeded Blind Draw.

Around the time the field had been reduced to the round of 8, the food was served. Counting family, friends and darters not playing in the blind draw, there were probably 80 or more people who sat down together to enjoy an outstanding Thanksgiving feast. The diners filled both the Legion Hall and the Bar. Huge thanks to the Legion for providing the space required to allow everybody to sit down and comfortably enjoy a meal together.

In the Seeded Blind Draw, once the 26 teams were whittled down to 4, the players still throwing were Nick M and MarkR vs. Sherry B and Rich P. The other match was Craig (a youth darter) and Kenny C vs. Ron D and Rick L. All the matches went 3 games before Nick and Mark faced off against Ron and Rick in the finals.

Both the finals and the consolation match went all 3 legs. Final results: 1st - Nick and Mark. 2nd - Ron and Rick. 3rd - Craig and Kenny. 4th - Sherry and Rich. It's worth noting that Nick drove 14-1/2 hous and basically pulled an all-nighter to get to this event, as he was out of town the day before. There's an example of dedication and the rewards you can get for that.

There were 40 entries in the Unseeded Blind Draw. The Final 4 came down to Rick L and Danny E vs. Danny S and Jim F. The other match was Ian and Bryan B vs. Steve and Gaylon N.

In the finals Steve and Gaylon beat Danny S and Jim. In the consolation match Rick and Danny E took 3rd. Ian and Bryan took 4th.

Huge thanks to Rich P and Dillon's for the turkeys for the meal. The ladies of the Legion Auxiliary did an outstanding job preparing the food. It was a great weekend to be a darter in Wichita.

Welcome home, Dwayne

Dwayne C returned from Iraq and brought his squad to the Legion for a celebration of their return to the States.

Huge congratulations to Dwayne and his squad for what they did overseas and their coming home. Huge congratulations to the people other than Dwayne who were involved in this celebration. This was one of the best events I have attended in my life.

Savage played like an inspired band. This was one of the best performances I've heard Savage play. It was a special occassion and Savage gave an exceptional and inspired performance.

Shortly after Savage began rocking the house, a Legion Riders color brigade showed up with a special flag they presented to Dwayne's squad. The Legion Riders expressed their thanks and appreciation for what Dwayne and his squad had done for our country. A packed Legion Hall sat in silence. Rick didn't need a microphone for everyone to hear the thanks to Dwayne and his unit.

Dwayne took the stage and gave an emotional and heartfelt thanks to his unit for what they had done for him and what they meant to him. I doubt there would have been a dry eye in the building if Dwayne had gone on another minute, but Dwayne had perfect timing and left the stage to a raucous standing ovation.

The guitar player from Savage followed that with a stirring rendition of Jimi Hendrix version of the Star Spangled Banner.

After celebrating and honoring the return of our Vets from Iraq it was time to get on with the party.

Savage was on fire. Every Savage performance is great. This one I'd have to call exceptional. Pam S sat in for a set and did some great vocal work. Pam doing "Gloria" is always memorable.

36 people entered the dart tournament. The field included some nationally-ranked darters.

In the finals, Dwayne C and Richard C beat Shelley H and Dale C. In the consolation match for 3rd and 4th the team of Hassler and Gribbon beat Tony and Bubba. Tony is a darter that recently moved to Wichita from KC and is a fairly regular player at the Legion's Friday blind draws.

All in all - an exceptional party. I think the thing that said it best was the look on Dwayne's face and the look on his son's face when Dwayne was playing with his son. That's the kind of thing you just don't ever forget.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

An amazing Monday Night finish

Going into the last week of regular play, Sherry's Kids were in first by 1 percentage point. Mind Freaks were 1% point behind and No Pressure was 2% points behind.

Mind Freaks had finished their season. No Pressure and Sherry's Kids had a match to play. Sherry's Kids had a makeup match.

No Pressure needed 10 wins to go ahead of Mind Freaks or 9 wins to tie Mind Freaks. No Pressure went 8-6. Sherry's Kids needed 15 wins over 2 matches to go ahead of Mind Freaks. Sherry's Kids went 6-8 against Rich Pike.

It's down to Sherry's Kids makeup game.. Sherry's Kids winning 9-5 wins the league for Sherry's Kids. 8-6 creates a tie for 1st with Mind Freaks. 7-7 creates a tie for second with No Pressure.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

WDA memberships are $7.50

The vote to raise dues to $10 was done at a BoD meeting at Mary's. At that time it was recognized and mentioned that anything affecting membership is under the Bylaws and can't be changed at a BoD meeting.

We got so sidetracked with elections at the General Membership meeting that the dues increase was overlooked.

Dues are $7.50. Cheryl is working on a list of people who have refunds coming. It was suggested that those who had paid $10might be just as interested in contributing $2.50 to the WDA as getting a refund.

Under no circumstances can an anticipated refund be deducted from regular league nightly fees.

Regional Cricket Qualifiers

Regional Cricket Qaulifiers are Oct. 7 for men and ladies at the Legion. Entry fee is $5. Signups at 1. Play starts at 2. I hope I'm right on this. 3 events were discussed with signup times around the same time. You might want to get ot the Legion around 12:30 to be safe.

A second Cricket qualifier for men will be at the Laid Back Oct 14. Doors open at 1:30. Signups start at 1:30. Play begins at 2.

These are excellent events for spectators and chalkers. Some great Cricket matches will be played. There is no better place to watch a great Cricket game than from the scoreboard.

Chalkers and spectators are welcome and appreciated.

Turkey Shoot date changed

Turkey Shoot has been moved from Saturday, Nov. 18 to Sunday, November 19.
DwayneC is returning from Iraq and has scheduled his coming home party at the Legion for November 18.

Dwayne has some friends returning around the same date and they are included in his event. The WDA would like to encourage all members to welcome our returning soldiers home.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Lizzards vs. Wonders

Last year's #1 team (Danny Scott) has extensive personnel changes. The Wonders beat the Lizzards for 2nd place last season by 1 (one) game. This should have been a great match. It wasn't.

DaleC and JimD were in Telluride for a blues festival. You'd think that would give the advantage to the Wonders. It didn't.

The Lizzards brought in EricC as a sub. Eric had played exactly one game in WDA play. DennisM, subbing as Captain for JimD, graciously allowed EricC to play as a 12.

In a doubles 501, EricC took a 104 out. That was pretty much the writing on the wall. In less than a weekI had outs against me of 93, 110 and 104.

Congrats to the Lizzards for a 10-4 win against a Wonders team that was throwing pretty well and probably raised their ppd averages. There was no denying the Lizzards last Thursday. They were so hot I'm surprised the Laid Back didn't catch on fire.