Thursday, August 15, 2024
Column HR463
The ODC Returns…
“Well, hello dar.” That’s a greeting made famous by the late comedian Marty Allen. The other greeting the Old Dart Coach considered upon his return from illness was to post a few lines from a Willy Nelson tune.
Well, hello there
My, it’s been a long, long time
How am I doing?
Oh, I guess that I’m doing fine
… It’s been so long now
And it seems now that it was only yesterday
Gee, ain’t it funny how time slips away?
The ODC’s illness comes around every three or four years. The cure? Watch endless TV sports that no one cares about while eating hamburgers and hot dogs. It’s a virus called the Olympic flu. This time it was Olympic flu-33. As with all sport today the “men as women” competing against women rose its ugly head in the women’s boxing.
Retiring International Olympic President Thomas Bach made a statement as he was heading to the door: “There is no scientific evidence to differentiate between men and women.” The IOC later issued a clarifying statement.
The ODC would offer to use real science where women have XX sex chromosomes and men YY. How many are born with both X and Y? One study put the number at 1.7% and it seems many choose to engage in women’s sport.
The question arose again in the recent PDC women’s series #13-16 held last weekend in Germany. Noa-Lynn van Leuven, “Feel like a woman,” had one series win along with a pair of runner-up finishes. With that performance van Leuven has risen to second place replacing Fallon Sherrock in the PDC women’s standings. Maybe someone, the PDC, should check van Leuven’s chromosomes.
To the surprise of some Beau Greaves won only two of the four events. Greaves lost to Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 before reversing the score twice winning 5-3 and 5-1. Aileen de Graaf took the other final 5-2 over Anca Zijlstra.
It’s interesting that two women, Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf, that withdrew from the Dutch National Team over van Leuven now see no problem playing against van Leuven. Let’s spell “hypocrites”. One lady not present was the ever-principled Deta Headman who declined to play. Fallon Sherrock, the PDC women’s poster girl, had a terrible weekend capturing only one top 8. If Noa-Lynn van Leuven rises to #1 will there be a new face on that PDC poster?
The men of the PDC made their annual visit to the Land Down Under where “Throw Barbie on the barbie” has become a well-known phrase. “Excuse me, ODC, but don’t you mean “Throw the shrimp on the barbie.” No. If you’ve seen the woke movie Barbie she deserves a good grilling.
In Wollongong, for those that care, is in Southeastern New South Wales about 53 miles from Sydney – it’s where the Australian Darts Masters 2024 held forth. The event was the first opportunity for Aussie’s dart fans to see up close and personal the two Luke’s who have pretty much run roughshod over this year’s PDC.
As usually happens with the PDC Darts Masters’ trips to mingle with a country’s fans, no locals were left standing after the first round. Aussie Damon Heta made the top 8 but as one of the PDC invaders.
Luke Humphries got steamrolled by Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2. Humphries fell behind 3-nil, then 5-1, and was never able to mount a charge. Van den Bergh finished with a sensational average of 103.19 to Humphries’ 90.16. On the bright side Humphries did finish 100% on doubles. It seems that if you don’t get to a finishing double you can’t hit one (kind of like in golf where the short putt never goes in).
Also in the quarter finals, Peter Wright showed that there is still some danger in the Snakebite. Rob Cross was the victim. Wright won 6-4. It was a ding dong match where it appeared that neither wanted the “W.” Both had brief moments early on when Cross checked in with a 12-darter and Wright with one of 13. Wright used 15 darts to move ahead 5-4 in a leg that would have been a 12-darter but for Wright’s struggling to close from 40. It took three. The winning leg came in 15 darts with a 65 close.
Both semi-finals were tension packed…
Luke Littler took out Dimitri Van den Bergh 7-6 in a match that both deserved to win. One didn’t. Both averaged over 100 – Littler at 104.92 and Van der Bergh at 102.22. The difference was that Littler had one more chance at a double, which he converted. Littler captured the win when he took the decider after Van den Bergh squandered two darts from 20. All legs went with the darts until Littler finished in 12 darts from 82 moving ahead 6-5.
Peter Wright was in total control against Gerwyn Price leading 3-nil. It could have been 4-nil, but he misfired. With 125 left Wright attempted a Big Bull finish – Little Bull and Big Bull. Instead, he got a pair of Big Bulls, leaving 25. Easy peasy – hit the 11 leaving 16. But alas up jumped the devil in the form of a fat 14 leaving 11. Wright then missed two allowing Price to score a leg in 18 darts.
Price followed with three more legs in 12, 13 and 14 darts, taking his first lead at 4-3. Wright would level at 4, 5 and 6 but never regain the lead. The decider went to Price in 15 darts with a T06 close.
The less said about the final between Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price the better. As is well known, Polonius said in Hamlet, Act 2- Scene 2: “Brevity is the soul of wit”. Price laid an old-time ass-kicking on Luke Littler. Price started 5-nil, then extended his lead, winning 8-1. Littler would close 1 for 12, missing 10 darts that would have narrowed the loss to 8-5 – which would have looked a little better. A loss is a loss.
Atta boy to ADO President, Gentleman Jim Widmayer, who secured financing from William James Financial Group to cover the cost of sending 14 players and three managers to the WDF World Masters.
Good on ya.
Stay thirsty my friends.
