Dartoid’s Column

April 1, 2000
Column 86
Hanoi, Vietnam

One of the dumber things I’ve done in my life occurred almost thirty years ago, the night a ping-pong ball with my birthdate on it popped out of a bin. To “celebrate” several buddies and I sort of rearranged the interior of a bar in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. …

March 1, 2000
Column 85
Good-bye “Mr. Bean”

It’s been some six years now that I have been writing this column. My subject has always been darts. Today must be different.

For those of you who follow this page and who might occasionally find reason to smile in my words, please forgive me this one …

February 1, 2000
Column 84
So You Want to be a Darts Millionaire?

I nearly puked the night before the Super Bowl. I turned on Regis Philban’s new show to be blasted with a full HOUR of questions dedicated to professional football trivia. Yuck! But THAT wasn’t what nearly bought my shoes my lunch. What …

February 1, 2000
Column 83
The Coin Toss

When one considers the lengths that the average darter will go to when searching for something — ANYTHING — to give themselves an advantage in our sport, it is downright mysterious that one of the most critical aspects of the game has, so far, escaped special scrutiny. …

January 1, 2000
Column 82
The Mother of All Parties

My plans for welcoming the new millennium were set twenty-six years ago in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In fact, when the beer ran out and as the sun began to cast its glow across the snow on the first morning of 1974, my room mates and I …

January 1, 2000
Column 81
Beware of Dogs Bearing Notes

It’s been a week now since my wife left town. Marylou, always organized, shipped her shoes ahead in a big box and then hopped a flight to Houston. Her sister lives there. They were gonna go shopping. Probably for shoes.

My dog, Colby, and I …

November 1, 1999
Column 80
Grand Rapids, Michigan

I guess my friend Bruce Gerber thinks I owe him an apology. It’s been well over a year since we met up in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a night of darts.It’s taken me until now to put pen to paper. But that’s Bruce’s fault. It was only …

October 1, 1999
Column 79
Virginia Beach, Virginia

It’s been about two years now since I left my home on Cape Cod to relocate to Virginia Beach — and, as unlikely as it may seem, I can’t say I much miss the place. The tourist crush on Cape Cod in the summertime just plain sucks. …

September 1, 1999
Column 78
Santa Claus Throws in Thailand

Without a doubt, the dye was cast the instant Ville Pitkalahti’s message appeared on my computer screen. “You come to Thailand. I show you good darts. We go to Lucky Draw.” Hmmm…

Now, I don’t know about you, but I know a challenge when I …

September 1, 1999
Column 77
Blueberry Hill

It was in Sports Illustrated. I swear it was. In part (and I paraphrase), it read: “While the quirks and cliche’s… are undeniable, it is also undoubtedly a sport, no more eccentric than (others). It places a premium on endurance and precision and calls for (the) application of …