{"id":5517,"date":"2014-01-06T18:29:24","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T18:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2014\/01\/column-hr104-some-of-todays-professionals-have-short-memories\/"},"modified":"2024-02-14T22:24:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T22:24:18","slug":"column-hr104-some-of-todays-professionals-have-short-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2014\/01\/column-hr104-some-of-todays-professionals-have-short-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Column #HR104 Some of today’s professionals have short memories"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Monday, January 6, 2014
\nColumn HR104
\nSome of today’s professionals have short memories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the deal.\u00a0 Because this “new and improved” website was still under construction over the holidays you missed some things during the changeover. \u00a0For example, you missed the always eagerly anticipated annual Toeing the Oche Christmas column.<\/p>\n

That would have included the singing of \u201cDeck the Halls with Balls from Holly\u201d and \u201cRockin’ Round the Christmas Tree\u201d but no\u00a0 \u201cHark and the Harold Angels\u201d\u00a0singing\u00a0 about\u00a0\u201cdawning their gay apparel.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0A&E we ain\u2019t.<\/p>\n

You missed\u00a0eggnog with the suggestion of mistletoe \u201chung everywhere with care in hopes that a hottie soon will be there.\u201d For dart players the mistletoe should have been pinned to the backside bottom of their darting shirt to be seen and acted upon by dart organizations\u00a0everywhere, PDC excluded.\u00a0\u00a0You also missed the ODC’s observation that \u201cbad boys get nothing for Christmas while bad girls get whatever they desire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PDC Ladbrokes World Championship is over with a new world champion crowned.\u00a0 Prior to the first dart The Lord of Pattaya axed, \u201cCan anyone but van Gerwen or Taylor win?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0With apologies to Bob Dylan – who himself ought to apologize for his lousy voice that has captivated millions of dopers – “…the others are blowing in the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unless you subscribed to the PDC live stream you couldn\u2019t have watched a more exciting event – with more twists and turns than San Francisco\u2019s Lombard Street. The ODC relented and signed up, but not without problems. Initially \u00a0the PDC site wouldn\u2019t accept his email address. \u00a0His email brought the following response…<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease try subscribing again from the main page as we have now deleted your email ID from the database.”\u00a0 Signed, \u201cBest regards, Guru.\u201d \u00a0Sounds like a NSA deal.<\/p>\n

Still unsuccessful, the ODC emailed…<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Guru. I STILL cannot subscribe. For reasons that elude me my email address is unacceptable. Merry Christmas. \u00a0Are you same people that are running America’s health care sign-up site? Just axing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muru answered (Muru this time – don’t know why).\u00a0 And the third time was the charm.\u00a0\u00a0 Had it not worked then Guru (and Muru) would have received…<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay guys – you seem to be having a problem with my sign up. How about\u00a0 this, can you get me a chicken vindaloo, tandoori chicken and some garlic naan?\u201d<\/p>\n

The new PDC World Champion is – insert drum roll – Michael van Gerwen by 7-4 (sets) over Peter \u201cSnake Bite\u201d Wright. With the win van Gerwen collected \u00a3250,000 and the Sid Waddell Trophy. \u00a0He also displaces Phil Taylor at the top of the Order of Merit. Ole\u2019 Snakebite did okay for himself with a nifty \u00a3100,000 for the runner up spot.\u00a0 Of course, millions are asking the\u00a0 question, \u201cDoes he go out in public made-up like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Phil Douglas Taylor? \u00a0He was send packing by PDC Youth Champion Michael Smith 4-3. Prior to the match Taylor said, \u201cI\u2019m probably playing the best darts of my career.\u201d \u00a0Hmm. Maybe not.<\/p>\n

Taylor started fast taking the first set 3-0. He got to \u00a03-2, just one set from victory. Smith would tie it at 3 sets with a 3-0 blanking which included two breaks of Taylor\u2019s throw.\u00a0\u00a0The final set was a classic with Taylor missing 4 darts to move up 2 legs to nil. Smith drew level at 2 with an 11-darter which forced a tie-break where a player must win by 2 legs.\u00a0 Smith, up 3-2, hit a 180 and then a 128-check on the bull for the win.<\/p>\n

It was a glorious event with more entertainment per dollar than a \u201cmonkey with 28 feet of rope.\u201d\u00a0 It was not always this way. When the forerunner of the PDC, the WDC, staged their first \u201cWorld Championship\u201d it was at the Circus Tavern, 20 years ago.\u00a0\u00a0George Santayana could have been taking to current PDC professionals when he \u00a0said, \u201cThose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”\u00a0 Some of today’s professionals have short memories.<\/p>\n

Not Mr. John Lowe, who wrote…<\/p>\n

\u201cI have received messages saying ‘well done’ on the achievements made by the PDC.\u00a0 Twenty years ago at the Circus Tavern we only had 24 players.\u00a0 That \u00a0was all we could find to join us – it should have been 32. Chris Johns and Mike Gregory had deflected back to the BDO with cold feet. SKY TV was threatening to pull the plug if any more players left. It was a rocky start. We played a round robin format, not entirely a success but that was all we could do. It was a momentous happening for myself.\u00a0 I was the reigning BDO World Champion but took the stance I did with\u00a013 other players. I was banned from all\u00a0BDO events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining those 13 players were American players Jim Watkins, Gerald Verrrier , Dave Kelly, Jerry Umberger, Sean Downs, Larry Butler and Steve Brown.\u00a0 Without them joining there would be no PDC. The PDC has bad memories as they continue to give the \u201crigid digit\u201d to America.\u00a0 The first players association fell apart\u00a0 mainly because it was an exclusive group with only a couple of Yanks invited to join and no Eric Bristow.<\/p>\n

For Mr. Lowe the commitment was bigger than anyone\u00a0 knew…<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I made this public, Peter Dyke, the head of Embassy Productions, offered me 20,000-plus and an Embassy road show tour if I would play in the BDO championships the next three years. I decided my principles and the livelihood of my fellow professionals was the reason I made the decision to leave the BDO. This offer – that can only be described as a bribe – would haunt me the rest of my life, had I accepted. \u00a0I have looked back and wondered if I made the right decision.\u00a0 I found out over time that manipulation of events and positions for certain players did not change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA few players who had verbally abused myself and the breakaway group have benefited enormously. I know it should be in the past, but it\u2019s \u00a0important we do not forget. If 24 players had not played that first PDC world championship it\u2019s possible we would not be enjoying the Ladbroke.com championship today.<\/p>\n

The ODC got a holiday note from a female friend…<\/p>\n

\u201cA Facebook friend came up to me at a blind draw.\u00a0 He said he saw Howie Reed name as having read\/commented on one of my posts. I explained how long we had been friends. He looked at me funny and said, ‘We didn\u2019t think he was real. We thought Dartoid made him up.’\u00a0 (Dartoid responds: \u201cSerioulsy?\u00a0 Who the hell would ever want to create anything that even remotely resembled Howie Reed!)<\/p>\n

Stay thirsty my friends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s the deal. Because this “new and improved” website was still under construction over the holidays you missed some things during the changeover. For example, you missed the always eagerly anticipated annual Toeing the Oche Christmas column. <\/p>\n

That would have included the singing of \u201cDeck the Halls with Balls from Holly\u201d and \u201cRockin’ Round the Christmas Tree\u201d but no \u201cHark and the Harold Angels\u201d singing about \u201cdawning their gay apparel.\u201d A&E we ain\u2019t. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Howie Reed is back with his January column: Some of today's professionals have short memories #darts","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[17],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":3006,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg",495,520,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18-286x300.jpg",286,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg",495,520,false],"large":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg",495,520,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg",495,520,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg",495,520,false],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-18.jpg",43,45,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Dartoid","author_link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/author\/dartoid\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Here\u2019s the deal. Because this \"new and improved\" website was still under construction over the holidays you missed some things during the changeover. For example, you missed the always eagerly anticipated annual Toeing the Oche Christmas column. That would have included the singing of \u201cDeck the Halls with Balls from Holly\u201d and \u201cRockin' Round the…","authors":[{"term_id":17,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"howie-reed","display_name":"Howie Reed","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/111howie.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/111howie.jpg"},"first_name":"Howie","last_name":"Reed","user_url":"http:\/\/www.dartoidsworld.com","description":"Astute, often controversial, and always humorous, the Old Dart Coach, Howie Reed (a former rodeo cowboy and advertising executive), is heralded as the Dean of Darts Chroniclers - the most prolific and widely followed writer ever about our sport. He goes back decades with the legends and knows where the skeletons are buried (just ask any of the ADO and WDF old-timers!). Here are four well-known facts about the Old Dart Coach: 1) he is a Republican, 2) he loves the ladies, 3) he can drink most anybody under the table, and 4) he throws darts as bad as Dartoid."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6419,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517\/revisions\/6419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5517"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}