Week 1:

With some last-minute scrapping and scraping, we were able to field a team of six this week.  Fred delayed his retirement for one week (at least...) to bail us out, and Glenn has ended his long retirement to rejoin the squad, and serve as our sherpa for the season.  If we can just re-sign Tom Belknap, we could round out the full team.  

Anyway, with Dave and Darian pulling the "parental shuffle," and a videographer on hand to document the festivities, we hit the ground running.  Unfortunately, we weren't quite ready for the altitude, and we huffed and puffed our way to only two wins (Rich & Andrew) in S501.  But, we quickly dug in our crampons, locked in our carabiners, shouted out "On Belay!," and quickened our ascent.  Darian / Fred played a Cricket / 501 doubleheader, and walked away with three points.  Then Rich / Andrew split some sloppy Cricket, but Dave / Glenn swept, putting us up 8-6.  In the final two game, Glenn / Dave dropped their D501 match, but Rich / Andrew put up a classic game, sandwiching back-to-back-to-back AS point rounds with a fast double in and double out.  When it was all said and done, The Ship topped-out in a cliffhanger worthy of Gabe Walker to secure a 10-8 victory.

Props:
Fred & Glenn -  For helping us to avoid an avalanche.
Dave & Darian - For carving a trail along 2nd Ave.
Rich & Andrew - For tying a pair of figure-three knots.

Week 2:

Even with a limited roster, we put our money where our mouths were in the early-going, as Glenn, Mindy and Rich reeled off three wins to start the night.  John and Andrew lost two tough double-out battles, and with the final game forfeit we finished S501 tied 3-3.

When Cricket started, we once again proved that talk is cheap, as Mindy / Glenn started out with a sweep of their two games.  John / Andrew played two very close games in round two, but came up short.  Rich played "Canadian"-style in round three, and was in both games right up until the bull, but also dropped both, leaving The Ship down 5-7 after Cricket.

Mindy / Glenn jumped out to a tremendous lead to start D501.  In fact, down to nearly 100 points before the other team doubled-in, there was almost consideration of a midget-tossing.  But we stalled on the double, and they slowly caught up and finally hit a shocking double-out to steal a win.  Rich continued his Canadian ways in round three and lost, but John / Andrew had a lip-smacking good time in the last game and posted a win.  The final score was a 7-11 loss for the Ship, but an impressive effort nonetheless.

Props:
Glenn & Mindy -  For talking the talk and walking the walk.

Week 3:

We had a good run in S501, banking some chips with wins from Rich, Andrew, John and Darian.  With a quick 4-2 lead, things were looking positive.  We extended the led early with a sweep from John / Glenn to start Cricket, followed by a win from Rich / Andrew.  But Rich / Andrew dropped the second game of their round, starting The Ship on a run of bad luck.  Mindy / Darian dropped the final two games of Cricket, cutting The Ship's lead to 7-5.

But the run of bad luck followed us in to D501, as Glenn / Mindy jumped out to their second big lead in as many weeks, only to again get shockingly caught.  Rich / Darian followed this with another loss, and only a strong finish from Andrew / John could turn our bad luck and salvage a 9-9 "push" for the night.

Props:
Andrew -  For winning games like he was spinning The Wheel.

Week 4:

Things got off to a rough start though, as only Rich managed a win in S501.  John's game was especially tough, as his opponent threw a Ton-80 against him, slapping him like a flounder.

But The Ship came roaring back in Cricket, with two sweeps in the first two rounds (Rich / Andrew and Michael / John).  With those four points, we crawled back into the game to make the score 5-7 after two rounds, and showing we were no fluke.

But in D501, The Ship snagged its line.  Rich / Darian started off the round, and were barely able to crack 40 points in any round, leading to a loss in game one.  Michael / Mindy came back and won in round two, on a fantastic 87-out for Michael.  But Andrew / John could not repeat their performance from last week to salvage a tie, and The Ship dropped the night 11-7. 

Props:
Michael -  Three wins and a big out in his return.

Week 5:

The Ship successfully pushed off from the dock with a come-back win by Rich, who nailed an 81-out for a shocking win.  Michael was ahead but dropped his game in a stunner, but that was followed by wins form both Andrew and Dave.  So, despite two forfeit games, The Ship managed to hold on for a 3-3 tie after S501.

In a cunning strategic move, The Ship skipped the first round of Cricket, giving away two points.  And when Rich / Andrew dropped their first game, things looked dire.  But Rich / Andrew came back strong to take game two, followed by a sweep from Michael / Dave in the final round.  So, once again The Ship had managed a tie, 6-6 after Cricket, with the chance for a stunning upset. 

But, it was not to be.  Rich / Andrew had a tough game to start D501, and fell like Wile E Coyote off of a cliff.  And in the final game of the night, Michael / Dave also fell, leaving The Ship with an unsatisfying 6-12 loss.

Props:
Two Boots - For awesome pizza.

Week 6:

This week, The Ship had an advantage all night because we were playing six on five.  The first game of the night was a forfeit win for Rich, followed by a dominant win from Michael.  Andrew and John both had good games, but lost, yet neither came close to Mindy's bad beat.  Mindy charged out to a huge lead, and threw rounds of 119, 140 and 100, yet couldn't close out for the win. With Darian's win in the final game, The Ship had chopped the pot in S501 with a 3-3 tie, but the big hands were about to be played.

We started taking down pots right away in Cricket, with Michael / Darian starting with a sweep.  Rich / Andrew had their fourth split of the season in game two, which was followed by a Mindy / John sweep in game three.  The four wins put The Ship up 7-5 with the blinds going up heading into D501.

The hot night continued as Mindy / Darian won the first game of D501 with Mindy doubling out.  Michael / John followed with a win in game two, and Rich / Andrew pulled a royal flush in the last game, with a first-dart in, followed by a pair of AS rounds, and capped by a quick out.  The D501 sweep gave is a strong 13-5 win for the night.

Props:
Mindy - Mindy the Master went all-in and won the Main Event.

Week 7:

Rich started off the night with a loss in S501, in a very close game.  But not only did we not let this dampen our spirits, this was the last game (that we played) that we'd lose all night.  Andrew and Michael followed up with quick wins in their S501 games.  And (eventually) Dave would follow with a win, maintaining his optimism in the face of an opponent that was routinely throwing tons in warm-ups.  So, despite two forfeit losses, The Ship was tied 3-3 after the first round.

Rich / Andrew kicked off Cricket with two wins in which they led from wire to wire in both games.  Michael / Dave followed with a sweep of their own, which meant that, despite two more forfeit losses, The Ship was leading 7-5 after two rounds.

Rich / Andrew wasted no time in getting in to start D501, and with some clutch throws from Andrew and an unconventional 20 out of six - double-7, The Ship had another man-down win under our belts.  Michael / Dave made the final game very interesting by jumping out to a quick lead and then holding on as Dave snuck in a double-1 to finish the game and the match.

In the end, we had four players, won nine of ten games, and scored a total of 11 points to win the night 11-7.  A truly optimistic night.

Props:
Andrew / Dave / Michael - For three perfect nights.

Week 8:

Early on, it looked as though The Ship would get no action on this particular evening.  Rich set the tone with a kick-off loss, despite having practiced for nearly two hours before the match.  Andrew and Dave followed with losses, but John broke the streak with a win to impress his cheering section.  Mindy jumped out to a big lead, but ended up not feeling it and lost a drawn-out double-out contest.  When Michael dropped the last game, The Ship found itself down 5-1 after S501, but we were ready to unroll our power darts.

Rich / Andrew led off Cricket against a tough team with a hard-fought split.  The money-team of Dave / Michael pulled off another sweep to stay perfect in Cricket on the season, including a record-setting game with over 300 points scored.  John / Mindy started off strong, including a C3 from Mindy to win game one, and with their split The Ship had closed the gap to 7-5.

Rich / Andrew again ran into a buzz-saw to start D501.  But Mindy doubled in and out in game two, as Mindy / John posted another win on the night.  Michael / Dave started off with a 93-on, which gave them just enough cushion to hold on for a win.  With the two wins in D501, The Ship managed to pull off a dramatic comeback and secure a mildly satisfying 9-9 tie.

Props:
Mindy - For mailing darts into the bull like French Letters.
Karma - For handing out some Car-ma.

Week 9:

The night started off on a fairly regular note, with Michael posting yet another win.  Rich followed by pulling out a win, just by the hair of his chinny chin chin(itz).  And suddenly, The Ship's sails were full and we were flying the spinnaker, as Andrew posted a win, followed by John (including a Ton-16).  Mindy kept flying right along as she has for the last few weeks, and with a forfeit win in the last round, The Ship suddenly had a 6-0 lead a a lot of breathing room.

Michael / John led off Cricket with another win, but had a slight bobble in the second game and lost, proving that the night wouldn't be a complete push over.  But Rich / Andrew got things back on track with a sweep, and Mindy / Darian closed out the round with a two-on-one sweep, giving The Ship a very comfortable 11-1 lead.

Darian / John played all the way down to double-1 but lost on the bubble.  Michael / Mindy huffed and puffed with a Ton-10 start, before blowing the house down in an easy victory.  In the final game, Rich / Andrew played two-on-one and coasted to a win, and The Ship blew away the competition with a 15-3 win.

Props:
Andrew - A perfect night, and that's not blowing smoke.

Week 10:

Early on, things looked good for The Ship, as John, Dave and Mindy all brought home wins.  So, after S501 we had 3 points, and frankly at that point we had a much better time playing "Pirates of the Caribbean" pinball and Ski Ball.

In the second round, Dave absolutely destroyed the Kracken, Andrew was mackin' on Stewie mini-pinball and killing Big Bucks, and John sank about fifteen ships.  Unfortunately, only Fred / Mindy were able to win a game of darts, making the score 4-8 after two rounds.

At this point, things got really ugly, as broken bottles were strewn about the bar.  Stuffed full of hot dogs and tater tots, The Ship was barely able to stand, let alone bounce up and down on a trampoline while trying to hit a dart board.  We were swept in the final round, making the final score 4-14, but just check out the pinball machines to see the important scores for the night.

Props:
Fred - For filling in at the last minute.
Dawgs on Park - Pricey, but decent (corn)dogs.

Week 11:

• A nice night out playing darts
• Karaoke Jovi, and "Eye of the Tiger"
• A win over the first-place team 

And lucky for me, I got all of these presents for my birthday.

Out of the shoot, things looked good for The Ship.  Rich lost the first game (crappy birthday...), but The Ship followed with five straight wins.  Andrew, Fred, John, Darian and Mindy all came through with solid games, including over 400 AS points in total.  The Ship took a bit of a stumble in Cricket, as we only pulled off two wins from Fred / Andrew in the whole round.  Rich / Andrew were swept in the first two games, and Mindy / Darian were livin' on a prayer in their round, and they lived for the fight with the other team.  The Ship held on to what it got, and we were holding a 7-5 lead after Cricket.

With our opponents comforted in the fact that we were filling in the score sheet correctly, we headed into D501.  Fred / John lost a shocker, but when the clock struck midnight, we unwrapped some wins.  Mindy / Darian gave it a shot, and won in the second game.  And in the final round, Andrew brought home the win with a double-4 out, securing a win for Rich / Andrew and an 11-7 win for The Ship.

Props:
Darian - Two wins, and her first AS points of the season.

Week 12:

The night opened with Rich continuing a rocky few weeks with a loss in S501.  The good news, however, is that this was the last game we would lose all night.  Andrew and Fred followed up with wins, and Michael was tres bon in his return to the squad, posting a win and some AS points.  We took to forfeit wins to close out the round, and make the score 5-1 early on.

Rich / Andrew played Cricket early on, and pulled off a sweep in two excitingly close games.  Fred / John swept their games, as well, including three R-5's by John, who was completely on fire.  With another two forfeit wins for Mindy / Darian, The Ship held an 11-1 lead after Cricket.

Our opponents bravely chose to play the last round, in which they only had three players, all 2-on-1 games.  While ballsy, the move didn't quite work out, as The Ship took all three games and finished the night with a 17-1 win.

Props:
John - Three wins, 400 AS points. Do you need a drink? Yeah, like a spider needs a fly.

Week13 :

Paging Dr. Ship!  Paging Dr. Ship!  This week, the Ship rolled its gurney to the UES to look in on another patient and administer some bad medicine.  So stay out of the rain to avoid the flu, and take two aspirin and call The Ship in the morning.  Stat!

We started the night a little under the weather.  Rich and Andrew turned their heads and coughed up two losses to start the night.  But The Ship made a miraculous recovery by taking the next four game (including one forfeit win, meaning we were playing the night six-on-five), to give us a 4-2 lead.

Left for dead in the first game of Cricket, Dave / Michael were revived by an EPI shot, which allowed them to hit an unprecedented number of bulls for a come-back win.  They dropped game two, though, and Fred / Mindy were swept in the second round, despite Fred going through sets of darts like Keith Richards goes through blood.  Rich / Andrew were handed the last two games in forfeit wins, and The Ship led 7-5 after Cricket.

In another gift, Rich / Andrew played 2-on-1 to start D501, and they narrowly avoided a loss.  Michael / Dave lost for the first time all season in round two.  In the final game, Fred / Mindy came away with a huge win to end the night and give The Ship an 11-7 win.

Props:
Mindy - For earning a PhD in doubling.

Week 14:

Like the 2006 Minnesota Twins, The Ship never held first place in the subdivision until the final week.  But of course, that's the only time that counts. 

So, clear a space on the mantle for a trophy and clear a space on your calendars for Awards Night, where we will triumphantly claim our rightful awards.

Of course, per NYDO Rules Section 3(12):

If a team wins it's subdivision or division, at the minimum, it will be moved up to the next division. The teams from C move up to B, and the teams from B move up to A.

But that's another issue for another day.  Today, we celebrate.  Tomorrow, we prepare for the playoffs, where we will hold home-bar advantage throughout.