2007 TCDA State Men’s Champion, Bob Haft and Women’s Champion Debbie Thompson

Spring 2007 www.twincitydarts.com Volume XXXI No. 1

See inside for more on the Annual TCDA Banquet and much more. Visit www.twincitydarts.com for more information on darts.

It seems like spring season just started yet here we at over half way through already. Time flies when you are having fun. It was a few short weeks ago that we held the state tournament at the Minneapolis Eagles Club. You’ll read all about it, with the results of all the events, as you browse through this issue of the Bull & Ton. So I won’t go into great detail here but I would like to recognize our 2007 men’s and women’s champions, Bob Haft and Deb Thompson. Congratulations to Bob and Deb and everyone who participated; once again it was a fun day. Thank you to all the members of the tournament committee for their efforts, the day seemed to run very smoothly. In addition to the committee I would also like to thank all the members who pitch in and help when it comes time to pack up at the end of the night. Led by Stan Wartman and Bruce Fink, there are too many to name you all here but I do want you all to know how much your efforts are appreciated. Since the Wednesday Pub Fun Triples League has relocated to the North St Paul Legion it has exploded to twelve teams, I think in large part to the efforts and recruiting of Karin Fisher, Jim Hunt, and Tim Wennermark. They have also done a great job of creating enthusiasm among that group as I have noticed a healthy population of Wednesday night darters at our many other league functions. Keep up the good work. I’d like to take a moment to say a few things about chalking and chalkers. First

of all, I can think of very few people who like to chalk and even fewer who can do so without an occasional mistake. Please be respectful of your chalker and grateful for their effort. Many people find it intimidating to stand up there in front of everyone, so please try to make their job a little easier. And chalkers please remember to stand still and face the board at all times. It can be distracting for the shooter if you are moving around or turning to look back towards the oche. If the shooter is not sure of the placement of a dart they will ask. Which brings me to one final point on this subject. To clear up a misunderstanding from the state tournament, our rules state that a chalker, IF ASKED, may tell a shooter what has been shot and or what score is left. A chalker MAY NOT tell a shooter what number or combination of numbers to shoot for. However, keep in mind that it is ultimately the responsibility of the shooter to know what they have left. If the chalker makes a mistake, see the first part of this paragraph. I’m afraid I’ve rambled long enough. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the season and I hope to see a good many of you at Dartmania next month. Until next time, good darts. Jeff Hafner Pub Fun Triples Mid-League

Tournament 2006 There were 28 of us who played in the seeded Luck of the Draw Tournament, held at the American Legion Post 39 in North Saint Paul, Minnesota on October 25th, 2006. Many thanks to Paul and Lori Cushing for running the event with the aid of their computer and projector, this gave everyone the opportunity to see where

they stood as the night progressed. We played a full blown double elimination, 2 out of 3 legs 501, format and finished at a reasonable hour. The TCDA kicked in $100.00 and the American Legion added $50.00, so we were able to pay down to 8th place, there by giving a taste of success to some people who may have been experiencing their first dart tournament.

For the most part the teams were drawn with one player from the green division (the more experienced players) and one from the yellow division (many new players).

There were no 180's but some good darts were thrown in many good matches. An unconventional 83 out by your’s truly took the high out pool (T16-17-D9).

Results 1st Place

Mark Lemere and Shea Troyer 2nd Place

Kevin Fitzgerald and Jim Hunt 3rd Place Ken Belko and Greg Eineke 4th Place Mike Hillesheim and Dave Burton 5th Place Karin Fischer and Goeff Woolston 6th Place Adam Little and Paul Noffke 7th Place Tom Eineke and Bruce Teich 8th Place Ashley Shopa and Peter Troyer

Footnote: We could have had an even bigger turn out if the following people would have played: Arlene Johnson (I’ll bet a lot of

you thought her real name was UFFDA), she was spending to much time singing the Johnson high school fight song, Alan Finnegan, he drew the parings but had to go to work later that night, Bruce Fink, late arrival, the Cushing’s were to busy with running the

tournament, Stan Wartman, was too busy explaining “Behind the Line“ score keeping circa from the 1970's to anyone who would listen and Norm Hodge who was patiently waiting to join in if the numbers came up odd. Jim Hunt, Pub Fun Triples Divisional Advisor.

Fall Classic Mid-Season Tournament

Over the years the TCDA has tried various ideas to boost attendance at the mid-season tournaments. Those of you who have attended in the past know that they are a lot of fun. This year we decided to try a combined tournament for all four classic leagues. Unfortunately mid season landed on Halloween this season which may have affected our turn out. The format was a seeded luck of the draw, 501, double elimination. We had twenty people enter with the AA and A players in one basket and the B and C players in another. The split was almost perfectly even and the pairing of one upper level player with one lower level player produced some very balanced teams and even competition.

Everyone in attendance seemed to have a good time and when the dust had settled it was the team of Michelle Schlecht and Jim Hand who battled back through the loser bracket, avenging their only loss on the way, and beating Dana Turgeon and Don Payne in the finals. The final match was loaded with excitement as Michelle and Jim needed the full six legs to put Dana and Don away. Finishing in third place was the team of Jim Hunt and Dave Welzant and taking fourth place were Bruce Fink and Mark Wegmiller. Bruce also laid claim to the high out with a very nice 113. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who attended and made it such a fun evening. For those of you who were unable to attend, I hope you will be able to join us next season and make the mid-season tournament bigger, better, and even more fun.

2007 Spring Captains/General

Membership Meeting

The 2007 Spring captains/general membership meeting was held on January 9th at the Minneapolis Eagles Club. Seeing as how it was the day before Charles “Fast Eddie” Stutz’s 90th birthday

we began the meeting with cake and best wishes to Charles for many more birthdays to come. As spry and quick

witted as he is, it is hard to believe that he could be that old and I can only hope that I am still as active when I get to be 90.

It was mentioned at the captains meeting that there has been some comments made about how late some of the matches are getting done. Please remember that the official start time is 7:15 and we encourage everyone to be warmed up and ready to go by the start time. It was also noted that being prompt to the oche when it is your turn will help in keeping the night from dragging on too late. We also talked about the collection of sponsorship fees. The league is sending invoices to the sponsoring pubs. If the pub does not respond, the captains will be informed and it is ultimately the responsibility of the captains to see to it that their sponsor fee is turned in to the league. Failure to do so could result in the loss of points. I’d like to thank Sharon for all her hard work once again in getting all the schedules ready. She does an amazing job considering all the last minute info and changes that get thrown at her. (I still owe you Sharon, and it won’t happen again.) Jeff Hafner

WHAT A SURPRISE! Former TCDA President Charles F. Stutz turned 90 on January 10, 2007. His children, Keith and Nina, threw a surprise birthday party for him at Broadway Station Pizza in northeast Minneapolis on January 13 and over 110 people attended. Charles was flabbergasted at the response – all of his neighbors, former co-workers from

Nabisco and Cream of Wheat, friends, relatives and so many darters it

was hard to count them all. Pizza was served buffet style all night and the bar was open throughout the evening. Everyone got to watch a wonderful video montage of Charles’ life, and many people who thought they knew him well found out a lot about him and his family they never would have imagined. Charles gave a nice speech about the wonderful life he has led, and thanked everyone for making it so. Current TCDA President Jeff Hafner gave a speech, as did Charles’ co-workers, neighbors and children. Everyone agreed that the two cakes tasted wonderful

(Costco, if anyone wants to know) and the family brought home what little leftovers there were.

There were so many gifts and cards and balloons from everyone that Charles spent weeks making phone calls personally thanking everyone! Lots of group pictures were taken and the entire event was professionally videotaped for the family, creating a wonderful and lasting memory for all of us. The family would like to personally thank those in the TCDA who attended the event, as well as everyone ever involved in the organization that has given our father so much pleasure over so many years. All of you mean so very much to him and we appreciate the opportunity you gave him to represent the TCDA for over 20 years. We hope you enjoyed yourselves, in celebrating Charles’ life, as much as we did. Nina Stutz

Charles 90th Birthday Party Pictures

The Masters We held the first Masters Tournament of the year on February 4th. Ten people showed up not all of whom actually played. The format was a round robin style where you played everyone else in 3 games. We played one game of 301, one game of 501, and a game of cricket. Total wins were reported back and tallied at the end to determine the champion. Ties will be determined by the head to head results. Congratulations to Chris Grieman who won the big prize. He more than tripled his entry fee. The darts were good and

everyone had a good time. There also seems to be some side bets going on after the tournament. Chris also won the 2nd Masters Tournament that was held March 18th. Can anyone stop this guy?

The next Masters Tournament is scheduled for April 22 and will be held at the Hat Trick Lounge. It will start at 12:30 p.m. Anyone interested in playing should sign up quickly. The monthly Masters Tournament is designed for high quality players that would like to hone their skills and play darts for cash. It is open to anyone. You do not need to be a TCDA member. Chris Grieman is mainly a soft tip player. Ideally, we would like to get up to 12 players each month. The top 8 will automatically qualify for the next month’s tournament. We have lowered the entry fee to $30 a person. The tournament pays out 100% of the fees collected. For more information on joining the Masters Tournament contact Jim Hunt (651) 777-1717 or Tim Wennermark (612) 845-5332.

2007 TCDA STATE DART TOURNAMENT

By: Greg Oldenkamp As dawn broke on a crisp Saturday morning, strange sounds could be heard emanating from the Eagles Club in Minneapolis. Could it be that someone left the popcorn machine on, or was it just the Tuesday night teams, still trying to hit x1? Fortunately it was neither, it was only

the sleepy members of the tournament committee (Johnny Hubbard, Jeff Hafner, Bruce Fink and myself) hauling and assembling standards, sweeping, moving

chairs and tables in the main room of the Eagles. By 9:00am a transformation had taken place as 14 standards stood ready, waiting for that special someone to throw the first darts at them. This was the 2007 annual State Dart Tournament. The day started out promising as we had 16 people show up for the 9:00 am Seniors (in order not to offend the winners, senior being 45 or older) Luck-of-the-Draw 501 tournament. Once everyone was fully awake, we had some spirited hard fought matches. Congratulations to Vince Arragoni and Steve Little as they won the event. Finishing a valiant second was the team of Marty Fitzgerald and Jim Hunt, with Paul Harfield and Dave Welzandt finishing 3rd. As the Seniors event was coming to it’s completion we began our second event of the day, the men’s and women’s 501

doubles. Unfortunately we did not have quite as strong a turnout as last year, but the competition was no less fierce. 14 teams in the men’s bracket and 5 teams in the women’s bracket fought for the 1st place trophies. On the men’s side we had some great darts, several T80’s and high outs were the highlight of many matches. When the dust settled, the team of Bobby Haft and Tom Tanberg Jr. were able to hoist the 1st place trophies. 2nd place went to Ron VonHoldt and Scott Ferrian, 3rd place to Rick Espinoza and Rick Anderson and 4th place to the brothers Blake, Dean and Dave. Although fewer matches were played, it was no less exciting on the women’s side. 1st place finishers for the women’s doubles were the team of Margo Ulrich and Laura Fandrick. 2nd place went to the team of Debbie Thompson and Crystal Ray. By 4:00 as everyone’s arms were loosened up, from throwing or hoisting beverages, it mattered not, for the marquee event was to begin, the road to being a State Champion. We had 27 men and 9 women sign up for the right to hoist “the” trophy. The early crowd favorite was certainly 90 year old Charles “Fast Eddie” Stutz, who was willing to trash talk with the best of them. But, by 8:00 only two individuals remained standing. Both were winners of the winners and never lost a match. Congratulations to both of this years State Champions, Bobby Haft a first time winner for the men, and Debbie Thompson, who gets to see her name engraved for the 2nd time. There were some great matches, including both championships, which all went down to the final darts. Congratulations to all finalists. 2nd place runner up in the men’s went to Rick Espinoza, 3rd to Ryan Loch, 4th to Scott Ferrian, and 5-6th went to Jim Luebke and Ron VonHoldt. On the women’s side Michelle Schlect was the 2nd place runner-up and last years State Champion Margo Ulrich finished 3rd.

Unfortunatley due to lack of entrants, we were not able to hold the men’s “B” flight tournament, an unfortunate turn as only 4 to 5 years back we were getting as many as 20-25 entrants. As the night wore on we began our final event, a Luck of the Draw tournament. By the stroke of midnight only 1 of the 9 original teams remained standing. Congratulations to Steve Little (a champion in both LOD events) and Jeff Stenger for 1st place. 2nd place runners up went to the team of Jeff Hafner and Bill McCarthy, 3rd place to Daryl Boldt and Joe Haller and 4th place to Paul Cook and Jim Hunt. Thus ended another State Championship. Special congratulations to our new 2007 State Champions, Bobby Haft and Deb Thompson, may you enjoy your reigns. Special recognition goes out to the following darters who posted T80’s in this year’s tournament, Joe Haller, Dean Blake, Dave Blake, Bob Haft and Vince Arrigoni. Special thanks and mention to all those that made the tournament a success. Sharon Lohmar for running the bracket boards, Margo Ulrich and Karin Fischer for running the registration, Jim Hunt for storing the standards for us, the rest of the team for the set up and take down process and although he was sunning himself in Cozumel to Mike Anderson who as tournament director did the initial event planning. I do have one final parting thought. If you’ve read this far and you attended the State, thank you for making it a great event. If you are reading this and did not attend, the question that I ask myself and wonder, is why not? We have very few tournaments in this organization, mid-leagues twice a year, the State and Dartmania. It would help to know why you chose not to attend. Did we not communicate and publicize the tournament enough, are you not

interested in tournaments, is it a bad date or is there a sense that only the same people will win? These are the things that the Board struggles with as we discuss, plan and reflect on the tournaments. For me tournaments go back to the early 80’s and my first years in the TCDA at the Castle Pub. I had no delusions about winning, but the tournaments were as much a social event as they were a competition. The chance to see individuals who were in different divisions or who shot on other nights far outweighed the fear of losing. The tournaments were simply fun. It was very disturbing to have to cancel this years “B” flight event. Not that many years back we had 25 or so entrants and this year 2. The event is open to all teams in B & C division, to Pub Fun and Gold divisions. Our goal is to make this and all events the best we can, and to do this we need your participation. I (and the board) encourage you to let us know what you think about these events, what we can do better, and most importantly what would it take to see you walk thru the doors. To end on a cheerful note, as this was a great tournament, a wise darter once said, “and a fun time was had by all.” See you at Dartmania, April 27-29th.

State Results

Senior’s Luck of the Draw 1st

Vince Arragoni/Steve Little 2nd

Marty Fitzgerald/Jim Hunt 3rd

Paul Harfield/Dave Welzandt

Women’s Doubles 501

1st

Margo Ulrich/Laura Fandrick 2nd

Debbie Thompson/Crystal Ray

Men’s Doubles 501

1st

Bobby Haft/Tom Tanberg Jr.

2nd

Ron VonHoldt/Scott Ferrian 3rd

Rick Espinoza/Rick Anderson 4th Dean Blake/Dave Blake

Women’s Singles 501 1st

Debbie Thompson 2nd

Michelle Schlect

3rd

Margo Ulrich

Men’s Open Singles 501

1st

Bobby Haft 2nd

Rick Espinoza

3rd

Ryan Loch 4th

Scott Ferrian 5th – 6th Jim Luebke/Ron VonHoldt

Luck of the Draw 1st

Steve Little/Jeff Stenger

2nd

Jeff Hafner/Bill McCarthy, 3rd Daryl Boldt/Joe Haller 4th Paul Cook/Jim Hunt

More pictures from the State Tournament

A FAREWELL TO SHIRLEY HELGESON…

by Margo Ulrich Passed away: December 14, 2006

It seems like eons ago when I first met Shirley. I met her and Lane at a bar called Easy Street West in St. Paul, and they were playing electronic darts. We immediately made a connection and became friends for life. She was very involved in the dart world and ,was the best promoter I know, for both electronic and steel dart associations. She was very instrumental in getting me involved and playing steel darts. We played many tournaments together in and out of town. She also was the one who introduced me to the love of my life, Bill Ulrich. Shirley & Bill co-chaired electronic and steel tournaments together. Back then the participation was fantastic and I know she helped many people make the transition from electronic to steel very easy. After Bill and I got married and started a family, our dart playing slowed down just a bit but my friendship always remained close with Shirley A few years ago Shirley was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and she fought as much as she could fight. I feel blessed to have been her friend. I feel blessed to have been by her side along with her children when she left us. I know there must be darters out there who were touched by Shirley in some way and will

have memories of love and friendship to carry with them always…….as I will.

2007 Spring Mid-Season By Sam Gamgee

It was Tuesday night March 6th and the dart room at the Hat Trick Lounge was beginning to fill. The occasion was the 2007 Spring Classic League Mid-Season tournament. Again this season it was a combined tournament for all four classic divisions. The turn out was some what disappointing considering the number of teams involved. There were 18 players who entered, only five from AA and A divisions, but the competition was far from disappointing. The format was luck of the draw 501, two out of three, double elimination. The AA and A players were seeded in the draw, and it was obvious from the start that there were no pushovers here. Bruce Fink laid an early claim to the high out pot with a 72 out that stood for quite some time. Late in the evening, after first checking to see if his 73 left would qualify, Dave Blake stepped to the line and calmly snatched it away. In addition to winning high out, Dave and his partner Mark Wojciak laid claim to the top honors. The TCDA added $150 to the payout which made for some nice prize money. The top four teams were: 1st Dave Blake & Mark Wojciak 2nd Brian Havnen & Ray Varela 3rd Tyler Pinks & Paul Noffke 4th Brian Wegleitner & Steve Little

Thanks to Mike and Chris Fish and the crew at the Hat Trick for hosting the tournament. They did a great job of having the room ready for us and also set out a nice snack tray for the darters.

ANDERSON & KARELS “TAKE THE GOLD” IN GOLD DIVISION

MID-LEAGUE TOURNEY The Gold Division Mid-League Tournament was held on March 8th at the Hat Trick Lounge in St Paul. After a great evening of good friends getting together and close matches played, the following darters emerged as winners taking a share of the purse: 1st Place Mark Anderson & Mike Karels 2nd Place Kevin Christensen & Daryl Boldt 3rd Place Peter Christensen & David Pickett 4th Place Brian Corradi & Crystal Ray Special kudos go to Kevin Christensen for taking the High Out of 76. And a great time was had by all!! We’re looking forward to the next one!

Wagon changes hands, not direction

Terry Keegan is taking over the reins at the Little Wagon. The owner of Keegan’s says the downtown Minneapolis hangout, which changed hands twice in the past year, just needs a little love. He plans to spruce up the space and add some influence from hid Irish restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis. The dinner menu of turkey dinners, meatloaf and burgers will be left alone. “We’re going to keep it the same as much as we can,” says Keegan, who is hoping to open before the end of the month. “But add fish and chips.”

TCDA Elections It’s that time again. The TCDA Election is coming up. The “Call for Nominations” has gone out. If you would like to run for a position on the Board of Directors of the TCDA, contact Jeff Hafner at vagabond54_13@yahoo.com to submit your name. The following positions are up for election this year: President Treasurer Members at Large, total of 3