DARTS fan fell through an ice covered lake and drowned

A DARTS fan fell through an ice covered lake and drowned in the freezing waters after cheering on his idols at the World Darts Championships at the Lakeside Country Club today.

The married man in his 40s had been drinking into the early hours with pals after the televised matches finished and decided to walk back to his hotel after being advised not to drive.

It is believed he lost his bearings in the freezing conditions and wandered on to the lake not realising it was iced over and covered in snow and fell through after 20 yards.

His wife woke in the morning at the world famous country club in Frimley Green, Surrey, and when she realised he had not returned raised the alarm and the grounds were searched.

Tragic

The man was spotted under the ice close to the bank and fire crews and police raced to the scene and recovered the body and paramedics tried to revive him on the way to hospital.

However waiting doctors pronounced the tragic darts fan dead.

It is understood the husband regularly visited the World Darts Championships which are currently being televised on BBC with a group of pub pals and their wives.

His body was found in the frozen ornamental lake nine hours after he was last seen alive at 2am walking back.

A Lakeside Country Club source said: "The lake is only about 20 yards away from the door and he must have walked out and straight on to the lake thinking that he was walking on land.

"He walked in an arc shape judging by the footprints and was nearly back on dry land when he went through. The ice must have given away and in those temperatures you won't survive long.

"It must have been about -8C to -10C last night and drink had been taken and tragically he could not get out."

Fire Brigade Watch Manager Karl Bowen said he was told the victim had been drinking while watching the darts.

He said: "Apparently he had been told not to drive his car which was parked and had then gone to walk it instead and the last time that anyone recalls seeing him alive was at about 2am.

"The body was so close to the side of the lake that police had already pulled him out - all we could do was help put him on a stretcher and get him into an ambulance for him to be worked on.

"The man had taken a walk and may have not known there is a lake there because it was frozen and covered in snow.

"It is about 20 yards from the back of the venue where the darts are held."

The victim, who has not yet been named, was rushed to Frimley Park Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Lakeside Professional World Darts Championships spokesman Robert Holmes confirmed the man was a fan enjoying the world famous tournament and added: "It is tragic and the weather played a big part.

"He was a darts fan but that's all I know - I have no details of name age or anything."

The man had been watching the televised second round matches — four of which were played yesterday evening.

During the evening, Martin Phillips beat Paul Carter 4-2, Martin Adams beat Daryl Gurney 4-1, Garry Thompson beat Martin McCloskey 4-1 and Scott Waites beat John Henderson 4-1.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said an investigation into the tragedy was under way.

He added: "Surrey Police can confirm that the body of a man has been recovered from the lake at Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green after we were alerted to the discovery at about 10.45am Thursday."

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2799115/Darts-fan-dies-in-freezing-lake.html#ixzz0c2aKfxOq

Jenkins eyes a masterpiece

TERRY JENKINS is ready to give up darts for his love of ART.

The Bull will hang up his arrows in a couple of years to go back full-time to his passion for antiques and property.

Hereford thrower Jenkins has collected paintings since the age of 14, run a furniture business and since become a wealthy property tycoon. No wonder he hardly has time for the sport he calls just a hobby. (full article...)

Taylor's in a blind rage

FURIOUS Phil Taylor had an angry backstage bust-up after blasting a rival for trying to BLIND him.

The 14-time world champion accused Mervyn King of throwing “over him” during their Whyte & Mackay Premier League match in Newcastle.

Taylor, 48, refused to even look at King after the match during their TV interview and then clashed off-stage with the current league leader. (full article...)

King aims to blow away rivals

By PHIL LANNING

Published: 10 Feb 2009
rigTeaserImage
MERVYN KING sparked outrage by claiming AIR CONDITIONING blew his darts off course in a World Championship semi-final — and now he’s ready to blow away his Premier League rivals.

Nearly man King has missed out in two BDO Lakeside world finals to Aussie Tony David in 2002 and Andy Fordham in 2004.

But sandwiched between them was a semi defeat to Raymond van Barneveld and his outburst that the air con had ruined his game.

King, 42, is much more mild-mannered these days and is finding his Whyte & Mackay debut a breeze, hitting the top of the table after the opening clashes with an 8-1 thrashing of Wayne Mardle.

He said: "I'm better than I used to be but I definitely speak my mind, I don't hold back. I don't take any s***.

"It was a fact that the air con ruined my game against Barney in that semi-final and I made that blatantly clear.

"I certainly won't be a pushover and my rivals know that. I haven't done the business in a big final yet but I will do. I'm a fighter.

“It’s very early days in the league but it was a good feeling to make such a good start in Liverpool last week.

“Wayne’s a difficult bloke to play against because he can be a world beater when he wants to be, so you have to prepare to play him at his very best.

“It’s nice to lead the table but to be honest it would feel even better if I was leading it at week 12 or 13.

“Consistency is the key in the Premier League, you can’t lose that many matches so that’s what makes this Thursday in Edinburgh so vital. If I can get off to a good start with two wins I will establish myself in the top four early on.

“It’s all about making the top four. Once you get into the semi-finals anything can happen."

Now he faces World No 2 James Wade in Edinburgh tomorrow night — hoping that Scotland brings him more glory.

He added: “The crucial thing for me is that I peak at the right times during the league.

"I have good consistency but I have times when I play really well. If I can do that against the big players then I know I can do well.

“I’m certainly not in the Premier League to just make up the numbers. I qualified on merit as World No 6 and I reckon I can make the play-offs. If I play to my best ability in the semi-finals I can beat anyone.

“But firstly I need to just make the top four. If I can win in Edinburgh then I’ll stay top of the league and I’ll be very happy.

“James is a very tough player, you don’t become world No 2 by a fluke. He’s not at his beest right now but he’s still a very hard player to beat.

"But I’m feeling good and I’ve got the game to win.

“I certainly won’t let the air con upset me anyway. I’m a much cooler character these days." (story source...)

TED HANKEY reckons Phil Taylor is dead scared of facing him on the oche.

From SOD Hearn interview:

Q: Mr Hearn, Why are you against the head to head between Hankey & Taylor?
A: I don't see how it can harm the PDC in any way. Even if you see the result as a
foregone conclusion it would still reflect positively.

• I’m not against a head-to-head – where did you get that idea from?
I’m in favour of it as I think it’s an easy game for Phil and easy money too.
Unfortunately, that’s what TV companies also think too; that it’s a mismatch and not
worth the money. Phil Taylor doesn’t play these type of games unless he gets well
rewarded.
I should add that we offered Ted Hankey £220,000 “Winner-Takes-All” with Phil
Taylor putting up £125,000 and Ted putting up £95,000, but funnily enough this got
turned down.
Seriously, if a TV company came to us with an acceptable fee, we would do this
match in a heartbeat.

BDO champ ‘The Count’ Hankey wants a showdown with his opposite number from the rival PDC.

Hankey, a big fan of Count Dracula and horror films, splashed out £2,000 on a second-hand funeral hearse yesterday to ferry the Prince of Dartness around in style.

Hankey declared: “For some reason Taylor is running away and does not seem keen on facing me.

“He’s scared. He must have seen me hit 42 180s on my way to the world title and perhaps that’s frightened him.

“Phil’s not big on his maximums. He knows that I have the game to beat him.

“I have even bought a new car which we can put him in the back of once I have finished with him.

“I love the car. I am going to get it customised and maybe even put a coffin in the back.

“I’ll drive it everywhere, to exhibitions and tournaments.”

Initial talks are underway to stage a mouth-watering match — the best of 13 sets — to decide the undisputed king of tungsten.

Hankey insists he will play Taylor any place, anywhere and any time — well almost, as long as it is after sunset. (story source...)

Phil: Blame One Dart for my wins

I WOKE up very tired and very proud on Monday morning after winning the final of the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.

I beat Terry Jenkins 18-9 on Sunday in Wolverhampton — but the scoreline doesn’t tell you what a battle I had against him.

He had pipped Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson in close matches to reach the final and that may have tired him out a little bit and caused some of his missed doubles.

But I didn’t do it the easy way either during the tournament. I lost to Andy Jenkins in the group stage — something he hasn’t let me forget since — and was 5-1 down to Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals. (full article...)

Khan he be stopped?

Can any player can relax enough when they come up against The Power? I'd say the two guys who will approach the world championships in the best frame of mind will be Terry Jenkins and Raymond van Barneveld.

Naming no names, some players would be immensely angry and frustrated if they were on the receiving end of Taylor's dominance. That wasn't the case with Terry Jenkins after he was whitewashed 5-0 by The Power in Dublin.

Afterwards, Terry's mood was that of somebody who'd just been given a birthday cake by his favourite auntie. For him it was a privilege to stand behind Taylor, to see him at his best and to pick up a few shots to use in the future. The next morning he was as starry-eyed as I would be if I bumped into Madonna in a back street somewhere and I think we'll see a better Terry Jenkins at the world championships. (full article...)

Manley - Sun article

MOUTHY Peter Manley last night blasted: I’m going to leave my rivals pig sick.

The controversial Carlisle thrower - sponsored by pork scratchings firm Mr Porkys - has had a disappointing year with early exits in almost all of the major tournaments.

He recently lost in the first round of the Sky Poker Grand Prix in Dublin and has now slumped to No16 in the world rankings, his lowest place since the PDC was formed.

But Manley, 46 - famed for his wind-up tactics on opponents - said: “I’ve no doubt that people are writing me off and good luck to them.

“There’s probably quite a lot of my rivals who would love to see the back of me but I’m far from finished, I’m not retiring yet.

“I’ve got a great sponsor in Mr Porkys and I don’t want to let them down. You could say I’ve made a pig’s ear of the major events so far but I’ll be back.

“There’s no hiding from the fact that I’ve been on a bad run and I’m not surprised to be honest.

“It’s down to the birth of the Premier League - and it’s given me post-natal depression. We’ve got so used to playing in front of huge crowds week-in, week-out that anything else afterwards is a big let-down.

“It’s also quite tiring, the Premier League takes out half of your week for the first 14 weeks of the year, the travelling does get quite hard.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted that darts is booming but we have all had to adjust our game and stamina to cope with the demand.”

‘One Dart’ Manley, who once gave rival Adrian Lewis so much verbal during a TV clash that he stormed off stage, also feels his panto villain reputation has also contributed to his poor form.

He added: “I do a lot of exhibitions around the country because everyone likes a controversial character but I guess that’s had an effect on me. I’ve been really busy.

“It’s disappointing to have slipped down the rankings but there’s a lot more darts to play yet this year and I’ve got time to redeem myself.

“My aim is to make it into the Premier League but I want to get there on merit by being in the world’s top six. I’d rather that than rely on a wild card place just because I’m good box office and so the fans can boo at someone.

“My big problem is motivation. I have enough money in the bank not to worry about my next pay cheque and I’ve slipped into the comfort zone.

“It’s a difficult state of mind to get out of but I need to get my act together to get back into the Premier League.”

(story source)