The sport of darts is incredibly pleased with itself right now. It is patting its own back with such vigour that one fears a spark of friction-generated static might leap from its polyester shirt and ignite the highly combustible atmosphere at one of its showpiece events. (Imagine the hairspray and aftershave fumes wafting off the players during the World Championship. It would be like a scene from Backdraft.)
Darts is on the up, you see. For decades it struggled to shed its image as a pub game for lowly oiks with big bellies and bulging forearms obscured by smudged tattoos bearing the name of whichever grim industrial town in which they were spawned (Stoke, usually). And that was just the women.
No, the Establishment laughed, darts is no more a sport than dominoes or bingo. Pay it no heed, they chuckled. They are not chuckling anymore.
This week Prince Harry, the third-in-line to the British throne, enjoyed a night at the Palace. Not Buckingham Palace, where his grandmother lives, but eight miles away at the Alexandra Palace theatre, where the World Darts Championship (WDC) were taking place.
This was no official engagement (he tried to sneak in while the lights were down) but a private night out for the young prince and his well-heeled chums including Will Greenwood, the rugby union international.
Some observers claimed Harry's presence that night says a lot about the new breed of royalty. I claim it says more about the new image of darts.
Just as the early 1990s saw English football's shiny new Premier League phoenix rise from the ashes of hooliganism and crumbling stadiums, so the winter of 2010/11 has seen a darts butterfly emerge from its chrysalis.
Only last month, in another milestone of mainstream acceptance, darts legend Phil "The Power" Taylor took second place in a keenly contested BBC poll to choose the Sports Personality of the Year, beating contenders including world No 1 golfer Lee Westwood and former Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
So why darts, and why now? Partly it is a long-term yielding of the wise decision to follow snooker's lead in cleansing the sport of alcohol and cigarettes.
Partly it is the increasing skill of the players, led by the sublime Taylor. Nine-dart finishes used to be a rarity, but Taylor hit two in the Premier League final last year, and his protege, Adrian Lewis, rattled one off in the WDC final on Monday.
Partly it is the growing realisation that a night at the darts is what sport should be about: highly skilled showmen, unashamed theatricality, raucous crowd participation, sporting behaviour, and a pervading sense of … well, fun.
So I do not begrudge darts its belated acceptance and burgeoning popularity, but I do offer a word of warning.
You have a wonderful sport (or game, or leisure pursuit, or whatever the purists want to call it). In 20 years' time, when you are complaining about the gentrification of your sport, and the loss of its soul - rising ticket prices, the prawn-sandwich brigade, player power (when "Wuuuunhundddredandeighteyyyy!" is not a maximum-score celebration but the start of a weekly wage negotiation) - remember that you wanted this.
You opened the gates of your humble citadel to bask in the warm sunshine of mainstream approval. Now you may struggle to close them.
The question is, as your masters of ceremony like to bellow before every match: Are you ready?
An untimely death prompts cliches - and some warning bells
Warning: the following passage contains several whopping cliches, for which I make no apology. They have rarely seemed truer.
Gary Mason, the ex-heavyweight boxer who died in a road accident on Thursday, was a gentle giant (ding!). No mug as a fighter - he lost only one of 38 professional matches, to Lennox Lewis, no less - he was also a family man whose charity work continued long after his boxing career ended.
He was, for example, a founder member of the Bunbury Cricket Club XI (alongside Eric Clapton), which has raised £12 million (Dh68m) for charity.
Frank Bruno, his contemporary, once said that Mason was technically the better fighter but lacked the unwavering dedication necessary to reign supreme. In other words, he was too human to be a sporting legend, which sounds bad for the trophy cabinet but probably good for the soul.
His untimely death, at 48, proves that life is precious (ding!) and none of us know what lies around the next corner (ding!).
Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao should consider this cliche as their long-awaited bout becomes mired in legal nitpicking.
So, too, should David Haye, the WBA heavyweight champion. His long-awaited fight against Wladimir Klitschko was to have taken place on July 2, but Haye threw a tantrum when the Ukrainian announced a bout with Dereck Chisora on April 30, five weeks before the alleged date with Haye. If he insists on retiring before October, this setback could be his last.
Mason's death should remind these gifted and privileged men that we do not get long on this earth (ding!) and that quibbling over details should not derail what boxing fans long to see and they have trained so hard to do: fight. You are, after all, a long time dead (ding!).
sports@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
On sale: now
Price: Dh149,000
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Results
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Mountain%20Boy
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TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD v SOUTH AFRICA
Aaron Finch (capt), Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Company%20profile
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
LIVERPOOL%20TOP%20SCORERS
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The specs
Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km