Q: Mike, I am from the Northwest and read your column on line and really enjoy it. It seems like you believe that you have many great players in AZ, so my question is, how do you think they stack up against the rest of The country?

A: First, thanks for reading my column and The Medallion. Lots of time goes into the paper and it's great to hear people are reading.

Now to the question. I believe Arizona has the best players in the country by far. I might be biased, but the facts back this up. Even going back to the late 80's and early 90's we were leading the way.

Brad Halley represented Team USA the first two years. Of the four people in year two, Arizona had three players. Since the NDA started the international team challenge, we have put 23 players on Team USA.

I believe in 1999 we had six of the eight players. We have had four or more, seven times. I am not positive, but I believe the next highest state has had six. And don't start telling me everyone doesn't go to the NDA and that California has better players.

They have great players; in fact, four of their top shooters came to the Arizona State Tournament three years ago. They only cashed in on two out of seven events. They were world-class players.

If you take it on darts alone, leaving out the personalities, John Gray, Rick Kerska, Lucky New-bury, Jimmy Damore and Bob Castillo can play and beat any soft-tip player in the World. Most of these guys have won major singles and doubles championships. John is in New York now, but could soon be back.

Dave Fatum was one of the top players in Canada and can play with anyone. We also have unknowns like Pete Linaris, Martin Bedoni and Joel Haines that aren't far off the top. Tom McCartney and the Wizard (Doug Dimichele) are here now shooting great.

We have had players move here just for the darts. It sounds crazy, but it is true. The list goes on and on of great players that I haven't even mentioned.

The other thing to keep in mind is that all our players live within an hour of each other. Back east the vendors are so large you can play with players in other states. I know players that every guy drives two hours to meet and play league to qualify for the NDA.

Our guys have also won many Medalist championships and many of them are rated very high.

I don't know if I really answered your question, but I think you get the idea that I believe we do have the best players around. To anyone who doesn't, I say bring it on, put up the cash, we are ready to play.

These are just my opinions and I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Happy New Year to All!