'No Guts' gets the glory
Moorpark darts team captures another title
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

M A R K S M E N - G a r y Cabriales, above, takes aim at the board while his No Guts No Glory teammates, from left, Randy Wheeler, Gary Gunn, Greg Gates and Walt Johnson look on. Left, Johnson says to Cabriales, "Anything you can do, I can do better." The local throwers recently won their third Ventura County Dart Association title in the past four years. The team usually practices at Moorpark Billiards.

Bull's-eye!

No Guts No Glory, Moorpark's resident dart champions, hit all the right marks during the Ventura County Dart Association's season. Last month, the team finished its 2006 campaign with a 15-3 record and claimed first place for the third time in the last four years.

While the squad takes pride in beating other teams, most members agree that they come to play darts at Moorpark Billiards primarily for the company of their teammates and to enjoy a few beers.

"I love the challenge of the game, and I love the camaraderie of this team," Greg Gates said. "This is a good group of guys that works hard to get the end result of winning."

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers

Airline pilot Gary Cabriales has been playing darts for five years after getting into the sport while in the military.

"When I was in the military we played darts against the British military, so that's how I got into the sport," Cabriales said. "Darts is a very big hand-eye coordinated sport. I played softball and golf for awhile, and this is just a continuation from that."

Gary Gunn joined the team after a pulled tendon in his leg forced him to quit playing softball.

"I think as long as you can stand up, you can play darts," Gunn said with a laugh. "I mostly play for the fun of it and because I can't really play anything else anymore."

Team captain Randy Wheeler said he likes coming out to play because he thinks dart players are some of the most honest people you will ever meet in your life. He enjoys being around his team, but made two guidelines to anyone that wanted to join.

"The two rules I made is that you have to be from Moorpark- so nobody thinks we are staking the team with talent in order to win- and you have to be a conservative," Wheeler said. "Cabriales is a liberal, but we let him on the team anyway."

Part of the reason Walt Johnson loves playing for No Guts No Glory is because he believes Wheeler is the perfect captain for the team.

"Randy Wheeler is the best captain because he is so obnoxious," Johnson said with a grin. "He has a specific way of doing things, and he couldn't give a crap what other people think. I think other teams get intimidated by him and they lose focus."

Wheeler said he keeps coming back because of the company and the thrill of hitting a double bull'seye.

"When you hit a bull's-eye, it feels good and you want to do it again, just as if you were a baseball player; after getting a hit you want to do that again," Wheeler said. "This is also a good bunch of guys, and we all enjoy each other. It's a stupid old game, but we love it and we love each other's company."

The team will be getting its trophy for coming in first place this Sunday at Sam's Saloon in Oxnard.