An open letter to my patrons, Since opening my pub years ago, I have tried my best to stick with tradition. I have not added big screen televisions nor have I changed my beer selection with all those new fancy-foofy bottles of rubbish. And if anyone's noticed, I still even have a jukebox that plays actual CDs that were suggested by you the customer! Not the soulless digital music systems the new sports bar has. And up until now, I have offered traditional camel hair dartboards with real darts.

Unfortunately, during the last tournament, a couple of our better-known regulars (I'll not name names – Goddard) had a few too many pints and just about pinned another customer's head to the wall with a few wayward darts. To remedy this situation and to add a bit more excitement to our tourneys, I have purchased two Arachnid Commercial Dartboards. These machines use the soft tip darts, but are extremely accurate and are actually fun to play. This may also eliminate some of the fisticuffs over hand scoring as it also keeps track of scores, missed darts, handicaps, and every other tournament statistic.

So the camel hair dartboard now has a 3-pint maximum and is not to be used for tournaments. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I think everyone will appreciate the advantages of the new Arachnid dartboards and feel safer knowing they are no longer subject to beer-soaked projectiles. Though I'm sure someone will still stand a chance of losing an eye if not careful.

Cheers.

Having finished my baseball themed rec-room in all its sporting glory, I tapped a keg and waited for my buddies to stop by for an inaugural test run of the facilities. I thought of everything: big screen, comfortable lounge chairs, fully stocked wet bar, popcorn machine, baseball themed dartboard, and pool table. And here's the rub, everything had a baseball theme, except the pool table.

Luckily, one of my stadium buddies gave me a home run of a gift, the MLB Rival Billiard Set. It's simple, really, two sets of balls with no numbers, no stripes, just the color and logo of two Major League Baseball teams. After a night of just two teams, you know we had to go and order a few more. Now when we watch the game, we can play pool with the same teams!

Sure it may seem strange to play pool with baseball themed balls, but there's nothing better than beating your opponent when your team wins at the same time. Are we baseball geeks? Yes we are and proud of it. Do I smell peanuts?

They were a sad looking lot. The field was worn, players were not as agile as they were in their youth, and it was obvious to anyone who cast a pitiful look upon the once-impressive arena that the time for change had come. So with a heavy heart, I sold my battle-weary foosball table at a garage sale. It was then I started searching for a new team, one with fresh players, a newly painted playing surface and lust for fast-paced action.

I traveled the world via the Internet looking for the perfect replacement that would once again rally my friends and bring screams of enjoyment to my basement. And then, there it was, the Chexx Bubble Hockey Table. No, it was not foosball, but the classic style of hockey we used to play as kids on the cheap tabletop model, crafted in all its adult sized glory. Friends were stunned. Miniature hockey pucks awaited the almighty slapshot while an overhead score box beckoned legendary battles on faux ice. And so in tribute to our fallen comrade that was my foosball table, we embraced our new game and paid homage with hours of quick paced, hard-hitting table hockey. That night we welcomed sleep as champions, with victory in our hearts and the lingering battle scars of slight wrist fatigue reminding us we were heroes.

My brother is the hardest person to buy a gift for. Every birthday and holiday, I struggle to find something different that he hasn't already bought for himself. When I came across this Laser Baseball (PS115) online, I was so excited! My brother is a fanatic about baseball and has been playing ever since he learned to walk.

I knew that this baseball was unique enough that he wouldn't have found one on his own too. When I gave it to him for his birthday, I found out I was right. He had never seen a ball like this before. He loves it and uses it all the time to practice for games or just for fun. His baseball coach even asked him to bring the ball to practice.

My brother, his teammates, and all his friends are always competing to see who can throw it the fastest or outdo the speed of their last throw. I could not have found a more perfect gift for my brother.