After Adrian Lewis hit a Premier League nine-darter, Rod Studd recalls how Freddie Flintoff was caught up in the mayhem of Michael van Gerwens perfect leg. Lewis completed the first nine-darter of the competition in last weeks win against James Wade and the eight remaining players return to action this Thursday night, live on Sky Sports. World No 1 Van Gerwen has a number of nine-darters to his name, but Studd has picked out a perfect leg at the World Matchplay, with special guest Freddie Flintoff supplying his own unique commentary. Michael Van Gerwen v Steve Beaton, 2012 World Matchplay last 16 Andrew Flintoff is an avid follower of darts You have to remember that Michael van Gerwen was very much in the doldrums at this stage of his career. Before he became the new Van Gerwen, he was still floundering a bit, struggling. This nine-darter served as a catalyst for what came afterwards. He went on to win the World Grand Prix and then all those titles and remarkable feats would follow.The great Andrew Freddie Flintoff had joined the irrepressible John Gwynne and Rod Harrington in the commentary box. Freddie has always been a fan of the arrows and obviously fancied a trip to Blackpool. I thought Freddie was going to spontaneously combust as double 12 went in. Rodd Studd When asked if he fancied a spell as a guest commentator, Freddie jumped at the chance and became progressively energetic as Van Gerwen produced his 40 seconds of magic. I thought Freddie was going to spontaneously combust as double 12 went in. The commentary added to the entertainment with Freddie saying: Its a nine-dart finish, its the first I have seen in the commentary box. John Gwynne is on his feet and Rod Harrington has wet himself!That thankfully did not happen, but it was a magical moment, and kick-started Michaels rise to greatness. John Part v Mark Webster, 2011 World Matchplay first round. John Part gave a glimpse of his class against Mark Webster Partys nine-darter is his only one on television and he still treasures it. Im sure John wont mind me saying, but he was playing like an absolute drain at the time, trailing 7-3 and averaging in the high 80s.Sid Waddell quite rightly kept saying out of nowhere as Part had not shown any inkling that he was going to do this. Tell me Im not having seaside dreams is the superb line that followed the last dart. Sky Live: PL Darts Michael van Gerwen will play twice in the Premier League as the battle for a top four spot continues And Manleys near miss... Peter Manley was inches away from an extraordinary nine-darter Ive got to also mention Peter Manley, who so nearly produced the greatest nine-darter ever in the 1999 World Matchplay final against Rod Harrington. No-one had hit a live televised nine-darter at that time. The Holy Grail was still being sought for and would not appear until Phil Taylor found it in 2002.One-dart Manley, that masterful showman, went for treble 18 and blocked the bed, so with 90 remaining he hit double 20 only to wire the bull. The agony as he sinks to his knees was a sight to behold. And Rod Harrington almost shoved Peter out of the way in his urgency to return to the oche! Watch all of the Premier League matches on Thursday night, starting at 7pm on Sky Sports 2.By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices. Also See: Sky Live: PL Darts Taylor tired of theme tune Sky Bets darts odds On Sky TV Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Wholesale .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. Cheap Air Max 1 . The question is how many minutes will be available to them and can any of their defence or goaltending provide value? Top Picks: Following a down year in 2011-2012, Matt Duchene rebounded with his highest points-per-game (0. http://www.cheapnikeairmax1.com/. Especially after he got ejected. "How many innings was that?" he wondered. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 With Free Shipping . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Wholesale Air Max 1 China . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14.OTTAWA -- Patrick Chan said he was like a "puppy in puppy daycare" at the Vancouver Olympics four years ago, a wide-eyed teenager at his first party, where everyone was cool and everything was free. "It was so exciting, like Oh my god, there are so many cool things. Cool clothes. And the gyms right here. Everything is available to you," Chan said Thursday, on the eve of the Skate Canada national championships. Chan only turned 23 on New Years eve, but hes a veteran on a completely different comfort level from the "deer in the headlights" who finished fifth in Vancouver. A move to Detroit last spring that also meant a split with his mom Karen (theyd been living together in Colorado Springs) hastened the maturing process. "Now it will be more normal (in Sochi) because I live on my own," Chan said. "I had the chance to have that excitement living on my own and going to the grocery store, and be like I want Oreo cookies today, or I want ice cream. "Im in complete control of what I want, so going to the Olympics will be more of a comfortable feeling as opposed to summer camp-kind of feel." Chan, who will take aim at his seventh straight Canadian senior title this week, has become the skater to beat at Sochi since winning three consecutive world crowns. At the Trophee Bompard Grand Prix in November, he ran away with gold, smashing the world records in the short and long program, and for overall score, to finish a whopping 31 points ahead of closest pursuer Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Chan predicts Hanyu, who trains in Toronto under Canadian coach Brian Orser, will be his stiffest competition in Russia. The 19-year-old beat Chan at the Grand Prix Final in December, and broke Chans world record in the short program. Still, Chan pointed out that Hanyu was skating on home ice in Fukuoka. "Its his first Olympic Games and its not in Japan. So Olympics is an even playing ground for all of us," Chan said. "But Im not going to write off anyone. Daisuke (Takahashi of Japan) has had a rough season, but he can do something special. And so can Javier (Fernandez of Spain). So can Denis (Ten of Kazakhstan)." Three-time world champion Elvis Stojko has been keeping an eye on the mens events this season, and predicts Sochi will be a two-skater race between Chan and Hanyu. "Theres an excitement level with Hanyu because hes got that unpredictability, that freshness to it. Then youve got the maturity of Chan," Stojko said. "(Chan) is going to need to be focused because the competition is getting close to him now," Stojko added. "Right now for me, (Hanyu) is the guy to beat. Hes at the top of his game. Patrick has the experience under his belt, he has the Olympics under his belt, hes the three-time world champion, hes going to have to stay focused and not allow the pressuree to settle on him.dddddddddddd "Itll be a little easier, because its not in Vancouver, its not in Canada. But its still going to be something where hes got to be very focused and not get caught up during the week." Kevin Reynolds had hoped to be in the medal conversation for Sochi as well, but Canadas No. 2 male skater is only just now making his season debut after six frustrating months of equipment problems. The 23-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., had hoped to build on the momentum from the world championships last spring where he finished fifth. But his season came to a dead stop when he bought new skate boots that, despite custom fitting, were too wide for his narrow AA heel. "Theyre still not 100 per cent but Im feeling much better," Reynolds said. "Im able to do the skills not at a level Im comfortable with but hopefully Ill be able to manage through this week and manage through Sochi. "Its definitely not an ideal situation, nationals being first competition and Sochi being so close, about 30 days away," he added. "I really would have liked some competitions under my belt for that experience." Reynolds withdrew from both his Grand Prix assignments, and wasnt comfortable enough to do any of his big jumps in practice, which included his quads. He estimates hes onto his ninth or tenth pair of Risport skate boots since his previous skates wore out last season. He even travelled to the manufacturer in Italy to be custom fitted in December. "I was so frustrated at that point, I had withdrawn from my second Grand Prix and I wanted to do everything I possibly could in an Olympic year," Reynolds said. He tried to go back to last seasons skates, a pair of stock Risport skates that werent custom fitted but happened to fit perfectly. "They feel like tissue basically," Reynolds said. "Theres no life left in them." Canada has three Olympic berths in mens singles, ice dance and pairs, and two berths in womens singles, which make it the largest figure skating team in Sochi. Skate Canada will name its Olympic team on Sunday. Olympic ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will most likely be making their final competitive appearance in Canada at this weeks nationals, as theyre expected to retire following Sochi. The tightest race to make the Olympic team will be in pairs. Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won bronze at the world championships last spring and have set their sights on the podium in Sochi. Other teams battling for an Olympic berth are Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch, Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers, and Natasha Purich and Mervin Tran. Purich and Tran are in their first season competing together. Tran won bronze for Japan with former partner Narumi Takahashi at the 2012 world championships. ' ' '