Michael van Gerwen thrilled his compatriots by beating Phil Taylor in the first Dutch leg of Premier League Darts. MVG beats Taylor Full details of Dutch darts The result leaves Van Gerwen top of the pile at the conclusion of the regular season.Adrian Lewis was the other big winner, confirming his own play-off place at the expense of Peter Wright. Here are five talking points from Rotterdam...Premier League must return to the Netherlands Barney was given a special reception by the Rotterdam crowd Hordes of orange-clad fans descended upon Rotterdams Ahoy Arena hours before the first arrow was thrown in scenes to rival a Netherlands football match.The atmosphere was memorable and led Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle to suggest it was the greatest Premier League leg of all time.The timing from the PDC appeared perfect - enough demand had been built up in the Netherlands to see their home-grown heroes return as recognised sporting stars.Notably, it wasnt just Raymond van Barneveld and Van Gerwen who were afforded a rapturous reception. The crowd were respectful to Taylor, sang along to Wrights theatrics, and cheered every eye-catching checkout, suggesting there is mileage in the Dutch market.Whether it is a return to Rotterdam or a debut in the capital of Amsterdam, the Premier League should prioritise a return to the Netherlands next season.MVG copes with any pressure Michael van Gerwens 164 checkout against Phil Taylor Van Gerwen is a fiery, charismatic presence at the oche, but underneath it all he remains cool and collected.In a unique atmosphere where the entire crowd passionately chanted his name, he held his nerve to edge the greatest player of all time.A 164 checkout on the bull gave the home fans a reason to go bananas, but it didnt complete the job for Van Gerwen against Taylor. The wily veteran, locked at 5-5, played up to the crowd to incite even more pressure on Van Gerwen.The Dutchman refused to acknowledge the thousands in attendance, or his opponent, and kept his eyes on the prize. He duly broke Taylors throw and won the match.Wright has been the nearly man Peter Wright missed a golden opportunity to beat Barney I love that Peter entertains, I love that his action is superb, but he has got to stop changing his darts, Mardle told us earlier this season.Its becoming farcical. Whenever he plays badly, we blame the darts. There will come a point where he plays himself out of form because of the constant changing.Unfortunately for Snakebite, his Premier League campaign will be defined by what-ifs.His challenge for the play-offs slipped away due to a 6-6 draw with Van Barneveld, handing Lewis the straightforward task of requiring just two legs.To improve next year, Wright must heed Mardles advice and stick to some tried-and-trusted equipment or he will risk a further year floating outside of the top four. Worlds top players head to The O2 Defending champ Gary Anderson and world No 1 Michael van Gerwen made the play-offs Its easy to reflect now that the play-off participants have been confirmed, but how many darts fans would have predicted Van Gerwen, Taylor, Anderson and Lewis at the start of the tournament?On paper, they are the PDCs top four in their Order of Merit. It can scarcely be argued that any other player deserves a place at Londons O2 Arena ahead of the established quartet.It will make for a mouth-watering trio of matches next week when the best players in the world meet on the grandest of stages.What a difference a year makes Dave Chisnall lost in the 2015 semi-finals Along with Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, last years semi-finalists were Van Barneveld and Dave Chisnall. Since then, its been a sharp decline for the latter two players.Chisnall was eliminated on Judgement Night and although Van Barneveld narrowly avoided that fate, he has languished at the bottom of the table for the duration of the tournament.Their descent, though not terminal for either player, proves that the landscape of darts is evolving faster than ever.Who will be at The O2 in 2017?Watch Premier League Darts play-offs next Thursday at 7pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD. Also See: MVG stuns Taylor in Rotterdam WATCH: Barneys big entrance WATCH: MVGs big arrival WATCH: MVGs magical 164 Stitched Custom NFL Jerseys . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Cheap Custom Football Shirts . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. http://www.customcheapfootballjerseys.com/ . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Authentic Custom NFL Jerseys . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. Clearance Custom NFL Shirts . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. CHICAGO -- White Sox right-hander James Shields vowed Tuesday to stay in the rotation despite back pain and asked for patience from fans amid the worst season of his career.A day after Chicago manager Robin Ventura suggested Shields could be shut down, the 11-year veteran said a doctors visit produced good news.Knock on wood, I havent missed a start my whole career and I dont really plan on it, either, Shields said. Its one of those things where Im pretty sure Ill be out there on Saturday.Shields struggled early in the season with San Diego, even allowing hefty New York Mets pitcher Barolo Colons first home run in May. He faced public criticism from Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler, then was dealt to the White Sox on June 5.Besides a six-start stretch in July when he had 1.71 ERA, Shields has been hit hard. Hes 3-10 with a 7.50 ERA in 17 starts with Chicago. He said hes had off-and-on back pain.Its been a crazy year, man, Shields said. A lot of things going on. Obviously I got traded. Things that happened in San Diego that werent under my control. Come in here to a new team, probably out of the gates tried to do too much, then settled in and then didnt do to well.Shields was an All-Star with Tampa Bay in 2011 and helped Kannsas City reach the World Series in 2014.ddddddddddddHis nine straight 200-inning seasons make the longest active streak in the majors.I know hes always taken the ball, Ventura said. If hes feeling healthy hes going to go back out there and pitch.The 34-year-old takes pride in his uniquely heavy workload at a time when other pitchers are doing less in an effort to stay healthy and effective.Some years you have a really good feel for the baseball and some years you dont, Shields said. Unfortunately this year I havent felt it like I wanted to. Ive been a bulldog my whole career and Im going to assess things this offseason and hopefully finish strong.Shields, a combined 5-17 with a 6.05 ERA with the Padres and White Sox, is in danger of a 20-loss season if he stays in the rotation.He can opt out of his contract after this season, but almost certainly wont. Hes due $21 million in each of the next two years.I love it here. If there is any city my wife wanted me to go to it was Chicago for sure, Shields said. Hopefully the fans will stick with me a little bit, believe in me and we can get better next year. ' ' '