Michael van Gerwens exceptional emergence as the world No 1 has lasted long enough that he might become even greater than Phil Taylor.The Dutchman is just 26, whereas Taylor didnt throw his first competitive arrow until the same age. Van Gerwen broke Taylors record for the highest ever televised average in this years Premier League but does that mean hes overtaking the 16-time world champion?Sky Sports expert Wayne Mardle ponders who is better... Sky Live: PL Darts Thursday, 7pm, Sky Sports 1 Has Van Gerwen has become the best darts player ever? The debate has started. Is Michael van Gerwen the greatest darts player ever? Mardle said: Its not just the wins, its the performances. Whenever he is pushed, he has an answer.At the World Championship he lost with a 105 average. I dont ever remember Taylor having to deal with that during a World Championship. What Im getting at, is that the quality Michael needs to play at to win week-in week-out is not what Taylor had to put up with.I was world No 4 for a while. I was the equivalent of Adrian Lewis or Peter Wright. I couldnt beat Taylor, I only beat him once on the main stage. These guys can beat Van Gerwen or Taylor. Dave Chisnall is currently world No 10 - back in the day, that would have been Roland Scholten who has the very worst record of absolutely anyone against Taylor.Scholten was in the world top eight for six years! Can you imagine someone in todays top eight playing Van Gerwen 28 times and losing 25? That wouldnt happen now, its not possible. Watch Michael van Gerwen set a new record for the highest televised average score The players today are of a standard where, in 25 times, they will play their best game which is good enough to beat Michael. Against Phil it wasnt possible. My record against Phil was dismal - I played him 29 times and won three, and I was one of the players gunning for him!Phil didnt throw a competitive dart until he was 26. Michael, at 16, was ranked inside the BDOs top 10. Im not taking anything away from Phil but the opposition were not good - and I include myself in that.Does Taylors longevity makes him greater than MVG? Llook back at Phil Taylor’s previous record average of 117.35 from Exeter in 2012. Mardle said: Phil could only beat what was in front of him. He was probably too good, before his time. Hes a darting freak because he was always so much better than the rest.He didnt have the opponents to push him which is actually more impressive because he still pushed himself on. The fact that he kept striving for another win, another hiding, is impressive.I remember playing him in a Premier League game when you had to play all 11 legs. I was 8-0 down in Norwich and I remember thinking Phil really wanted to beat me 11-0 badly. I won two legs and he was devastated, you could see it in his eyes. I remember thinking he had something I didnt have - forget wins or talent - he had a special desire. Relive a Phil Taylor classic in the 2013 Grand Slam semi-final against Adrian Lewis We have all these stats about averages but do you really need to average 103? If you average 93 against someone averaging 83, you will annihilate them. Averages are just a guide.Deciding who is the best ever player shouldnt be subjective. You need a fact or a stat. Michael, before he packs up, needs to win six world titles. He cant have five, in the same bracket as Eric Bristow or Raymond van Barneveld, he needs six.Also See:Fixtures/ResultsOn Sky TVPrem TableDarts bettingGet Sky SportsCheap Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Cheap New York Jets Jerseys . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. https://www.cheapjerseys-wholesalechina.com/?tag=cheap-miami-dolphins-jerseys . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. cheap nfl stitched jerseys . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Cheap Green Bay Packers Jerseys . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected.LONG POND, Pa. -- Chris Buescher sat in his Ford, hoping that the fog would stick over Pocono and the cloud over the rookies middling season would start to lift.Buescher idled in his car, then stood with his arms folded on pit road.I tried not to get my hopes up, he said.Buescher emerged from the fog to become a surprising winner in Mondays shortened Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. He is now on the verge of being in the mix for NASCARs championship after not finishing better than 14th all season before Monday.Imagine a title push that kicks off with Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and little-known Buescher in the field.The plan was to always make the Chase, Buescher said. Were that much closer now.Hes not there yet. Buescher is six points behind David Ragan for 30th to reach the cutoff needed to become eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.Buescher, who drives for underfunded Front Row Motorsports, was the beneficiary on a rare Monday race postponed a day by rain. With nasty weather punishing the track, NASCAR called the red flag with 22 laps left and parked the cars on pit road. Buescher was as much a spectator in the No. 34 Ford as the few fans left in the stands, though NASCAR let drivers get out of their cars after about 10 minutes as they waited out gloomy conditions.Im a little scared to get out, Buescher said.No need. He was declared the winner after about an 80-minute delay. He was doused with beer and water in a makeshift victory lane celebration inside a garage stall, his Ford covered on rainy pit road instead of bathed in confetti.Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Jeff Gordon finished 27th driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.In order to qualify for the Chase, drivers must rank 30th or better in points. Buescher will need to find a way to climb higher over Ragan in the final five races before the Chase field is set.Buescher won twice last season in the Xfinity Series and won the series championship. He will spend 2016 as basically the fourth Jack Roush driver because of a shared technical alliance between the organizations.He finished 30th or worse 10 times this season. Ragan had Front Rows only victory 118 races ago in fall 2013 at Talladega.Veteran crew chief Bob Osborne gambled with the decision to keep Buescher on the track while others made pit stops with 28 laps left. Once the cars were halted, Buescher and his crew rooted for the rain and fog to stick around. At one point, the 23-year-old Buescher, a former ARCA champion, rested against a fence and was swarmed by fans and photographers wanting a picture before the race was even called.Im trying to remember every rain dance Ive ever learned, he said in the car.Buescher is now on the brink of becoming the first Chase brracket buster.dddddddddddd Led by four-time winners Busch and Keselowski, there are 11 slots seemingly set for race winners, and Buescher would make 12. Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, and Kyle Larson are among the four winless drivers battling for the final four spots.This is going to change our whole year right here, Buescher said.Drivers with a Chase spot secured enjoyed Bueschers feel-good victory that broke up the recent Toyota hot streak.I told him, `If I couldnt win, it was cool to see him win, Keselowski said.NASCAR defended dragging out the decision to call the race, even as severe storms hit a track where a fan was killed by a lightning strike in 2012.We never lost the track, said Steve ODonnell, NASCARs chief racing development officer. I think most NASCAR fans want to see a complete race.Here are other items of note from Mondays race:SO CLOSEWith rain looming toward the halfway point, Larson and Dillon engaged in a thrilling five-lap battle for first. Larson kept his tight lead with a timely block of Dillon just two laps shy of the halfway point. Dillon dipped low and briefly snagged the lead, only for Larson to snatch it right back at the halfway point that made the race official.But Larson and Dillon took their door-to-door battle on the high line, allowing Joey Logano to swoop low and seize the lead in one of the most exciting mid-race moves of the season. Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion, pulled away in the fog -- but Elliott got loose and turned Logano into the wall with 55 laps left in the race and sent his 22 to the garage.FLAT TRUEXMartin Truex Jr. run up front from the pole was a short one, the former Pocono winners race derailed by a flat right front tire. Truex led 16 laps early until the tire blew and forced him to pit road for repairs. He had multiple issues once he returned to the track and finished 38th.Truex has one win this season and won the June 2015 Pocono race. Truex said his No. 78 Toyota was strong enough to contend for a victory.A lug nut spun off, hit the ground, bounced behind the wheel somehow and knocked the inner valve stem off, he said.GORDONS RUNJeff Gordons track record for wins remains at six. Gordon, filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the second straight week, battled a seat belt issue and finished 27th. Earnhardt missed his third straight race because he suffers from symptoms of a concussion. Hendrick Motorsports has not said who will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet on Sunday at Watkins Glen.UP NEXT:Logano is the defending race winner at Watkins Glen.---This story has been corrected to show that winning is not a requirement to qualifying for the Chase. ' ' '