I still think the universe has been let off it's leash.
I wondered, as the distances between objects in the universe increased could the lessening of the effect of gravity be causing the acceleration? "Like one side letting go in a tug-o-war".
Phil shot this down saying that even Newtonian gravity doesn't work that way.
Well, what about this?
If you think of the universe starting out from the Big Bang, the first several billion years would be sluggish years of slowing down due to gravity from dark matter, but then, as matter thins out and its density declines, the balance would shift. Dark energy, negligible at first, is destined to dominate cosmic evolution. Slow and steady wins race. There will come a time, which depends on the precise values of Omega mu and Omega lambda, where deceleration due to dark matter loses its grip and acceleration begins.
What makes this story interesting is that we can already see back to the time when the gas pedal was mashed to the floor.
Robert P. Kirshner "The Extravagant Universe
I don't think I was that far off?