All-Star Weekend bout previews

Did anyone else besides me need a Valium after Rose City’s heartbreaking loss in Sacramento?  After two days of nail-biter bouts against Rat City and Oly my poor nerves barely withstood the battle against BAD for the last spot in the 2010 WFTDA Championships.  After BAD established a dominating lead early on, our Wheels of Justice were never quite able to catch up, and finished 4^thin the tournament, falling short of a trip to Chicago by a mere 31 points.  But why do we fall?  So that we might learn to pick ourselves up.  And why do we use clichés?  What can I say- humor is my defense mechanism.  So we move on, we put our disappointment behind us, and we show these amazing women who laid it all on the track at Rollin’ On the River some freakin’ love! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!

Our next opportunity to DO IT will be this Saturday, October 16^th, when our ladies in purple take on the Windy City All-Stars from Chicago.  But before that, we’ll get a chance to see our b-level travel team Axles of Annihilation take on the Slaughter County Roller Vixensof Kitsap County, WA.  That’s right, it’s an All-Star weekend for us lucky derby fans!  It starts Friday, October 15^th at the hangar, doors at 7pm, bout at 8pm.

Axles of Annihilation is on a serious hot streak, having already picked up wins against Bakersfield and Tacoma, in addition to sweeping the Spudtown Knockdown Tournament in Boise.  AoA has welcomed a handful of new skaters like Slim Sheety and The Blast Unicorn, who have already proved their worth on the track on their respective home teams.  Mainstays Minstrel Psycho and Viagrrra Falls are ever-valuable and continue to leave opponents in their dust (do skates kick up dust?).  Most recently, Axles of Annihilation travelled to Tacoma, WA to take on the Dockyard Derby Dames All-Stars, where they delivered a routing of 156-70.  Their opponents this weekend are the Slaughter County Roller Vixens, who are in their second season as a WFTDA-affiliated league.  Off to a bit of a rough start, they’ve lost 4 of their 5 total bouts and are 1-2 for the current season.  Their sole win came at the Wild West Showdown in Bremerton, WA earlier this year, where they beat the Central Coast Roller Derby all-star team (hey, I’m from the Central Coast!) 224-159. I have a feeling our Axles of Annihilation will make short work of the Vixens.  Click here for more info.

Butcher Block 97 // Bella Massacre 214 // Devaskating Deva 42 // Frisky Sour 18 // Joy Ride 360 // Minstrel Psycho 28 // Push La Tush 201 // Skintastic Dynomite 308 // Slim Sheety 8mile // Texine 3B // The Blast Unicorn 17 // Twat Rocket 3500 // Viagrrra Falls 247 // White Flight 54

A Cup Killer 32-29-36 // Abbey Cadabra 14 // Anna Barbera 707 // Beat N’Harass 247 // Brandifurious 999 // Daisy Nuke 22 // Darth Maul’her 1138 // The Dreadful Dodger 777 // Knock’er Socksoff 36D // Leannderthal 3 // Lolli Von PerkiPops NC-17 // Nerd Rage 42 // QT Krusher 64 // Ree Arrangher 1X // Roller Rage Rosie R3 // Rollin’ Dirty 86’d // Ruby Rotten 510 // Speedy Gun Haul-Ass 1310

Our fantastic All-Stars Wheels of Justice have a tougher task ahead, taking on the Windy City Rollers All-Stars the following night.  Windy City is currently ranked #1 in the North Central Region, and just swept the Thunda On the Tundra Regionals to secure their spot at the WFTDA Championships next month.  This will be WRC’s fourth trip to the Championships.  Since the play-off season kicked off there has been some debateabout the level of competition between the West, North Central, South Central, and East regions.  It has been argued that the West features a higher concentration of talent than anywhere else in the country, which has sparked some talk of the validity of the current regional play-off system.  How impressive is the #1 spot when you’re competing against much lower-caliber teams? Kind of like how #4 in the PAC-10 is still better than #1 in the Big Sky Conference (sorry, Montana State).  In fact, if WoJ manages to pull off a win against Windy City they will be proving exactly that.

That’s not to say Windy City isn’t a formidable opponent.  They are 7-3 for the current season, losing only to powerhouse teams Gotham (50-191), Philly (89-110), and Rocky Mountain (56-151).  Most of their loses since the team first began inter-league bouts in 2007* have been to the likes of Gotham and Philly (click here for complete scores).  It wasn’t until the establishment of the North Central region in 2009 that Windy City was able to emerge from Gotham’s notable shadow.  Prior to that, Windy City was part of the Eastern Region and was consistently dominated by Gotham when it came to WFTDA Regionals.  In a new region without Gotham or Philly, Windy City has nabbed the #1 spot at North Central Regionals in 2009 and 2010.  Their roster boasts veteran blockers Hoosier Mama and Ying O’Fire as well as lightning-fast jammers like Beth Amphetamine and Varla Vendetta.

*Windy City first started inter-league bouting in 2006, but took a break to find a regulation-sized track and practice more.  They resumed inter-league bouting in 2007.  Records reflect 2/24/07 as WRC’s first official bout.

So Wheels suffered heartbreak at Westerns, Windy City came out on top in their region, and now the two teams are meeting on the track before WCR heads to the Championships.  Sound familiar?  That’s because we did this last year.  After a disappointing showing at the Western Regionals in Denver last October WoJ travelled to Chicago to do battle with Windy City, who had already secured their #1 spot in the new North Central region the month before.  After a close game and a tied score with 15 minutes left, Windy City exploded, racking up 43 points to Rose City’s 3 and beating us with a final score of 113-73 (read about it here).  Windy City has always played a fast game, but their pack play isn’t what it used to be.  Wheels of Justice needs to control the pack and stay out of the penalty box to prevent Windy City from running away with the game.  These are two incredible teams which will make for an exciting bout, so make sure to get your tickets- you won’t want to miss this!  Doors open at 5pm, bout begins at 6pm.  Click here for more info.

Blood Clottia 2U // Cadillac V8 // Firecrotch 16 // Heidi-Go-Seek 210 // Honey Hellfire 72 // JK Rolling 934 // Layla Smackdown 55 // Mick U Cry 53 // Miss Mel Mangles 5 // Mobi-wan Kenobi 444 // Napalm Beth 7 // Rhea Derange 357 // Scrappy Go Lucky 594 // Scratcher in the Eye 243 // Shove Me Tender 51 // Smack Ya Sideways 140 // SoulFearic Acid 20 // Sully Skullkicker 8 // Wreck Deckard 23

Amy Nonamey 57 // Athena DeCrime 30 // Beth Amphetamin 98 // Blossom Bruiso 5 // Deb Autry 74 // Di Richmond 50 // Georgia on Yer Behind 70 // Go-Go Hatchet 17 // Hoosier Mama 219 // Jackie Daniels 7 // Karmageddon 42 // Kola Loka 911 // Norma Lee Wright 90 // Ruth Enasia 81 // Sargentina 52 // Shocka Conduit 15 // Ska Face 0 // Varla Vendetta 25 // Wreck N Shrew 24 // Ying O’Fire 777