May 19, 2007 Part 1
Innovations and Monsters
Finding an appropriate venue for roller derby is no easy task, high occupancy rates and soaring rents of the Bay Area work against you. April 28th the next scheduled bout of the B.A.D. Girls between the SF ShEvil Dead and the debut of the new Oakland Outlaws was missed. Also the Denver Roller Dolls had to canceled their inter-league game that was planned for May 26th as well. The BADG was in a spot and needed a little help from their friends. Thanks to the Sac City Rollers the BADG had a venue and an opponent. The solution “Monster Mayhem!”. A double-header of roller derby, the Richmond Wrecking Belles would take on the Sac City Rollers (SCR) and a league game between the Oakland Outlaws and SF ShEvil Dead would be played May 19th. All just a short drive away in the college town of Davis, California. Because of the double-header all bouts would be two periods of 30 minutes.
The first bout of the double-header was the Richmond Wrecking Belles versus the Sac City Rollers. The SCR are one of Sacramento's rookie leagues, they've had a couple of exhibition bouts and were starting their first year of play for 2007 and were looking for somebody to play. The BADG decided that their all-star squad was not necessary and that the Richmond Wrecking Belles were available and ready. It was a relief for the BADG not to have to organize a bout, they just showed up in Davis, put on their skates and got ready to kick some butt. The Belles' lineup was thinned from their March 3rd bout, Racey Lane had been slowed down by a knee injury and wasn't 100%, Diane Rott was out with an injury and Diva Negativa couldn't make the trip. The SCR hold their bouts at the Davis Indoor Sports Center (DISC), it a Roller Hockey Rink similar to Dry Ice, newer, but no balconies.
With the bout about to start both teams fielded their best skaters: Kannonball Kim as pivot, then Sugarpop, Death Rae, Regulator S and Lil' Punk as jammer for the SCR. Nancy Drew Blood as pivot, then Lusty Malice, Mandi Festo, Liza Machete and Racey Lane as jammer for the Belles. The first three jams saw the Belles take lead jammer position and a slight lead 7-4. The next three jams saw the SCR with an opportunity to tie or take the lead, as they had lead jammer status for each of their jammers. But instead the Belles blockers were just too much for SCR and the Belles' lead widened to 16-9. The Belles then really put the hammer down on the SCR and shut them out for the next five jams, scoring 26 unanswered points. With score now 42 to 9 the shunned Rollers tried to regain some composure and began scoring some points, but the Belles continued their march on the Rollers scoring more than double what the Rollers were able to. At the end of the first half the score stood 55-15, the Belles had a 40 points lead to go into the final period.
When the teams returned to the track after the break the situation was for the SCR was grim to put it optimistically, but SCR had decided that no what they were going to go down fighting. SCR started the first jam in the second half with a new jammer, Death Rae. She had the good luck of starting the jam with the Belles jammer in the box, and was able to score 4 points and called the jam off before the Belles jammer was able pose a threat to score. But in the next jam the Belles responded with Racey Lane, and she put together a 8-2 jam. Next was a 4-4 tied as Purdy Girl and La Femme Nikilla battled it out. And on and on it went, first one side, and then the other, as Sac City and the Richmond Wrecking Belles traded points. By the end of the half, the Belles were only able to add an additional 6 points to their lead, the Rollers had fought an honorable fight. The final score of 99-54 Belles would not show the fight, toughness and never-say-die attitude that the Sac City Rollers showed their fans that night.
Bad Girl, Good Woman
There are two notable skaters that should be recognized, and they are the captains of the Richmond Wracking Belles. Liza Machete lived up or down to her reputation as 2006 Most Feared and Dirty Player. Liza was ejected from the bout in the 31st jam, the third jam before the end of the bout, for her third major, another high hit. Racey Lane wins my pick for MVP of the Bout. She had picked up a knee injury and when she jammed she struggled to make her laps, not the smooth, fast strides, she showed in the first bout of the season, but slow, jerky strides as she hobbled around the track. I told her at the end of the first half with her team well ahead that she should take the second half off and concentrate on healing her injured knee. But she came out in the second half and skated even harder. Later she told me that she used my advice to inspire her to skate as she did. Racey Lane, even an injured Racey Lane was still the highest scoring jammer of the bout. And for her grit and scoring skill Racey wins my admiration and exasperation.
Finding an appropriate venue for roller derby is no easy task, high occupancy rates and soaring rents of the Bay Area work against you. April 28th the next scheduled bout of the B.A.D. Girls between the SF ShEvil Dead and the debut of the new Oakland Outlaws was missed. Also the Denver Roller Dolls had to canceled their inter-league game that was planned for May 26th as well. The BADG was in a spot and needed a little help from their friends. Thanks to the Sac City Rollers the BADG had a venue and an opponent. The solution “Monster Mayhem!”. A double-header of roller derby, the Richmond Wrecking Belles would take on the Sac City Rollers (SCR) and a league game between the Oakland Outlaws and SF ShEvil Dead would be played May 19th. All just a short drive away in the college town of Davis, California. Because of the double-header all bouts would be two periods of 30 minutes.
The first bout of the double-header was the Richmond Wrecking Belles versus the Sac City Rollers. The SCR are one of Sacramento's rookie leagues, they've had a couple of exhibition bouts and were starting their first year of play for 2007 and were looking for somebody to play. The BADG decided that their all-star squad was not necessary and that the Richmond Wrecking Belles were available and ready. It was a relief for the BADG not to have to organize a bout, they just showed up in Davis, put on their skates and got ready to kick some butt. The Belles' lineup was thinned from their March 3rd bout, Racey Lane had been slowed down by a knee injury and wasn't 100%, Diane Rott was out with an injury and Diva Negativa couldn't make the trip. The SCR hold their bouts at the Davis Indoor Sports Center (DISC), it a Roller Hockey Rink similar to Dry Ice, newer, but no balconies.
With the bout about to start both teams fielded their best skaters: Kannonball Kim as pivot, then Sugarpop, Death Rae, Regulator S and Lil' Punk as jammer for the SCR. Nancy Drew Blood as pivot, then Lusty Malice, Mandi Festo, Liza Machete and Racey Lane as jammer for the Belles. The first three jams saw the Belles take lead jammer position and a slight lead 7-4. The next three jams saw the SCR with an opportunity to tie or take the lead, as they had lead jammer status for each of their jammers. But instead the Belles blockers were just too much for SCR and the Belles' lead widened to 16-9. The Belles then really put the hammer down on the SCR and shut them out for the next five jams, scoring 26 unanswered points. With score now 42 to 9 the shunned Rollers tried to regain some composure and began scoring some points, but the Belles continued their march on the Rollers scoring more than double what the Rollers were able to. At the end of the first half the score stood 55-15, the Belles had a 40 points lead to go into the final period.
When the teams returned to the track after the break the situation was for the SCR was grim to put it optimistically, but SCR had decided that no what they were going to go down fighting. SCR started the first jam in the second half with a new jammer, Death Rae. She had the good luck of starting the jam with the Belles jammer in the box, and was able to score 4 points and called the jam off before the Belles jammer was able pose a threat to score. But in the next jam the Belles responded with Racey Lane, and she put together a 8-2 jam. Next was a 4-4 tied as Purdy Girl and La Femme Nikilla battled it out. And on and on it went, first one side, and then the other, as Sac City and the Richmond Wrecking Belles traded points. By the end of the half, the Belles were only able to add an additional 6 points to their lead, the Rollers had fought an honorable fight. The final score of 99-54 Belles would not show the fight, toughness and never-say-die attitude that the Sac City Rollers showed their fans that night.
Bad Girl, Good Woman
There are two notable skaters that should be recognized, and they are the captains of the Richmond Wracking Belles. Liza Machete lived up or down to her reputation as 2006 Most Feared and Dirty Player. Liza was ejected from the bout in the 31st jam, the third jam before the end of the bout, for her third major, another high hit. Racey Lane wins my pick for MVP of the Bout. She had picked up a knee injury and when she jammed she struggled to make her laps, not the smooth, fast strides, she showed in the first bout of the season, but slow, jerky strides as she hobbled around the track. I told her at the end of the first half with her team well ahead that she should take the second half off and concentrate on healing her injured knee. But she came out in the second half and skated even harder. Later she told me that she used my advice to inspire her to skate as she did. Racey Lane, even an injured Racey Lane was still the highest scoring jammer of the bout. And for her grit and scoring skill Racey wins my admiration and exasperation.
Labels: Monster Mayhem, Sac City Rollers
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