Bout recap: (*5) Brooklyn Bombshells 109, (u) Long Island 34
Posted by Hambone on November 4th, 2007
In a highly entertaining bout between two friendly leagues, and in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd at the intimate Hunter College Sportsplex, the Gotham Girls’ Brooklyn Bombshells took down the Long Island Roller Rebels All-Stars, 109-34. This was a 40-minute bout opening a double-header in which the Gotham Girls’ third and fourth ranked home teams each took on visiting teams in a tri-state area love-in. (The 1st and 2nd ranked teams battle in the November 17 finals.)
An extra added feature of the evening was Philly’s Roxy Rockett (formerly from Carolina) serving as a jammer ref. Other tri-state referees participating in the regional con-fab included Sugar Daddy, Miss Mayhem and AcuPuncher (New Jersey Dirty Dames), Thrillhouse (Garden State), and Jefferee and Psycho Billy (LIRR).
The bout started with a bang for the Brooklyn sailorettes, as jammer Sassy Hipsaw jumped out with a 9-0 romp over Long Island’s C-Roll, who was boxed in by Brooklyn blockers Ani DiSpanco, Anne Phetamean, and Hela Skelter. C-Roll did escape from the pack with a nifty leap over Hela Skelter’s left leg on the inside boundry, but C-Roll couldn’t get around for points before Sassy ended the jam. In the second stanza, Brooklyn’s Lil’ Red Terror outscored LIRR’s Summer Slam 7-3. Brooklyn got a bit sloppy, however, with 20 ft majors being awarded both to Sassy Hipsaw (in front) and Raggedy Animal (from behind). Brooklyn’s Aunti Christ, however, made up for the positional errors of her teammates by twice bringing Summer Slam to the court with devastating blocks.
Bombshell Ani Dispanco is bowed but fortunately unbroken after a shoulder injury sustained early in the second half. Photo credit: pup_vs_robot
Brooklyn piled on the points from there, but there was a bright spot for LIRR in the sixth jam of the period when LIRR’s Captain Morgan knocked down Brooklyn jammer Anne Phetamean, and her teammate Amaretto Sourpuss passed the star to pivot C-Roll to pick up 4 points for Long Island. Phetamean, however, recovered from the downing to rack up 9 points of her own. Sassy Hipsaw then scored a 10-0 double grand slam, aided by blocker teammate Hard Anya, who dramatically knocked down Regine Bull of the Roller Rebels, and by blocker Ariel Assault, who cleared a beautiful path on the inside. Assault bouted days after returning from her honeymoon — congrats, Ariel! In the following jam, Amaretto Sourpuss had a blocking moment of glory, clearing out Brooklyn’s Ani DiSpanco to assist teammate C-Roll in gaining Lead Jammer status and earning a 4-4 tie against Brooklyn’s Lil’ Red Terror.
Next, it was Anne Phetamean who swooped through the LIRR pack for a 9-0 victory, but it was a key booty block by Butterscotch Cripple (now skating for the Philly Rollergirls) who stopped the bleeding and forced Phetamean to call it off before any further scoring. One of Brooklyn’s many fan favorites, rookie Ani Dispanco, jammed in the 10th jam of period 1, to raucous crowd approval. Dispanco earned lead jammer and a 2-0 victory over Amaretto Sourpuss. Sourpuss was attacked with an illegal — but effective — block by Raggedy Animal which merited a major foul as a low blow. The first period ended with a brief Brooklyn jamming appearance by super-blocker Hela Skelter, but time expired before any points could be scored. Brooklyn led at the half, 68-15.
The second half began as the previous half began - with a big victory for Brooklyn’s Sassy Hipsaw. She picked up 14 points in a 2-minute jam, aided by her blocking teammates Ani DiSpanco, Anne Phetamean, Hela Skelter, and Hard Anya, who together held the dangerous C-Roll to just 4 points over the 2 minutes. Lil’ Red Terror then scored a 10-2 over Summer Slam, who was wiped out with an explosive block by Raggedy Animal. After the jam’s final whistles, LIRR’s Anna Tramp demolished former LIRR skater Aunti Christ with an after-the-whistle block which the referees didn’t catch. (All’s fair among former teammates!)
Next, Brooklyn’s rookie Barbara Ambush took the jamming line for the first time this season. She was felled by some effective hits from LIRR’s Serial Mom, and then wound up in the box for committing four minors. However, LIRR could not take advantage and lost the jam 3-0. The following jam, with Brooklyn’s jammer starting the box, could also have been a big opportunity for LIRR and their jammer Regine Bull. However, Regine was bottled up by Hela Skelter and Lil’ Red Terror, and she could only pick up a single point. In the fifth jam of the second period, Ani Dispanco took the jammer line again, and in a brilliant moment for LIRR, Ani was held in the pack by an impassable wall of Captain Morgan and Butterscotch Cripple. While LIRR’s Summer Slam took the lead, Dispanco struggled for multiple laps to break through the wall. Ani was eventually smashed to the outside by Captain Morgan. Dispanco skated for another lap before realizing that her systems had been damaged, and she permanently fell to the track. Medics were alerted, the jam was halted, and Ani’s left shoulder was iced and put in a sling. Initial diagnosis was a bruised shoulder, but Ani was done for the evening.
In the 8th jam of the period, LIRR’s Amaretto Sourpuss went up against Aunti Christ. Aunti entered the box, leaving Brooklyn at a disadvantage, but Anne Phetamean saved the day with block after block of Amaretto Sourpuss, knocking her down or sending her seriously off-course at least four times over the course of the jam. It was a 2-0 LIRR victory, and Phetamean’s heroics kept the damage at a minimum. In Jam 9, with Aunti Christ still in the box as a jammer, Summer Slam took the jamming line and achieved LIRR’s first clear victory of the evening, with a clean 4-0 victory.
Lil’ Red Terror (left) and Ariel Assault (right) of the Bombshells bid farewell to the Manhattan Mayhem’s Roxy Balboa, who played in her last GGRD game tonight. Photo credit: pup_vs_robot
The final jam of the evening was the most dramatic of all, as Brooklyn’s wrecking ball Hela Skelter took the line against Regine Bull in another rare jamming appearance. The two fought for Lead Jammer lap after lap, with each trading places behind the front line. Finally, it was Hela who won lead jammer by a mere step, to roars of approval from the partisan crowd. The jam concluded as a 4-4 tie, but Hela’s performance was a moving send-off to the spirited 2007 Brooklyn Bombshells, who defeated their Long Island sisters 109-34.
November 5th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Update from Ani Dispanco on her injury:
It’s an acromioclavicular joint separation, grade 2, which is a fancy way of saying I separated my shoulder. Good News is that I don’t need surgery! I will, however, be going to therapy for 2-3 x’s a week for 2 months.