The most highly trained and nationally acclaimed journalists and editors from the Paper of Record take a swing at writing a roller derby lede. Surely they will come up with a unique way of grabbing reader interest, something that throws off the old tired lede template, something clever and different and ... oh, nevermind.

By day, Jennifer Donovan works as an astronomer, listening for the faintest whispers from atoms in deep outer space, the tracings of movement in galaxies millions of light-years from Earth.
 
But it is nighttime. And in an abandoned cigar factory on a deserted street in Astoria, Queens, Jennifer Donovan, the astronomer, has become Luna Impact, roller derby chick.

Enough carping, though: you don't get too much more mainstream news-worthy than the NYT, so this is a moment for derby to be proud of. Also check the video, featuring interviews with the Bronx Gridlock's Ginger Snap and Brigitte Barhot, the Queens of Pain's Cheapskate, and GGRD head ref Mr. Rawk. Not too shabby (even if a subtitle stating there are currently 48 leagues active in roller derby undershoots the real total by about 150 percent...)