Two up and coming teams in the Carolinas made a splash on the regional derby scene by drawing an incredible crowd of more than 2100 fans on their bout on January 27th; the host Charlotte Rollergirls, and the victorious visitors, the Columbia Quad Squad Rollergirls.

In a very competitive back-and-forth game, Charlotte earned a 69-60 lead early in the third period, built largely by the jamming of Rosie Cheeks, who averaged a game high 4.44 points per jam, and posted 40 of
Charlotte’s 78 points in the game. Columbia took over in the last 8 jams of the contest, though, outscoring Charlotte 27-9 down the stretch, despite seemingly having one or two blockers in the penalty box during that entire run.

The charge was led by the Columbia co-captain, Holly Hunter, who toed the jammer line for the Quad Squad in five of the last seven jams, earning lead jammer status in four of those jams, and outscoring Charlotte’s jammers 18-4.

As memorable as the bout itself was, the story of the night was arguably the crowd. Well over two thousand rabid fans filed into historic Cricket Arena for Charlotte’s home debut, bought every last piece of merchandise, and established Charlotte as one of the most derby hungry cities in the country.

DNN contributor and announcer-at-large Moose Ondaluce is back with some pre- and post-bout interviews from Tornado Alley’s most recent bout. This episode features Grimmhilda, Saracidal, Anomellie and Demon Doll from the victorious Valkyrie Vixens and Ivanna Hurtem, Frankie Facebreaker and GoldieKnox from Cell Block 9. Also watch for Coach Pain from the Central Oklahoma Roller Derby Association and announcers Ray the XXX-ican (Green Country) and Mel Gitsum (Tornado Alley), and rules nerds will want to take special notice of an appearance by Hard Ass Brass, guest reffing from Green Country, who explains a unique Tornado Alley interpretation of the split pack rule.

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association has just released their newest quarterly rankings, featuring 26 leagues from around the nation. While there isn’t too much movement in the top spots, the middle rankings do show that national derby has achieved some significant parity after a few years of wildly varying skill levels by age and region. The rankings are not determined by a weighted system — rather, each WFTDA league submits their own rankings and the results are averaged.

Kansas City and Rat City hang on to the 1 and 2 spots that they claimed back in October after their 1-2 finish at Nationals, but the previous #4, Carolina, swaps spots with the previous #3, Texas, on the strength of Carolina’s razor-thin 96-95 victory over Kansas City on December 2nd. That’s a move that is guaranteed to stoke some controversy, as Carolina and Kansas City were both beaten badly by Texas in their last meetings. Philly edges up one spot from 10 to 9, and Bay Area is the only team to move into the top ten, moving 3 spots up from 13 to 10. All other top 10 spots remain the same.

In the middle of the pack, though, things are much more fluid. Charm City is the biggest mover in the organization, leaping 7 places from #22 to #15 by scoring a surprise win against Minnesota in December, 73-69, and handling Dallas last week, 117-89. Denver’s Rocky Mountain is also on the upswing, jumping 6 spots from #19 to #13 after a solid upset of Madison, 131-98, and a decent showing against powerful Gotham, 113-48. (Notably, Charm City and Rocky Mountain will be playing each other before the next rankings are released — they’re set for a March 15th clash in Baltimore.)

A slight surprise is Providence, jumping up 4 spots to #14 despite not having played an interleague game since their 98-55 August loss at Eastern Regionals to Carolina. Arizona, going through some restructuring problems that sent them to a big 87-24 loss against Minnesota in December, drops the furthest, going 4 spaces down from #12 to #16. Albuquerque’s Duke City drops a spot from #16 to #17 after suffering a 158-36 thumping from Texas in December.

Most of the spots in the twenties are held by leagues making their debut in the rankings system. That crew is led by the new-to-WFTDA but long-established Denver Roller Dolls, who come in at #21 but seem likely to rise in the future as they play more bouts for rankings — in February, they’ll face off with #1 Kansas City in a match that has the potential to send them rocketing up the charts.

WFTDA considers leagues “inactive” and does not include them in rankings if they fail to meet membership requirements during a quarter, and therefore a few big-name leagues are conspicuous by their absence in this cycle. Portland’s Rose City, a potential top-ten league after a very respectable loss to the Gotham juggernaut 129-86 and a blowout of Charm City 126-37, is nowhere to be found, nor is Boston, who took #8 Detroit to overtime during Eastern Regionals. (Boston and Rose City were #14 and #15 in the last quarter.)

Finally, previous #17 Sin City, who likely would have seen another drop after losing their last four bouts by over 50 points each, also goes unranked this time around, as does previous #24 Grand Raggidy, who might have seen some upward movement after big back-to-back wins over Sin City and a close victory over Ohio.

Full list (with +/- movement) under the jump:

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FEASTERVILLE, PA — When the Philly and Charm City all-star teams faced each other in January 2007, the Liberty Belles meted out a 50-point schooling of the younger team. Almost exactly a year later, though, the Charm City local champion Night Terrors got a measure of revenge for their league, sending the Philly home champs Philthy Britches to their first defeat ever, 117-80. Both teams came into this bout with offsetting handicaps. The Britches were only skating 11 players, and of those, only 4 were on the current Philly all-star team. While the Night Terrors brought 13 and had 8 all-star players, 6 of them had just finished playing a full-length bout, as they were on the Dolls squad in the first contest of the doubleheader event.

The bout started in a very similar fashion to the neck-and-neck battle between the Dolls and the Hookers, with neither team able to establish a significant advantage. The Britches took the first lead as Mo Pain scored a 3-2 win over Joy Collision, as Joy was forced to call the jam as she took a tumble during a failed assist from Mibbs Breakin’ Ribs. (Mibbs aggravated an ongoing knee injury in that first jam; while she remained in the game, it seemed to bother her throughout.)

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FEASTERVILLE, PA — An intense back-and-forth exhibition battle between Charm City’s local team the Junkyard Dolls (3rd place in the 2007 CCRG season) and Philly’s local Heavy Metal Hookers (4th place in the 2007 PRG season) featured 5 second-half lead changes on the way to a thrilling conclusion, as the home Hookers ended up on the right side of a 91-88 nailbiter.

The Dolls managed to pull lead jammer status on the first four jams of the night, but with the Hookers jammers almost always right behind them out of the pack, they could only turn it into a 7-2 lead — the Hookers’ blockers Ivana Rock and Robin Drugstores were key elements in that, usually forcing the Dolls’ jammers to call off the jams during their first scoring passes. The visitors’ advantage was erased quickly on jams 6 and 7 — first, the Hookers’ Wendy Whiplash got lead and blanked Pistol Whip in a quick 4-0 jam, and then Felony Griffith, up against the Dolls’ Cherrylicious, was taken down illegally by Joy Collision during her opening pass but managed to recover, take lead and put up another 4-0, giving the Hookers their first lead at 10-7.

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KALAMAZOO, MI — The home fans in Kalamazoo had to love this game, but the visitors from Illinois/Wisconsin could have titled this game “A Midwinter Day’s Nightmare” as the hometown Kalamazoo Kamikazes Danger Dames soundly defeated the visiting Stateline Roller Derby Divas 224-22 in a game played at Rollerworld just west of Kalamazoo, Michigan, on a snowy evening. Stateline held its only lead of the game after the very first jam of the game; after that, it was all K-zoo. The Danger Dames got lead jammer in 26 of the game’s 29 jams, and also (unofficially) rang up 34 grand slam points on the night.

MP3: Post-bout interview with Bombadee of the Stateline Derby Divas

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Roller derby action returns to “the Zoo” (Kalamazoo, MI, that is) on Saturday, January 26 when the Kalamazoo Kamikaze Danger Dames host the Stateline Derby Divas from the Rockford, IL and Beloit, WI areas. The game will be contested at Rollerworld at 7291 Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo, with doors at 6:30, and game at 7:00 pm.

The Stateline Divas will be without two skaters, Subpoena Envy (broken ankle) and Boom Boom Martini (ankle sprain), due to recent injuries. The Divas wryly listed the info about Subpoena’s injury under the headline “Breaking News” on their blog.

Other skaters who are expected to skate are Annsanity, Bombadee, Constance Chaos, Emma Hurtinu, Ima Nymph, Lil’ Loca, Liberty Bella, Racy Tracy, Redneck B. Yotch, Sgt. Chesty, Stiletto Steel, Tally Turmoil, Vamp Helsing, Velvet Vendetta, and The Warrior. This will be Stateline’s first official game, although they had a scrimmage against the Quad City Rollers in December which the Stateline Divas won by a 97-88 score.

In contrast, the Kalamazoo squad will have a slight experience edge as they have skated in three official games, defeating Bleeding Heartland 137-81 in July, then losing to Grand Raggidy’s B-Sides 102-66 in November and to the Naptown Tornado Sirens 164-24 in December. K-zoo will skate Lady Hawk, Lily St. Smear, Charisnikov, and The Brixton Bomb as jammers, Delilah Danger and Battleaxe at pivot, and The Organ Grinder, Terrorhawk, Rambling Girl, Tone Loco, Noam Stompsky, Clit Eastwood, The Artful Dodger, and Powder Puff as blockers.

Battleaxe, Terrorhawk and Tone Loco have had previous experience skating with the Everyday Rebelles of Grand Raggidy.

Kalamazoo has been improving with each match they’ve skated, although the Naptown score doesn’t reflect that (Naptown has a year of experience over K-zoo), and the Danger Dames should have an edge skating on their home floor along with the all-too-close walls on the back straightaway part of their track.

While K-zoo was with OSDA, they are currently unaffiliated and are skating this match using WFTDA rules. Stateline skates to WFTDA rules, so they will know what to expect — rules wise, at least! Officials from Grand Raggidy and Detroit (including Grand Raggidy star skater Dot Matrix) will be lending a hand in stripes.

UPDATE: Kalamazoo puts a thumping on Stateline in a 224-22 rout (full recap to come.)

While the second bout of Philly’s Super Roll season opener is also merely for exhibition, there certainly are bragging rights on the line as two-time CCRG Donaghy Cup champions, the Night Terrors, take on the two-time winner of the PRG Warrior Cup, the Philthy Britches.

The Night Terrors come in with an all-time home record of 9-4, but have only lost one game since July 2006. Meanwhile, the Britches are undefeated but play a shorter season, with their record standing at 7-0.

Additionally, both home teams won their only previous interleague bouts at ECE, with the Terrors having dismissed Garden State’s Northern Nightmares, 90-19, and the Britches having knocked off Gotham’s B-Team, the Wall Street Traitors, 52-22 (both bouts were 30 minutes.)

After the recent restructuring of the Philly teams, the Britches are sending out a line up that is almost identical to the one from the 2007 season. With the retirement of Megan Trouble, the Britches will introduce two newly acquired skaters to the world of inter-league play. Second season skater Liz Teria (formerly of the Hostile City Honeys) will serve her team as bench manager, and rookie Racey Intent will be skating in her very first bout.

For the visitors, the makeup of this Night Terrors team is somewhat different than the one that defeated the Speed Regime in October for the CCRG title — 7 Night Terrors suit up along with 7 players from other teams in the league, some of whom will be playing in both games of the doubleheader. Of the 14, though, 11 have been on the Charm City all-star team at some point, and Ang Thrax is the only one who has never played an interleague contest — so the Britches’ advantage in team cohesion may be offset by greater bout experience on the Terrors’ side.

Additional reporting: Zombielicious, Dirty Marty and Eddie Spaghetti

UPDATE: The Terrors hold a tenuous lead hovering around 15 points for the majority of the bout, but blow the game open in the last 10 minutes on the back of a 10-0 jam for Stormin’ Mormon followed by a 15-0 for Joy Collision — Night Terrors win by 37, 117-80 (full recap to come.)

Rosie the Rioter 100% // Mibbs Breakin’ Ribs 1010 // Frenzy Lohan 119 // Ang Thrax 33 // Cheeta Torpeda 37 // Holly Go Hardly 415 // Pistol Whip 44 // Sister Midnight 515 // Dolly Rocket gr8 // Stormin’ Mormon 68 // Pixie Rocket 69 // Penaltyna 7 // Joy Collision 747 // Cherrylicious NC-17

Violet Temper 06 // Gefilite Fists 18 // Gloria Grindem 1972 // Janet Meano 40oz // Olivia Face 668 // Dara Licks 67 // Dotti Horror 7 // Cindecent Exposure 711 // Racey Intent 79 // Mo Pain 8 // Ginger Vitis 93.3

10th ranked Philly kicks off its third season this Saturday with a unique expo bout — a doubleheader featuring two full-length bouts between two Philly local teams and two from their sisters to the south, the 22nd ranked Charm City Roller Girls. The first match of the evening will pit the Heavy Metal Hookers (1-4 in the 2007 Philly season) against the Junkyard Dolls (3-4 in the 2007 Charm City season.)

Neither team is perfectly representative of its composition during the home seasons, though. Philly recently reorganized their league, moving to a three-team structure, disbanding last year’s third-place Hostile City Honeys and distributing their players to the remaining teams. The Dolls will be bringing up their core skaters rounded out by some members of other Charm City teams, rookies and all-stars alike, to reach 14.

Thus far in PRG history, the Hookers have been Philly’s official underdog, with only one win over two seasons. It was a title they and their raucous neon-green wearing legions of fans embraced with pride, but with their new additions to their lineup, things may be changing for them. In the league restructure, the Hookers added Teflon Donna and Felony Griffith, two former Honeys who should add depth to their new team both on the jammer line and in the pack. The Hookers have also added the Cycrone, a rookie who shows a lot of promise in all positions on the track. Ex-Honey and fierce blocker Nina Knockout also dons the green for one night only — she’s been picked up by the Broad Street Butchers but will be skating for the Hookers on Saturday.

The Junkyard Dolls finished last in the 2006 Charm City season with a 1-5 record, but their second season showed remarkable progress as they neared .500 with a 3-4 record. Considerably tighter defense and the crucial second-year additions of Cherrylicious, Dolly Rocket and Killer Kitten have definitely put the Dolls in position to challenge for Charm City’s title this year. This iteration of the Dolls will also contain a couple of rising stars in tough blocker Holly Go Hardly, who plays for the Mobtown Mods at home and has made two appearances on the Charm City All-Star squad, and Stormin’ Mormon, who plays for Speed Regime at home and made an impressive all-star debut in Charm City’s December win over Minnesota.

Additional reporting: Zombielicious, Dirty Marty and Eddie Spaghetti

UPDATE: In a thriller with numerous lead changes, Teflon Donna puts her Hookers in the lead on the second-to-last jam and the Hookers pull lead jammer status in the last frame to win, 91-88 (full recap to come.)

Drop Dead Red 111 // Euro Thrash XIV // Ivana Rock 11 (co captain) // Manda War 333 // Robin Drugstores 714 (co-captain) // Val Halla 17 // Wendy Whiplash 1369 // Wreckin Eyes 4 Sale // Nina Knockout 36XXX // Felony Griffith #44 // Cycrone #63 // Teflon Donna #85

Here’s what’s happening this week in derby:

On TV:

• (Repeat) - Heartland Havoc Semifinal (taped 8/19/2007): Windy City Rollers vs. Carolina Rollergirls (MavTV, 10:30pm Sat, 4:30 am Sun, Noon and 5pm Mon)

Interleague bouts:

Saturday:

• Charm City Junkyard Dolls @ Philly Heavy Metal Hookers
• Charm City Night Terrors @ Philly Philthy Britches
• Rat City Rollergirls (pickup squad) vs. Rose City Breakneck Betties
• DC Rollergirls @ Steel City Derby Demons
• Stateline Roller Derby Divas @ Kalamazoo Kamikazes

Sunday:

• Columbia Quad Squad @ Charlotte Roller Girls

Intraleague bouts:

Saturday:

• Arizona Derby Dames season opener featuring all five teams
• Brewcity Bruisers: Crazy Eights vs. Shevil Knievels (championship bout), Rushin’ Roulettes vs. Maiden Milwaukee (third place bout)
• LA Derby Dolls: Fight Crew vs. Tough Cookies (banked track)
• Mad Rollin’ Dolls: Unholy Rollers vs. Quad Squad, Reservoir Dolls vs. Vaudeville Vixens
• Omaha Rollergirls: Lowdown Lucys vs. Victoria’s Secret Service
• Rose City Rollers: High Rollers vs. Heartless Heathers
• Windy City Rollers: Double Crossers vs. The Fury, Manic Attackers vs. Hell’s Belles

Sunday:

• CT Rollergirls: Elm City Bonecrushers vs. Widowmakers
• Lonestar Rollergirls: All-Scar Army vs. Holy Rollers (banked track)
• South Side Roller Derby: The Devil’s Rejects vs. Las Muertas
• Tornado Alley Roller Girls: Cell Block 9 vs. Valkyrie Vixens

To have your bout or event included in the DNN Weekly Roundup, email events@derbynewsnetwork.com with the details. Send final scores to scores@derbynewsnetwork.com.