BOSTON, MA -- On Saturday, August 9, the 21st-ranked Dallas Derby Devils visit the northeast for a clash with the 14th-ranked Boston Massacre in a bout that could to be more closely matched than the sometimes deceiving rankings would imply. Boston will try to add a sixth win to their season record while Dallas will be looking for their third win of the season.
Dallas has been facing stiff competition this season, going down to heavy hitting teams from 12th-ranked Rocky Mountain (85-73), an alternate team from fifth-ranked Texas (142-101), and 11th-ranked Charm City (117-89). However, none of those losses were complete blowouts, and with recent wins over Angel City (162-66) and Northwest Arkansas (104-29), plus a narrow loss to Albuquerque’s 17th-ranked Duke City (63-62), the skaters from Dallas are in a good position to continue their forward momentum.
This will be the Boston Massacre’s seventh all-star game of the season. Aside from their day-one loss to Rocky Mountain (111-93) at ECDX, the Massacre has prevailed in every one of their games this season with wins over 22nd-ranked Dominion (119-69), the 2nd- ranked Gotham Girls’ reigning local champion Bronx Gridlock (116-49), 20th-ranked Cincinnati (85-44), and 24th-ranked Houston (114-38). In July, the Massacre sent the Ohio Roller Girls packing with a staggering 183-5 win, nearly shutting out OHRG and leaving them with the lowest score in WFTDA bouting history.
Defense will likely be the name of the game in this match-up. Dallas has a long-standing reputation for being a bruising, defense-oriented team with no shortage on blockers. Cheatin’ Chong, who was voted Dallas’s best pivot in 2007, will hold down the pack with help from defensive blockers Ali Gorey and Mercy. On the home team’s side, Boston is known for being a deep, defensive squad with impressive pack communication and blocking teamwork. Their ability to control pack speed has been the downfall of many an opponent. The pantsless militia has no shortage in pack weapons either with treacherous blockers Shelby Shattered, Maura Buse and Lois Carmen Dominator.
Dallas will be fielding a full 14-player roster with strong jammers including Ali Gorey, Anita Riot, Hot 4 Teacher, and the wicked fast Strawberry Deathcake (a transfer skater from Assassination City and competitive speed skater). The Boston Massacre comes to the table with without two of their highest scoring jammers—co-captain, and two-time MVP, Krush Puppy and Sugar Hits. Even playing shorthanded, expect the Massacre defense to give the Dallas jammers a run for their money.
It’s clear that this will be a very physical and demanding game for both teams, with Dallas looking to wear down the Massacre’s shallower-than-usual jammer roster, and the Massacre needing to step up their offensive awareness in the face of Dallas’s powerhouse hitters.
Next up for Dallas will be the Western Regional Tournament on October 3-5, 2008 in Houston, Texas. In round one, they face 13th-ranked Tucson; if they prevail, they’ll play 3rd-ranked Rat City .
Boston heads to the Eastern Regional Tournament on October 10-12, 2008 in Madison, Wisconsin. Their first match-up is against 19th-ranked Grand Raggidy who have been on a tear as of late. If Boston survives the first round, they will then face fourth-ranked Carolina, whose recent defeat at the hands of Cincinatti gives Boston fans much to speculate about.
Both teams will be chasing a much coveted spot at the 2008 National Tournament on November 14-16, 2008 in Portland, Oregon.
Anna Wrecks’Ya 101 // Claire D. Way 1984 // Etta Maims B-52 // Harley Quinn 9669 // Harlot Fevah 99 // Lois Carmen Denominator 011 // Maura Buse 34B // Pussy Venom 28 // Quick Sandy 24 // Shelby Shattered -0 // Sarah Doom 4.0// Triple Deck-Her 3D
Anita Riot 138 // Ann R Key K80 // Ali Gorey 1891 // Barooski 15 // Cheatin’ Chong 420 // Heike DeSkirt ~36-24-36 // Hot 4 Teacher A+ // Keltic Kamikaze 3 Jiggers // Lickity Splittail 241 // Mercy 1 // Rink Panther 0210 // Scary Cherry Bang Bang 505 // Shocker 21 // Strawberry Deathcake 2000 //
Boston Will Dominate
Sorry Dallas...but Boston is gonna kill. They just are. The Massacre Steamroller is gonna keep on a'rollin right over those Rollergirls from D-town. Ya gotta admire Dallas tho, ya really do. They keep scheduling heavywieghts and they are to be admired for that. Eventually, losing to the likes of Duke City, Pikes Peak, Chaaaarm City, Rocky Mtn., and KC will pay off. I mean, losing to those kinda teams is nothing to be ashamed of. However...ummm...Dallas?? It might be nice to mix in a couple of confidence-building lightweights at some point ya know?? Sheeesh. Knowing Dallas they'll be going up against Gotham, Detroit, Carolina and B.A.D. next!! At any rate-Boston will kill. Trust me.
I don't think so
I saw Boston at ECE get beat by Rocky Mountain. Boston is a smart team, but they are not that big or fast and team communication was not sharp. I'm not saying that Boston won't win, they surely will, but dominate, no. Dallas played Charm City earlier this year and lost by 28 points, a solid win for Charm City but not a dominating one. I haven't seen Dallas play this year, but I believe Dallas has size and speed and if they can play some good team defense they can shut down Boston's offense and score points. Dallas will get a shot or two at upsetting Boston. My prediction: Boston wins by somewhere between 8 and 20 points. This will be some of the best derby going on this weekend.
I was just chatting with Nostradamus...
...and he said Boston by 32. Don't know much about Dallas except that's where Boston boy JFK got shot and I hear the Boston Massacre are PISSED about this and want Revenge, baby, Revenge. Boston may not be big but they play solid defense. Quickness is more important than size. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. Boston is more than smaht they are wicked smaht.
Dallas pros: 1) Tougher schedule 2) Full roster 3) Lots of experience wrassling with longhorns and horny cowboys.
Boston pros: 1) Home advantage is worth 15 points 2) Fast and cunning 3) Underrated
4) There's just something in the Boston watuh 5) Cold winters and Boston drivers make you strong
I don't think so
Wow! Boston rules.
And how!
I've been very impressed w/those Bean City Rollergirls. And to be honest, Dallas has stalled in the last year it seems. Still, I would have to recognize that D-town has gone up against absolute top-flight competition and they cant really be considered that yet.
In a way, you were both right.
Boston led at halftime, but only *barely* -- but the final was a profound victory.
sounds like a great match up
I haven't seen Dallas in person since Dust Devil 2007, but I know they are a very solid team and I would love to be at this game, I'm sure its gonna be a good one. Boston is severely underrated in the east, I expect them to make a strong push to come out of Madison with a spot in Portland. Dallas and any visitors sure are in for a treat, as the Boston venue is a great place for derby and all the Boston derby folk are totally awesome and tons of fun!
Coach Caesar
Ohio Roller Girls
Final score was Boston 113, Dallas 46
It was like watching completely different teams in the first half than in the second. Period 1 ended nearly tied, I think with Boston up 27-25--the lowest and closest halftime score we've had for as long as I can remember.
--
#49 Boston Derby Dames
29-25 halftime
... is the report I got from Hambone, and yeah, it blew my mind just a little bit. My first gut feel was, wow, go defense, to which he pointed out, lots of jammers in the penalty box. 3.0 ruleset sure is fun to adapt to, huh?
Anyway, sounds like Boston successfully adjusted at halftime, and Dallas did not.
impressed
Just back home from reffing this one ... I was surprised to learn from DDD's Ali Gorey after the bout that it was Dallas's first bout under the 3.0 ruleset. The way they played, I thought they'd been playing under 3.0 for a lot longer. Congrats to them for quick adaptation.
Foremost Dallas standouts (from where I skated) were Anita Riot at the Jammer line and Mercy, who also excelled at the Rollercon pickup scrimmages last weekend. Mercy's aggressive re-engaging to scoot all the way around the outside of the very fast packs was really impressive. And she can really knock the pants off anyone caught unawares. (Too bad Boston wasn't wearing any pants, but had they been... ¡adios, pantalones!)
Wow, me too!
I wouldn't have thought this was their first 3.0 bout either.
I thought cutting penalties were called really aggressively, and that definitely hurt them. In period 2, one DDD jammer (Anita?) got blocked across the infield between 3 & 4, fought to slow down and regain her balance, but got called out when one foot hit the track, even though she picked it right back up again and didn't interfere with anyone on the track in doing it. Looked like a no-impact, no-penalty situation to me, but she was sent to the box. I felt her pain on that call.
Dallas looked like they understood 3.0 cutting the track rules, just need to drill them harder before regionals. (Exactly what BDD had to do before regionals last year, after we got our asses handed to us by GGRD in our scrimmage at the Crash Pad.)
--
#49 Boston Derby Dames
it's not ALL about cutting
"Got called out when one foot it the track..." says Ruby Kahn ... yup, that's the rule.
Make no mistake, however -- the bout wasn't decided by 'cut' calls. Boston's entire lineup did a terrific job of keeping up the intensity and focus for all 120 seconds of every jam, and didn't let temporary setbacks wrankle their knickers.
That's clearly a benefit of not wearing pants. I'm not sure how Boston's pants-wearing foes in the Madison and Portland tournaments are going to counter this pants-free strategy.
Meanwhile, for all the 3.0 haters out there -- I was watching video friday night of interleague 2.1 action - (rose city @ gotham, Oct 2007, to be precise) - and wow there were SO many cuts that were called minors back then and would be called as majors now -- and looking at how those cuts impacted game play, well hell yes those should be considered majors!
3.0 Hater
It's time to change the rules again.
3.0 isn't so bad
Just adapt and no one gets majors.
Anna
Boston Massacre: The pantsless wonders of Massachusetts
3.0 Hater
Hi Anna, Seen you skate, think you're great, but I have to disagree with you; I have seen this call too much. Jammer on the inside line near the peak gets nailed to the inside, she slides, skates over helmet, across the line in front of the last blocker. The ref has no choice but to send the dazed jammer to the box with a major. This is a dumb rule. In fact all automatic calls are dumb. Refs make decisions about penalties all the time, they decide whether a penalty is no impact, minor or major. There is no reason why the cutting rule should be any different. It's time to let some common sense enter into this area. If a skater does not gain an advantage it's not a penalty. Only skaters can change this.
Agree to disagree? :)
I feel okay with this rule, and not just because its gratifying as a blocker or because I'm not a jammer. When the rule first changed our jammers (and blockers!) were sent to the box a lot for it, but since then we and other leagues I'm sure, have been practicing hardcore to avoid the scenario. We've all become more controlled, smarter skaters because of it even though it is admittedly extreme.
Anna
Boston Massacre: The pantsless wonders of Massachusetts
Are you saying...
...that if the jammer is "down" when re-entering the track, she should get not the penalty as long as she doesn't get back up until after the cut blockers have passed her? Makes sense to me...she's not in play until she gets up, therefore she yet hasn't gained the advantage.
~Aly Sylum
Sacred City Derby Girls
More things I've seen:
(1) Skater gets knocked on ass, ass slides across line in front of pack, skater makes herself as small as possible, pack successfully avoids her, after pack has passed skater gets up and is sent to box. (2) Skater gets knocked down, skater does four point landing, hand crosses line and is quickly pulled back before pack approaches, skater is sent to box. (3) Skater is knocked inside, she stays on her skates, skater circles to reenter pack correctly and clips line ahead of pack, skater sent to box.
Just because you can adapt to a dumb rule, that's no justification for a dumb rule to exist.
Rule building in action
Cutting makes for an easy target in rules complaints because it's one of the only penalties would seem to be reversable - at least insofar as the net gain on the skater's part is concerned. There will be examples like your "hand crosses line" that just make you groan, but how much after the hand would you give her before the action should unequivocally be penalized? Say what you will about the rule, but as Hambone mentioned and I agree, it's an improvement over its predecessor. And ideally over time and testing and subsequent rules releases, we hone in on the absolute best resolution.
I, for one, love that cutting the track is currently called for just that - cutting the track. Did she cut the track? Yes? Well then it's a penalty. No semantics about "but only for one metric moment-Mississippi" or "how much of her came back inbounds?" or "how down and out of play was she?" or "what happened immediately before/after?" or "what do I think she was trying to do?" or "but it looked like she was going to undo it." Cut = cut, and increased enforcement has improved a lot of skaters' awareness of and attempted adherence to (at least this one facet of) the rules if nothing else.
Even if it's not perfect.
perfect explanation
Exactly. With cutting, there's no discretion. Its very cut and dry. "it looked like she was going to undo it" or worse "was it intentional?" gag. no intent, plz.
Anna
Boston Massacre: The pantsless wonders of Massachusetts
I hate low scores
There I was rooting around on the hard concrete of the Shriner's Auditorium. Pickings were lean. You see humans get real sloppy at a bout when things get fast and points are tallied. All the food in their hands winds up on the floor. Which makes me a happy pig. In the first half, Dallas was shutting down the Massacre. Showing them no respect. Very physical. The Derby Devils were poised for a big upset and this hog was going hungry.
As soon as the 2nd half started it got crazy. Popcorn, hot dogs, hamburg rolls, and my favorite: french fries drenched in beer were everywhere. From this porker's perspective the Shriner's Auditorium turned into the Swiners Auditorium. When I looked up from my feast, Boston had jumped out to a big lead. I knew the bout was over. Is 67 points score diff considered a blowout? Dallas fought back but were stymied by Boston's defense. Lots of yelling at the refs didn't help them( maybe hogs are the 4th most intelligent animals on the planet after apes, dolphins and jelly fish but I still can't make any sense of derby rules)
My honest opinion from my vantage point 1 foot off the ground is Boston won because they weren't wearing any pants.
Best. Analysis.
Ever.
NEW DNN STAFFER
I propose that you write all of our bout recaps. And a note: Shriner's popcorn is so salty-good it makes your lips sting but you can't stop eating it.
Anna
Boston Massacre: The pantsless wonders of Massachusetts
Well of course...
And if you like Shriners' popcorn, you've got to give the Shrine-stas' variety a try. Or I'll pop a cap... and hopefully remember to aim upward.
But seriously, you should definitely think about getting that esteemed pig as your recapper. I likes the idea, myself.
-Barely even speaking for myself...
*~[
Grand Poobah
Sin City Stat Pack
Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls
Dallas was a fabulous
Dallas was a fabulous opponent and super awesome girls. I'm really, glad they came up to play us!
I'm just a Pig
Anna, I'm not sure if you're referring to me here. I'm not a DNN staffer. Errr I'm just a pig. That wasn't so much of a recap or analysis. It was more of a drunken rant. No stats, names or scores. I'm really not a detail pig. And there's only so much I can remember and see with a belly full of beer rooting around at ankle height.
I'll gladly volunteer for cleanup duties at your bouts. French fries soaked in beer...YYuuummmm.
Forget the popcorn, it gets stuck in my snout but there are plenty people in Shriner's who will pick my snout for me. Don't deny it. The proof is on the Boston Derby Dames website, see flickr photo booth hijinks.
It was more like a proposal
It was more like a proposal that you become a new DNN staffer.
Anna
Boston Massacre: The pantsless wonders of Massachusetts
Thanks for the kind words
Anna, I've seen the Massacre skate 3 times against Cinci, Ohio and last Saturday against Dallas. This pig was very impressed as were your fans at the Shriner's which meant I was a very well fed pig.
If you Dames keep skating like you did in your last 3 bouts there'll be better writers than me lining up to write recaps for you. My stream of consciousness rants are about the best I can do with a short attention span, a belly full of beer and a serious hangover.
Congrats on your MVP and good luck in Madison. I know you're gonna surprise!
Bottle of Smoke