Weekend Preview, September 9-11

By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Fri Sep 9 2011 7:09pm

#7 Kansas City @ #9 Windy City: Coming one week before the WFTDA regional tournament cycle begins with Easterns in Baltimore, Maryland, this bout looks to be an excellent appetizer. The last time these two teams met was almost exactly three years ago in September of 2008, when defending WFTDA champions Kansas City were ranked #1 in the world but got sent packing in a somewhat shocking 155-39 rout by Windy City; two weeks later, Kansas City was knocked out of Western Regionals by massive underdog Duke City in their first game.

KCRW's been inexorably rebuilding ever since and has risen to their highest national ranking since that rough end to their title defense; this year, their 7-1 record is marred only by a 169-88 loss in June to DNN's current #1 in the nation, Oly. Windy City has also only dropped one game thus far this year, 116-49 to #6 Bay Area; their record is 10-1 in sanctioned bouts and 12-1 overall. Both teams are on the tail end of their winningest regular seasons ever. And just to up the stakes a bit more, Windy City is officially #1 in the WFTDA North Central with nary a North Central loss in the three-year history of the region, while Kansas City is #1 in the South Central without an in-region loss since May 2010.

This bout marks the debut of longtime Cincinnati blocker standout Trauma as a Kansas City all-star; key WCR jammer Beth Amphetamine suffered a concussion two weeks ago against San Diego and will miss this one.

This bout will be streamed live on DNN courtesy of the Windy City Rollers. Undercard between WCR b-team Second Wind and KCRW b-team Plan B at 6:00pm Central; main event at 7:30pm.

#18 Cincinnati @ #8 Rat City & #1 Oly: Cincinnati joins Detroit, Atlanta, Kansas City, Boston, Texas and Montreal in taking the infamous Pacific Northwest passage in 2011, battling Rat City on Friday and Oly on Sunday. After a strong 2010 season that ended in some controversy amid two excellent games and close losses against Windy City and Madison at North Centrals, Cincinnati has had less success in 2011 and owns a 4-6 record. It seems unlikely they'll be able to pull a win out of this weekend, but 5-5 Rat City has been occasionally vulnerable this year. 8-0 Oly, though, has been on fire all year long and seems a lock for the win on Sunday. Cincy / Rat City Friday night; closed bout. Cincy / Oly Sunday 6pm Pacific; no live coverage scheduled.

#17 Naptown @ #19 Nashville: Naptown comes off a long break with this inter-regional game against Nashville; Naptown hasn't had an all-star game since late May, while Nashville was in action a month ago against #23 Carolina in a 143-112 on August 13.

Both teams have a couple of shared opponents this year, with Naptown faring better in both instances; Minnesota squeaked by Naptown 111-95 in April but had a slightly easier time against Nashville in July, 130-84; meanwhile, Cincinnati rolled over Nashville 176-53 in March but was surprised by Naptown 167-94 in what was a considerable upset in April. This is the last game for both teams before their respective regional tournaments. Saturday, 7pm Eastern (undercard between Nashville b-team Brawl Stars and Chattanooga at 5:30pm). No live coverage scheduled.

Brewcity @ #20 Chicago Outfit: Officially, WFTDA ranking has Brewcity at #7 in the North Central and Chicago Outfit at #9, but a few surprising recent results for Brewcity suggest that the Milwaukee team may have some trouble with the Outfit -- their last two games are narrow losses to Atlanta (1 point) and Grand Raggidy (7 points). Grand Raggidy is ranked at #12 in the North Central and will miss October's regional tournament, while Atlanta was just pummeled by DNN #23 Carolina, 242-52. Overall, Brewcity is 3-6 in 2011, with only one narrow win over a tournament-bound team in Omaha. The Outfit holds an 8-4 record in sanctioned action thus far this year and have defeated tournament-bound Arch Rival, No Coast, Omaha and Ohio.

Given their respective seeding in the North Central tournament, it's extremely unlikely these teams will meet in advancement rounds (they'd both have to reach the championship game for it to happen) but they could very well see each other again soon in the consolation rounds. Saturday, 8:30 pm Central (undercard between Outfit b-team Shade Brigade and Twin City Rollergirls (Champaign-Urbana, IL) at 7pm). No live coverage scheduled.

Each of WFTDA's 4 regions sees a matchup between developing teams this weekend. Green Country (officially 8th in the South Central via WFTDA) visits Assassination City (officially #22 SC), North Star (#12 WFTDA North Central) takes on Sioux Falls (#16 WFTDA NC), Green Mountain (#23 WFTDA East) hosts Garden State (#25 WFTDA E), and Central Coast (#19 WFTDA West) is up against Silicon Valley (#12 WFTDA W).