At last, the 2008 Detroit Derby Girls home season is at an end, and what better way to end the season than with a double-header featuring two games with all four of the DDG teams in action!

In the consolation game it will be the winless (0-3) D-Funk Allstars taking on the 1-2 Pistolwhippers. That game is followed by the DDG Championship game between the 2-1 Devil’s Night Dames vs. the 3-0 Detroit Pistoffs.

The games are at the usual location in the Drill Hall at the Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit, MI. Doors open at 6pm, first game starts at 7pm.

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This Saturday, April 26, will feature another derby contest in the “Mitten” state (i.e., Michigan), between the Killamazoo Derby Darlins, formerly the Kalamazoo Kamikazes Danger Dames, and the new “Motor City Disassembly Line” of Detroit Derby Girls. Here’s more from Killamazoo’s Organ Grinder:

Exciting News From the Mitten

The previously named Kalamazoo Kamikazes are proud to announce a new name and a new focus for the years ahead. Now to be known as the “Killamazoo Derby Darlins,” the league boasts the same skating talent but no longer have any ties to the OSDA. With the help and support of sister leagues Grand Raggidy Roller Girls and Detroit Derby Girls, and inspiration from WFTDA leagues everywhere the Killamazoo Derby Darlins are now aspiring WFTDA.

And from the Detroit Derby Girls statsmaster General AK-40oz, comes this:

The Detroit Derby Girls roll out a new team to face off against the re-worked Kalamazoo team. The Motor City Disassembly Line will be comprised of a rotating crew of home league skaters not on the Detroit Travel Team, and are set to face off against teams from other leagues. The Killamazoo Derby Darlins are completing their first year of travel bouts (have faced Grand Raggidy’s G-Rap B-Sides, Stateline Derby Divas, and Naptown Rollergirls). They began as the Kalamazoo Kamikazes, and having grown with some guidance from their sister leagues and maturing in their travels, they restructured and redesigned themselves.

Former Grand Raggidy All-Stars Letha Venom and Battleaxe and a crew of hungry up-and-comers make up the Derby Darlins, as well as a few skaters who will be joining the Mitten Kittens at ECE against the dominating Philthy Britches. Star jammer and captain Lady Hawk, who may not skate this bout, has been making waves in the area, and is becoming known as one of the fastest and most agile new skaters to debut recently, and possibly one of the very fastest hands-down.

The Killamazoo squad is looking to make waves with a victory over a Detroit team that consists of a mixed-bag of vets and rookies from the Detroit Pistoffs, Devil’s Night Dames, The Pistolwhippers, and the D-Funk All Stars. The Disassembly Line features former Travel Team stars such as Black Eyed Skeez (led all in assists at Heartland Havoc) and Rock Candy (two-time MVP at ECE ‘07) as well as veterans, rookies, and roll-players from the home teams. Will the newest steamroller to come out of Detroit roll over the Derby Darlins, or will the re-fitted Killamazoo girls hit their target and come away with a huge victory for the West Coast of the Mitten State?

In any event, it should be a great game! Killamazoo has improved greatly since their inception, although it appears that they will be without Lady Hawk and Battleaxe. In the absence of Lady Hawk, they will be led by jammers Charisnakov, Lily St. Smear, the Brixton Bomb, Keisha Mei Ash, and Ablazin’ Hel. Look for the KDD blockers to be Letha Venom, Noam Stompski, the Organ Grinder, Ka-Powski, Artful Dodger, Delilah Danger, Beretta Brass, Beverly Hells, and Jane Deer.

Expect Detroit to jam Rock Candy, Black Eyed Skeez, Ima Wrecker, and boo d. livers, with blockers Cold Fusion, Del Bomber, Loretta Synn, Wanda Throwdown, Barberika, Bruisie Siouxxx, Bytch Ryder, Elle Iminator, Starlight Scarbright, and Ypsi Dazey.

The game is in the “Chop Shop” (formerly known as the “Drill Hall” at the Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit, MI. Doors open at 6pm, game starts at 7pm. More info at http://www.detroitderbygirls.com/.

DETROIT, MI — April 12 saw one of the greatest matches in Detroit Derby Girls history, but when the dust had finally settled it was the Detroit Pistoffs narrowly edging the Devil’s Night Dames by a score of 89-84. These are the two top teams in the DDG in 2008, and they showed why. There were 12 lead changes in the game, and the largest leads were 9 points for the Dames and 8 points for the Pistoffs. Each team was within 3 points of the other team after 27 of the game’s 40 jams.

Going into the final jam of the 3rd period the Pistoffs led 86-84. The Dames sent out their ace jammer Racer McChaseHer (who jammed 9 of the 3rd period’s 15 jams) versus the Pistoffs’ Effin’ Money. But it was the Pistoffs building a mighty wall with Smashing Darling, Elle McFearsome, Cookie Rumble, and Bikini Killer who first forced Racer to take an off-track detour and then held her up long enough for Effin’ to sneak through and get lead jammer. Effin’ was able to come around and score 3 points on that jam, and smartly called off the jam just as Racer had finally come around to the back of the pack to try to score. Then there wasn’t enough time to get another jam started, and that’s how it finished. It was a fine example of how derby should be played.

Each team featured a veteran lineup, although the Dames had 4 “fresh meat” (rookies) amongst their 12 skaters in uniform. The Pistoffs had 11 skaters for the game, all with previous DDG experience except for Maim West, who had formerly skated for Providence.

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You know that Rusty Wheeler loves clichés, and the cliché of “the irresistible force meeting the immovable object” springs readily to mind when it comes time to describe the upcoming “pre-match of the re-match” between the Devil’s Night Dames and the Detroit Pistoffs this Saturday, April 12. The “irresistible force” is the Devil’s Night Dames, scoring a league high average of 138 points per game in the 2008 season. That is 34 points higher than the average scoring of the 2nd-highest scoring team, the Pistolwhippers, and a whopping 48 points a game better than the 90 points that the Pistoffs score in an average game. But the “immovable object,” the Pistoffs, have the stingiest defense of the Detroit Derby Girls, allowing a miserly 63 points per game, 28 points fewer than the average 91 points a game allowed by the league’s 2nd-best defense of the Dames.

Aside from the team average points, the Dames are of course led by super jammer Racer McChaseHer. Racer is the all-time leading scorer in DDG history, scoring 385 points in six regular season games (64.2 points per game), and 727 points overall in a total of 13 games (55.9 PPG). On the flip side, the Pistoffs are led by captain Cookie Rumble, who holds most of the DDG career defensive records for blocking. While Racer has several other talented jammers on the Dames, Cookie has a tough bunch of blockers to back her up.

This is one of the most eagerly anticipated games in DDG intraleague history. In the ’06 season, the Pistoffs bested the Dames 108-81 (in the pre-Racer McChaseHer era), and the Dames beat the Pistoffs 99-80 in the ’07 season. The Pistoffs were the DDG champs in ’06, and their loss to the Dames in ’07 knocked the Pistoffs out of contention for the championship game in ’07, so perhaps the Pistoffs will have a bit of a chip on their collective shoulders for this game?

And of course, the “pre-match” refers to the fact that this is the final regular season game of the DDG 2008 season, and both the Dames and the Pistoffs, with identical 2-0 records, have already clinched their spots to play for the DDG championship on May 10. That May 10 game is the “re-match.” In other words, this April 12 game won’t make any difference in the league standings, so the teams will be going at it tooth and nail mostly for bragging rights. Who knows? Will the teams show all that they’ve got in an effort to best their opposition in the pre-match game? Or will they each try to hold something back in reserve for the re-match championship game?

The only way to find out will be to be in attendance in the Drill Hall in the Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit on the 12th night of April! Either that or read about the game afterwards right here on Derby News Network. But when reading about the game you’ll no doubt wish you had been in attendance live. The DDG has sold out their last four regular season games, and this game may be a sellout by the time you read this.

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DETROIT, MI — Cleveland’s Burning River Roller Girls ventured to “that state up north” (known to everyone except Ohioans as “Michigan”) on Saturday, March 29, with high hopes of setting the Detroit River on fire. But the hosting Detroit Derby Girls decided to be the DFD (Detroit Fire Department) instead of the DDG and they quickly extinguished the flames, easily defeating Burning River by a 156 to 56 score.

Burning River started a lineup of pivot Ivanna Destroya, blockers Slaughterama Mama, CoCo Sparx, Professor Booty, and jammer Rogue Cheddar against Detroit’s pivot Honey Suckit, blockers Rude Awakening, Summers Eve-L, Bikini Killer, and jammer Cookie Rumble. Cookie set the tone of what was to follow the rest of the night as she quickly got lead jammer, the Detroit blockers bottled up Rogue in the pack, and Cookie then went on a grand slam and a 5-0 jam win. DDG’s Kat Von D’Stroya bested BR’s Eva Lucien 4-2 in jam 2, then Racer McChaseHer scored another Detroit grand slam and an 8-0 win in jam 3 to make the score 17-2 for Detroit after only three jams. Polly Fester gave Detroit a 4-3 win in jam 4, followed by another Detroit slam by Honey Suckit in a 9-2 jam 5 to make it 30-7 for Detroit after five jams. It was 75-26 for D-town at the half.

That’s pretty much the way the rest of the night went for Burning River. While Burning River played hard to the end, Detroit’s edge in experience was the story in the end. Detroit only jammed their super jammer Racer McChaseHer six times in the game, although Racer got 44 points in those jams, including a 15-0 triple grand slam in jam 9 of the 2nd period. Racer set a Detroit single-game record with an average of 7.33 points per jam (breaking her own record of 6.09 PPJ) on the night.

Post-game interview with DDG blocker Bikini Killer (1:29)

Post-game interview with Burning River skater Eva Lucien (1:49)

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The states of Michigan and Ohio once went to war with each other over Toledo. These days, the states confine their competition to the sports realm. On Saturday, March 29, that sports rivalry manifests itself in the flat-track roller derby match between the visiting Burning River Roller Girls from Cleveland and the host Detroit Derby Girls. While the “Toledo War” of the 1830s was bloodless, at least bumps and bruises are guaranteed in the “roller derby” war that will start promptly at 7:00 pm.

So far, the Detroit Derby Girls have owned the Ohio Roller Girls, Detroit winning both matches between those two squads. This will be the first matchup between Detroit and Burning River. Detroit is ranked #8 by WFTDA, Burning River is unranked due to not having yet played enough interleague games to qualify for a ranking. Detroit has won its last two travel team games, defeating Sin City (Las Vegas) 129-75 and (Columbus) Ohio 105-57 after losing to Rat City (Seattle) 160-50 at the National Championships last September. Burning River’s last three travel squad games were a 176-148 loss to Steel City (Pittsburgh), a 157-108 win vs. Cincinnati, and a 102-68 loss to Naptown (Indianapolis).

Burning River’s roster looks to be jammers CoCo Sparx, Eva Lucien, Professor Booty, Rogue Cheddar, Stroker Ace, and The Validator. Ivanna Destroya and Pretty Scarrie are listed as pivots, and blockers are Mata Hari, MILFinator, Mommy’s Little Monster, Morbid Cherub, Slaughterama Mama, and Soul Eater. Naturally, players can be expected to skate at more than one position in the course of a game.

Detroit is led by super jammer Racer McChaseHer. Expect other Detroit jammers to come from the group of Effin’ Money, Honey Suckit, Kat Von D’Stroya, and Polly Fester. Elle McFearsome can be expected to pivot a majority of the time, and blockers are Bikini Killer, Cookie Rumble, Damsel Distesser, Devil Kitty, Diesel Doll, Fatal Femme, Rude Awakening, and Summers Eve-L.

The game is in the Drill Hall inside the Masonic Temple, 500 Temple Ave. in downtown Detroit. Doors open at 6:00 pm, the game starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Kids younger than 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. See detroitderbygirls.com for more info. The Detroit Derby Girls have sold out their last four home games, so hopefully you already have your ticket for this game!

It wasn’t quite a case of “old age and treachery overcoming youth and skill,” but in the end it was the greater experience of the Pistolwhippers that gave them the victory over the D-Funk Allstars, 108-82, on Saturday, March 8 in a Detroit Derby Girls intraleague game, the fourth consecutive sellout for the DDG.

It was the first victory on the season for the 1-2 Pistolwhippers, while D-Funk remains winless at 0-3.

Both teams played hard all the way through the match, and in fact the D-Funkers were able to outscore the Whippers in the 3rd period by a single point and so claimed at least a moral victory and perhaps a little momentum for the rematch between these two teams in the DDG Consolation Game on May 10.

MP3: Post-bout interview with the Pistolwhippers’ Killbox (2:37)

MP3: Post-bout interview with D-Funk’s Polly Fester (2:56)

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The Detroit Derby Girls continue their home season on Saturday, March 8, at the Masonic Temple Drill Hall in Detroit, Michigan, with a game between the D-Funk Allstars and the Pistolwhippers.

The 2008 regular season has been unkind to both the D-Funk Allstars and the Pistolwhippers– each team is winless with 0-2 records. D-Funk has lost its two games by a total of 125 points, while the Pistolwhippers have ‘only’ lost their games by a combined 23 points. D-Funk is in a rebuilding year, having lost some experienced players to other teams just before the season began.

The ‘Whippers have had some critical injuries this season, skating without stars Honey Suckit and Killbox in their tough 10-point loss to the Pistoffs on January 12. Going into the March 8 game, the Pistolwhippers have about twice the experience with 123 skater-games of experience vs. the Allstars 67 skater-games of experience; however, the Fresh Meat who started the 2008 season with the Allstars now have a couple of games of experience each.

These two teams have played the closest games vs. each other of any pairs of teams in the DDG. Their first meeting in the 2006 season was tied at the end of regulation before the Pistolwhippers won it 119-113 in overtime (the ‘Whippers being helped by D-Funk’s jammer starting the OT in the penalty box).

Their second meeting in the 2007 season looked like it was heading into OT as they were tied at 96 with only 43 seconds left in the 3rd period. However, in that short time Killbox was able to race around the track and score two points just as time was expiring to give the ‘Whippers another victory over the Allstars, that time by a 98-96 score.

One thing is for certain: when the game is over, one of these two teams will finally have a victory for the ’08 season, and the other team will be licking its chops waiting for the May 10 rematch! Detailed team summaries under the jump:

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DETROIT, MI - The Devil’s Night Dames had little trouble with the D-Funk Allstars on Saturday night as the Dames won it 125-43. The Dames slogan is “Burn ‘em Down!” and they came out of the gate of fire, scoring 25 points in the first four jams of the game to lead 25-6. D-Funk cut the Dames lead to 28-22 late in the 1st period before the Dames pulled away again to lead 40-22 at the first intermission. Things got worse for D-Funk in the 2nd period when the Dames outscored them 42-12, and the Dames would finish up by winning the final period 43-9.

The Dames came into this game with a veteran squad featuring phenom jammer Racer McChaseHer among a strong supporting cast including team Captain Rock Candy and Assistant Captain Lady Macdeath, bouting for the first time since breaking a collarbone in November. For the D-Funk, it was another struggle for captain Black Eyed Skeez, who is continuing to try to build a young team full of rookies. Coming into this game, the 11 skaters who suited up for D-Funk had a total of 47 skater-games of experience; 15 of those skater-games belonged to captain Skeez, Cat’s Meow and Ima Wrecker each had seven games of experience, and Damsel Distresser and Tiny Ninja each had five games of experience. Six other skaters each had only one or two games of experience. As a contrast, the Dames skated 10 skaters who had a combined 98 skater-games of experience, including six skaters who had 10 or more games under their skates. One thing that has surely been proven time and again is that there’s no substitute for experience in derby. Of course, that being said (or written, as in this case), there’s only one way to gain experience, and that’s by playing the games!

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The Detroit Derby Girls continue their home season on Saturday, February 9, at the Masonic Temple Drill Hall in Detroit, Michigan, following their sold-out January bout with a matchup between the Devil’s Night Dames and the D-Funk Allstars. Doors open at 6:00 pm, with the first whistle scheduled for 7:00 pm.

This game features the third all-time meeting between these two teams. The D-Funk won both previous meetings, winning 146-102 in the consolation game of the 2006 season, and 204-131 in the 2007 regular season. That 204-131 win by the D-Funk set a league record for the most points by a single team in a single regular season game, and also the most points by both teams in a single game. D-Funk’s Ima Wrecker scored 61 points in each of those games vs. the Dames.

However, the Allstars will be without Vega Vendetta for the upcoming February 9 game, as Vega has moved to the Detroit Pistoffs. Vega had scored 54 and 66 points in the two games vs. the Dames, so D-Funk will need to replace that lost offense.

In the first meeting of the teams, the Dames high scorers were Rock Candy and Summers Eve-L who scored 49 and 33 points, respectively. The second meeting between the two teams saw the debut of Racer McChaseHer for the Dames, and Racer scored 75 points in her debut game. That was a league record — until Racer broke her own record with a 79 point effort vs. the Pistolwhippers.

In the 2008 season, the Devil’s Night Dames are 1-0, having won 151-138 over the Pistolwhippers. The D-Funk Allstars are 0-1, having lost 102-59 to the Detroit Pistoffs.

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