Gotham Girls Roller Derby’s 4^th intraleague season kicks off this Saturday with the Manhattan Mayhem vs the Queens of Pain. Manhattan last took to the track in a substantial victory over the New Jersey Dirty Dames last November, while Queens spent the off-season focused on avenging a 90-95 loss to the Bronx Gridlock in 2007’s championship game

Similar to last year, every one of Gotham’s four borough teams will play each other once, and the two with the best records will square off for the championship on October 25th.

All games will be held at Hunter College Sportsplex, just a few blocks east of Central Park.

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In the wide world of sports, fewer rivalries run as deep as the one between Philadelphia and New York. Women’s roller derby is no exception to this rule. Philly and New York will meet once again on the track as The Liberty Belles hope that third time is a charm in their quest to topple their sisters from the Big Apple, the Gotham Girls.

The Philly Roller Girls think of the Gotham Girls as their big sisters. Gotham generously helped Philly get started by training PRG’s skaters how to play roller derby when the sport’s revival was still new to the East coast; Gotham was also instrumental in Philly’s induction into the WFTDA in 2005. This close relationship is one of the reasons Philly chose New York to be their first interleague bouting opponent in October, 2006. The change of pace from intraleague to interleague WFTDA action was a rude awakening for the Belles, as the final score was 103 to 69 in Gotham’s favor can attest.

However, in the months following that experience, wins against Charm City, Boston, Providence, New Orleans and the TXRG Hustlers propelled Philadelphia to the 4th slot in the Eastern rankings - one spot above Gotham - just in time for the Heartland Havoc tournament in August of 2007. This seeding meant that after a first-round bye for Philly and an easy 206-47 Gotham win over Grand Raggidy, the teams would met for the second time on the day two of the tournament. Improved as they might have been, the 139-81 decision in Gotham’s favor showed that the Belles were still no match for their sisters to the North.

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BOSTON, MA — With their regular season now finished and playoffs a month away, the Boston Derby Dames briefly broke from league play this past Saturday, March 8, to pit their skills against two rival Northeast leagues. The All-Star Boston Massacre split its squad for a derby doubleheader, hosting the Maine Port Authorities and the Bronx Gridlock in two inter-league exhibition bouts. A crowd of 1,426 braved heavy downpours and overzealous traffic cops on their way to Shriners Auditorium, and their perseverance was rewarded with a double dip of hard-hitting action. Looking lovely in their sleek new uniforms (which seamlessly combine the influences of the Revolutionary War, the Autobots, and cornflowers), the Massacre tallied back-to-back wins, outpacing the Port Authorities 81-31 and downing the Gridlock by a score of 116-49.

In the main event, the Massacre faced the powerhouse Bronx Gridlock, reigning champions of New York City’s Gotham Girls Roller Derby. Although the Gridlock is out of season, having won their championship back in November, their talent is undeniable and they boast a number of skaters who dominated the 2007 WFTDA Eastern Regionals with GGRD’s all-star team and eventually placed 5th in the nation in September. With this record, the Massacre knew they’d have their hands full.

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The second annual East Coast Derby Extravaganza takes place June 21 and 22 in Philadelphia, featuring 21 WFTDA teams playing a total of 20 regulation bouts, and the Philly Roller Girls have just released the schedule. We’ll have much more detailed previews as we draw closer to the big weekend, but at first glance there seem to be a number of bouts that have a viable claim to marquee status:

(4) Texas vs. (5) Gotham. This clash of titans is a derby fan’s dream — some thought it might be the final bout of last year’s Nationals tournament, but Kansas City and Rat City had different ideas. It’ll also go a long way towards determining whether Carolina or Gotham deserves to be top dog in the East — Carolina defeated Gotham at last year’s ECE and took out #1 Kansas City in December, but Carolina has also been unable to topple Texas in two attempts.

(9) Philly vs. (7) Windy City. Philly had the bad luck to draw an arguably under-ranked Gotham team for their first bout at last year’s Eastern Regionals, and was one-and-done. At the same tourney, the underrated Windy City shocked Madison and Carolina on consecutive days and took the trip to Nationals that Philly had hoped for. If there’s such a thing as a grudge match between two teams that have never faced each other before, this would be it!

(21) Denver Roller Dolls vs. (5) Gotham and (21) Denver Roller Dolls vs. (3) Carolina: Relatively recent WFTDA addition Denver continues to demonstrate absolutely no fear of the upper echelons of derby play. They recently played #1 ranked Kansas City, and while they lost 150-80, the experience they gained is incalculable — if they could upset either one of their opponents on ECE weekend, it would have a seismic effect on the rankings.

Note that the next WFTDA quarterly rankings will come out in April, so the rankings above will almost certainly be different by the time the bouts are actually played.

(additional reporting by Hurt Reynolds)

Full list of WFTDA bouts at ECE 2008 under the jump:

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Boston fans get a treat this coming Saturday, as their hometown Boston Massacre all-star team takes on Gotham Girls’ reigning local champions, the Bronx Gridlock, in a special exhibition bout.

The Gridlock won the 2007 GGRD season with a perfect 4-0 record, and their roster features 5 members of the travel team that smoked the competition at 2007’s Eastern Regional tournament — defensive specialists Ginger Snap and Kandy Kakes, the alarmingly swift Beatrix Slaughter, versatile Brigitte Barhot and fearsome blocker Beyonsláy. On the other hand, the cabbies will only be bringing 10 players out for this game, which might make endurance a factor. Notably, the Bronx is without the other half of their signature jammer duo, as Bonnie Thunders is currently overseas (DNN sources report that this has something to do with large cats in China.)

This will be Boston’s first bout as an all-star team since September of 2007, when they swamped #22 Dominion, 119-69. While stalwarts Sarah Doom, Maura Buse, Claire D. Way and Lois Carmen Denominator are back for more, it’ll be the Massacre’s first bout without longtime captain Ivana Clobber — and their first with a couple of transplanted skaters, Baby Fighterfly (ex-Providence) and Harley Quinn (ex-DC.) Boston just barely missed advancing past the first round of 2007’s Eastern Regional, edged in an overtime thriller by Detroit … and they’re no doubt looking to make this the first step on a road they hope will take them a little bit further in 2008.

Boston will be fielding a full roster of 14 for the bout, but half of those 14 (Anna Wrecks’ya, Claire D. Way. Sarah Doom, Miss Mary Smack, Harley Quinn, Baby Fighterfly, and Cookie Push) will be playing in a 30 minute opening mini-bout as a slightly different Massacre team takes on Maine Roller Derby (no roster available at press time), so it should be interesting to see if the Massacre’s slightly longer night will balance out their advantage in numbers.

Additional reporting: Hambone, Harley Quinn

UPDATE: Boston takes it to the short-staffed Gridlock, going up 48-28 by halftime and rolling to a solid 116-49 victory. Boston also claims the win in the 30 minute opener, triumphing over Maine by a final of 81 to 31. Recaps to come.

Sarah Doom #4.0 // Shelby Shattered -0 // Maura Buse #34B // Claire D. Way #1984 // Cookie Push #617 // Lois Carmen Denominator #3 // Miss Mary Smack #321 // Pussy Venom #(every)28 // Krush Puppy #843 // Harley Quinn #3 // Betty Spite #3.31.25 // Triple Deck Her #3D // Baby Fighterfly #1000 corpses // Anna Wrecks’ya 99

Kandy Kakes #perfect 10 // Beyonsláy #top 40 // Speed McQueen # 36DD // Beatrix Slaughter #42 // Brigitte Barhot #swingin’ 60’s // Daizy Chainz #15 // Ginger Snap #80 // Lemony Kickit #667 // Luna Impact #29.5 // SheRAW #20

The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls’s 5280 Fight Club hosted the Gotham Girls Roller Derby’s All-Star travel team on December 1st at Denver’s Bladium to close the 2007 season for both squads. This was obviously going to be Fight Club’s most difficult match this season, with the Gotham Girls ranked #5 while RMRG sat at #19.

Fight Club played a considerably full schedule this year, dominating a number of leagues including Angel City, No Coast, and, most notably, 9th-ranked Madison, with only one loss during the regular season to the formidable Rose City Rollers, ranked 15th.

The visitors from the Big Apple had been on a tear of their own, coming in with six wins and two losses on the year — one to Carolina in March and one to eventual champions Kansas City at Nationals.

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Two weeks removed from a twelve point victory at the Dallas Derby Devils, RMRG’s 5280 Fight Club (WFTDA #19) tackles their biggest ranking challenge to date on Saturday evening, December 1, when they host the WFTDA East Region Champions, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby All-Stars (WFTDA #5).

Gotham’s All-Stars last skated in October, when they hosted a 43-point victory over the Rose City (Portland) Wheels of Justice (#15). Rocky Mountain has also fared well in inter-region contests, and can hang their hat on an October 33-point victory over a veteran Eastern power, Madison’s Mad Rollin Dolls (#9).

This bout is the last Denver will see of roller derby in 2007, and it also represents the final Gotham bout before New York hits its offseason. After a seven weeks on the shelf, can GGRD gather itself and push through the finish line for a big 2007 season finale, or will Gotham fall prey to the high altitude of the 5280 Fight Club?

Rocky Mountain is armed with a full roster for this bout, relying on super stars like Ida Hustler, She Who Cannot Be Named and Assaultin’ Pepa as well as snagging up a few alternates to round out the bench. It should be interesting to see if playing at home gives the defense-heavy Fight Club more options on the jammer line — in their recent away battle with Dallas, She Who and Frida Beater combined to run up a tremendous 76 of RMRG’s 89 total points.

Gotham brings to Denver only twelve of its skating weapons. Most notably, Rocky Mountain gets to dodge star Gotham jammer Bonnie Thunders, who will be staying home to nurse a minor knee injury; that reduces the notorious GGRD jamming quartet to a trio of Cheap Skate, Suzy Hotrod and Beatrix Slaughter, and may result in Gotham fielding some jammers with less recent interleague experience at the second line. However, the smaller roster also means that Rocky Mountain has to face a very experienced team; Gotham’s Surly Temple will be the only member of the 12 who did not play against Portland.

UPDATE:  Gotham rolls to victory, 113 to 48 (full recap to come).

Additional reporting: Anne Shank

80 Ginger Snap (captain) // 2 Donna Matrix // 7 Anne Phetamean // 141 Hard Anya // 2cents Cheap Skate // 241 Fisti Cuffs // Top 40 Beyonslay // 55 Suzy Hotrod // 60 Brigitte Barhot // 201 Sweet Sherry Pie // 42 Beatrix Slaughter // 99 Surly Temple

86 Assaultin’ Pepa (captain) // 500 Pinky 500 (captain) // 13 Anne Shank // ‘57 Annia LateHer // 3 Catholic Cruel Girl // 701 Dakota Dynamite // 18-3-202 Frida Beater // P1MP Ida Hustler // 480 Luscious Smacksome // 33 Madam MaimYa // 3014 Mama KiCass // 269 Penny Payne // 88 She Who Cannot Be Named // 8 Winona Fighter

The Bronx Gridlock ascended to the Gotham Girls Roller Derby pinnacle in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at CCNY’s Nat Holman Gymnasium, defeating the two-time defending champion Queens of Pain, 95-90.

The 2007 finale coincided with a tidal wave of positive local derby publicity, including the front page of that morning’s New York Times. The buzz attracted a handful of local glitterati, including E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt, aka “Little Steven,” aka “Silvio Dante” on HBO’s The Sopranos. Next season, could we see Spike Lee and Tyra Banks squabbling over front row seats?

The fans also included visiting derby girls from Boston, Providence, Windy City, Kansas City, Garden State, New Jersey Dirty Dames, and Suburbia Rollergirls. A mixed ref crew from Gotham, Boston, Providence, NJ Dirty Dames, Garden State, and Connecticut called the action.

The bout opened with the announcement of a few ‘fan favorite’ awards, tallied via on-line polling. The Brooklyn Bomb Squad took ‘favorite jeerleaders,’ The Persuader (Queens) won ‘favorite mascot,’ veteran Lefty Leibowitz won ‘favorite announcer,’ and Flying Squirrel danced his way to ‘favorite referee.’

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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…)

The Bronx Gridlock cabbies challenge the dominating Queens of Pain this Saturday for the Gotham Girls Roller Derby Golden Skate Championship Trophy. Sovereign Suzy Hotrod intends to lead the two-time defending champion Queens of Pain on a path towards a three-peat, but head dispatcher Ginger Snap might have something to say about it. Last year it was Queens that crushed Bronx’s first-season dreams, beating them by one single point in the semi-finals; this year, Bronx will stop at nothing to steal the crowns and end the reign of Queens in Gotham.

The Queens of Pain roll into the bout sporting a 2-1 record, having had little trouble disposing of the Manhattan Mayhem 179-77 in August and the Brooklyn Bombshells 122-76 in July. The Bronx is 3-0 on the season, but their path to perfection hasn’t been without a few potholes. While they did cruise in their most recent bout, a 144-98 win over the Brooklyn Bombshells, they nearly squandered a 35 point lead in July when they faced off against the Manhattan Mayhem, managing to hold for a dramatic 101-99 win. Meanwhile, the seesaw GGRD season-opener went 118-107 for Bronx over Queens, and as the derby fates would have it, this matchup will be the season closer as well.

The Gridlock jamming fleet of Bonnie Thunders, Beatrix Slaughter, Brigitte Barhot, and rookie Luna Impact expose themselves to the whips and paddles of Ana Bollocks and Donna Matrix while the Queens’ point scoring army of Suzy Hotrod, Cheapskate, Scarlet Rage and rookie Tera Dyketyl face the Bronx’s relentless pivot Kandy Kakes and destiny’s problem child, Beyonsláy.

Expect tears to punctuate the end as original Queens of Pain girls, Joey Hardcore and co-captain Rolleta Lynn, have announced their retirement following this final bout of the 2007 season. Queens will seek additional inspiration from a special appearance at the Championship by the reclusive Greta Turbo, who is out with two spiral bone fractures in her leg. Bronx counters sentiment with insanity as the unpredictable Pop Rox returns for what may just be her last Gotham game.

UPDATE: The Gridlock dethrone the Queens of Pain, 95 to 90 (full recap to come).

42 Beatrix Slaughter // 40 Beyonsláy // 340 Bonnie Thunders // 60 Brigitte Barhot // 15 Daizy Chainz // 80 Ginger Snap // 10 Kandy Kakes // 667 Lemony Kickit // 29.5 Luna Impact // 1900 Murder City Mandy // 24 karat Pop Rox // 20 sheRAW // 36DD Speed McQueen // 3.14 Tiger Bomb