On Sunday, September 12th, come down to Rodan, 1530 N. Milwaukee Ave. to watch the final two games of the WFTDA North Central Regionals, Thunda on the Tundra. Be there when the doors open at 4:45 pm so you can settle in for the 5:00 start of the battle for 3rd place. The game for 1st place begins at 7:00. The top three teams of this tournament earn a spot at the WFTDA Championships, Uproar on the Lakeshore, hosted in Chicago by the Windy City Rollers, November 5th-7th.

The games will be watched on Rodan's in-house projection system via DNN broadcast. There will be burger and beer specials. Plus, a chance to win tickets to our next bout on September 25th when the All-Stars take on the Texecutioners of Austin, TX.

Don't watch roller derby at home by yourself! Come down to Rodan and join the party!

The course consisted of a 1.5K swim in Lake Michigan, a 40K bike ride on Lake Shore Drive, and a 10K run along the lake front and around the museum campus. Decked out in Windy City Rollers tanks and gear, the team received kudos and cheers from WCR fans in the crowd and proved that derby skaters are some of the best athletes around.

The second half saw Fight Club jammers DeRanged, She Who Cannot Be Named, Urrk’n Jerk’n, and Frida Beater taking lead jammer status and aggressive defensive action against WCR jammers. Fight Club blockers controlled the pack with hard hits and an intermittently successful slow game strategy. Despite facing a nearly standstill pack that drew scattered boos from the crowd, Athena DeCrime took lead jam and scored ten for the All-Stars in the eighth jam. Back-to-back trips to the penalty box for Varla Vendetta and Ruth Enasia, however, gave RMRG power jam opportunities that threatened to widen the lead to the century mark. With less than six minutes left in the bout, the All-Stars fought point by point to save themselves from that fate but suffered their second loss at home with a final 151-56 score.

Second Wind started the second half with Rose Feratu in the penalty box and a power jam for the speedy Uber Alice, who added another nine points to her team’s lead. AliSin Chains, Norma Lee Wright, and Bork Bork Bork teamed up to support Kola Loka for a 14 point jam with 23 minutes remaining. Much of the rest of the second half showed a jam-by-jam battle with blockers on both teams keeping jammers to single digits, with Second Wind steadily gaining ground. Breakout jams by Zoe Trocious brought Second Wind within five points with just under eight minutes remaining. But a double penalty for Kola Loka for an illegal procedure and insubordination left Second Wind jammerless for nearly two minutes, allowing The Contenders to pull away in the final minutes for the final 130-124 score.

The Danny Did Foundation was created in the spirit of 4 year-old Danny Stanton, who died in December following a seizure in his sleep. The Foundation's mission is to prevent deaths caused by seizures.

More than 3 million people face the challenges of epilepsy in the U.S., and more than 50,000 lose their lives annually as the result of a seizure. The Danny Did Foundation works to mainstream medical devices for home-use that act as alarm systems for seizure activity; to raise awareness of Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP; and to improve communication between medical professionals and the families of those afflicted by seizures.

This work is driven by the way that Danny lived his life: Danny Did take his time in life. Danny Did engage others in his life. Danny Did enjoy his life. To learn more, please visit www.dannydid.org, or search "Danny Did" on Facebook.

Fully a decade ago, Dan Phillips bid adieu to his emo-ish Raleigh outfit and, 4-track in tow, decided to try Chicago on for size. Now, performing as Zapruder Point, he offers a unique musical blend -- a rocky sort of reflection, an easy exuberance delivered in songs that are as sweet as they are short. You're invited to lean in for the whispers and join in on the shouts (ok, so there might not be a whole lot of either in the national anthem, but you'll have to show up to find out)! Listen to some samples or check out his upcoming shows here.

Once halftime rolls around (get it? Rolls? See what I did there? Aw, nevermind), get ready to enjoy the longest-running burlesque and variety troupe in Chicago. Featuring a stunning variety of dance and movement forms, live music, hilarious comedy, vaudeville and variety performance, Girlie-Q is Chicago’s most artistic burlesque company. Learn more at girlieq.net.

Blossom reports that the event was pretty swanky and everyone had a great time. The Gateway Green people are as excited about roller derby as we are about their efforts help improve air quality, protect our water, and restore the natural beauty of Chicago. We're looking forward to collaborating with them on future projects.

Plus... our own Tamikaze WON the tournament! She gets a $5000 buy-in for the World Series of Poker Tournament at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN.

In the words of Elenka - "Holy Cow!"

Chicago held a commanding lead throughout the first half, ferrying points onto the scoreboard through the likes of Beth Amphetamine scoring five quick points in the 2nd jam and a handful of other one-pass jams from Shocka Conduit. Boston’s own Killary Clinton was able to gain Lead Jammer and put her team on the board with six points giving her team the lead with a score of 6-5 in the 3rd jam.  Varla Vendetta answered quickly by taking advantage of an Illegal Procedure by Massacre jammer Claire D. Way and racked up a monster 20-point jam through, in part, the hitting of Jackie Daniels, and the score was set 25-6 in favor of WCR.  The flip side of Jackie Daniels’ tenacity landed her a trip to the sin bin, the first of a handful that would later plague the Rollers.  Both Lil’ Paine and Sugar Hits from the Massacre were tirelessly attempting to add to their team’s lead but were stopped short by excellent blocking from deadly accurate sniper Hoosier Mama, and other blockers Sargentina, Jackie Daniels and Blossom Bruiso.  Blossom Bruiso and Sargentina proved to be an excellent 1-2 combination blow landing merciless hit after hit and also landing in the penalty box.  Their hitting made way for Jackie Daniels, who stepped in to jam and scored four points in the 8^th jam.  Claire D. Way showed off some acrobatic skills by jumping over a wall of WCR blockers and was able to beat Beth Amphetamine to Lead Jammer status, netting three points for Boston and leaving the score at 38-9 in the 10^th jam.  With 6:45 left in the first half, Sugar Hits from the Massacre got Lead Jammer and a Grand Slam and the score was 63-24.  Chicago went to the locker room at half-time with a 76-29 lead showing that they weren’t going to let this game peter out easily.

The second half proved to be a different story, though, and Boston came out from half-time looking as though they had just studied hours of WCR bout footage, evidenced in their amped-up defensive playing. The first jam started with Varla Vendetta facing off against Claire D. Way.  Varla Vendetta went to the box with a Multi-Player Block major penalty and Claire D. Way took full advantage of the power jam, putting up an impressive 19 points for the Boston Massacre.  Though Boston’s blockers were working hard to hold their own in the pack, penalties against WCR are what allowed the Massacre to move closer to evening up the scoreboard. Both teams were fighting back and forth with their jammers scoring quick, one-pass jams with Boston blockers trying to stand up to the relentless assault of the WCR blockers.  Hoosier Mama kept the heat turned up on Boston and was able to help Shocka Conduit through the pack, getting WCR over the century mark and setting the score at 101-53.  This didn’t slow the Massacre, though, and with 17:45 left on the clock, Killary Clinton put up a monster 24-point jam while Athena DeCrime was sent to the penalty box.  Even with all of the penalties, Beth Amphetamine was able to bring the crowd back into the bout with every lap on the track and every point scored, and the crowd was on its feet.  At 13:30 left, the score was only 30 points apart at 110-80.  Shocka Conduit faced off against Sugar Hits in the 11^th jam and put another quick four points on the board.

With the hits coming relentlessly and the penalty minutes adding up, Boston inched their way closer and closer up the scoreboard.  Sugar Hits, Killary Clinton and Claire D. Way were mounting a comeback via one-pass jams and a couple big multiple pass jams that racked up 35 points in total and gave the crowd even more reason to step in and voice their feelings.  With 2:41 left to go, Claire D. Way lined up against Beth Amphetamine and got Lead Jammer.  Beth Amphetamine was sent to the penalty box with a major penalty and the crowd began to boo the opposing team and yell “Defense!”  Claire D. Way came off the track on a major Elbow penalty after tallying nine points for her team and setting the score at 121-115 in favor of the WCR.

Boston’s jammers were able to brave a vicious salvo of hits issued by a tiring WCR team and pull to just within six points before the final buzzer sounded.   Though the Boston bench tried hard to marginalize the WCR lead, it was sheer grit and determination that kept the Windy City Rollers All-Stars alive.

The Windy City Rollers All-Stars face off next against the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on August 21st, 2010. A win against Rocky Mountain could raise WCR up significantly in the national standings and set the tone for an interesting WFTDA championship to be held in Chicago in November.