Did you know that Nationals is THIS WEEKEND? This weekend! This weekend!!!!

The Top 4 placing teams in the Eastern Region (Gotham, Windy City, Philly, and Carolina) face off against the top 4 in the West (Texas, Bay Area, Rat City, and Duke City) to determine who's the best of the best at the Northwest Knockdown in Portland, Oregon. Windy City, Gotham, Carolina, Texas, and Rat City are all repeat visitors from last year, all looking to exceed their performance last year (at the very least match them). Philly, Bay Area Duke, and Duke are back to the National tournament after being away for a year and looking to make some noise. In these pre-tournament weeks when I get all fired up to spectate my heart out, I find myself realizing, "So. I guess this is what it's like to be a sports fan..."

The biggest change from last year's Texas Shootout and the 2006 Dust Devil (the first WFTDA tournament) is that there isn't the same feeling that the champion (and bulk of the top 4) will from the Western Region. Rather, it seems like the pendulum has solidly swung eastward, with the lights shining on our girls to get it done in Portland. No one, except for die-hard Texas and Rat City fans, would be all that shocked if the top 3 spots went to Eastern Region teams this year.

Of course, this isn't to say that the teams representing the Western Region are slouches. Not by a long shot. Texas and Rat City should never be underestimated, Bay Area's had a great 2008 season, and Duke City -- you can't count out their heart.

Seeded #2 in the East, the WCR All-Stars meet the Rat City All-Stars, (#3W) in Round 1. Our girls faces a formidable opponent in Rat City -- they were the runners-up at last year's Nationals and were a strong favorite to take the Western crown this year. In addition, Rat City has been in the top 5 for about as long as there have been rankings, which is a huge testament to the strength of their team. Of course, everyone who's been paying attention knows that WCR has been on fire this year. Our inside sources are telling us that now that they're in "Nationals mode," they're even more dangerous. Rat City should be shaking in their skates. Expect this to be one of the most exciting bouts of Round 1! It happens at 1 p.m. (PST, so 3 p.m. CST) on Saturday.

The winner of WCR / Rat City (ed: W! C! R!) will play the winner of Texas(#1W) / Carolina(#4E) for a spot in the Championship game. After a shocking loss to Gotham at the East Coast Extravaganza in June, and a squeaker of a defeat at the hands of Kansas City later in the summer, the Texas Rollergirls' Texecutioners seemed to have refocused and now have their eyes squarely set on the prize. Mixing this laser-beam focus in with a few effective new players, the Texecutioners made a big statement by winning Western Regionals last month. Carolina, on the other hand, seems to be reeling from losing superstar-everything Roxy Rockett to injury in their semifinal game against WCR at Regionals. Even so, expect a much more focused team than the girls we saw at UIC on 10/25-- when it comes to tournament season, Carolina know how to bring it. No one should forget that they were the only Eastern team to get out of the first round at last year's tournament. The Carolina All-Stars are a fast, smart, and slippery team, but if they don't have Roxy (we don't know what her status is), they'll be fighting an even-steeper uphill battle against Texas this time.

The other half of the bracket has Philly facing Bay Area and Gotham facing Duke City. Whoever winds up on top of that foursome will also play in the Championship game. Philly's Liberty Belles (#3E) and B.A.D. (#2W) met about a year ago in a "hangover bout" the day after B.A.D. played Carolina. The Liberty Belles got the win by a close margin (but they didn't play Carolina the night before), and are probably eager to keep this perfect record against Bay Area. Both teams have attacked 2008 with aggressive schedules. Philly has made huge strides during the 2008 season: Contrast their performance against Gotham in April (loss by 98) to Gotham in October (loss by 5 points, but they were up until the last jam). I don't think anyone would suggest that Gotham had become any less of a team in that time. Additionally, the B.A.D.Girls have chalked up an impressive 8-2 record this year, with its only losses to Rat City (by a mere 5, but making up a ton of ground, as they were down by over 40) and Texas (Championship bout at Regionals). Expect this to be another contender for Most Exciting Round 1 Bout!

The winner of Philly / B.A.D. will meet the winner of Gotham and Duke City's Munecas Muertas on Saturday evening. Gotham's shadow continues to loom large in the national derbyverse. They have the longest winning streak in WFTDA now, with 9 straight games, and if you go back to the beginning of 2007, their record is an outstanding 14-2. And most of these wins aren't squeakers, but full-on throttlings. But don't think this game is a mere formality -- Duke City's got a couple of things working in their favor: 1) Kamikaze Kim, 2) Muffin, 3) knowing that Gotham lost to #4W in the first round last year, who knows if they're superstitious? 4) being off the radar (at least until Western Regionals). Most of Gotham's big wins were against big teams that they knew and may have studied-- the likes of Texas, Philly, WCR... plus two of their All-Stars came from Tucson. Unless they've sent a spy to Albuquerque or got some Westerns footage off the black market, chances are this team will be a bit of a mystery. Of course, we're still talking about Gotham, so I don't think they're going to come in unprepared.

Full schedule (all times Pacific, so add 2 hrs for Central!)

Friday
6:30p Round 1 Texas v. Carolina
8:30p Round 1 Gotham v. Duke City

Saturday
1:00p Round 1 Windy City v. Rat City
3:00p Round 1 Bay Area v. Philly
6:00p Round 2 Winner Texas/Carolina v. Winner Windy/Rat
8:00p Round 2 Winner Gotham/Duke v. Winner BAD/Philly

Sunday
2:00p 3rd/ 4th bout (Losers of each Round 2 game)
4:00p Championship bout (Winners of each Round 2 game)

All of the games will be LIVEBLOGGED by our friends at http://www.derbynewsnetwork.com/ and there will be live-video feed as well! Post in the comments where you're having viewing parties!

xo,
Loco "Don't Forget the Defense!" Chanel

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