The first half of the bout saw KCRW slowly picking their way forward in points. With neither team clearly grabbing a firm hold to the top spot, it was anyone’s guess as to how the first half would end. It was a tied game after jam 10, with Zoe Trocious scoring the 3 points to even the score. But the last 10 jams of the half saw WCR only capturing 4 additional points while KCRW pushed ahead, gaining 17 points, to end the half 42 to 29 (Kansas City).

The WCR All-Stars came into the second half with a renewed spirit and brought the fight back the Kansas City. Just as KCRW picked away at the points in the first half, the WCR All-Stars began to chip away at KCRW’s lead with each passing jam. In jam 9, while KCWR was busy attempting a star pass, Athena DeCrime grabbed lead jammer status and  pushed the All-Stars into the lead by getting WCR 4 points, ending the jam with a score 60-57 (WCR).

The All-Stars kept mounting their points and widening the gap as the second half pushed on. But their momentum came to a halt. With12 minutes left in the bout, the tide turned as the All-Stars gained no ground for 7 jams. It didn't help that the All-Stars could not keep themselves out of the penalty box, which included the expulsion of Jackie Daniels with 3 minutes left to the bout. KCRW took advantage of the frequency with which the All-Stars were being sent to the box by claiming lead jammer status jam after jam, clawing their way back into the top position.

With recurring trips to the penalty box, coupled with the repeated claim of lead jammer by KCRW, the All-stars could not gain their footing and lost their chance at the Hydra Trophy. With a final score of 112-95, Kansas City moves forward to face their next opponent tonight while WCR celebrates a top-notch final bout and the end of their 2011 season.

Even though this was a loss, the bout was a wonderful display of the level of tenacity that WCR plays at. It demonstrated why the Windy City Rollers are a top derby team. Varla Vendetta, Yvette YourMaker, Athena DeCrime, Jackie Daniels, Wreck N Shrew and Zoe Trocious all displayed some great jamming when they cleared the pack. It was not just their speed, but also agilely jumping the apex, juking around a seemingly solid wall, and even a display of a “crazy octopus” move (as the announcers called it) which helped the All-Stars rack up points and maintain a close score for most of the bout.

Even with their defense spending a lot of time in the box, WCR’s blocking powerhouse made KCRW fight for their win. Bork Bork Bork, Ol' Drrrty Go-Go, Sargentina, Tori Adore, Jackie Daniels, Hoosier Mama, Amy Nonamey, Georgia on Yer Behind, Deb Autry and the rest of the All-Star defense built tough walls for KCRW to breech and hit hard at every chance. Even with a single blocker on the track at times, it was never an easy pass for KCRW. With great game play and sportsmanship (Hoosier Mama embraced opponent skater Kelly Young after a jam) the All-Stars can return to Chicago still feeling like champions as they set their sights on their 2012 season!

Both The Fury and Manic Attackers were ready for war from the get-go, but after the final whistle blew, The Fury won the bout and the Ivy King Cup with a score of 121-77.  Both teams wanted the win badly and it showed, but The Fury’s deep jammer pool and cohesive pack play lead to a solid victory and the league's longest win streak.

As the bout started, both teams came out swinging with stiff defense and incredible jammer combat that kept the score low and the action high.  Wreck N Shrew scored the first points for the Manic Attackers in the second jam, and then both teams cranked up the defense.  There wasn’t another point tallied until Ska Face came out against Zoe Trocious in the fifth jam.  Both girls were fighting like mad to make it through the pack and Zoe Trocious got lead jammer thanks to the hard hitting of Val Capone and Wreck N Shrew.  The score was 7-8 in favor of the Manic Attackers and then the floodgates opened.

The lead changed twice early on in the second half thanks to Kola Loka jamming hard for The Fury and Wreck N Shrew jamming for the Manic Attackers.  The scoring was intense, but the blocking was pivotal for both teams.  Amy Nonamey, Val Capone, Bork Bork Bork and Tamikaze were holding The Fury jammers hard, giving the Manic Attackers a chance to stay in the game.  Behind the defense of Ol Drrrty Go-Go, Red Zeppelin, Sargentina and T.S. Helliot, though, The Fury was able to keep the momentum on their side for the better part of the first half.

Sargentina laid a punishing hit to Zoe Trocious in the 8th jam, giving The Fury full swing on the Manic Attackers.  Val Capone and Jackie Daniels were trading blows throughout the first half too, creating holes for Yvette YourMaker, Ska Face and Kola Loka.  It was a non-stop hitting cavalcade before the whistle blew to end the first half and it looked like The Fury could run away with the lead early.  AliSin Chains, Ada Hatelace and Val Capone took matters into their own hands and created a huge scoring chance for Beth Amphetamine with just under ten minutes left in the half where she scored an impressive 14 points.

Both teams were rolling fast but that didn’t stop The Fury from keeping the lead and behind a couple of grand slams from Ska Face late in the half, they went into the locker room up 64-39 over the Manic Attackers.  The beginning of the half was a back-and-forth battle between both teams.  Hitting was the order of the day right from the get-go.  The score favored both sides of the scoreboard early on, but The Fury managed to pull away and mount a significant score as the half drew on, but not before the Manic Attackers could make their presence felt.

The second half saw no shortage of action from both sides.  With the Manic Attackers down, they threw it all on the line and the blocking power of Mo Vengance, Amy Nonamey, Bork Bork Bork and Tamikaze was being felt throughout.  There was a terrible collision between Amy Nonamey and Kola Loka; Amy went down hard and there was a stoppage in play.  As she recovered, the silent UIC Pavilion erupted in applause and the bout rolled on.

The entire second half was an ebb and flow of hits and scoring.  Carnage Wilson and Mel Content turned on the gas late in the bout to keep The Fury afloat, hitting Manic Attacker jammers Ruth Enasia and Zoe Trocious at will and making notice to the league and the fans that The Fury was ready to hoist the cup again.

The pack looked like a meat grinder and every point the jammers scored, they truly earned.  The Manic Attackers’ fan base came out in full force as well and kept the morale up behind their bench for the rest of the half.  With just under ten minutes to go in the bout and the score set at 109-58 in favor of The Fury, both teams were standing behind their blockers to keep the action going.  Bork Bork Bork and Val Capone were menacing The Fury jammers and Sonya MouthShut alongside Sargentina and Mel Content were holding Manic Attackers jammers at bay.

Take Out Box jammed for The Fury late in the bout and tallied six points for her team over two jams.  The Manic Attackers weren’t going down without a fight, and in the waning minutes of the bout Zoe Trocious and Wreck N Shrew were still mounting an impressive amount of points.  As the final whistle blew, though, it wasn’t enough to get the Manic Attackers a win and they fell to The Fury 121-77.  Both teams gave their all, but The Fury showed their depth and determination to get the longest winning streak in the league and the Ivy King Cup for a second year in a row.  Ska Face was named Player of the Game for The Fury and Val Capone was given the Player of the Game title for the Manic Attackers.

As the season comes to a close, there’s much change and hope on the horizon for all four teams within the Windy City Rollers.  Next season will hold so many possibilities it’s almost incomprehensible...it will truly be anyone’s year. Congratulations to the players and coaches on all the home teams and we all look forward to next season.  And now, on to the All-Stars and Second Wind!

In the second bout Saturday night at UIC Pavilion, the Manic Attackers took on the Double Crossers.  With their spot in the Ivy King Cup secure due to The Fury’s victory over the Hells Belles in the first bout of the evening, the Manic Attackers looked to build momentum heading towards the championship.  For their part, the Double Crossers looked to end the season on a positive note, despite the fact that they faced a tough uphill fight without a number of their key players including Captain Georgia on Yer Behind, Sassy Squash, Indycent, and Berg.

The Manic Attackers got off to a fast start as Bork Bork Bork, Amy Nonamey, Mo Vengeance, AliSin Chains, and Tamikaze frustrated the Crossers jammers and opened holes for Manic jammers Wreck N Shrew, Zoe Trocious, Beth Amphetamine, and Thieven’ Tyler.  By the fifth jam, the Manics had built a 39-0 lead on rookie Thieven Tyler’s nine point jam.  The Double Crossers refused to go quietly into the night, however, and on the next jam, Crossers Captain Julia Rosenwinkel picked up a grand slam on nice offensive blocking from the Crossers pack.  Abbey then picked up another four points for the Crossers in the seventh jam to give them hope.

Despite inspired and determined play from the Double Crossers pack including Karmageddon, Norma Lee Wright, Joanie Utah, Tina Flay, Miss D. Meaner, Sunshine N Painbows, and Teriyaki, the Manics reasserted control of the pack and built an 80-9 lead by the fourteenth jam.  In the fifteenth jam, rookie Crossers jammer Dani Get Your Guns picked up lead and three points despite starting the jam in the box behind strong defense from Karmageddon, Sunshine N Painbows, and Tina Flay.  To make the Crossers struggle more difficult, the jam ended with Karma injured and out of the bout on a big hit from Wreck N Shrew.  The Crossers did not score again in the first period and the Manics built a 93-12 lead by halftime on strong jams from rookies Bellatrix Lapain and Thieven Tyler.

In the second period, the Manics picked up where they left off, extending their lead to 135-12 by the fourth jam.  The Double Crossers continued to trade vicious hits in the pack with the Manic blockers, and their hard work paid off with their Julia Rosenwinkel and Dani Get Your Guns picking up points in the fifth, eighth, and tenth jams, including a 14-point jam from Julia.  The Manic depth took its toll over the course of the bout, and they were able to jam most players on the team, getting points from veteran pack players Val Capone, Bork Bork Bork, and Tamikaze, and rookies Boo Meringue, Beaster Bunny, and Lola Getz.  With the clock at zero, the Manics prevailed by a score of 238-35 and set the stage for the upcoming match-up with The Fury for the Ivy King Cup.

Both teams were working tirelessly to get their jammers through the pack, but the Manic Attacker’s near impenetrable wall of Bork Bork Bork, Rose Feratu, AliSin Chains and Val Capone proved to be a deciding factor in the bout’s outcome.  Right out of the gates the hitting was intense with Double Crosser jammer Julia Rosenwinkel going down hard in the first jam and needing to be helped off the track.

Wreck N Shrew scored first blood, netting four points for the Manic Attackers.  Once the skates hit the track, the Manic Attackers ran away with the score and never really looked back.  Ruth Enasia, Beth Amphetamine and Zoe Trocious added to the score and within the first ten jams, the Manic Attackers had amassed 36 points to the Double Crossers’ five.

The Double Crossers were working feverishly to keep the Manic Attackers jammer line at bay.  Team captain Georgia on Yer Behind, rookie hotshot Sunshine N Painbows and Norma Lee Wright were working well together recycling blockers and roughing up the opposing jammers, but their efforts were still falling short.  The Double Crossers were throwing everything they had at the Manic Attackers, even lining up Dame Over against Beth Amphetamine, but the Manics wouldn’t let up.

By the time the teams went to the locker rooms for the half, the score was locked in at 74-14 in favor of the Manic Attackers, who were firing on all pistons and showing why they are a solid contender for the Ivy King Cup Championship this year.

As second half action started, Wreck N Shrew lined up against Julia Rosewinkel and made short work of the Double Crossers pack, scoring nine points and stretching the Manic Attackers lead even further.  The hard hitting continued from both team’s side of the line.  Amy NoNamey added a wealth of excellent hits to help contribute to her team’s lead.  Pound for pound, both teams were giving their all when it came to blocking.

Karmageddon was hitting like a woman possessed pulling double duty for the Double Crossers.  As the Manic Attackers’ score went over the century mark, the Double Crossers were reaching hard to catch up.  Indy Cent was working full-time jamming for the Double Crossers and moving through the pack like a heat seeking missile.
With less than nine minutes in the bout, the Manic Attackers were up by 110 points, with a score of 138-28.  Their lead was not only insurmountable, but the Manics were still in top form, as if they were trying to send a message to the other home teams.  With the minutes starting to wind down, the Manic Attackers worked some of their rookies into the jammer rotation.  Bellatrix La Pain made her rookie debut but was unable to tally any points.

The Double Crossers weren’t going down without a fight and kept pounding away at the Manic Attackers from all angles.  To seal the final nail in the coffin, Rose Feratu took the jammer line and scored 18 points.  As she skated back to her bench, the crowd regaled her with the happy birthday song in anticipation of her upcoming birthday and apparent early birthday gift of winning points.  When the final buzzer sounded, the Manic Attackers had demolished the Double Crossers with a 168-39 final score.  The Double Crossers just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to pull off a win, and so they remain winless this season.  Bork Bork Bork received Player of the Game and is quickly becoming an anchor for the Manic Attackers.

WCR came out from the very beginning forcing Oly to play their game.  Hard hitting and solid pack awareness allowed WCR to control the tempo early on and gave their jammers all the opportunity they needed to score.  In the initial jam, Shocka Conduit cut through the pack, broke out ahead of Oly’s lead jammer 2 Ton Heffer, who had to go to the sin bin on a cutting major, and drew first blood throwing seven points up on the board.

It didn’t take long for Oly to adjust to WCR’s style of play and that’s when the battle began.  No. 2 for the Oly Rollers, Sassy, was working WCR’s Kola Loka over in the second jam allowing plenty of time for 2 Ton Heffer to finish out her sentence and come back out swinging.  Kola Loka netted three points for WCR, but 2 Ton Heffer came through with seven and the early lead gap closed quickly.  The next jam pitted WCR’s Jackie Daniels against Oly’s Atomatrix.  Jackie Daniels broke out first getting lead jammer, but Atomatrix was in tow and the jam became a foot race.  Both girls used their speed to their advantage and at the end of the jam, WCR was up 12-10.

Both teams were leaning hard and heavy on their blocking abilities.  WCR’s Ying O’ Fire, Amy Nonamey, Georgia on Yer Behind, Hoosier Mama, Sargentina and Go-Go Hatchet were showing off their recycling skills throughout the period and giving the Oly jammers a run for their money. WCR’s Varla Vendetta exploded into the seventh jam, cut through the pack like a hot knife through butter, and gave the crowd an electrifying show of speed and agility.  Athena DeCrime, Kola Loka and Jackie Daniels were standouts as well, showing why WCR still had a shot against the second best team in the nation.  Their abilities to push through the pack and zigzag around Oly defenders helped close the gap and bring WCR to within 14 points with just over 13 minutes left in the period.  Though WCR was running and gunning, Oly managed to brave the onslaught of hits, return the favor, and put some numbers up on the board.

Oly blockers D-Bomb, Wheel Her, Sassy, Deadly Aim, Chest NutZ, Blond An’ Bitchen and Harmony Killbruise created a solid wall of baby blue through the course of the period and gave their jammers the opportunity they needed to create a point-spread that would later prove insurmountable.  Oly was adjusting on the fly to WCR’s style of play and serving it back to them in healthy doses.  Tannibal Lector, Atomatrix and Femme Fatale netted six grand slams for Oly during the last five minutes of the first period that contributed greatly to their lead.  WCR tried their hit it and quit it technique, but it just wouldn’t stand up to Oly’s continuous point scoring before the end of the half.  Both teams went into the locker room with Oly ahead 74-31.

Oly made a statement on the first jam of the second period as Atomatrix threw down an impressive 15 points to start the half.  That put Oly up 89-31 and the WCR All-Stars were wondering what to do next.  Athena DeCrime came out in the second jam working hard to break through Oly blocking powerhouses 2 Ton Heffer, Blond An’ Bithchen, Chest NutZ and Licker N Split but couldn’t quite pull the trigger.  She passed the star to Jackie Daniels who broke through the pack like a bullet fired out of a gun.  And though she didn’t put up any numbers for the team, their fluid play and improvisation on the track showed Oly that WCR wasn’t ready to lie down and take a beating.

Varla Vendetta fed Oly a dose of their own medicine netting three grand slams throughout the second period that helped get the crowd involved in the bout.  The chanting was intense and the WCR fans were just as vested in this bout as the skaters.  Second period standout blocker Deb Autry for WCR was taking up massive retail on the track and looked like an 8-foot-tall spider monkey giving the Oly jammers a run for their money and WCR a chance to get back into the game.   A handful of miscues and penalties, though, kept WCR out of the running and excellent blocking and jamming on Oly’s part kept their lead growing.

In the sixth jam of the period, Kola Loka tore out of the penalty box and took a whip from Hoosier Mama, which sent her flying into the back of an Oly blocker and landed her right back in the penalty box.  Oly answered with nine points on the jam and the score was set at 124-40.

Though the Oly jammers were fleet of foot and their blocker walls nigh unpenetrable, the WCR fan base was louder than ever continuing to back their home team heroines and keep them revved up for war.  The ninth jam proved to be a revolving door for jammer penalties.  With 13:49 left in the bout, Jackie Daniels had the track to herself and worked her way through the pack to get lead jam and the crowd on their feet, only to draw her fourth minor and swap sin bin seats with Oly jammer Scara 2 Death, who then drew a cutting the track major and swapped back out with Daniels.  She fought her way through a salvo of hits from Deadly Aim, Femme Fatale and D-Bomb and kept WCR to within 100 points with a score of 147-52.

Oly kept the grand slam machine moving with Licker N Split and Blond An’ Bitchen both scoring one apiece in the 12th and 13th jams respectively.  And though Kola Loka, Varla Vendetta and Jackie Daniels were showing jump even into the waning minutes of the bout, it wasn’t enough to mount the points needed to put Oly to bed for the night.  The final score of the bout was 178-76 Oly, though WCR did a much better job of keeping the pace and the score closer than their last meeting in October.  Oly went on to lose by a mere point to the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls in the final on the last day of Uproar on the Lakeshore, breaking their WFTDA gold two years in a row winning streak.  Next year will serve to show if RMRG has begun their own winning streak.

Chicago Reader

Game Changer

Ironically, coming off all this success, the All-Stars are at a transitional moment. The average career of a derby skater is three to four years; many talented old-timers have left. And the emergence of the western style has thrown the All-Stars, as well as many other teams, for a loop. To win at nationals, Windy City will have to step back into the role of the scrappy upstart: pissed off, hungry, and batshit-desperate to win.

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Chicago Sun Times

Derby days are coming to Pavilion

Roller derby, anyone? The Windy City Rollers will host the top 12 teams in women's flat-track roller derby in the ''Uproar on the Lakeshore'' WFTDA 2010 championship tournament on Nov. 5-7 at the UIC Pavilion. Tickets ($30 for one-day pass, $75 for weekend pass) are available at www.windycityrollers.com, Ticketmaster and the UIC box office.

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Chicago 3 Media

Windy City Rollers, Uproar on the Lakeshore

The Windy City Rollers will be hosting this year’s top twelve teams in women’s flat track roller derby for “Uproar on the Lakeshore,” the WFTDA 2010 Championship Tournament, Nov. 5-7 at UIC Pavilion, located at 525 S. Racine Ave. Doors open Friday Nov. 5 at 1:30 PM and the first whistle blows at 2:00 PM to start three days of top-shelf roller derby action.

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Examiner

Windy City Rollers to host 2010 Championship: Uproar on the Lakeshore

The Windy City Rollers All-Stars are gearing up and working hard in preparation for facing the top teams in the WFTDA community. When asked about the main focal points of training, [WCR's Jackie Daniels] says "The All-Stars have definitely ramped up their training schedule, including adding practices, adding additional speed and off-skates workouts and practicing on different surfaces/venues. Skaters have been running races, adding gym time and doing 60+ mile charity bike races!"

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From the very beginning, Windy City proved to control the track and foster unlimited support from the crowd. Crowd noise was non-stop and the deep jammer pool Windy City possesses proved to be a deciding force in getting lead jammer 12 out of the 19 jams in the first half. Windy City blocking powerhouses Varla Vendetta, Hoosier Mama, Sargentina, Amy Nonamey and Go-Go Hatchet worked in concert with their jammers and gave the fans their money’s worth throughout the entire bout.

Texas proved why they are #1 in the South Central Region and didn’t take Windy City’s run-away scoring lying down. Behind solid blocking from Belle Starr and Luce Bandit, Texas jammers Olivia Shootin’ John, Luce Bandit, Sarah Hipel and Bloody Mary chipped away at the Windy City lead and pulled to within 17 points before the end of the half. The score when both teams went to the locker room was 58-32 in favor of Windy City.

Texas came into the second half poised to pull off a win, pulling lead jammer 12 of 21 jams and narrowing the gap in the score. Olivia Shootin’ John and Bloody Mary were making every attempt to put a notch on the scoreboard, but Texas was held short. Second half standouts Deb Autry and Georgia on Yer Behind added a much-needed second echelon attack to the Windy City blocking crew. With about eight minutes left in the bout, Windy City turned the heat up and pulled together to hold the Texecutioners at bay.

Every player from the Windy City team was firing on all pistons and though they were cycling regularly through the penalty box in the second half, they pulled out a win in the end. Proof is in the pudding now to the other top ten teams on the DNN Power Rankings that Windy City is a force to be reckoned with for the Uproar on the Lakeshore championship tournament. Texas fought tooth and nail but lost to a team that was switched on and amped up for the win. Team Captain Beth Amphetamine won player of the game helping her team to climb back into the DNN top ten.

The Windy City Rollers All-Stars will be on the road next month against DNN # 7 Rose City and DNN #2 Oly playing a lead-up against some top ranked WFTDA teams as a precursor to the Championship in November.

Metromix

Windy City Rollers

The Manic Attackers take on Hell’s Belles, and the Double Crossers face the Fury at this professional women’s roller derby league competition. The Revelettes go-go troupe performs. Doors open at 5 p.m. The first 300 attendees receive a keychain.

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Peter Coffinail

Tour de Pain: A Stroll Through the Roller Derby Community

Flying around somewhere in the ozone is the thought that women’s sports isn’t going to play second fiddle to a man’s world any more... In the capable hands of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association or WFTDA, Roller Derby in the United States is on the rise and fulfilling the role as a validated women’s sport.

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ChiIL Mama

Windy City Rollers Fun: Sagezilla and Du-Jay Go VIP for May Day

The kids had fun with the masked manic, and Mya Ssault still gamely smiled and posed for pixs after getting smashed in the face.

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photo by Gil Leora

UPDATED! Resurrection is a dominant theme this time of year, and having been buried by the Double Crossers in January and the Fury in February, Hell’s Belles were hoping to roll back the stone on the 2011 season this past Saturday night at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion.  But Manic Attacker blockers had other plans for the rookie Belles.   Four Manic pack-masters—including Amy Nonamey , Mo Vengeance, Di Richmond, and Ada Hatelace—combined for 82% of the Manic’s defensive actions.  Nonamey celebrated the Kiester season with six jammer knock-downs, showing one red jammer to her seat multiple times.   When it was over, the Manics had pulled the shroud over the Belles, 121-59. Many of the Manic points came from the third and fourth jammers; Zoe Trocious (35) and Wreck N Shrew (36) consistently turned out short, single-digit jams all night.  While Wreck sat in the box with a major in the game’s third jam, the team’s enforcer, Amy Nonamy, punished Belle jammer Zombea Arthur.  Wreck jumped out of the box, slipped past the creeping pack, and the Manics were on top to stay.  In the middle of the first half, as the crowd begin pushing into the stadium’s upper deck for the second time this season, Trocious pushed the lead to 38-5 on the sole double-digit Manic jam.

 Despite the lopsided score, this was the most competitive half of the night.  For the first time this season, Belle jammers routinely fought through opposing blockers to force call-offs or put up points; the two teams went to the line 25 times in the first thirty minutes.   Manic ace Beth Amphetamine looked frustrated at times, scoring just eighteen points in the game despite taking 9 lead jams.  While speed allowed the Manics to control most of the quick jams whether they had the lead or not, Shocka Conduit kept the Belles in it at the half by scoring 17 points on power jams in the seventeenth and twenty-fifth.  The two teams left the floor after thirty minutes with the Manics up 46-27.

 The Belles cut the lead to 17 just minutes into the second half; with both teams down two skaters, Mya SSault blanketed Manic jammer Trocious, springing Arthur for two points.  The Manics went on a 32-7 run over the next fifteen minutes, however, punctuated by an 8-point jam by Trocious.  While Manic jammers had just 3 double-digit jams all night, the Blue Blockers dominated, limiting the Belles to zero points on 13 of their second-half jams.  Deb Autry put up eleven points in the eighteenth jam with help from Ssault, Bloody Elle, and Loco Chanel, but the Manics nailed the game down with 29 points in the last two regulation jams.  A grimacing Wreck, who was slow to get up from a collision with Bloody Elle several minutes earlier, scored ten and Ruth Enasia logged the game’s last nineteen on a pack of Belles who had no more to give.

 Although again doubled in points, the winless Belles continue to show monthly improvement on defense.  Scrappy Memphis transfer Bloody Elle had a huge impact in her first game, making each of the rookies around her better in the pack, and plugging a hole left by Dinah Party, who was injured in February and did not play.   Shocka Conduit was stellar on defense, a performance she will need to repeat for the Belles to be competitive down the stretch.  And Mya Ssault—who played only sparingly last year on a heavily veteran team—is making up for lost time; she played more jams than any other Belle and left it all on the floor. 

 Manic co-captains Amphetamine and Enasia will rise to meet the challenge of Fury speed when the two teams lock up on April 10th. The two had to be pleased by the way Wreck and Trocious—who took HOWTO.COM player-of-the-game honors—picked up the slack.  The winless Belles will look to sneak up on a wounded Double Crossers team. 

Questions answered.

On Saturday, January 30^th , a tighter, more focused Double Crossers team steamrolled Hell’s Bells 171-48 and the Manics tamped down The Fury 101-83. A crowd reported by Derby News Network at 3,977—the largest to watch modern roller derby in Chicago—began rising into the UIC Pavilion’s upper deck before the 6:00 p.m. start.

Double Crossers vs. Hell’s Belles

Perhaps not since the summer of 1998, when the six-time champion Chicago Bulls splintered in the off-season, has Chicago sports seen a red and black transition like Hell’s Belles are going through now. Just this past June 20^th, the Belles were tied with the Manic Attackers in the Ivy King Cup championship game with eleven minutes to play, scrapping for their second consecutive league crown. But gone now are a who’s who of  past stars—Megan Formor, Varla Vendetta, Belle Diablo and Athena DeCrime. On Saturday night, the Belles managed just 17 offensive blocks and 1.41 points per jam in the 123-point loss.

The Crossers broke out to an 18-0 lead, showing dominant blocking at the front of the pack that would hamper the Belles all night. In the bout’s fifth jam, Loco Chanel  held up Crosser jammer Reina Chaos, positioning Deb Autry to cruise when Georgia on Yer Behind was sent off with a major. Autry circled for 14 points, but the red and black would not be in it again. Two jams later, the Belles set up camp in the sin bin, where they would spend a remarkable 46 team minutes. Indycent rang up 15 point while Chanel circled the track waiting for a seat to open up in the box. Led by Chanel’s 20 total penalties and eight minutes in the box, HB repeatedly put itself at disadvantage with elbow and forearm play.

The first half ended with the Crossers up 86-28, both teams giving way to half-time favorite the Power of Cheer, who appear to have spent the off-season muscling up. Mattrick Swayze and crew ripped through its most dynamic and athletic set to date; more power, less cheer, but great fun as usual.

The second half picked up where the first left off. In the fourth jam, with the Crossers up by 61, jammer Nina Millimeter went on defense, picking at Belle rookie Zombea Arthur like a tiger barb right off the jam whistle. Two jams later, just seven minutes into the second half, the Crossers slipped over the century mark as Georgia on Yer Behind, Donna Party and crew repeatedly slammed the door on Belle jammers. The crowd stayed with the Belles, however, erupting into a roar when Autry and Shocka Conduit took lead in the seventh and twelfth jams. Down but not out, the Belles sent Gotham Girls Roller Derby (New York) transfer Dinah Party to the line in the final jam and its least experienced rookies into the pack. Party juked her way to lead jammer. She put zero points on the board but scored big with her struggling teammates by sucking pro-Belles cheers out of the crowd.

It was likely a career night for several Crossers. Five different silent assassins, led by Julia Rosenwinkel, Nina Millimeter and Indycent, racked up double-digit jams. Rosenwinkel, the Crosser captain, looks considerably faster and stronger than she did in 2009 and led all scorers with 50, a remarkable 8.33 points per jam.

One had to feel for Shocka Conduit, the league’s 2009 point champion and now the Belles' sole travel-team member. Conduit drew heavy attention all night from Crosser blocking; she had just 9 points and too few assists from a roster including seven skaters playing their first bout—Arthur, Brawla Poundstone, Payne D. Spencer, Pominatrix, Sue Perduper and Nancy Pagan, who made the most of her opportunity by blind-siding Crosser veteran Donna Party to the Skate Court late in the second half. Deb Autry, one of last year’s early draftees, appears to have made great strides during the off-season. Zombea Arthur, although she did not score in six attempts, skated opportunistically and will find holes as the Belles' blocking improves. The Belles' other heavy-rotation jammer, Hermione Danger, who has both burst and heart, must cut penalty minutes to help on offense. With the vastly improved Fury on the schedule in just three weeks, the young Belles will need to grow up fast.

Final score: Double Crossers 171, Hell's Belles 48

Manic Attackers vs. The Fury

In the off-season, roller girls take up a second sport—drafting players for the new season. How it works is all guess-work for the outsider, but there are clearly winners and losers. Just ask Hell’s Belles. And in a year like this one, when so many four-year players chose home-league retirement, the stakes were sky-high. The Fury came away from the draft season with two huge scores, increasing team speed exponentially with the return of Kola Loka and the acquisition of Grand Rapids transplant Jackie Daniels. On paper, their match-up with the Manic Attackers looked like it could be a preview of the 2010 Ivy King Cup. But the Manics, last year’s champs, equaled Fury speed, decisively won the penalty battle, and looked long on endurance in their 101-83 win.

The Fury’s Loka and game MVP Beth Amphetamine of the Manics put on a speed clinic, lining up against each other with some regularity throughout the night. Amphetamine scored just 19 points in the game, but played a crucial role in neutralizing Loka’s velocity. The two skated to a 0-0 draw on the first jam, but the Manics opened a 19-6 lead after the first ten minutes. Loka finally got loose in the game’s eighth jam and scored her first four points. With the score 19-11 and 17:50 left in the first half, the next jam ended with Jackie Daniels putting her shoulder just under Wreck N Shrew’s chin. The game stopped while Wreck thought about getting up, and though she went on to score the Manics’ final points, she could be seen after the game with an ice bag fashionably draped over her right collarbone.

The Manics opened up a 17-point lead, but The Fury began to chip away during a furious thirteenth set. Loka picked up lead jammer and then traded short penalty stints with Amphetamine, who shot out of the box and appeared to be headed for a scoring pass when Daniels and Go-Go Hatchet snagged her in a perfectly executed sandwich. Loka took advantage of a dispersed pack and cut the lead by four.  Daniels registered six on a pretty run with three minutes left, and in the half’s final jam, Loka burst past Fury blockers like they were moving backwards, taking lead jammer in turn two. The half ended with the Manics leading 39-33.

The Fury kept up the pressure as the second half began, and in the fourth jam, Daniels executed a deft cut to take advantage of a block on Amy Nonamey and momentarily take the lead away.  Mo Vengeance was able to hit her scoring pass, however, and end the jam with the Manics still in control, 46-43. Nonamey—who in just her second full season is emerging as one of the league’s most fearsome hitters—found redemption two jams later by crushing Ska Face, ending her ten-point jam. Loka would tie the score at 55, and then Hatchet later at 64, but The Fury would not lead again.

In the twelfth jam, Ruth Enasia, who led all scorers with 48, ducked under Sonya Mouthshut while Di Richmond and Wreck N Shrew tied up The Fury’s Shannanigan to open up a ten-point lead.

Discipline served the Manics well over the next ten minutes of play as Fury skaters were waved into the penalty box. Daniels and Loka were each sent off while jamming inside the eight-minute mark, and the Manics stretched their lead to 29. Loka, however, never looked spent, and if her year-long leave has had a negative impact, it will take interleague play to prove it. With 2:49 left in the game, she ran down the lead jammer, Enasia, forcing her to call it off. And then, albeit against the light end of the Manic bench, she put up 15 of her 31 points on the final jam, her 18^th of the night.

Final score: Manic Attackers 101, The Fury 83

The Manic Attackers will square off against the Double Crossers on February 21^st, while The Fury will face a scrappy Hell’s Belles squad with nothing to lose. Will that be a great time? Four thousand people can’t be wrong.