UPDATED!  The Windy City Rollers All-Stars hosted the Boston Massacre on July 31st at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. With the Derby News Network placing Boston in 10^th and WCR in 11^th on their Power Rankings, this bout proved to be a brutal game for the two teams as both were fighting for a place in the top ten.  Chicago came out on top with a 121-115 victory, barely eeking past a determined Boston team. The mantra for the bout seemed to be, “With great hitting comes great responsibility,” and though the Massacre was making an intrepid effort, they still managed to fall short in the end.  Boston was given a mixed welcome of cheers and some low-key boos as they took the track for their intro.  WCR came on to the sounds of LL Cool J’s “Momma Said Knock You Out” and roaring cheers from a hyped up crowd already amped from a Second Wind win over Cincinnati.

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.

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