OUR STATE.. OUR DERBY!!

First of all, for the record.  I am still around.  I have had to put derby aside because of some major shifts in my life, plus I had a major project with one of my other operations, J1FM, my Japanese popular music webcast.

Even though some of you have figured it out, I will be making a major derby related announcement soon.   So watch for that soon.

But even though I have ducked out of derby after that spectacular Surly sweep back in May, I have still kept an eye on our teams here in the Grand Canyon State.

With the AZDD semi-finals done, we saw the Brutal Beauties easily (and expectedly) trample the Coffin Draggers 55-37.  In more of a surprise, the Runaway Brides barely slipped by the Scrappers 63-57.    Not counting the mini-bouts, this 6 point victory by the Brides was the tightest margin ever for an AZDD bout.  It beats the previous record that was ironically set by these same two teams in July of this year where the Brides beat the Scrappers 62-51.

While all of the leagues had delivered some great derby this year, AZDD in particular has really made that $20 VIP ticket really worth it by giving us a lot of tightly contested bouts.  Not once did AZDD have a “super lopper” bout this year.  Their biggest margin this season was the 41 point margin that the Brutal Beauties had over the Coffin Draggers in April with a final score 77-36.   Compare this to three TRD bouts that had margins of 152, 110 and 99 points.

So now with all of that, let’s take a look at the ARIZONA POWER RANKINGS for August, 2009:

1. Vice Squad (TRD/89.69)
2. Runaway Brides (AZDD/52.45)
3. Copper Queens (TRD/48.25)
4. Brutal Beauties (AZDD/45.05)
5. Bad News Beaters (AZRD/27.12)
6. Surly Gurlies (AZRD/17.42)
7. Bruisers (AZRD/-15.38)
8. Iron Curtain (TRD/-18.41)
9. School Yard Scrappers (AZDD/-28.34)
10. Brawlarinas (AZRD/-32.72)
11. Coffin Draggers (AZDD/-40.63)
12. Bombshells (AZDD/-77.43)
13. Furious Truckstop Waitresses (TRD/-129.25)

Coming up next:
9/19 ~ AZDD Championship Bout ~ The (AZ-2) Runaway Brides will try to defend their title that they took from the (AZ-4) Brutal Beauties last year.  This will be an exciting championship rematch by these two very serious teams.  I believe there will also be a “battle for the bronze” undercard that will pit the (AZ-9) School Yard Scrappers against the (AZ-11) Coffin Draggers.  This will be at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum.   More information will eventually be available at http://azderbydames.com
9/20 ~ AZRD Derby Summit Expo Bout ~ AZRD is inviting skaters from Tucson’s Dry Heat as well as from Northern AZ Roller Derby to play some fun Sunday derby in a place where we have not seen a full bout in years, Mesa Skateland.   More info will be avaialble at http://azrollerderby.com

For now, I will take a backseat but I will still be watching.  I may show up at these bouts.

As always… SKATE HARD, SKATE SAFE, DERBY LOVE.

＜３　ミチちゃん。

Saturday is truly a derby night in Arizona as three of the state’s biggest leagues will all be holding events on the same night.   This will make things a little frustrating for Phoenix fans as there will definitely be a test of loyalty.

ARIZONA ROLLER DERBY
ALL-STAR BOUT
Take the best of the best in AZRD and put them on two teams and you have an all-star showdown to close out what some may call AZRD’s most exciting season ever.  The two teams will be divided into Blue and Red teams.  The Blue team will including Gratuitous Violet, Loca Lena and Hacker Too Pieces.  They will be facing the Red team that will include Rayna Rage and Deez Nutz.  Both teams are pretty much equally matched from a jamming and a blocking perspective.  I am not going to call this one.  Here are the rosters and I will let you be the judge:
Blue Team: Yellow Fever, Gratuitous Violet, Loca Lena, Hacker Too Pieces, Candy Cannons, Knockout Knicko, Jugs Bunny, Rum Bunctious, Book-em Betty, C Ductive, Bea Naughty, Chachi Patron.
Red Team: Dirty Dutchess, Rayna Rage, Deez Nutz, Domiskatrix, Messy Missy, Joby Wan-and-Only, Kidda Kilah, Destructo Kitty, A Whacks Queen, Diabolique, Pokaheiness.

IF YOU GO:
Castle Sports Club - 11420 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix
Doors open at 7PM, bout starts at 7:30PM.  $12 at the door.
http://www.azrollerderby.com for more information

ARIZONA DERBY DAMES
(2)BRUTAL BEAUTIES VS. (8)SCHOOL YARD SCRAPPERS
(7)COFFIN DRAGGERS VS. (5) RUNAWAY BRIDES
With 4 very powerful AZDD teams also playing on Saturday, fencesitting derby lovers have a very hard choice here.  The Bombshells take the bye for this bout (and trust me, they need a rest after the beatings they are taking this year) and leave the skating to the powerhouses.

First we have Beauties and Scrappers.  The Beauties have been showing some vulnerability this season.  While the pinks squeezed by the plaid 29-15 in the January mini-bout, their performaces against the Brides have proven that the team is showing potential for another team to slip by them.  While I know Red Rocker will give me a hiney-whooping the next time we meet when I say this, I think this is the one when Rowdy’s Scrappers will slip by the Beauties, but not by much.  SCRAPPERS BY 1-20.

Next we have Draggers vs. Brides.  The Brides under the leadership of Ann Thrash has the structure necessary to win games, they beat the Beauties.  The Draggers have this interesting brand of teamwork that may work in their favor but the Brides’ record speaks for itself.  BRIDES BY 15-35.

IF YOU GO:
Veterans Memorial Coliseum - 19th Avenue & McDowell
Doors at 6:30PM, Bout at 7:30PM. General and Floor: $12, VIP: $20, Parking: $7.
http://www.azderbydames.com for more information

TUCSON ROLLER DERBY
(1)VICE SQUAD VS. (3)COPPER QUEENS
(11)IRON CURTAIN VS. (13) FURIOUS TRUCKSTOP WAITRESSES
In Tucson, TRD will have their championship bout where their two powerhouse teams, VICE Squad and the Copper Queens will fight for the TRD title.  In addition, the Iron Curtain will take on FTW for third place. Last month, the FTW saw the return of Skeletor and they gave the Copper Queens a run for their money.  The Iron Curtain has been busy schooling other teams and have been getting their team more together.  So who will tak Tucson?  I say VICE SQUAD BY 40-60 and IRON CURTAIN BY 40-60.

IF YOU GO:
Tucson Indoor Sports Center (formerly Bladeworld) - 1065 W. Grant Rd.
Doors at 6PM, IC vs. FTW @ 6:30,VS vs. CQ 8:00.  $10 admission.
http://www.tucsonrollerderby.com for more info.

On Saturday, May 16, 2009, history was made as the Surly Gurlies swept all three of their mini-games during the “Battle Royale” championship bout at the Castle Sports Club.   The pirate-themed Surlys have always been underrated as a result of their 2008-2009 season record (they went 0-3 in regulation) when in fact, they have three of the strongest jammers in the league.

As the season was drawing to a close, AZRD decided to change their season format.  Instead of normal season standings (which were marred by the April cancellation), AZRD decided to give all 4 teams a clean slate and have them battle it out in one night.  All 4 teams would play in a round robin format of 20-minute mini-bouts.

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