OUR STATE.. OUR DERBY!!

Derby lovers,

The derby goddesses have forcibly yanked this Michi out of retirement for a short time, especially for this weekend because we have a TON of roller derby action throughout the state.

ARIZONA DERBY DAMES

The monumental event this Saturday night will be the season 5 opener of the ARIZONA DERBY DAMES.  Last year, they moved from the CASTLE SPORTS CLUB to the VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM.   Last year, the Dames played a flat track game.  This season, the Dames are introducing banked track roller derby to a new generation of Arizona derby lovers.  From what I could gather, the last time there was banked track roller derby in Arizona was back in the 1960’s with the Arizona Raiders of the National Skating Derby, a professional circuit.

But keep in mind, even with a banked track, the game is still real, even more real.  What is also real was the sweat, ambition and motivation of this group of ladies who have been working hard to bring banked track to reality.  When the Arizona Derby Dames was founded in 2005, one of the intentions of the league was to eventually skate on a banked track.  Some of the pioneer leagues in this sport such as the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls (Austin, TX) and the Los Angeles Derby Dolls skate on banked track.  Actually, it was a report about the LADD in 2006 that made me aware of the resurgence of roller derby.  A couple of years ago, the Dames actually had access to a banked track that was being stored.  Unfortunately, there was no venue available for it.   The banked track that is being introduced on Saturday as a brand new Kitt Track design.  Earlier this month,  the Dames gave us a preview of the track at Jobing.com Arena.  When the track is not being used at the Coliseum, it is constructed in a nearby warehouse and is used for team and league practices.

The banked track game will consist of 4 12-minute periods and 60 second jams.  Saturday’s bout will be a double header.  First, we will see the SCHOOL YARD SCRAPPERS with team captain ROWDY ROULETTE take on new team captain RED ROCKER (you heard me right derby lovers… I did say Red Rocker) and her BRUTAL BEAUTIES.   The Scrappers are still a pretty consistent team from last season, many of your favorite names are still there.  What I do find interesting though is that many members of the former ARIZONA BRUISERS have made their way over to the Scrappers.  BAD BETTY, CRUELLA DE MILLE, MINK STOLE, MIZZ NASHTY and NURSE RATCHET were once their own team at one time. It’s nice to see them skating together on the Scrappers.   For the Beauties, did I mention Red Rocker was the team captain?  Red Rocker and I go back even before I knew about Arizona derby leagues.  This is an interesting lineup including ex AZRD skaters BRICKHOUSE, JUNKYARD BARBIE and HOOKERELLA.  Other familiar faces on this year’s Beauties include co-captain SALLY WHACKER and former Bombshell EMBER WAVES.  Noticibly missing  is CELESTE who is now on the Bombshell roster.   This is going to be a very interesting Beauties team.

The second bout will pit the COFFIN DRAGGERS against the RUNAWAY BRIDES.  The Draggers will be skating short GINGERMORTIS and co-captain DOLLY DE LOS MUERTOS.  But the good doctor, MARY LU BOTTOMY is back for another season as well as team captain LORA STABS, KATIE KILLS, TRAN SYL VANIA, NACHO GIRLFRIEND and WENDY O. KILLEMS.  There are some faces that are new to this Michi.   To be fair, I was pretty much in retirement during AZDD’s 2009 season so I did not get a chance to follow last year.    For the Brides in the post-(ANN) THRASH generation, it’s nice seeing ELLIE MAYHEM as team captain.  Ellie is a very fast and agile jammer on the flat track, I can only imagine her on banked.  GWEN STEPONYA is the co-captain and other familiar faces include KILLIN MAE SMALZ, LEX MOSH, MIGHTY MENACE and veteran PHENOMENON.

I know what you are asking, predictions.. Michi??  Here’s the deal.  Red Rocker has been a long time friend and has supported me through a lot of personal issues.  Rowdy has re-earned my respect as a leader and team captain.  This bout just has so many people who are very important to me I really do not want to pit these two teams in the heart and mind of the Michi.  Therefore, I will abstain from making any predictions.  I also feel that the Dames have been working hard to make banked track become a reality.  Between public comments and private conversations with people inside the league during my retirement, I have a great sense of the dedication and accomplishment and this night will symbolize.  I feel that this is a night for the skaters and they should not have a prediction by a washed-out 41 year old obnoxious derby lover looming over their head.   DAMES THIS IS YOUR NIGHT!  ENJOY YOUR NEW TRACK!  YOU DESERVED IT!  My only prediction is that the fans are going to love the new banked track as much as the ladies enjoy skating on it.  But I will say with some level of confidence, the Scrappers will win the afterparty!

Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum (19th Ave & McDowell). Box Office opens at 5pM.  Doors open at 6PM.  Bout starts at 7PM.  The Dames have sold an extremely large number of presale tickets for this bout.  You will still be able to get General Admission to the bout, but I think that VIP seats and the floor will sell out early (if they have not sold out in advance).   The Dames have to beat an attendance of 5,158.   This record attendance for a resurgence roller derby bout was set earlier this month by Rat City Rollergirls of Seattle.

http://www.azderbydames.com

ARIZONA ROLLER DERBY

AZRD is also hosting a bout on Saturday night.  This bout will also be a doubleheader.  We will see the women of the BRAWLARINAS take on the SURLY GURLIES.  Also on the card will be a men’s derby bout between DRY HEAT DERBY of Phoenix and Tucson as they take on the COLORADO BIG HORNS.   This flat track fun will be played at the Castle Sports Club on Saturday with doors opening at 5:30.  The men’s game starts at 6PM and the ladies take the track at 7:30PM.

Last month, AZRD sold out the Castle Sports Club. This is something they have not done in years.  Congratulations to AZRD for that.  I am very concerned that this bout will be substantially overshadowed by the Dames bout.  I am a supporter of AZRD but what’s going on at AZDD is a historical event.  Remember derby lovers, the Castle Sports Club is at 19th Avenue & Cholla and they have free parking.  I wish these ladies and men the best this evening.  No matter if there’s only a few fans or a sell-out, AZRD puts on a great game.  Please support them!

http://www.azrollerderby.com

TUCSON ROLLER DERBY

Interleague derby returns to the Tucson Indoor Sports Center (formerly Bladeworld) as the TUCSON SADDLETRAMPS takes on the GOTHAM GIRLS WALL STREET TRAITORS from New York City.  Doors open at 6:30 and the bout starts at 7PM.

http://tucsonrollerderby.com

DESERT DOLLS ROLLER DERBY

Phoenix has a new league, the Desert Dolls!   There are three teams including the PRETTY H8 MACHINES, THE SHOTGUN SHIRLEYS and the COSMIC KILLAS’.  The Pretty H8 recently had a benefit car wash but this weekend, the Cosmic Killas will be playing Sloshball.  A game that combines kickball and drinking.  Please come out to Madison Park from 2-4PM.  Madison Park is at 1440 E. Glenrosa Ave.

Your Michi will be making a public appearance as a member of the announcing team for two DDRD demo bouts on April 24 and May 22 at Castle Sports Club.  Please keep those dates open and come check out Arizona newest league.  These girls have been practicing hard.  Please support them.

A lot of derby love this weekend!  If you can’t make one league’s bout that night, please make a note to support them when they have another bout.  Visit the league websites for information on the next bouts.

For now, SKATE HARD.. SKATE SAFE.. DERBY LOVE!

edited to correct: The Arizona Derby Dames was founded in 2005.  Their first bout was in 2006.

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。

COMMENTARY — Derby lovers, the great lead jammer in the sky had spoken this past weekend and obviously, he’s a fan of the Surly Gurlies.

All kiddingness aside, derby fans in Phoenix may have felt a little let down because their night of exciting derby was ruined by a little Arizona rain.  As both a journalist and a derby fan, I can feel your pain.  But as someone who understands skaters and league business, please understand that Arizona Roller Derby had some very difficult decisions to make that night and they had to make them fast but informed.  They had to weigh the financial impacts of cancelling the bout at the last minute vs. the impact on the safety of the skaters, non-skating staff and the fans.  AZRD appeared to play on the side of caution and made the decision to call-off the bout.  I totally agreed with AZRD’s decision at the time and now that I have had a couple of nights to sleep on it, I still support their position. 

Read the rest of this entry »

PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 11, 2009 — Citing concern for the safety of skaters, non-skating officials and fans as well as liability issues, Arizona Roller Derby made a late decision to cancel this evening’s AZRD bout between the Bruisers and the Bad News Beaters.  This evening was also supposed to have a exposition by Dry Heat Derby in a co-ed game that would have included skaters from the men’s league, AZRD and Tucson Roller Derby.

The concerns were stemmed by today’s rain and water damage inside the Castle Sports Club due to the venue’s leaky roof.  This is a problem that has plagued both AZRD and former Castle derby tenants, the Arizona Derby Dames for years. Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday, April 11, Arizona Roller Derby will be skating at the Castle Sports Club and this is one of the biggest bouts of the year as the 2-0 Bruisers will take on the 1-1 Bad News Beaters.

The Bruisers have a shrinking roster as the season has progressed.  First, the Bru lost Denise Lightning and just recently, Shirley Demise left the league to move out of town.  Shedonist, Cutthroat KC, Poka Heiness, Lethal Dose and Yellow Fever are pretty much all of the original Bruiser roster left.  Expect substitutes on this team.  Perhaps, they will get Dianasauras Wrexx from the Surly Gurlies who definitely paid dividends for the Brawlarinas in their victory over the Bad News Beaters.  As much as I am a fan of Shedonist, she is going to need some help out there.  So far, AZRD has not announced who any substitutes will be.

Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings to all of the fans of those wild women (and now also men) on 8 wheels and a special hello to those sports fans who are just derby curious.  This is my occasional perspective and commentary on the Arizona leagues.  Let’s take a look league by league…

Read the rest of this entry »

Michi-chan\’s REAL Derby - February 2009 edition - episode 6

On this edition:

Renegade Rollergirls - AZ vs. Oregon
AZRD Tent City Terrors vs. San Diego
Men’s roller derby
AZRD: Bruisers vs. Surly Gurlies

Enjoy!

OUR STATE.. OUR DERBY!