Prediction Accuracy: 5/28 - 5/29

Houston (4SC/xFTS/-DNN) vs. Harrisburg (15E/xFTS/-DNN)
Prediction: Houston 250 - Harrisburg 40

Actual: Houston 303 - Harrisburg 59

Accuracy?: Spot on. 
Analysis: Not much to see here. I didn't think it would be as bad as expected, and it wasn't exactly. Though it is never nice to see your opponent roll over their score into 300, Harrisburg managed to put up a good amount more points than I would have expected. 

Houston (4SC/21FTS/-DNN) vs Steel City (6E/19FTS/14DNN)
Prediction: Houston 120 - Steel City 110

Actual: Apparently this game did not take place due to some sort of scheduling issues at Comicpaloozaa. 

Tampa Bruise Cew (Intra-league/B-Team? for Tampa Bay Derby Darlins) vs. Ft. Myers (Soon to be Apprentice League?)
Prediction: Bruise Crew 150 - Ft. Myers 95

Actual: Bruise Crew 117 - Ft. Myers 139

Accuracy?: Wrong

Analysis: Ft. Myers had control this entire game, slowly widening their marginal gap until the last moments of the game. Good news for independent teams in Florida, not quite as good for Tampa's B-Team. As far as I know Ft. Myers is looking to enter the Apprentice program and move up onto the lists of official rankings.  

Tallahassee Jail Break Betties (Tallahassee B-Team) vs. Beach Brawl
Prediction: Betties 150 - Beach Brawl 75

Actual: Betties 150 - Beach Brawl 132

Accuracy?: Pretty good.
Analysis: The Betties came back from a nearly 30 point deficit at the beginning of the game to keep it neck and neck until the end with lots of lead changes. The Betties pulled out at the end for a nice victory. This is the Betties first win of the year, and their most points scored yet. The Beach Brawl put up a really good fight for a new team, almost doubling my predicted score.

Molly Rogers vs. Thunder City

Prediction: Molly Rogers 160 - Thunder City 90

Actual: Molly Rogers 89 - Thunder City 125

Accuracy?: Backwards!
Analysis: This games was neck and neck until the very end when a huge Thunder City power jam widened the gap and gave them the win. Thunder City continues their undefeated streak, while Molly Rogers need to get back together quick for a very tough game against WFTDA team Jacksonville (-SC/59FTS)

Today's Predictions: 2/4
Overall: 11/17 

Contact me: King James

Spotlight on Apprentice Leagues

Photo: Ray Rodil

WFTDA started their Apprentice Program in late 2009, to help teams transition into highly organized and competitive teams. Not every team wants, cares, or has the time to become a WFTDA team. It seems to be the way things are going for competitive Roller Derby, and that is not a bad thing. I have found it to be dependable way to guarantee that a game is played by the same rules. If you want good competition, becoming a WFTDA member league is about your only option. Even if you don't care about rankings, WFTDA provides many benefits to leagues.

WFTDA has been regularly accepting leagues into their Apprentice Program every few months, and they are normally transitioned into full Member status within a year, assuming the league does all the work they need to do, and they have a decent mentor guiding them through the process.

I'd like to take a look at all the Apprentice teams in the South Central Region, give you a small bit of history on them, talk about their performance, and talk about their future. The South Central has 11 Apprentice leagues out of 65 or so in the World. In the future I may include these teams in my overall rankings. They are ranked here in what I feel is their overall strength, from the lowest to the highest. It builds tension that way! I must admit I had more difficulty ranking these teams than I did on the full WFTDA ranking, simply due to a lack of direct comparison or triangulation, so take them with a grain of salt.

Note: This article erroneously places the two teams from South Carolina, the Lowcountry Highrollers, and Columbia Quad Squad, in the South Central Region, when WFTDA has declared that East's territory. Both teams are always welcome to join the (In my opinion much cooler) South Central Region. Their analysis stands, and they shall continue to rock hard in my book. I also did not include Missouri's Springfield Rollergirls on this write up. They are now a full WFTDA member, so it sort of self corrected. Look for more information on the Springfield Rollergirls in the future. Apologies all around.

#11)
League Name: Route 66 Roller Derby
Location: Amarillo, TX
Apprentice Since: November 2009
Why you should pay attention: Route 66 Roller Derby has just started their season, but brought home a close win against 2010 newly founded team San Antonio's Apoca-lips. Their season is rounded out by a variety of local teams from the state of Texas.

#10)
League Name: Cajun Rollergirls
Location: Houma, LA
Apprentice Since: November 2009
Why you should pay attention: Founded in 2008, the Cajun Rollergirls have made a quick name for themselves as an Apprentice league, so far going 2-1 for 2011. They have won against Texas's Bayou Outlaws, and fellow Louisianians CenLA Derby Dames, but were taken to task in their season opener by Apprentice League Hub City Derby Dames. They have a solid schedule, with future games against Hub City again, Big Easy's Crescent Wenches, and then later the Big Easy Rollergirls themselves (18SC/66FTS). Good work there could move them rapidly up this list.

#9)
League Name: Classic City Rollers
Location: Athens, GA
Apprentice Since: January 2011

Why you should pay attention: This league was founded in 2006, and recently played their first game of 2011 to a very tight loss against fellow Georgians, Savannah's Derby Devils. They have rapidly grown in size, and have added a B-team for 2011. 

#8)
League Name: Chattanooga Rollergirls
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Apprentice Since: April 2010
Why you should pay attention: Chattanooga is trying to make a name for themselves in the already talented state of Tennessee. They have brought home huge over 100 point wins from Augusta's, Soul City Sirines, Savannah's Hostess City Hellions, and Alabama's Burn City. They will be taking on Little City in Honky Tonk Stomp 2011, then later in the year Dixie (19SC/85FTS), and Apprentice league power house Columbia Quad Squad.

#7)
League Name: Little City Rollergirls
Location: Johnson City, TN
Apprentice Since: July 2010
Why you should pay attention: Little City has been around since 2007, and regularly played teams in their surrounding states. This seasons Little City has played a close loses against Nashville's Music City Brawl Stars and the Richland County Regulators, while late last season they brought home a win against Knoxville's Brawl Stars. Look for them to play against fellow Apprentice Chattanooga at Honky Tonk Stomp 2011 in early June, where I am expecting them to prevail.

#6)
League Name: Hub City Derby Dames
Location: Hattiesburg, MS
Apprentice Since: July 2010
Why you should pay attention: Hub City recently played a 4 point loss to Member league Spindletop (24SC/99FTS), and has defeated fellow Apprentices the Cajun Rollergirls, but one cannot ignore their serious defeat at the hands of the long time established league, and Apprentice member, Tragic City Rollers. Games against Apprentice league Red Stick, and a rematch against Tragic City will round out a solid season.

#5)
League Name: Red Stick Roller Derby
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Apprentice Since: July 2010
Why you should pay attention: This season the Red Stick Rollers have brought home wins against one of Houston's interleague teams, and a huge 110 point win over WFTDA member Spindletop (24SC/99FTS). Be sure to watch their game against Burn City later this year, and their rematch against Spindletop in August.

#4)
League Name: Magnolia Roller Vixens
Location: Jackson, MS
Apprentice Since: January 2011
Why you should pay attention: The Vixens are another relatively new team, also fonded in 2008. In 2010 they prevailed over their fellow Apprentice league from Houma, the Cajun Rollergirls, and this year they defeated the Apprentice League from Baton Rogue, Red Stick's Capital Defenders. More Apprentice league action this year occurs when they take on Hub City.


#3)
League Name: Tragic City Rollers
Location: Birmingham, AL
Apprentice Since: October 2010
Why you should pay attention: Birmingham has had their own derby team since 2005, and are just recently getting around to joining WFTDA. They regularly play and defeat fellow Apprentice league from Mississippi, Hub City. Look for them to take on Member league Dixie (19SC/85FTS) later this year to give you a preview of where they should stand in the rankings.

#2)
League Name: Lowcountry Highrollers
Location: Charleston, SC
Apprentice Since: January 2011
Why you should pay attention: The Highrollers are relatively new, being formed in just 2008, but they are large, with three teams, and accumulating impressive victories over Savannah, and fellow Carolinian Apprentice League Charlotte. Most recently they took down WFTDA member River City (16E/83FTS). (Correction: Lowcountry's B-team lost to River City's B-team, though Lowcountry did beat Palmeto State Roller Girls from Myrtle Beach South Carolina) Though the rest of their season is rematches, be sure to watch them in 2012 when they will certainly begin to take down a few WFTDA teams depending on future scheduling.

#1)
League Name: Columbia Quad Squad
Location: Columbia, SC
Apprentice Since: April 2011
Why you should pay attention: The Quad Squad has been around since early 2007, and has rapidly grown in size and skill. They went undefeated in 2010. In 2011, they have so far had notable wins over Capital Punishment from Tallahassee (14SC/57FTS), and fellow Apprentice league Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls, from Kentucky. Be sure to watch them take on the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers of the Texas Rollergirls in July. Right now Columbia is one of the few Apprentice leagues that will likely make a huge splash when they are initiated, and assuming they are on top of everything else, they should be on the fast track. 

5/28 - 5/29: Games to watch

Not a lot of action this weekend due to the holiday weekend. If I missed a South Central game let me know and I'll try to add it here. Sorry if you are seeing this twice, having some formatting issues with the blog. 


Houston (4SC/21FTS/-DNN) vs. Harrisburg (15E/68FTS/-DNN)
Why you should watch: Houston is on the rise with 13 WFTDA wins under their belt already. 
Prediction: Houston is about on par with Tampa (7SC/29FTS/-DNN) right now, maybe a little better. Tampa just played a near tie game with Carolina (7E/23FTS/-DNN), who happened to beat Harrisburg almost 7 to 1 about two months ago. I am predicting something similar here, though not quite as severe since this is at a mini-tournament. Expect Houston to rest and go deep on the bench to rest up for the game against Steel City (6E/19FTS/14DNN)
Houston 250 - Harrisburg 40


Houston (4SC/21FTS/-DNN) vs Steel City (6E/19FTS/14DNN)
Why you should watch: This should be a close match between two evenly matched teams. 
Prediction: They are pretty similar in rankings, but neither team tends to travel outside their region very much, making direct comparison difficult. I'm going to side with a solid Houston on this game though. 
Houston 120 - Steel City 110


Tampa Bruise Cew (Intra-league? B-Team? for Tampa Bay Derby Darlins) vs. Ft. Myers (Soon to be Apprentice League?)
Why you should watch: B-Team and Intra-league games are always great fun to watch. Seeing new skaters come into their own is rewarding. Not everyone gets to travel with the big leagues, but the amount of fun and spirit in these games is hard to beat. 
Prediction: Last time the Bruise Crew was down in Ft. Myers they came back with a win 200 to 119. Ft. Myers is improving fast, so look for a closer game this time. The Bruise Crew features a few current and former Tampa Tantrums, and they don't like to lose. 
Bruise Crew 150 - Ft. Myers 95


Tallahassee Jail Break Betties (Tallahassee B-Team) vs. Beach Brawl
Why you should watch: Beach Brawl is a small newer league in the Florida Panhandle who has a strong commitment to proving they have what it takes to be a serious competitor. This is their first game of the season. The Jailbreak Betties are 0-3 this season, and are looking for their first win. 
Prediction: Despite not picking up any wins this season, the Betties have played some close games against some serious competition from Columbia Quad Squad, Jacksonville, and Hard Knox's own B-teams. There are some veteran skaters on the Betties who bring some serious experience to the team. I expect the Betties to bring home a win for Tallahassee.
Betties 150 - Beach Brawl 75


Molly Rogers vs. Thunder City
Why you should watch: The Molly Rogers are a long time central Florida team, and will take on any team despite the odds. Early this year they hosted a boot camp in conjunction with the Texas Rollergirls to help themselves, and all of Florida improve. They recently took home a big 100 point wins against Big Easy's interleague team the Crescent Wenches, and south Florida's Dub City. Thunder City has taken home two wins against the Lakeland Rockabillys, and will want to continue their streak. 
Prediction: I've seen the Molly Rogers play countless times and they have certainly improved since last year, whereas I know little of Thunder City. I've got to fly high the Molly Roger with this one. 
Molly Rogers 160 - Thunder City 90


Contact me: King James

News: WFTDA Referee Clinics

Photo: Ray Rodil

WFTDA is hosting a series of refereeing clinics across the world (yes, the world) this year, and three of the nine will be in the South Central Region. I have refereed plenty of games before, and the importance of meeting referees from other teams and discussing best practices cannot be overstated. I'd highly recommend anyone, WFTDA or not, to attend these clinics to improve your refereeing skills.

The first one is for Beginners, and is on June 11 and 12, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisana

The second clinic is for Advanced referees, and is on July 16 and 17, 2011, in Austin, Texas

The last one in the South Central is also for Beginners, and is on July 23, and 24, 2011, in Lincoln, Nebraska

The South Central Region of WFTDA is easily the largest region with the most distant teams. It is easy for a group of referees and teams to become isolated from everyone else, but it is so important to share information and ideas, not just on playing the game, but on refereeing the game. You would (or wouldn't) be surprised how often you can travel to a team and, when discussing the rules, realize that they have interpreted something completely differently or not even realized that a particular rule exists.

Check them out, and let me know how they go!

Contact me: King James

Prediction Accuracy: 5/20 - 5/22

Hopefully this is the start of a positive trend: My predictions being true. We'll go over if I got the outcome correctly, and how close my score was to the actual.

Texas (2SC/10FTS/12DNN) vs. Rose City (5W/4FTS/5DNN)
Prediction: Rose City 150 - Texas 80
Actual: Rose City 105 - Texas 79
Accuracy?: Good. Rose City played like I expected in the second half. I think Texas caught them off guard at first.
My Analysis: This game was penalty city, I hardly remember seeing all 10 skaters on the track other than on the first jam. Texas was certainly hurt more than Rose City was by those penalties, and even had only one blocker at times, and an ejection to round things out. Rose City's amazing jammer White Flight really helped pull Rose City to the win when in combination of their amazing wall in the front. Despite that there were enough lead changes for a drinking game.

Texas (2SC/10FTS/12DNN) vs. Oly (2W/3FTS/2DNN)
Prediction: Oly 190 - Texas 75
Actual: Oly 184 - Texas 93
Accuracy?: Boom goes the dynamite. This one was a near perfect prediction. Unfortunately Olympia is a black hold of internet access so nobody gets to watch their games unless you are there in person, and I couldn't find the textcast. I saw the halftime score on Twitter 84 Oly - 36 Texas, so Texas obviously had a good halftime adjustment.  

Texas (2SC/10FTS/12DNN) vs. Rat City (6W/9FTS/7DNN)
Prediction: Texas 120 - Rat City 110
Actual: Texas 131 - Rat City 147
Accuracy?: Wrong, but close. 
Analysis:  Well, I really wanted Texas to come back with a win, and this was the closest they got, losing by just 16 points. On the whole, Texas put up a good fight through the West but just couldn't pick it up. We'll see how well Kansas City does on their trek through the great West next month.


Nashville (3SC/29FTS/-DNN) vs. Jet City (7W/24FTS/-DNN)
Prediction: Jet City 150 - Nashville 90
Actual: Jet City 67 - Nashville 156
Accuracy?: Wrong! Reversed!
Analysis: This game was a huge upset. Most people favored Jet City by a slim margin, but Nashville really pulled this one off with flying colors. I caught the second half of the game and it wasn't quite this dire when they came back from halftime. Nashville did not relent and put up point after point, lead by the never tiring blocker/jammer Rambo Slambo. Expect to see Nashville to keep their #3 spot in the rankings, and move up onto the DNN Power List. Go South Central!


Tampa (7SC/32FTS/-DNN) vs. Carolina (7E/17FTS/-DNN)
Prediction: Tampa 110 - Carolina 100
Actual: Tampa 116 - Carolina 126
Accuracy?: Close but no cigar. 
Analysis: I didn't get to see this one at all, but I heard it was a nail-biter. This is the type of game where the winner is sometimes determined by when the game clock ends. I called it being within 10 points, and I got that part right. Either way Tampa put up a good showing against a strong Eastern team.


Atlanta (5SC/19FTS/-DNN) vs. Hard Knox (12SC/66FTS/-DNN)
Prediction: Atlanta 170 - Hard Knox 85
Actual: Atlanta 205 - Hard Knox 82
Accuracy?: Great
Analysis: Not quite as close as I thought it would be. Given the performance by other South Central teams against Atlanta, look for Hard Knox to slip a few spots to just under Tallahassee and Gold Coast, who both had slightly better performances.


Tallahassee (14SC/58FTS/-DNN) vs Charlotte (WFTDA Apprentice League since April 2010)
Prediction: Tallahassee 150 - Charlotte 80
Actual: Tallahassee 128 - Charlotte 88
Accuracy?: Good 
Analysis: I'm doing a bout recap on this game since I was there in person, so check that out when it comes out.


Omaha (8SC/51FTS/-DNN) vs. Detroit (3NC/11FTS/13DNN)
Prediction: Detroit 220 - Omaha 40
Actual: Detroit 219 - Omaha 42
Accuracy?: I'm a psychic
Analysis: This isn't even a good showing. My feelings are that Omaha is over rated given the pressure from the 10-15 spots in the South Central, and that they might drop into the sub 10 if people are paying attention. Omaha is going to need to reestablish themselves as a top 10 team if they want to make it to regionals.


Omaha (8SC/51FTS/-DNN) vs. Naptown (6NC/15FTS/17DNN)
Prediction: Naptown 130 - Omaha 80
Actual: Naptown 203 - Omaha 86
Accuracy?: Good
Analysis: I got the winner right, but still managed to overestimate Omaha. Everything I said above applies even more so now.


Low Country High Rollers (WFTDA Apprentice League since April 2011) vs. River City (16E/83FTS/-DNN)
Prediction: Low Country 140 - River City - 110
Actual: Low Country 132 - River City 97
Accuracy?: Great!
Analysis: South Carolina doesn't have any Member leagues yet, but when Low Country gets their full status, I hope they bring their state with them to the South Central. I mean, come on, it has South in the state name! Can't argue with that. Great solid win by an Apprentice league over a Member league; hopefully, they will get the fast track to Member status, they are a really great group of skaters. 


ICT (20SC/80FTS/-DNN) vs. North West Arkansas (16SC/72FTS/-DNN)
Prediction: ICT: 200 - North West Arkansas 65
Actual: ICT 125 - North West Arkansas 128
Accuracy?: Way wrong
Analysis: Well, NWA hadn't played a WFTDA game in almost a year, so I don't feel bad predicting this one so wrongly. If nothing this just shows people where they belong in the rankings. Good job ICT for a close game, it is always exciting to the very end.


Dallas (10SC/68FTS/-DNN) vs. Randal County
Prediction: Dallas 200 - Randal County 55
Actual: Dallas 256 - Randal County 38 
Accuracy?: Great
Analysis: This game is hardly worth analyzing with an eye for Women's Roller Derby. Randal County was so short staffed they had to borrow male skaters from the Dallas Deception. It was also nearly impossible to find the outcome of the score (THANKS VAGINAMITE).


Big Easy (18SC/64FTS/-DNN) vs. Mississippi (Apprentice League since January 2010)
Prediction: Big Easy 250 - Mississippi 40
Actual: Big Easy 124 - Mississippi 62
Accuracy?: OK
Analysis: Well, I got the winner right. Good job Mississippi. You got more points, and played better defense than I expected. Big Easy's win over Jacksonville may turn out to be an anomaly, then again, Mississippi could just be finally getting their act together. Either way I like to see a closer game than I predicted.


Hub City Hattiesburg Hooligans (WFTDA Apprentice League since July 2010) vs. Emerald Coast
Prediction: None
Actual: Can't find a score. I'm not trying to complain here, but you're not going to get any press written up if you don't put your score on your own webpage, submit it to DNN, or even have a mention of it on Facebook or Twitter. This is the 21st century. 
Accuracy?: ?


Overall: 9 for 13. Not bad, but there were plenty of easy picks in there to fluff my numbers up. I'll take what I can get though.


Contact me: King James

Game recap: Tallahassee vs. Charlotte

Tallahassee Rollergirl's Capital Punishment took on the Charlotte Rollergirls on May 21, 2011. The game was played in Tallahassee. The game opened to an impressive skate out with the entire Capital Punishment team being towed onto and around the track by a motorcycle provided by Harley Davidson , the main sponsors of the night's bout. Charlotte is a WFTDA apprentice league looking to work their way up the ladder, and Tallahassee is hoping to make it to the 2011 South Central Regional Tournament. Tallahassee recently lost 186 to 78 against officially ranked #5 Atlanta, and Charlotte lost to fellow Apprentice league Charleston's Low Country High Rollers. Though both teams wanted the win, Tallahassee walked away the victor winning 128 to 88.

Photo: Ray Rodil

The opening jam saw Tallahassee's Great Wall of Gina jam against Charlotte's Da Bomb-Chell, ending with Charlotte picking up 1 point, and Tallahassee scoreless. The jam after was similarly neck and neck, but neither team came away with any points. The points started flowing in for Capital Punishment with low maim picking up 4 points slipping through the pack on one skate, and the Great Wall of Gina and Stone Her both picking up 4 more each leaving the score 13 to 5 after five jams and some impressive jammer on jammer action. The next two jams saw Tallahassee slowly widening the gap picking up two points on each jam, but then a huge 19 point power jam by Tallahassee's low maim saw the gap widen to 37 to 5. A lead-less jam resulted in the score of 49 to 15 in Tallahassee's favor with about 13 minutes left in the first half. Powerful hits and strong frontal blocking by Tallahassee blockers Fem Venomous and Terminatrix saw Charlotte jammers struggling to stay inbounds and get through the fast, brutal packs, while workhorses Erin Breakabitch and Moxie Knockout rarely left the track.

Charlotte's Shawn Shank Redemption kept up impressive jammer footwork, easily sliding through the pack several times and picking up repeated leads. This, in combination with a strategy switch up by Charlotte saw them put up some points. Charlotte's hard work, was balanced by another Tallahassee power jam lead by low maim leaving the score at 63 to 24, with just four minutes left in the half. In an attempt to score and keep the clock moving Charlotte began kneeling start after kneeling start. In the final moments of the half Charlotte's Shawn Shank Redemption picked up an easy four points by leaping over no less than 3 skaters just before calling it off. The half ended with Tallahassee's Stone Her skating against Charlotte's Sin Plicity. Stone took the lead status and three points before calling it off to end the half at 67 Tallahassee to 32 Charlotte.

Photo: Ray Rodil

The second half was a tighter fight than the first. Both sides seemed happy with slow starts, with the jammers often not being released for over 10 seconds. Whereas the first half had nearly 25 quick jams often being called off with no points, the second saw about 17 jams and both teams picking up points. Both teams got the lead an equal number of times, but endurance showed itself to be the true test of both teams. The slow starts quickly lead into fast hard-hitting packs with both teams filling the penalty box several times. Halfway into the second half Tallahassee's three main jammers, lead by the Great Wall of Gina, had picked up almost 40 points to Charlotte's 20, leaving the score at 105 to 50. No sooner had Tallahassee broken the century mark than a Charlotte power jam put the score at a much closer 109 to 65. Charlotte blocker and team Captain Foxy Pound worked with Debbie Deck Her at the front of the pack to repeatedly hold back Tallahassee's jammer so that they could pick up a few points.

The last ten minutes of the half saw Tallahassee reaching for more jammers with Pixie Pounder and Erin Breakabitch, both leading blockers, putting on the star several times to pick up leads and points. With five minutes left in the game a Charlotte power jam saw Sin Plicity pick up 12 points and leave the score at 120 to 88. Charlotte called a strategic time out with less than 30 seconds left on the clock to ensure one last jam to close the gap. The final jam saw Tallahassee pick up a quick set of points and call it off just as the game clock expired, leaving the final score at Tallahassee 128 - Charlotte 88. Tallahassee MVPs were veteran jammer, and former Captain Great Wall of Gina and blocker Foxy. Charlotte MVP's were jammer Shawn Shank Redemption and blocker-Captain Foxy Pound.