LOCALS TRAVEL TO BATTLE “CLOVER CUP 2010″ CHAMPS
by the Grand Poobah
This Saturday, the best on quads from St. Louis embark on their second journey of the season to battle against one of the legacy teams of the WFTDA.
Atlanta's Dirty South Derby Girls
ARRG (1-1) faces The Dirty South Derby Girls (3-0) in the 2010 Atlanta Rollergirls’ home opener this Saturday, March 13 at the Yaarab Shrine Center (400 Ponce De Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA).
ARRG’s bout with DSDG begins at 5 PM (EST), followed by an Atlanta Rollergirls interleague match-up between The Apocalypstix and The Sake Tuyas.
(Poobah’s note for those travelling: Tickets are $15 for each separate game or $25 for both. Games have been known to sell out, so you might want to have an advanced ticket purchased. Check THIS LINK from the Atlanta Rollergirls’ website for more information on tickets, venue location, parking and “adult beverage” policies.)
After mixed results in February, the pink and black attack’s travel to the Peach State attempts to push their 2010 record above the .500 mark. After an 80-point victory over Memphis on February 13, ARRG stumbled against Milwaukee the following weekend in a 120-64 loss.
And even with the misstep against “Milwaukee’s Best,” there were plenty of positives to be found for the ARRG skaters.
“It was a great second game for several of our newer travel team players, to introduce them to game play in that Top 25 ranking level,” said ARRG All-Star co-captain South City Shiner. “We’re really looking to continue strengething our pack work for the Atlanta game, and using our loss to Milwaukee as a learning experience.”
Unfortunately for ARRG, this is a tough week to build a little momentum, for Atlanta has already hit the 2010 season running with a tournament clean sweep.
One of ten national teams to participate in the inaugural season of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, DSDG captured the championship at this past weekend’s five-team Clover Cup in Dallas, TX.
Atlanta started the weekend with an opening round beating of No Coast (Lincoln, NE) 225-58. Back-to-back wins over Dallas, 134-70 in the semis and 123-96 in the finals, gave DSDG the championship in the round-robin tournament.
Clover Cup MVP from DSDG
With domination like that, it’s hard to pick one facet of DSDG’s game to zero in on. Atlanta is paced offensively by veteran jammer The Merchant of Menace, whose commanding presence resulted in picking up the MVP at the Clover Cup. Also look for additional scoring punch by fellow jammer Wheelin Jennings.
So far in 2010, Enya Nightmare has been the go-to jammer for the ARRG All-Stars. After picking up the MVP for the Memphis bout, the skater that dons the “triple-Z’s” scored a team-high 25 points against Brew City. Right behind her comes the double attack of Starry Starry Fight and Artemischief, who look to regain their scoring punch after being held at bay by Milwaukee.
But without a doubt, this bout will be determined upon the battle “down in the trenches,” as Eli Wallop, Grave Danger, Joanie Rollmoan and a slew of other ARRG blockers look to outmuscle the competition. Remember on the surface, a team cannot score at will if they don’t possess the lead jammer. This means that the first :10 of every jam is of utmost importance as pack positioning leads to a scoring opportunity.
“We’ve been working on our offensive pack work the past few weeks in addition to trying out some tighter defensive plays,” said Shiner, cautiously. “I don’t want to say too much more than that!”
ARRG Nation is nervous - there’s high stakes in this bout. And we’ve seen the pretty (a ruthless aggressor in Memphis) and the not-so-pretty (the sluggish start against Brew City) so far in 2010.
Such polar opposites…which ARRG team will show up in Hotlanta?
“We’ve been paying attention to Atlanta’s past games and (we) are NOT taking this game lightly,” said Shiner. “They are close in rankings with us and I think it will be a good match up!”
A travel tip from Archie for those of you who will this weekend - to paraphrase the B-52s - “travel down the Atlanta highway, looking for the derby getaway”: click on the picture of WSB-TV Chief Meteorologist (and avid stargazer) Glenn Burns for the latest Atlanta weather updates.
When not figuring out how to get a red-eye from St. Louis to Atlanta, The Grand Poobah and Hells LaBelle are bout announcers for the 2010 season of the Arch Rival Roller Girls. Check back in this section on Mondays for the latest in ARRG news and information.
