BIG WEEKEND INCLUDES WIN OVER NORTH CENTRAL RIVAL

by the Grand Poobah

(FRANKLIN, WI) In 2007, CNN and Money magazine ranked Franklin, Wisconsin at #90 for the “Best City to live in the United States.”

But this past weekend, Franklin was the best place to watch women’s flat-track roller derby.

The ARRG All-Stars participated in the inaugural Midwest Brewhaha, held at the Milwaukee County Sport Complex this past Saturday and Sunday.

The two-day event showcased some of the top derby squads from the Midwest as well as other leagues from across the nation.

ARRG finished the Brewhaha with a 2-1 record, which saw a little bit of everything…including an important win over a WFTDA North Central Region rival.

ARRG 115 TAMPA BAY TANTRUMS 110

On Saturday morning - in what would be arguably the most dramatic bout of the two-day tilt - ARRG managed to hold back an amazing 36-point comeback in the second half by the Tantrums and clinch victory with the final jam after the regulation clock expired.

ARRG got off to a quick start early and built up a 34-11 lead thanks to a 15-point jam by Artemischief with 16:23 left in the first half.

The Tantrums would fail to score a point during a nine-minute stretch. In the process, Black Market Baby would add four to extend ARRG’s lead to 38-11.

ARRG would keep the hectic offensive pace up in the first half’s final ten. Artemischief would add a seven-pointer and a four-pointer late.

When the zebras blew the final whistle of the first half, ARRG sported a 61-36 halftime lead.

To their credit, Tampa Bay analyzed their strategy and modified it. This resulted in both teams exchanging points evenly as the second half progressed.

Maintaining their 25-point cushion midway through the second half, ARRG - now sporting 84-59 lead - looked to deliver a crushing blow with Tantrum jammer Rojo Grande - who had just posted a lead jamming seven-point tally - skating to the penalty bench.

The enabled Black Market Baby to notch 12 points of her own and extend ARRG’s lead to 96-66. South City Shiner notched a six-pointer on the next jam to extend the lead to 36 as ARRG now sported a 102-66 lead.

And all seemed in control - or was it?

Undaunted, the Tantrums began an incredible streak of their own. Tampa Bay would go on a 34-4 rally during the bout’s next seven minutes - punctuated by Little A’s 20-point monster jam.

When the dust had settled, what had once been a 36-point lead had been now whittled down to a 106-100 ARRG edge with only four minutes left.

Both teams continued to battle down the stretch - nine points by the locals and 10 by Tampa Bay made the score 115-110 ARRG with under :30 remaining in the bout.

This meant there was time for one more jam - and the possibility of a Tantrum come-from-behind victory.

With regulation time expired, and the jam clock holding the fate of both squads - a Tampa Bay lead jam could potentially spell disaster for ARRG while conversely an ARRG lead jam would clinch victory.

During a dramatic, tension-filled battle of positioning by both teams’ set of blockers on the final jam’s onset - ARRG’s South City Shiner was able to squeeze to the front of the pack to gain lead jammer status. The co-captain immediately called off the jam to preserve the five-point margin of victory.

Unofficially for ARRG, Artemischief finished with a bout-high 42 points, while Black Market Baby scored 32. South City Shiner added 21 for the locals, who with the win snapped a four-game losing streak.

JET CITY BOMBERS 162  ARRG 108

The momentum built from the Tampa Bay win was evident early in ARRG’s bout later that day at the Brewhaha against a very powerful Bomber squad from Everett, WA.

And as advertised, the sub-main event of Day One did not disappoint.

Both teams were deadlocked in a 21-21 tie 11 minutes into the first half.

Then ARRG decided to show off its muscle - flexed by Artemischief and her supporting cast.

Thanks once again to the blockers down front - the perennial all-star would score 31 solo points for the remainder of the first half, including a 20-pointer scored in the final jam of the half.

Due in part to Artemischief’s 43 first-half points, ARRG had a 78-42 lead at the intermission in what was then the travel team’s best thirty minutes of play this season.

Which would then be proceeded by the travel team’s…..um, nevermind.

But all seemed well as the second half began. Artemischief’s jam opening score of four extended the lead to 82-42 ARRG.

And then something happened - and in this case, something horribly tragic happened.

Jet City’s Sierra Fist began what would become a bout-changing momentum shift against the locals. Fist rocketed to the front of the pack and turned on - literally - the jets.

Meanwhile, two ARRG skaters - including the team’s jammer - were simultaneously sent to the penalty bench, which resulted in a Jet power jam.

This enabled Fist to begin racking up points as if one was playing pinball at Mamacita’s on South Grand. The end result…a 29-point power jam, which whittled ARRG’s edge to 82-71.

But that was - unfortunately - only the beginning.

Jet City would score on the next six jams to continue its attack. Connie Torturous would score five, Fuzz-Kill followed with three, Missus Unshine beamed down ten, Torturous notched another four, Fist pounded down four more, and Ivana Hercha dotted the exclamation point with ten.

The scoreboard now read 108-90 Jet City - a 66-8 run for the Bombers in nine minutes.

This gave ARRG Nation a case of the sour belches - and there was no remedy in sight.

In fact, Jet City transitioned from “gotcha” to “give it you” mode. The Bombers went on to outscore ARRG 54-18 in the bout’s final fifteen minutes - and altogether 120-26 in the second half alone - to stop the locals’ winning streak at one.

Artemischief lead ARRG with unofficially 51 points. South City Shiner contributed 14 while The Educator added 10 to a team who left Day One of the Brewhaha experiencing both polar opposites of emotion.

ARRG 161 BURNING RIVER 57

The match-up most important to Gateway City’s best on quads took place Sunday afternoon, as there were WFTDA regional rankings on the line in this bout.

ARRG - ranked eighth in the North Central Region - battled Burning River of Cleveland, Ohio, the region’s tenth-ranked team.

And with post-season implications hanging in the balance, ARRG wanted to send a message to the higher powers of the WFTDA…look at what we can do!

The locals raced out to a 36-point lead in the bout’s first fifteen minutes. The jamming quartet of Shiner, Black Market Baby, Artemischief and Enya Nightmare built up a 41-5 lead for ARRG.

BMB then added an impressive 19-point power jam five minutes later to extend the lead to 60-5.

In the process, ARRG kept Burning River at bay on the scoring column, holding the Buckeyes scoreless for 22 minutes.

Artemischief continued the locals’ onslaught with 6:00 left in the first half with a 13-point jam.

At the half, ARRG posted a 76-23 lead. But as impressive as that was, ARRG Nation still felt nervous at the break. After all, this was a squad that had solid leads evaporate after two earlier Brewhaha bouts.

Déjà vu all over again? Not this time.

ARRG would get lead jammer status for the second half’s first eight jams and would go on a 47-0 scoring streak, highlighted by a BMB 18-pointer.

With a 123-23 lead eleven minutes into the second half, one might assume that ARRG would go into automatic pilot for the remainder of the bout.

Then again, we all know what happens when we assume…

ARRG continued the dominance, including Nightmare’s 14-pointer with 13:50 left that extended ARRG’s lead to 137-33.

The pink and black attack would outscore Burning River 104-34 in the second half to pick up their second win at the Brewhaha, to finish the two-day event with a record of 2-1 and to improve their overall mark to 3-5 on the season.

Unofficially, Black Market Baby led ARRG with a personal best of 49 points, followed by Enya Nightmare’s 38. Artemischief was held to “only” 32 points while South City Shiner added 24.

 

Complete 2010 Midwest Brewhaha results can be found at the Derby News Network RIGHT HERE.

 

WEEKEND NOTES FROM THE POOBAH

Without a shadow of a doubt, anyone who follows ARRG certainly got their money’s worth in Franklin, WI this weekend. Three tremendous bouts that really solidified ARRG’s placement in the derby community.

And as much as these recaps often focuses on the scoring aspects of the sport, the cavalcade of ARRG blockers were just as equally impressive this weekend. The work of Eli Wallop, Downtown Dallis, Grave Danger, Mayor Francis Slayer, Davey Blockit, Punches Pileup, Smarty McFly, Chewblocka, as well as additional help from Keligula and Morgan Le Faetal, helped ARRG post 384 points on the board this weekend. A solid effort by all.

Whether you are a skater, an official, or a non-skating official, you should be acknowledged for your hard work, dedication and professionalism this past weekend. Be proud of your efforts - you did the league proud.

For those fans in ARRG Nation who made the trek to the Badger State to support the team, thank you for your support. ARRG loves its fans and your efforts are always appreciated.

And for those in ARRG Nation who couldn’t make the trip, your encouragement to the league via text was also appreciated by all.

Acknowledgement should also go out to the host team of the Brewhaha - the Brewcity Bruisers of Milwaukee. Coordinating a first time event is never easy - but they made it look so. Hopefully, this past weekend set the foundation for a yearly event.

And as a personal note, I’d like to give a quick shout out to the bout announcers that I worked with over the weekend at the Brewhaha - Vince Hannity from Tampa Bay, Bulldog from Jet City and Kent the Politician from Burning River. All three were a delight to work with and each carried a professionalism that this “newbie” truly appreciated.

In all, a very positive weekend for ARRG. Let’s build on this in preparation for Duke City and Evansville on Saturday, June 5 at the All-American Sports Mall.

When not sampling the delicacy known as “cheese curds,” 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, information…and tummy ache remedies.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 5:21 am and is filed under Bouts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.