ALL-STARS & LUNACHIX WISCONSIN-BOUND FOR TOUGH TILTS!

by Muckety Muck, Derby News Network Contributng Writer – Photos by Bob Dunnell

The two squads of the Arch Rival Roller Girls – the ARRG All-Stars and the Saint Lunachix – are mere days away from one of their most important road trips of the season.

The two squads travel to the Badger State this weekend to participate in the 2012 Midwest Brewhaha, hosted by the Brewcity Bruisers, this Saturday and Sunday.

The third installment of the invitational takes place at the US Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee, WI.

The All-Stars – currently 4-1 and ranked eighth in the WFTDA North Central – face off against a pair of region rivals, one currently ranked above and one currently ranked behind.

This Saturday at 10:45 am, the All-Stars face the fourth-ranked Detroit Derby Girls (0-0). Then on Sunday at 1:30 pm, ARRG faces the ninth-ranked Cincinnati Black Sheep (3-3).

Meanwhile, the Saint Lunachix (4-0) tangle this weekend with a tough pair of “b-teams.” This Saturday at 10 am, the Chix meet Ohio Rollergirls’ Gang Green (4-3). Then on Sunday at 10:45 am, the local rollers battle the Naptown Warning Belles (4-2).

(NOTE: Although it hasn’t been confirmed as of press time, there is a chance that Midwest Brewhaha may be webcasted live on Derby News Network. Check ARRG’s Facebook page for the latest updates!)

Last year, both squads posted solid Brewhaha wins that propelled them throughout the summer. At Brewhaha 2011, the ARRG All-Stars grabbed victories over Chicago Outfit (129-72) and Burning River (147-87) while the Lunachix thumped the Brewcity Battlestars (166-85) and Madison Team Unicorn (200-92).

The event itself is large in scope. Over the span of two days, over 20 bouts featuring 25 teams will take place. Sixteen “A-teams” will skate, which includes eight of the top 10 teams in the North Central region.  Seven “b-teams,” one WFTDA apprentice team and one independent league will also participate.

Aside from the annual region playoffs, Midwest Brewhaha has arguably become the yearly showcase for WFTDA North Central franchises. It often provides an early gauge as to how teams and the region rankings could potentially progress throughout the summer. In fact, this often provides a barometer as to how the next set of rankings – voted upon in July – could stack up.

Needless to say, it’s an important weekend for the locals.

Here’s a look at the ARRG match-ups at this weekend’s Midwest Brewhaha:

SATURDAY 6/2, 10:45 AM – NC #8 ARRG ALL-STARS (3-1 REGION, 4-1 OVERALL) VS. NC #4 DETROIT (0-0)

Regarding Detroit’s record, what you are reading is correct. The match-up with ARRG will be its first travel bout of the season. In fact, it will be Detroit’s first WFTDA travel bout since last October.

Granted, Detroit has been extremely busy with its intraleague schedule, which just concluded one week ago.  And don’t think for one moment that Detroit doesn’t have something to prove at Brewhaha.

Entering the North Central playoff last year as a number three seed, many predicted that Motown’s finest would challenge region powerhouse Windy City for the title, or at least find itself as one of the top three playoff finishers and earn a bid to the 2011 WFTDA Championships. Yet, a semifinal loss to #2 Minnesota and a third-place loss to #4 Naptown stumped its national tourney hopes.

They finished the year 8-13, out of the Hydra Trophy playoff picture….and extremely pissed. There’s really no other way to describe it.

Detroit certainly has the firepower and the experience to right the ship in 2012.

Jammer Racer McChaseHer has been the lynchpin of the Detroit jamming rotation for numerous years. Captain Cookie Rumble and veterans Honey Suckit and boo d. livers will add to the talented four-woman rotation. An equally-experienced collective of blockers, paced by Bruisie Siouxxx, Cool Whip, Fatal Femme and Jackie O. Noyoudidnt, lead the charge up-front.

Historically, Detroit has won its previous battles against ARRG quite easily. In January 2009, DDG roughed up ARRG 153-91. In August 2010, Detroit beat the locals 195-65 at the ARRGegeddon Invitiational.

Yet, there will be many North Central eyes watching this one closely. Detroit knows it has its naysayers following the rough finish in 2011 and its recent region inactivity. They would love nothing more to silence the critics by roughing up ARRG to start this year’s campaign.

But the “pink and black attack” have grown and evolved as a franchise since their last meeting in 2010.

The jamming quartet of Mighty Mighty Boston, Downtown Dallis, Black Market Baby and South City Shiner have been a formidable force against the competition this travel season. Just when the opposition thinks they have a solo ARRG jammer in control points-wise, the three others more than compensate. This depth has resulted in keeping the opposing packs on their toes.

And this is quite a daunting task to begin with, considering an opposing squad has to deal with All-Star blockers Chewblocka, Shimmy Hoffa, Party Foul, Science Friction, Mayor Francis Slayer, May Require Stitches, Party Foul, The Educator and Grave Danger from the onset. The ARRG jammers will be the first to recognize the effectiveness of the walls set-up by the blocking schematic.

And we’ve personally seen ARRG this season launch early leads to dictate the pace in numerous bouts this season. I remind you of the 46-0 start in March against Cincinnati, the 43-0 start against Memphis in April and the 42-4 start against Bleeding Heartland earlier this month.

There’s no better time to have one of those quick sprints out of the gates than against a squad taking its first jams of the travel season.

In short, the first ten minutes of this bout will more than likely set the tone in this one.

SUNDAY 6/3, 1:30 PM – NC #8 ARRG ALL-STARS VS. NC #9 CINCINNATI (2-2 REGION, 3-3 OVERALL)

A team that can’t wait for Brewhaha to arrive would be the Cincinnati Black Sheep, the North Central’s ninth-ranked team that would love to gets its revenge on ARRG from an earlier bout that they would rather forget.

On March 10, ARRG used a 46-0 opening sprint to top the Buckeyes 158-118 in Cincinnati. It was the second straight win that the locals had posted over the Black Sheep.

Since the 40-point setback, the Black Sheep have split their last two North Central region bouts against teams resting on opposite ends of the spectrum.

On March 31, Cincinnati posted a 203-122 victory over NC #18 Demolition City, a smaller league from Evansville, IN. Earlier this month, the Black Sheep faced NC#2 Minnesota and were sheered 257-102.

Cincinnati has split their bouts outside of the region in 2012. They bested South Central #6 Tampa Bay by seven points in April and fell to East #10 DC Rollergirls 162-132 two weekends ago.

If anything, Cincinnati is still a hard team to gauge due to its mixed results, which makes them extremely unpredictable.

The Black Sheep will once again go with its jamming triple-threat of K. Lethal, Wheezy and CandyKICKass in this one. The trio was held in check early in the March ARRG battle, but all three seek redemption.

The blocking schematic will see one major change since the earlier ARRG battle. Veteran blocker Nuk’em broke both her tibula and fibula prior to the April Tampa Bay bout and was replaced in the line-up by Cherry Choke. Otherwise, blocking up front will be paced by Mirderher, Karma Krash, Sk8r-Kinney, Buckhead Betty.

Cincinnati would love to win the re-match and a large point differential could potentially result in a flip-flop in the next set of region rankings.

The All-Stars certainly have their work cut out for them this weekend. Neither bout will be easy.

Now onto the weekend tilt for the Saint Lunachix:

SATURDAY 6/2, 10:00 AM – ARRG SAINT LUNACHIX (4-0) VS. OHIO GANG GREEN (4-3)

The Lunachix have sprinted out to an undefeated record thus far in 2012 with the same attributes that has characterized this franchise historically, a “take-no-prisoners” approach in the first half.

St. Louis’ b-team has outscored its opposition this season, 683-323. This includes a 165-124 victory over Bleeding Heartland’s Code Blue Assassins on May 5.

Jammers EnYa Nightmare, Munchausen by Foxy and Morgan LeFaetal have been a powerful rotation for the Lunachix this season. Look for the trio to handle primary capacities all weekend.

The blocking up front will be paced by returning Brewhaha vets Boom Boom Pow, Rhino Might, Bareknuckle Smack, Ginny Beastly, The Forecloser, PolkaDot Yr’ Eyeout and Deathica Steele.

Blockers Beaster Bunny, Eveready, The Oregon Betrayal, Euax Baby, Biohazard Betty, Shell Shoxx, Shacgyver, Megalodominator and Toe-Stop Belevin’ will be making their first Chix trip to Brewhaha this weekend.

It’s a full line-up for ARRG’s b-team. They’ll have their hands full in their Brewhaha opener.

If not for a few misfires, ORG’s Gang Green could have easily been 7-0 heading into Saturday’s match-up with the Saint Lunachix.

Following a 250-point quad stomp of River City to launch the season, Gang Green suffered a six-point loss to Bleeding Heartland’s Code Blue Assassins in early March.

The squad would split their next four bouts, with convincing wins over the b-teams of Ft. Wayne (171-44) and Grand Raggidy (167-94) and tough-luck losses to the b-teams of Cincinnati (120-113) and Burning River (111-97).

Gang Green jumped above the .500 mark with on May 20 with a 163-107 win over Toronto’s Bay Street Bruisers.

Their output so far this year has told this story: either they win big or lose by little. The fact that the cumulative total of points was only 27 in their three losses shows that the squad is ultra-competitive through a bout’s entire span.

The jamming rotation is paced by rookies The Smacktivist, who has posted an average of 50 points in her last two bouts, and Bigg Rigg, who netted 105 points in her Gang Green debut earlier this season. Paige Bleed and Rachel Wrecker will also don the star to contribute. KaSlammity James, Ava Tarr, Blitz Lemon and Dixie Heartless contribute to the Gang Green blocking schematic.

The Chix would love to avenge the loss suffered by its “A-team” sistren against Ohio in March. A win over Gang Green would give the league an “a/b” split in the record column.

SUNDAY 6/3, 10:45 AM – ARRG SAINT LUNACHIX VS. NAPTOWN WARNING BELLES (4-2)

No one can deny the hard charge of the league from Indianapolis the last two years within the Midwest derby scene. What was once a league just content in playing has now become a nationally-recognized derby franchise. Naptown’s A-team – The Tornado Sirens – placed third in last year’s North Central region playoff.

Success has certainly trickled down to Naptown’s b-team, The Warning Belles, a scrappy group of skaters that is comparable to the Saint Lunachix.

After picking up the runner-up trophy following a 2-1 finish at February’s B-Cup Invitational in Bloomington, IN, the Warning Belles thumped the Dutchland Blitz 257-30 on March 24. One week later, the Belles fell to Windy City’s Second Wind 171-79.

In April, a 155-97 victory over Steel City’s Blitzburgh Bombers improved their record to 4-2.

Belles’ jammers Willa Hoeflinch, Piper Sonic, Bloody Waters set the tone in the scoring column. Keep a close watch on Hoeflinch as she is the physical and emotional leader of this squad. Throw her off her game, and one should expect good things.

The goal for the Lunachix this weekend is to post the sweep, which will maintain their undefeated streak at Brewhaha historically and overall in 2012.

We’ll have full recaps from all four ARRG bouts from Midwest Brewhaha 2012 on Monday here in the ARRG Newscenter.

If four ARRG bouts weren’t enough viewing pleasure this weekend – although one will probably have to resort to dual screens due to Saturday’s ARRG bout overlap – there’s plenty of other interesting action to be found online during DNN’s “potential” weekend coverage of Midwest Brewhaha.

Might I suggest the following bouts to follow, since you’re already going to be watching anyway, and I – for the first time ever – will make predictions, since ARRG is not representin’ in these bouts. I will only look at the WFTDA-sanctioned A-team bouts and will put these in the order of significance to me:

BREWHAHA SATURDAY:

7:30 pm – Track 1 – East #3 Charm City vs. NC #2 Minnesota: This will be the marquee match-up of Brewhaha Day One…and rightly so. The two faced each other in the first round of the WFTDA National Championships this past November and the rollers from the Gopher State won by 39 points. Charm City pummeled North Central #5 Chicago Outfit by 150-plus points earlier in the year. Minnesota posted a 35-point win over NC #3 Naptown in early May. Minnesota has twice as many games played this year as Charm City. I go with strength of schedule in this one… and the point differential will be slightly more than what was recorded in 2011. Prediction: Minnesota 162, Charm City 112.

3:15 pm – Track 2 – NC #11 Grand Raggidy vs. NC #7 Ohio: The two faced each other on April 28 and the Buckeyes won 156-121. I actually think this one could go down to the wire and MIGHT provide a potential upset. Grand Raggidy is a smart team and should learn from what didn’t work last time out. Lower score than last time out as GR plays cerebral, but there is a reason I put MIGHT in ALL CAPS and made it bold earlier in the paragraph. In the end, it’ll be 2-0 for Ohio in 2012 over the team from Grand Rapids…but barely. Prediction: Ohio 128, Grand Raggidy 113.

2:15 pm – Track 1 – NC #5 Chicago Outfit vs. NC #9 Cincinnati: With the Outfit losing both 2011 North Central region playoff MVP Sweet Mary Pain and top-notch blocker Gaygan due to transfer, I’m not as high on the Syndicate this year as the current rankings would suggest. Outfit jammer Lola Blow has to have a solid bout here, but I’m not sure if the Sheep will let her have it. My primary upset of Brewhaha that will put the North Central lower ten in a kerfuffle for the next set of rankings and will make the Outfit/ARRG match-up in July very interesting. Don’t hate me for the predicted outcome. My heart hopes for a close bout, but my head says otherwise. Prediction: Cincinnati 145, Chicago Outfit 90.

5:45 pm – Track 1 – NC #6 Brewcity vs. NC #4 Detroit: The closeness of the rankings will not sway me one bit. Detroit will win…and win convincingly. This one will be decided late in the first half and Detroit will turn off the jets, allowing Brewcity to make the point differential closer than what it should be…and it still won’t be close. Host city silenced early. As a result, Horny Goat beer sales skyrocket at US Cellular. Prediction: Detroit 178, Brewcity 107.

BREWHAHA SUNDAY:

12:30 pm – Track 1 – NC #4 Detroit vs. NC #2 Minnesota: The bout that contains the most intrigue for me and for probably the whole North Central region. Detroit is still steaming from their 21-point loss to the rollers from Minneapolis last year in the semis of the North Central playoffs. This one is a coin flip, but I’m taking Minnesota in a scrum. Minnesota leads throughout, but never gains more than a 20-point spread.  A potential gut-wrencher that will make you reach for the Pepto-Bismol due to Motown’s peskiness. Prediction: Minnesota 140, Detroit 124.

7:30 pm – Track 1 – NC #1 Windy City vs. East #3 Charm City: This will be Windy City’s lone appearance at Brewhaha…and they won’t fail to pick up a “W.” I do, however, expect a tighter bout than the Minnesota/Charm City bout from the day prior. Let the triangulation debates commence afterwards. Minnesota skaters will watch this one in the stands and rabble-rouse, knowing that they could take Chicago’s best in Niagara Falls later in the post-season…and potentially win. Prediction: Windy City 155, Charm City 138.

5:45 pm – Track 1: NC #6 Brew City vs. NC #7 Ohio: Brew City bested Ohio at last year’s playoffs by 26 points, 104-78. I predict more points, but a tighter differential. I also expect close to double-digits in lead changes, but inevitably, the Buckeyes take it on the chin. I feel sorry for Demolition City, the team that faces Ohio two weekends after Brewhaha. As a result of Ohio being surly after this loss, Demo’s going to get pummeled. Evansville, hide your children. Prediction: Brewcity 152, Ohio 141.

9:00 am – Track 1 – NC #15 Toronto vs. #25 Fox Cityz: Two things are a given here while eating your Cocoa Krispies on Sunday morning. (1) Toronto will win in a lop-sided affair and (2) Fox Cityz announcer Rev. N0rb will make a reference to professional wrestler Baron Von Raschke sometime during the bout on DNN.  Expect ‘snap, crackle and brain claw’ while wishing you would have ate pancakes instead. Prediction: Toronto 205, Fox Cityz 52.

11:45 am – Track 2 – #17 Tri City vs. #11 Grand Raggidy. These two played two weekends ago and saw Grand Raggidy win by 12. Grand Raggidy might potentially make the push into the North Central Top Ten and trade positions with region-idle #10 Madison if they should score the upset on Saturday against Ohio and win big here…which they should do more convincingly this time out. Tri-City still wins, hands down for me, as the best league logo at Brewhaha. I really, really, really wished they sold their merch online! Prediction: Grand Raggidy 158, Tri-City 114.

Without a doubt, Midwest Brewhaha will deliver the premiere regular-season event in regional roller derby.

ARRG’s goal is to be one of the top stories talked about when the weekend concludes.

COMING UP NEXT MONDAY IN THE ARRG NEWSCENTER: A full recap of ARRG’s journey to Midwest Brewhaha PLUS a preview of the Saint Luncahix match-up vs. the Brewcity Battlestars at Midwest Sport Hockey on  Saturday, June 9.

PLUS, ALL-STARS MIDWEEK FUNDRAISER & MORE FROM MAY

by the Grand Poobah, ARRG bout co-announcer

Five skaters were recently added to the intraleague rosters of the four local ARRG squads via a draft held last week in St. Louis.

Drafts are held on a quarterly basis in order to supplement rosters that need to replace recently retired skaters.

The Rebel Skate Alliance drafted Spider Monkey – a two-year vet from the St. Chux Derby Chix of St. Charles, MO – and Prof. Rumbledore, who came through the ARRG developmental system and served as a skating official with the STL Gatekeepers men’s derby franchise.

The Smashinistas chose Party Rohker, another transfer from the St. Chux Derby Chix.

The Stunt Devils selected Arcane Sugar – a three-year vet from the Southern Illinois Roller Girls of Marion, IL who recently added to her personal derby portfolio with time spent alongside the Twin City Derby Girls of Champaign/Urbana, IL.

The defending champion M-80s chose blocker Spice Rack, a three-year derby vet that has skated previously with the St. Chux Derby Chix and has spent time with ARRG as a member of the ARRG Rookie Rivals. Rack has also skated with ARRG’s Rebel Skate Alliance as a non-rostered supplemental skater in the first bout of their 2012 post-season campaign.

Another draft is scheduled to be held prior to the 2012-13 local season.

Congratulations to all five skaters who are now a part of the official ARRG local rosters.

ALL-STARS HOST FUNDRAISER THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT

The Arch Rival Roller Girls’ All-Stars squad will host a fundraiser this week that will assist in their travel team expenses for the upcoming summer tilt of bouts.

The event – entitled “F YEA Wednesday!”- takes place from 7pm until midnight at the Gramophone, located in St. Louis’ Grove neighborhood (4243 Manchester Rd., St. Louis, MO).

Entertainment will be provided by a trio of local deejays: Ryan Kastastrophe, Gabe the Babe and Mark Willey.

Games -including Twister, dance-offs, drinking games and leg wrestling – will also be featured.

There will also be drink specials offered and plenty of other derby-related fun.

Admission is only $5. Once again, proceeds go towards helping the All-Stars travel around the country and represent St. Louis in WFTDA-sanctioned interleague action.

Special thanks to No Coast Skateboards for co-sponsoring the fundraiser.

Turn “hump day” into “F YEA Wednesday!’ We’ll see you this Wednesday night at the Gramophone!

WEEKEND FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES YIELD BIG RESULTS

Last week here in the Newscenter, we told you about a pair of ARRG events that would raise both awareness and funds.

It looks like both netted successful results.

On Saturday, a sextet of ARRG kegglers raised money for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri at “Bowling for Kid’s Sake” at the Moolah Shrine in mid-town St. Louis.

As a result of individual and matching donations, the ARRG team raised close to $700 for the non-for-profit.

Thanks to the ARRG participants and to those who donated to the cause. It is much appreciated.

On Sunday, the Saint Lunachix – ARRG’s b-team travel squad – held a chili cookoff at the Halfway Haus in South St. Louis City.

The Lunachix raised over $300 at the event, where proceeds will assist towards expenses for upcoming travel bouts.

Thanks to all who participated at the event and to the Halfway Haus for hosting.

The Saint Lunachix will host another fundraiser this Saturday – a car wash to be held at Meyer’s Service (6078 Lemay Ferry Rd., Oakville, MO) from 8 am to 2 pm.

A couple of other community-related notes from the month:

ARRG skaters continued its work in early May for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s “Adopt-A-Highway” program.

The league’s section of highway is located on Interstate 55 near Germania. And if one looks closely, they can now see the official sign that marks the territory covered.

This past Thursday, ARRG members participated at the KDHX Midwest Mayhem fundraiser, held at the City Museum in downtown St. Louis.

The event raised donations for KDHX, 88.1 FM – St. Louis community radio.

On May 6, ARRG participated in the annual Hep Cat Carnival, held at the Gramophone in St. Louis.

The event – which featured an “Arm Wrestle a Roller Girl” booth – raised donations for Tenth Life, a non-profit that saves stray cats and kittens in the St. Louis area.

For more about ARRG’s community outreach efforts, click on the CHARITY button at the top of the page.

ARRG SKATERS HELP MEGATEAM UPEND OUTFIT

A pair of ARRG All-Stars skaters helped Midwest MEGAteam – a travel squad consisting of primarily WFTDA North Central skaters – defeat the Chicago Outfit Syndicate 142-72 in an exhibition bout Saturday night at Chicago’s Windy City Fieldhouse.

ARRG’s Chewblocka and Shimmy Hoffa played blocker positions for the MEGAteam, who improved their 2012 record to 1-1 with the win.

The Chicago Outfit Syndicate – currently ranked fifth in the WFTDA North Central region – travels to St. Louis to face the ARRG All-Stars – the region’s eighth-ranked team – on Saturday, July 14 at Midwest Sport Hockey. A b-team bout between the Saint Lunachix and the Outfit’s Shade Brigade kicks off the double header.

NEXT WEEK IN THE ARRG NEWSCENTER: It’s time again for the annual trek to the Badger State as the travel squads of ARRG journey to Midwest Brewhaha. The third installment of the event takes place the first weekend of June in Milwaukee, WI and features over 20 bouts in the span of two days. Last year, both the ARRG All-Stars and the Saint Lunachix swept both their bouts and raised eyebrows. Both have heavy competition at this year’s event. We’ll look at all four ARRG bouts, their opponents and your friendly, friendly yapper – for the first time ever – will make predictions on some of the other WFTDA-sanctioned bouts happening at the event. Next week: your ARRG guide to Midwest Brewhaha 2012.

The Grand Poobah and Magilla Guerilla are bout co-announcers for the Arch Rival Roller Girls. Check back in this section on Mondays for the latest in ARRG news/information.

PLUS, ARRG TEAMS INVITED TO 2012 MIDWEST BREWHAHA

by Muckety Muck, Derby News Network Contributing Writer

Chili and bowling might on the surface seem like two things on paper that don’t belong, but for the Arch Rival Roller Girls this coming weekend, the two are equally important in raising awareness and raising funds.

On Saturday, ARRG members will participate in the “Bowl for Kid’s Sake” that benefits Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri while the ARRG Saint Lunachix host a chili cookoff this Sunday in South St. Louis.

Let’s take a look at this weekend’s events:

This Saturday at the Moolah Shrine Temple in Midtown St. Louis, ARRG skaters Science Friction, Biohazard Betty, Dolly Rot’n as well as retired skater Starry Starry Fight and others will participate in a bowling benefit that helps Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri.

For over 27 years, “Bowl for Kids’ Sake” has been Big Brothers/Big Sisters’ signature event. The event has raised over $5 million since its inception, making it the largest and most successful bowling fund raiser in the state of Missouri.

100% of the funds raised remain in the Eastern Missouri region and are dedicated to surrounding children with trusting and enduring relationships. Funds raised go directly toward matching children with carefully-screened, caring Big Brother and Big Sister volunteers.

To make a donation to ARRG’s team of kegglers, go to THIS LINK RIGHT HERE!

On Sunday, the Saint Lunachix – ARRG’s “b-team” travel squad – will host a chili cookoff at the Halfway Haus (7900 Michigan, St. Louis, MO) from 2 pm until 6 pm.

For only $5, you get three 8-ounce samples of chili, salad and a vote for your “favorite roller girl’s soup.” Breads and desserts are also available for an additional donation.

Vegan and vegetarian options will also be available at the event.

Keep in mind that while you’re filling your belly, you’re helping out a team that looks to keep its perfect 4-0 record intact early next month as it travels to an out-of-town invitational.

Funds raised will help the travel expenses of the Saint Lunachix as they compete at Midwest Brewhaha 2012 in Milwaukee, WI this first weekend in June.

We hope to see you at the events this weekend and thank you – as always – for supporting ARRG in their community outreach events and their local fundraisers.

ARRG TEAMS INVITED TO MIDWEST BREWHAHA 2012

Both the ARRG All-Stars and the Saint Lunachix recently received confirmation of their bout schedules for the upcoming 2012 Midwest Brewhaha, held at Milwaukee’s US Cellular Arena on Saturday & Sunday, June 2 & 3.

The third installment of the event, hosted by the Brewcity Bruisers, is the showcase of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s North Central region. Over the span of two days, over 20 bouts featuring 25 teams will take place on two full-size tracks. Sixteen “A-teams” will skate, which includes eight of the top 10 teams in the North Central region.  Seven “b-teams,” one WFTDA apprentice team and one independent league will also participate.

For the locals, the ARRG All-Stars – currently ranked eighth in the North Central – face the fourth-ranked Detroit Derby Girls on Saturday, June 2 at 10:45 am. Then on Sunday, June 3 at 1:30 pm, ARRG faces the ninth-ranked Cincinnati Black Sheep in a re-match of a bout held earlier this year..

Meanwhile, the Saint Lunachix have a pair a tough battles ahead on the Brewhaha docket. On Saturday, June 2 at 10 am, the Chix meet Ohio Gang Green. Then on Sunday at 10:45 am, ARRG’s b-squad battles the Naptown Warning Belles.

Other notable bouts that will take place over the weekend include:

Saturday, June 2:  Charm City vs. Minnesota, Grand Raggidy vs. Ohio, Chicago Outfit vs. Cincinnati, Brewcity vs. Detroit

Sunday, June 3:  Detroit vs. Minnesota, Windy City vs. Charm City, Brewcity vs. Ohio, Toronto vs. Fox Cityz, Tri City vs. Grand Raggidy

Live online coverage of all the events at the 2012 Midwest Brewhaha is scheduled to be shown at derbynewsnetwork.com.

We’ll have a preview of the event and ARRG’s opponents on Monday, May 28 here at the website.

For more information on the 2012 Midwest Brewhaha, go to the official weblink RIGHT OVER HERE.

ARRG DUO SKATES WITH MEGATEAM THIS WEEKEND

A pair of blockers from the ARRG All-Stars will compete this weekend for Midwest MEGAteam, a mash-up squad of North Central derby skaters.

ARRG Blockers Chewblocka and Shimmy Hoffa will join the MEGAteam as they compete against the Chicago Outfit Syndicate in an exhibition this Saturday at the Windy City Fieldhouse in Chicago.

The MEGAteam was formed in 2009 to give other travel teams an opponent that would “skate anywhere, at anytime.” The roster perpetually changes due to the availability of skaters for the selected bout.

The squad has only had one bout thus far in 2012, a 131-41 loss to the Naptown Tornado Sirens on January 21.

The bout was a low scoring affair until Naptown – the third-ranked team in the region – capitalized on MEGAteam penalties to pull ahead.

What’s interesting about Saturday’s exhibition against the Syndicate is that five Naptown skaters who faced the MEGAteam in January now play the role of teammates for the traveling squad.

Other members of the MEGAteam roster for the Outfit bout include: Enya Grave, Majestic, Amooze Booche, Shady Layne and RIP Tide (Naptown), Grace Killy, The Other White Meat and Moby Nipps (Brewcity), Jackie Daniels and Ruth Enasia (Windy City), Mouse and Charlie Hustle (Madison) and Adderoller (CoMo Derby Dames).

To find out more about the Midwest MEGAteam, go to their Facebook page RIGHT HERE.

ARRG SKATERS TO DEMO AT GATEKEEPERS BOUT SATURDAY

Members of the Arch Rival Roller Girls will compete this Saturday in an exhibition bout prior to interleague action for the 2012 STLGatekeepers Turf Wars season.

In a battle billed as “Hipsters vs. Hoosiers 2,” ARRG skaters will shed their normal identities and adopt new personas for the bout, held this Saturday at Midwest Sport Hockey in Ballwin, MO.

The exhibition bout takes place prior to the men’s bout featuring the Riverfront Crimes (0-1) vs. the Dogtown Rockets (1-0). The Gatekeepers are St. Louis’ men’s flat-track roller derby franchise.

Tickets for the doubleheader (ONLY $10) can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets by going to THIS LINK RIGHT HERE!

Go out and support ARRG’s “brothers in derby!” To find out more about the Gatekeepers, go to their WEBSITE RIGHT HERE!

NEXT WEEK IN THE ARRG NEWSCENTER: For any non-rostered skater that practices and scrimmages with the Arch Rival Roller Girls, the long hours of dedication finally pays off when they become drafted by one of the four local ARRG squads. With numerous retirements announced at the final local event of the 2012 local season, opportunities are aplenty for newcomers. This especially holds true for ARRG 2012 League Champions The M-80s, who internally have five slots to fill prior to the new local season. And much like any sport, a team must draft in order to suit their needs. The latest ARRG draft takes place this week. Coming up next week, we’ll see who the newest rostered members of the Arch Rival Roller Girls were.

Check in this section on Mondays for the latest in ARRG news and information.

ALL-STARS TOP #12 BLEEDING HEARTLAND, CHIX GO TO 4-0

by Muckety Muck, Contributing Derby News Network Writer – Photos by Bob Dunnell

(BALLWIN, MO) Tensions were high as the Arch Rival Roller Girls hosted the squads of the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls of Bloomington, IN Saturday night at Midwest Sport Hockey.

Both St. Louis-based teams – the ARRG All-Stars and the Saint Lunachix – knew that they had their work cut out for them against the travelers that rightly had momentum on their side heading into the double header at Queeny Park.

In the end, home cookin’ tasted sweet and resulted in a two-bout sweep.

A 41-0 rally four minutes in helped the ARRG All-Stars – the eighth-ranked team in the WFTDA North Central region – post a 173-58 win over the BHRG Flatliners, the region’s twelfth-ranked squad. In the undercard, the Saint Lunachix - ARRG’s b-team – utilized a pair of 32-0 rallies to post a 165-124 win over BHRG’s Code Blue Assassins to keep their record perfect at 4-0.

The pair of visiting Hoosier squads arrived ready for combat and provided numerous fits early and often, but patience, persistence and penalty capitalization paid off for the locals as the evening progressed in front of 500.

ARRG ALL-STARS 173  BLEEDING HEARTLAND FLATLINERS 58

If there was a fitting word to describe the All-Stars heading into the bout against the twelfth-ranked Flatliners…it would arguably be the word “surly.”

Not to say that this was a gruff bunch, yet the team felt that it had a lot to prove in the conclusion of a week that was not too kind to them early.

To wit: a two-spot tumble in the WFTDA North Central rankings that were released last Monday, and three days later, exclusion from the Derby News Network’s Top 25 Power Rankings of teams unofficially-ranked internationally after five straight appearances.

In fact, numerous pundits outside of the area on Friday predicted that the locals would struggle in Saturday’s bout against a similarly-surly squad from Bloomington that lost a controversial two-point decision to North Central #6 Brewcity one week prior.

“We knew that we were coming into this game with a lot of fire underneath us because of our drop in our rankings,” said ARRG blocker Science Friction of her squad’s pre-bout attitude.

Perhaps this fire provided the motivation necessary in the inevitable 115-point ARRG victory that improved their record to 4-1.

“This really was a team win,” Friction said. “This bout was about both jammers and blockers. Everyone knew what everyone was doing.”

And everyone knew from the outset that that mode would have to be in place against the hard-chargers from Bleeding Heartland that had earlier in the week jumped one spot higher in the North Central rankings and were looking to crack into the region’s top ten.

Following a one-point bout-opening sprint by ARRG jammer Mighty Mighty Boston, Flatliner jammer Terror d’Bits scored four to give the visitors a 4-1 lead four minutes into the period.

Arch Rival then went on a 41-0 rally off the next four jams to grab control. South City Shiner scored five at 24:55 that resulted in a 5-4 lead change. Boston followed with a natural 20-0 jam to give the locals a 25-4 advantage. Downtown Dallis capitalized on a power jam on the next rotation and scored fifteen for Arch Rival, extending the lead to 40-4 with 21:01 left in the period.

ARRG’s Black Market Baby punched home a pair of points to cap the rally and give the locals a 42-4 lead with 19:45 left in the half.

This explosion might have caught the Flatliners off-guard, which conversely gave ARRG a boost in confidence.

“That was a good little bridge to give us some breathing room,” said Friction of the run. “After we got that breathing room, we were able to set into really mechanical and methodical ways of just scoring and calling it off.”

“Those (power jams) were important, but I think a lot of what we got out of this game was the moments when we were able to ‘score four and call it, score four and call it,’” she added.

Sensing that the bout was getting out of control early, the Flatliners regrouped and went on a 12-2 run as the half progressed. Flatliner vet Kaka Caliente scored five at 17:11 to break the drought and whittled the lead to 42-9. Nuck L. Sammie and d’Bits collectively contributed to a 7-2 BHRG run thereafter and narrowed the margin to 44-16 with 12:50 left in the half.

Points would come at a premium in the half’s final third progressed as both blocking schematics cinched the scoring output tightly, but as the period reached its conclusion, ARRG posted a 17-0 rally to extend their lead at the break.

Shiner scored a dozen with under 2:00 remaining to up the advantage to 63-21. Dallis added a 5-2 jam on the period’s finale to give the locals a 68-23 lead at intermission.

And although a 45-point lead at the break seemed rewarding enough for St. Louis’ best on quads, little did anyone in the stands realize at the time that ARRG was collectively saving its best for the second period.

Boston posted five to begin the second half, extending ARRG’s lead to 73-23. She would later add another four to up the lead to 77-26 with 26:10 left. Dallis scored eight on the next jam to build the lead to 85-26.

Both teams scored on power jams in the next rotation at 22:10, resulting in ten points collected by ARRG’s BMB and four by Caliente for BHRG. When the dust settled on the topsy-turvy jam, ARRG was up by 65 points, 95-30.

ARRG’s most impressive stretch of the bout – both offensively and defensively – began with the next jam at 20:40. Boston utilized a power jam to collect 20 points for the locals that pushed ARRG’s lead 115-30.

That punch started a 61-2 ARRG “boutbreaker” that covered sixteen minutes worth of clock time. In the process, Boston would tally double-digit jams of ten and eighteen points that extended ARRG’s to triple digits.

More impressively, the ARRG blockers – paced by Friction, May Require Stitches, Chewblocka, Party Foul, Grave Danger, Eli Wallop, Mayor Francis Slayer, Shimmy Hoffa, The Educator and Morgan LeFaetal – kept Flatliner scoring…well…almost flatlined in the second half. The locals held BHRG to single-digit scoring altogether for the first twenty-five minutes of the second half.

“Our blocking’s looking sick,” said Friction of her squad’s front walls. “We were working really well together out there tonight.”

Arch Rival outscored BHRG 105-35 in the second half to pick up the duke that improved their North Central region mark to 3-1.

And the 115-point margin of victory might surprise the outside pundits that considered ARRG somewhat of an underdog heading into the bout.

At the end of the evening, it didn’t shock the locals at all.

“After seeing us play for about ten minutes, I wasn’t surprised because we were playing so well,” said Friction following the bout. “I’m really happy that we were able to keep pushing through as a team for the whole game and putting that many points on the board.”

Boston unofficially topped ARRG scoring with 82 points, followed by Dallis’ 43.

The All-Stars next travel to Milwaukee, WI to participate in the two-day Midwest Brewhaha in the first weekend of June to face North Central rivals Detroit and Cincinnati.

The BHRG Flatliners, who finished North Central play at 1-4 while dropping to 2-5 overall, were paced by Caliente’s 20 points. They next play East region #10 DC Rollergirls in a closed bout on Sunday, May 20 in Cincinnati, OH.

UNOFFICIAL SCORING

ARCH RIVAL (173): MightyMighty Boston 82, Downtown Dallis 43, South City Shiner 21, Balck Market Baby 21, May Require Stitches 7

BLEEDING HEARTLAND (58): Kaka Caliente 20, Nuck L. Sammie 17, Dirt Diggler 13, Terror ‘dBits 8

SAINT LUNACHIX 165  BHRG CODE BLUE ASSASSINS 124

In the “b-team” undercard, the Saint Lunachix found themselves in a continuous scrap with the Code Blue Assassins in the first half. But just like their “a-team” sistren, the Chix utilized a second period scoring streak to gain victory.

Following a four-point tally by the CBA’s Dirt Diggler, the Lunachix rolled out a 32-0 rally over the next four jams. Chix jammer Munchausen by Foxy notched nine on the next rotation, resulting in a 9-4 lead change. At the jam’s conclusion, the CBA’s jammer was sent to the penalty box for a major, thus resulting in an immediate power jam for the Lunachix.

Jammer EnYa Nightmare and her blockers would capitalize with a 19-point punch, extending the St. Lunachix lead to 26-4 with 26:30 left. Sly Davinita later added four and Foxy posted two, concluding the Chix 32-0 run and extending the lead to 32-4.

The Code Blue Assassins slashed away at the lead two jams later as Aceta Menacin took advantage of a power jam and propelled to a BHRG 20-point strike that whittled the Chix lead to 32-24 with 21:05 left in the first period.

Following a pair of 0-0 stalemates, Foxy collected nine with 17:50 left to extend the Lunachix lead to 41-24.

The CBAs again capitalized on Chix penalties midway through the frame as Diggler collected on a 15-point power jam that made the contest a two-point affair, 41-39, with 15:30 left in the period. BHRG would post the bout’s third lead change on the next jam, collecting five and grabbing a 44-41 lead. Menacin added four with 14:10 left that extended the CBA’s lead to 48-41.

Foxy countered with four of her own for the Chix on the next jam, cutting the BHRG lead to three points, which was immediately countered with a 3-0 CBA jam that pushed the BHRG lead back to six, 51-45.

The Saint Lunachix regained the lead at 10:40 as Nightmare posted a nine-pointer that put the locals on top, 54-51.

In the final ten of the period, St. Louis went on a 38-8 run – punctuated by Foxy’s 18-point power jam in the half’s finale – that resulted in a 92-59 Lunachix lead at intermission.

A similar 32-0 rally by the Chix earmarked the early stages of the second half. Following an 18-8 CBA run that whittled the lead down to 100-77 four minutes into the period, the Saint Lunachix scored 32 unanswered over the next ten minutes. In the process, Nightmare posted an 11-point power jam with 23:20 left and a natural 15-pointer four minutes later en route to a 132-77 lead midway through the frame.

Diggler broke the drought by posting four at 14:51 to give the CBAs a glimmer of hope, albeit in a 132-81 deficit.

The Saint Lunachix methodically built points and simultaneously burnt precious clock time down the stretch. A 28-18 run extended their lead to 160-99 after the bout’s penultimate jam.

But by golly, the Assassins weren’t afraid to show a little pizzazz in the bout’s final jam to narrow the margin. As the seconds reached single digits, the Chix gave up a power jam to BHRG. Capitalizing on the numbers, the CBA’s Menacin notched a bout-ending 25-5 power jam.

Perhaps clock management became key after all for the Lunachix, who posted the 165-124 victory to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Overall, large periods of BHRG scoring frozen by the ARRG blocking schematic provided the key theme of the bout.  Lunachix captain Boom Boom Pow, Deathica Steele, Bareknuckle Smack, Shell Shoxx, Rhino Might, The Oregon Betrayal and a host of others, silenced the Assassins in numerous stretches to control the bout and build a comfortable margin on the scoreboard.

Nightmare and Steele were selected MVP jammer and blocker, respectively, for the Lunachix, who continue play at Midwest Brewhaha in June. BHRG’s Diggler and Uh Huh Hurricane were selected MVPs for the CBAs, whose record fell to 4-3.

NEXT MONDAY IN THE ARRG NEWSCENTER: Chili and bowling are two things that don’t necessarily mix well together on paper, but both individually top the list of ARRG activities in mid-May. We’ll look at the upcoming events involving both subjects and show you how you can lend support.

Muckety Muck is a contributing writer for the Arch Rival Roller Girls website. Check in this section on Monday’s for the latest in ARRG news/information.

(BALLWIN, MO) Both primary travel squads of the Arch Rival Roller Girls utilized explosive scoring and tenacious blocking in order to gain a two-bout sweep over the squads of the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls Saturday night at Midwest Roller Hockey.

A 39-0 rally four minutes in helped the ARRG All-Stars – the eighth-ranked team in the WFTDA North Central region – post a 173-59 win over the BHRG Flatliners, the region’s twelfth-ranked squad.

Up 68-21 at the half, the locals held BHRG scoring to under ten points for twenty-five minutes of the second half. The ARRG-All Stars outscored the Flatliners 105-37 in the second period to improve to 3-1 in the North Central region and 4-1 overall.

Mighty Mighty Boston paced ARRG unofficially with 82 points while Downtown Dallis contributed 43.

In the undercard, ARRG’s  Saint Lunachix used a pair of 32-0 rallies en route to a 165-124 win over BHRG’s Code Blue Assassins.

Down 0-4 early, the Chix used a 32-0 run over four jams to grab a 32-4 lead. Then in the second half, the Chix again used a similar streak to widen their lead to 132-77.

The 41-point win kept the Lunachix 2012 record perfect at 4-0.

A full recap of both bouts will be featured here in this section on Monday morning.

8TH-RANKED ALL-STARS FACE #12 TEAM IN NORTH CENTRAL

by Muckety Muck, Derby News Network Contributing Writer – Photos by Bob Dunnell

There’s no rest for the weary as the Arch Rival Roller Girls return this weekend to Midwest Sport Hockey for travel team action.

Saturday night features WFTDA North Central region action as ARRG battles the teams from Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls of Bloomington, IN.

In the main event, the eighth-ranked ARRG All-Stars (3-1) face North Central #12 BHRG Flatliners (2-4) in WFTDA-sanctioned action. Prior to that match-up, the Saint Lunachix (3-0) face BHRG’s Code Blue Assassins (4-2) in the “b-team” opener.

The double header action takes place at Midwest Sport Hockey at Queeny Park (570 Weidman Rd., Ballwin, MO) Doors open at 6:30 pm and the first bout starts at 7 pm.

Tickets at the door are $15 cash only for adults. Children 10 and under are free. Save $3 on tickets in advance online at Brown Paper Tickets by going to this LINK RIGHT HERE.

Both bouts hold plenty of intrigue Saturday night, for there’s literally a lot at stake.

In the marquee bout, the All-Stars look to pick up their third victory in the region over a top 15 squad. After picking up wins over #10 Madison and #9 Cincinnati, ARRG was handed a 168-155 loss by #7 Ohio on March 11.

That loss stung the locals. A setback to a then lower-ranked region rival – ARRG was ranked sixth while Ohio was ninth – resulted in a lot of mumblings in North Central derby circles. Was it just an “off-bout” for the locals or did people underestimate the Buckeyes?

Regardless, the pink and black attack had plenty to prove in their next bout, a non-region match-up against South Central #16 Memphis on April 14. Still angry from the Ohio loss, ARRG went on a 46-0 tear off the bout’s onset and drilled the Tennesseans 238-29.

“I think we needed a confidence booster,” ARRG All-Star blocker Party Foul said after the win. “A lot of us took the loss to Ohio really hard, so we needed to win this one.”

“We wanted to come into this game and prove that we could play derby better than that,” added ARRG’s Shimmy Hoffa. “It was a chance for us to really work on our teamwork and put it all back together again and start fresh.”

Four ARRG jammers posted 40-plus points in the bout. Mighty Mighty Boston topped the ledger with 68 points while Black Market Baby collected 66. South City Shiner and Downtown Dallis scored 56 and 48, respectively.

“I saw things out of them tonight that I’ve never seen before,” said ARRG’s Chewblocka of the jamming quartet’s Memphis output. “I saw a lot of aggression, a lot of tight footwork and I saw them seize a lot opportunities.”

And although the scoring was impressive, the blocking was arguably the most solid aspect of the bout. The schematic that included May Require Stitches, Chewblocka, Grave Danger, the Educator, Science Friction, Shimmy Hoffa, Party Foul and the Oregon Betrayal were the true MVPs of the bout.

But just like one questioned ARRG’s performance in Ohio, one has to speculate about the Memphis bout. Was ARRG really that good or was Memphis really that lousy?

Perhaps that question can be answered Saturday against a hard-charging North Central squad that fared better against the team that thumped ARRG earlier this season.

If there’s something to be said about the #12 Bleeding Heartland Flatliners, it’s that they’re a scrappy bunch that has traditionally given teams in the lower half of the North Central top ten a run for their money.

After popping North Central #23 Derby City by 144 points to start the season, the Flatliners took Ohio deep into their March 3 bout before suffering a 115-90 setback.

This would begin a stretch of four consecutive bouts against really tough competition that unfortunately netted four losses. The Flatliners were roughed up by East #4 Steel City, suffered a two-point “dagnabbit” against North Central #11 Grand Raggidy and were pinched by 30 points against Gotham Girls Roller Derby‘s b-team.

The Flatliners were able to use the lessons learned in the four-game stretch to pick up its second win of the season, a 252-161 win over East #14 Suburbia.

This past Sautrday night, BHRG faced current North Central #6 Brewcity and only lost by two points, 145-143. That nailbiter proves that BHRG are more than ready to push the locals to the limit.

Veteran KaKa Caliente and youngster Nuck L. Sammie will pace the Flatliner jamming rotation. Look for blockers Bombshell Shock, Bobbi McGuillotine and Shock N’ Roll to lead the charge blocking-wise.

One intriguing aspect to Saturday’s main event: ARRG’s Party Foul skated with the Flatliners prior to joining St. Louis in 2010.

“I’ve seen their team make some great strides this year,” said Foul of her former franchise. “The travel team has changed a lot since I left, but what I do know is that they are a really smart team. I’m a little worried about that. They train with Naptown (Indianapolis) a lot and Naptown plays a lot of really weird derby.”

“Even though BHRG is a smaller league and don’t have a big pool of players to choose from, they play smart derby,” she adds. “We have to make sure that we counter their strategies.”

Foul knows that Saturday night will be a chance for her former Bloomington sistren to make a push for regional top ten status with a victory over eighth-ranked ARRG.

“I know that BHRG’s goal is to make the regional playoffs, so they’re really chugging hard,” she says.

Victories come few and far between in the perpetually-shifting WFTDA North Central. A golden opportunity is there Saturday for one squad to make a statement.

Words will be spoken as well in our opener between the Saint Lunachix and the Code Blue Assassins.

ARRG’s b-team improved to 3-0 by dismantling the Southern Illinois Roller Girls 255-50 two weeks ago at Midwest Sport Hockey. In that bout, the Chix utilized a 53-0 run in the middle stretch of the first half to build a 151-18 cushion at intermission.

EnYa Nightmare posted 78 points in the win while Munchausen by Foxy and Morgan LeFaetal contributed 66 and 60, respectively.

“I think we did really well with our pack work, we kept our penalties low and our girls worked together well,” said Nightmare of the dominance. “We knew what we were getting into and we worked hard to continue that roll.”

Once again, blocking became the forefront of the methodology for ARRG as Rhino-Might, Deathica Steele,Ginny Beastley, Polkadot YrEyeout, Bareknuckle Smack, Shell Shoxx, Biohazard Betty, Eveready, Sue Render, the Oregon Betrayal and others kept Southern Illinois scoreless for long stretches.

Saturday night, the squad will face the Code Blue Assassins, a team that – with a few mulligans – could have been undefeated.

BHRG’s b-squad has victories over Killamazoo, Derby City and Ohio. Their losses include a four-point nailbiter to Naptown’s Warning Belles and a nine-point setback to Steel City’s Blitzburgh Bombers.

This past weekend, the CBA’s netted a 162-97 victory over the Brewcity Battlestars.

You can bet that the CBA’s will look to start PDQ. Thus, the Chix don’t want to play a game of CYA.

It’ll be a fun night of derby action, where the locals hope to sweep to remain undefeated at home in 2012 and the visitors from Bloomington wish to play spoiler.

Following Saturday’s bouts, ARRG invites you to its newest location for the official post-bout after-party during the travel team season, Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill at Harrah’s Casino in Maryland Heights.

The venue that bears the namesake of “The Red Rocker” – a St. Louis favorite – will have drink and food specials until close. Plus, it’s a chance to meet your favorite roller girl following the bouts.

Let’s keep the momentum from last night rolling by supporting the ARRG travel teams as the year progresses.

We’ll see you at Midwest Sport Hockey Saturday night!

ARRG ALL-STARS DROP IN NORTH CENTRAL RANKINGS

A loss to a lower-ranked squad in the North Central region in March resulted in a small dip for the ARRG All-Stars when the latest quarterly rankings were released earlier this week by the Womens Flat Track Derby Association.

ARRG, ranked sixth in last two quarter’s rankings, now find themselves ranked eighth. The locals are currently 2-1 in region play in 2012. This includes victories over current #9 Cincinnati and #10 Madison.

Conversely, Ohio – a hard-charging team ranked ninth at the time of the ARRG upset – jumps two spots into seventh. The Buckeyes are currently 8-0 in North Central region play and 8-1 overall.

With the shift, Milwaukee’s Brewcity Bruisers – whose lone region bout prior to rankings was a 69-point loss to current #2 Minnesota – moves ahead one place into sixth.

The top five remain unchanged for the third straight quarter. Region rankings are determined by leagues within their respective region.

WFTDA NORTH CENTRAL RANKINGS (FIRST QUARTER 2012)

RANK/TEAM/OVERALL RECORD/ REGION RECORD/POSITION CHANGE

1. WINDY CITY  2-1 1-0 (NC)
   
2. MINNESOTA  3-0 2-0 (NC)
   
3. NAPTOWN   5-1 0-1 (NC)
4. DETROIT  0-0 0-0 (NC)
5. CHICAGO OUTFIT 3-2 3-0 (NC)
6. BREWCITY  1-1 1-1 (+1)
7. OHIO  8-1 8-0 (+2)
8. ARRG 3-1 2-1 (-2)
9. CINCINNATI 3-1 2-1 (-1)
10. MADISON 0-2 0-1 (NC)
11. GRAND RAGGIDY  3-3 2-3 (NC)
12. BLEEDING HEARTLAND 2-4 2-3 (+1)
13. NORTHSTAR  1-4 0-1 (-1)
14. FORT WAYNE  1-3 1-3 (NC)
15. TORONTO  5-0 3-0 (+2)

COMING UP NEXT MONDAY AT THE ARRG NEWSCENTER: Were the ARRG All-Stars able to fend off the rising rollers from Bleeding Heartland or did another region misstep occur? Plus, did the Lunachix remain undefeated? We’ll have full recaps from this Saturday’s bouts at Midwest Sport Hockey.

Check back in this section on Mondays for the latest in Arch Rival Roller Girls news and information.

30 Days. 30 Columns. 67 Interviews. Over 56,000 words.

For the month of April, the ARRG Newscenter presented an original concept that, to our knowledge, had never been attempted before by a WFTDA-sanctioned league.

The goal was to present full-length columns daily that encompassed numerous aspects of St. Louis’ first womens flat-track roller derby league.

The concept was to overall present a story…the story of ARRG.

Our goal was to present the league as something much more than just a group of folks that put on a roller derby show at Chaifetz Arena a few nights ago.

We wanted to showcase the hard-working locals that participate in the sport and their dedication to it. We wanted to provide length -and more importantly, depth – on how ARRG operates.

We acknowledged the past, featured the present and even glanced into the future of the league.

We knew from the onset that the task would be heavy and the hours to collect, construct and format would be lengthy.

But we were up for the challenge…and wanted to present it the right way. We didn’t want to do thirty single-paragraphed blog entries. We didn’t want to spout solely personal commentaries. We didn’t want to feature just type and no imagery. We wanted to do this to show others how it can and should be done.

I can proudly say that we delivered on it.

How big did the project inevitably become? If one took all the copy from the past 30 days and organized them into a document, it would total roughly 170 double-spaced pages.

Folks, that’s a short book…or even better, a soul-crushing thesis paper!

I’d personally like to acknowledge the following for making ARRG’s “30n30″ concept become a reality:

Of course, this project would not have been possible without the help, cooperation and support of the skaters, officials and personnel of the Arch Rival Roller Girls. Their willingness, honesty and openness were paramount to its construction. For some, it provided moments of personal reflection. For all, it provided a sense of pride. Personalizing copy was easy to do because the dedicated members of this league were willing to share.

There were also contributors from outside the league who provided information and comments that complimented the articles written. They provided a look at ARRG from an outsider’s perspective and their input was extremely valuable.

A fellow who deserves a lot of credit in this series would be my co-announcer, Magilla Guerilla, whose enthusiasm for the project was just as high as mine. I knew he would be able to punch the ball into the endzone when handed off. His expert analysis on local action and thoughtful perspectives on issues that affect the sport nationally provided solid entries throughout the month. His copy always came in early and I never had to change or challenge it – it was that darn good. And truth be told, he took one column that I struggled with and turned my proverbial lemons into lemonade. Thanks for your hard work, buddy. I appreciate it.

Bob Dunnell’s photography was showcased in this series and I thank his cooperation for the project. His imagery expertly captures the true spirit of what this league is all about. And in general, his contributions to the St. Louis derby community go beyond photography. You won’t find a more dedicated fan of the sport locally than Mr. McWheely.

A tip of the boonie hat goes to Pointed Arrow, who instantaneously spread the word to the ARRG fan base via social networking and to Papa Lippy for contributing images that helped out some of the columns as well. Thanks for the support.

And of course, I’d like to thank ARRG Nation for its feedback throughout the month. Your comments and support were, and will always be, appreciated.

And with that, this project concludes and we go back to just weekly columns featured on Mondays at the website. Although the output drops significantly in volume compared to the last thirty days, the dedication in providing ARRG news and information remains as dedicated as it has been for the last two and a half years.

If you wish to revisit any of the columns in the series, you can go past this entry and click on a feature that you might have missed or wish to revisit.

In the future, you can just go to the left side of the page to the “Archive” section and click on the line that reads “April 2012.” Your portal to all thirty columns will always be there.

Will we ever attempt the “30n30″ again in the future?

Are you kidding me? We’ve set the benchmark. There is nothing left to prove.

We respectfully encourage – and challenge – the other WFTDA-leagues to attempt thirty consecutive full-length columns in the span of a month. But I can tell you firsthand, the process won’t be easy.

I look at it this way. If one adds all the individual columns of the “30n30″ series and adds the series preview and this epilogue, then this series officially contains 32 entries.

And the last time I check, there’s not a month with 32 days in it.

See, you take the bar and raise it just a wee bit higher.

Thanks for reading.

Grand Poobah, ARRG Bout Co-Announcer

ARRG’s “30n30″: PRE-SERIES SET-UP (1) EVOLUTION (2) THE DREAM TO PLAY AT CHAIFETZ (3) LOCAL SEASON RECAP (4) ARRG ALL-STARS (5) SAINT LUNACHIX (6) ROOKIE RIVALS (7) REFEREES & NSOs (8) PRE-BOUT RITUALS (9) POST-BOUT RITUALS (10) GUERILLA UNCAGED – NO MINORS (11) ARRG VS. MEMPHIS PREVIEW (12) CHARITY (13) CHAIFETZ PUBLICITY (14) McWHEELY PHOTOGRAPHY (15) GUERILLA UNCAGED – DERBY NAMES (16) ARRG ALL-STARS VS. MEMPHIS RECAP (17) JEERLEADERS (18) SKATING MOMS (19) LUNACHIX VS. SIRG PREVIEW (20) GUERILLA UNCAGED – DERBY INJURIES (21) CHAIFETZ ANTICIPATION (22) LUNACHIX VS. SIRG RECAP (23) REBEL SKATE ALLIANCE (24) THE SMASHINISTAS (25) THE-M-80s (26) THE STUNT DEVILS (27) CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW (28) IN THEIR OWN WORDS (29) ARRG VS. BLEEDING HEARTLAND PREVIEW (30) ARRG 2012 CHAMPIONSHIPS AT CHAIFETZ ARENA