Texecutioners Take Gotham Beat-Down

Mixed results on the flat track for Austin's Texecutioners coming out of last weekend's East Coast Extravaganza. The Texas Rollergirls' No. 4 ranked traveling team went down to New York's No. 5 Gotham Girls Rollerderby a worrying 125-65, before coming out of the weekend 1-1 after smashing the No. 26 ranked Cincinnati Allstars 135-48.

Gotham vs. Texas was one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts of the weekend, and with good reason. Apart from being a division one face-off between two of the most established teams, this is one potential lineup for the WFDTA Nationals in Portland, Ore., November 14-16. Gotham is probably looking at this win as a sign of good things to come: The Texecutioners could be treating this as a reminder to reclaim their position at the top of of the sport they helped found.

Before anyone gets too worried/thrilled, there were predictions that the age of Texas was over in derby since the Dairyland Dolls from Madison, Wis., took out the Hotrod Honeys in 2006. Plus, on the positive side, the fact that as strong a team as the Texecutioners isn't a dominating force can only be seen as a sign of the vitality of the sport nationally.