Director Bob Ray and producer Werner Campbell have been documenting the hard hits and behind-the-scenes drama of Austin's Roller Derby scene since its inception in 2001. After five long and grueling years, the boys have edited their 500 hours of footage down to feature length and are ready to share it with the world. Be sure to read Marc Savlov's interview with Ray and Campbell in the SXSW Film issue of The Austin Chronicle hitting the streets March 9 right here. Music for Hell on Wheels is supplied by none less than Austin's infamous and world-renowned …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Conrad and co.'s frenzied jams suit the feel and flow of the Roller Derby to a T and it's quite a coup to have the Interscope recording artists on board. Ray and Campbell of CrashCam Films were previously best known for stoner spectacle Rock Opera and videos from the likes of heavy-hitters such as the Riverboat Gamblers and Nashville Pussy. Hell on Wheels has its world premiere this Sunday, March 11, 1:30pm at the lovely and historic Paramount Theatre. Unable to attend Sunday? HoW will also be screened for your viewing pleasure at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Thursday, March 15 at 4:30pm and Saturday, March 17 at 4:15pm. Following Sunday's screening will be an afterparty at Emo's Lounge (on the corner of Red River and Sixth) with DJ/poster artist Jason Austin manning the 'tables.

Tuesday night the UT women's basketball team succeeded in advancing through the first round of the Big 12 tourney and handed coach Jody Conradt her 900th career victory. The No. 7 seed Lady Horns defeated No. 10 seed Missouri 70-57 to advance to the second round today vs. Oklahoma at 6pm which will air on the Fox Sports Network and AM 1300 the Zone. Conradt is the second-winningest coach in Div. 1 basketball (men's and women's) trailing only Tennessee's Pat Summitt who has 941. Bobby Knight leads all men's coaches with 889.

Congratulations as well to UT men's basketball coach Rick Barnes who was named AP Big 12 coach of the year. Barnes has led a squad with four overachieving starting freshmen including Big 12 Conference Player and Freshman of the year Kevin Durant. UT had no starters return from last year's team. They'll play the winner of the Missouri/Baylor game on Friday night at 8:20pm. For John Razook's Big 12 tourney preview, click here.

It was a night of firsts for the Texas Rollergirls this past Sunday. The first bout of the season, the first time on the track for the league's many rookie skaters, and the debut of the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers' sleek, onepiece unis (gone are the Daisy Dukes of years past). The Heartbreakers are hot off their third straight league championship, but due to major roster shakeups during the offseason, they are returning with a league-high nine rookies on their squad. Their opponents, the Hotrod Honeys, have six rookies, the Hustlers three, and the Hell Marys only two. An attempt to break up the dynasty? Who's to say? Certainly not your friendly Chronicle sports blogger.

The first bout of the night featured the Hell Marys vs. the Hustlers (my pick to win it all this year). Well, sorry to jinx ya Hustlers, but the Hell Marys came out with fire in their eyes and proceeded to take this bout 86-46. Former Heartbreaker Buckshot Betsy led the Hell Marys (it's a shame we'll never see her in those Daisy Dukes again) with longtime crowd favorite Dinah Mite doing her best to keep the Hustlers in it. OK Hustlers, revenge will be had at the next bout on April Fool's Day or else I really will feel as if I've cursed you with my prebout prediction.

Bout No. 2 of the evening was a rematch of last year's Championship game featuring the revamped Honky Tonk Heartbreakers and the out-for-blood Hotrod Honeys. Not only have the Heartbreakers threepeated as league champs but they have only lost one bout during that three-year span. There were a lot of questions to be answered Sunday night and I'm afraid the results were not what the Heartbreakers were looking for. Led by standouts Tinkerhell, Rice Rocket, and Miso Fresh (the Score's personal favorite) the Hotrod Honeys opened up a big lead and never looked back going up 50-22 by halftime with a final score of 106-39. The Honeys' Rollin Sweet made the most impressive move of the night doing a one-skated inside-track sneaking-by of the pack that had the crowd going nuts.

Did the Austin Wranglers manage to “rustle up” a way to make the Las Vegas Gladiators crap out? Yippee ki yay and Seven-come-eleven, it’s … sorry, I thought I would try out a SportsCenter introduction for this game, but it's not going so well. This is, after all, the Score, so insert a sexual innuendo or too-smart literary reference here _______ and then I’ll just tell you the Wranglers won 57-36.

The team’s shiny new quarterback and coach are already looking like confident team leaders. QB Adrian McPherson threw for 205 yards, ran for 26, and was named offensive player of the game. And coach Brian Partlow, in a ballsy move, called an onside kick in the first quarter, and it worked. The Wranglers began the game with a 19-0 scoring run, and the Gladiators never seriously threatened to come back, staying at least two touchdowns behind for the rest of the game.

As expected, former Houston Texans wide receiver Derrick Lewis played a big role Sunday, catching two touchdown passes, including one played off the safety net behind the end zone. If you aren’t familiar with the rules catching a ball that hits the net is a perfectly legal (and totally sweet) play in the AFL. In fact most kickoffs bounce off the net, requiring the return man to catch the ball with his back to the defenders. I imagine the feeling is probably similar to tagging up in wall ball, but only if the tennis ball you get pegged with weighs 250 pounds and is suited up in full pads.

Thursday night the Austin Toros returned to play after having postponed last weekend's games due to the tragic loss of head coach Dennis Johnson. They paid tribute to Johnson before the game and they'll wear memorial patches honoring DJ on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. I must say, my eyes teared up a little when team president Mike Berry informed the crowd that Johnson had recently moved his family to town from California because he had grown to love Austin in his short time here. Chronicle writer Josh Rosenblatt was lucky enough to spend some time with Johnson while preparing his feature “D-League Dreams,” for his tribute to Dennis Johnson click here.

The Toros unsurpisingly looked a little sluggish against the bigger and tougher 14ers. Austin appears to be missing 7-foot-2-inch center Loren Woods who left the team Monday to take a job overseas. The Toros winning ways coincided with the arrival of Woods and let's hope they can adjust without him. Colorado's Tony Bobbitt scored 24 and led his team to a 101-88 victory at the Convention Center. The Toros B.J. Elder continued in his efforts to lead the D-League in scoring by racking up 26 Thursday night. Austin had won their seven previous home matches. Assistant coach Dale Osbourne has taken over as head coach for the Toros.

[Editor's note: Be sure to read John Razook's excellent Big XII Conference tourney preview (“Out of Town, to a Conference”) in this week's print edition.]

For all the top-level nonconference games Big XII teams took part in this season, it is conference play that truly brings out the best in the Big XII. At least that's usually the case. I do seem to remember a certain "game" between Oklahoma State and Kansas earlier this season that hardly qualifies as a sporting event. But that's neither here nor there. We're here to discuss this past Wednesday's game between two powerhouse teams from Texas. Yes, Texas, a state that not too long ago spoke "basketball" with all the passion of a dirty word.

The times they are a-changin', though, and it's due to players like Kevin Durant and Acie Law IV, who put on a shooting clinic for the entertainment of the entire nation Wednesday night at the Frank Erwin Center. If you didn't get enough drama watching the Academy Awards (and let's admit it, the only way that spectacle is interesting is if you do as I do and bet heavily on the outcome), then this showdown should satisfy you. For a while. I do smell a tournament approaching, the smell of blood, sweat, and gym socks blowing on the dusty prairie winds ...

Welcome class, I am your instructor, Professor Timmy, and this be “NFL Analysis 101,” where we look at the wants, needs, and desires of all 32 National Football League teams in the fresh off-season and compare each team to literature, historical documents, and the reference guides that best represent them. Football, much like the written word, is art and poetry in motion, reflecting our lives and the lives of those around us.

We will spend the first half of our course looking at the National Football Conference, followed by the vastly superior American Football Conference, culminating with a preview and post-script on the NFL College Draft in late April. Today’s lecture will revolve around the historic NFC North Division (aka the Black and Blue Division) featuring the Super Bowl representing Chicago Bears. Let us begin ...

More interesting than Canadian football and better smelling than the European league, arena football has definitely earned its position as the NFL's socially awkward foster child. And with its new ESPN contract, this is the Arena Football League's time to shine. It's already moved up to second on the Google search results list for AFL after the stock symbol for AFLAC, surpassing both the Australian Football league and typos on ALF message boards.

Even better, Austin has its very own team, the Wranglers, and their season kicks off Sunday at the Frank Erwin Center.

There's no better time to get obsessed: Not only is this the season opener, but the home team is headed for big things this season, and I will personally guarantee that Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Gladiators will be more exciting than the Super Bowl. Although, to be truthful, all I remember from this year’s championship was that commercial with the two guys kissing, so I’m basically promising that this game will be more exciting than two unattractive dudes accidentally making out over a Snickers bar.

Both teams have new coaches and quarterbacks this season. Behind center for Austin is ex-New Orleans Saints backup Adrian McPherson, and calling signals for the Gladiators will be Shaun King, formerly an NFL starter who led the Tampa Bay Bucks to the NFC championship game in 1999.

Austin's thriftier sports fans know two of the best bargains all year are the annual UIL high school basketball tournaments at the Erwin Center. Next weekend belongs to the boys, but the girls' tilt got under way early this morning and concludes Saturday night. Right now class 3A's Texarkana's Liberty-Eylau and Crockett are squaring off East Texas style. Action continues with Canyon and Llano, joining 4A's Marble Falls as the only Central Texas squads in the tourney, at 3:30pm and a 4A double bill of Dickinson-Frisco (go Gators!) and Fort Worth Dunbar-Marble Falls at 7 and 8:30pm. 5A, where one game between an all-undefeated Cy-Fair-Rockwall final, 2A, and Class A's Division II crank it up tomorrow starting with Poth-Hughes Springs at 8:30am. Tickets are $12 for two-game double dips [sessions], available at 477-6060 and www.texasboxoffice.com. For the full schedule ...