Rolling Into 2010

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Rita Menweep, captain of the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, signs autographs at Playland Skate Center, March 28, 2010 (Photo by Richard Whittaker)

It's always the quiet ones, even in Roller Derby. In the opening bouts of the Texas Rollergirls 2010 regular season, two long-awaited rematches revealed some of the startling new talent that has signed up for the local flat-track league.

The March 28 bout was another big night for the league. Not only was there a capacity crowd at Playland Skate Center, but the sense of continuing excitement about the 2010 season was palpable. There's a real feeling that this is going to be a good year for the league, and the number of fans asking for autographs shows that something is definitely clicking.

It was also a big night on the track. In the opening bout of the night's doubleheader, the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers were expected to be closely matched against the Hell Marys. Both teams are carrying a large number of rookies and transfers this year, so the question was always going to be about who would gel as a cohesive unit first.

Initially, it looked like the Marys might take that plaudit. Their freshwoman-heavy bench is deep with jammers, with six skaters in total wearing the point-scoring star on their helmet. It seemed that the ability to rotate through so many skaters was just going to give them that edge.

Ultimately, it seemed to come down to the two secret weapons: Luce Bandit of the Marys and Short Cut from the Heartbreakers. Long, almost gangly off the track, on skates Luce is unstoppably fast, past the blockers and through the pack before a single hit can land. But it was Short Cut (quiet off the track, intense on it) that blasted the Heartbreakers back into contention with a double grand slam, pulling them from a 22-10 deficit to a narrow 22-20 scoreline.

It was a remarkable momentum changer that kept the two teams neck-and-neck for the last half of the first period and the first half of the second. Yet just when the gingham-clad cowgirls started to look a little comfortable in the lead, Luce pulled a triple grand slam out of her back pocket while Heartbreaker Colt 45 languished in the box, pulling the Marys to a 52-48 advantage.

With less than five minutes on the clock, the only poetic way for the Heartbreakers to seal the deal would be a triple grand slam of their own – which came courtesy of Short Cut. With Marys' jammer Kat-a-Killzem heading to the penalty box, her feisty opponent took the score to 52-65. The Marys could do little as their former teammate The Angie Christ added another 10 points before the final whistle for a 52-75 Heartbreakers win.

For the second bout, the stakes were just as high and the teams just as finely balanced. 2009 champions the Hotrod Honeys remain the team to beat, and the speculation is high that the 2010 Hustlers could be the team to do that. Yet it was a complex week for the ladies in purple: True, they were coming off a major travel victory last weekend, but since the bout was in London, England, the sheer strain of traveling was going to make this match all about endurance.

If the Hotrods thought the Hustlers might be carrying a bit of jet lag, they weren't prepared to risk any cocky showboating. In the first jam, Hotrod jammer Olivia Shootin' John virtually sat on Hustler Acute Angel, almost sacrificing lead jammer status in the process. It was as if the Hotrods were feeling their old adversaries out, and wisely so. Even with a short three-person jammer rotation, depending heavily on Acute and Molotov M. Pale plus pinch jamming from the real Babe Ruthless, the Hustlers were nipping at their heels. Yet somehow the Hotrods managed to get lead jammer status not once but twice with two blockers in the penalty box – a near-impossible achievement – allowing them to close out the first period 34-23.

As any experienced derby watcher can tell you, that's not a big enough margin to make a team feel comfortable with 20 minutes left on the clock. So the second period became a game of blockers. The last real heavy scoring came when OJ racked up a double grand slam on the third jam to cap a 50-26 lead. From there on it was a brutal and methodical demolition right through to the Hotrod's final 62-38 victory.

Even though the margins in both bouts looked dominating, they were grueling games that showed a league in fine health. Belle Starr's move to the Hustlers and their front of the pack suits her perfectly. In fact, the whole team seems like a threat and Molotov better get used to the MVP moniker from now on. The rebuilt Hells may have more jammers on one team than most entire leagues can muster (especially now that their lineup has been boosted by surprise addition Speedyrella), and the rookies have caught on to the rough-and-tumble style of play that is their trademark. The Heartbreakers have rarely looked better, and there's a certain joy to seeing Fender Bender and Ruby Wring holding down a pack together. As for the Hotrods, well, they're the Hotrods. The major threats like Lucille Brawl and Shank are still there, but watching Dilla and the returning Radio Active lock up the Hustlers in the closing jams reminded everyone of why they're two-time champs.