And you all thought the 1979 Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park was something strange in sports, check out what happened at TRD on Saturday (6-21-08).
TRD
The one night that I was not able to make it to Tucson due to my new work schedule was the one night that all hell would break loose at Tucson Roller Derby.
The AZDR has obtained several eyewitness accounts of what happened during the bout at Bladeworld last night and we are going solely off of this information. Please comment with any clarifications or corrections to the accounts described.
Here's what we were able to make out...
During the second bout between the COPPER QUEENS and the FURIOUS TRUCKSTOP WAITRESSES, FTW jammer PEACHES RODRIGUEZ and FTW blocker DEADLOCK DOE were ejected from the game for what was being called insubordination. This lead to a protest on the track where various skaters from the IRON CURTAIN (who had a major loss earlier in the evening), a couple of skaters from VICE SQUAD and some fans actually laid down on the track in protest of the ejections. Even Copper Queens mascot MISTA MINER THE COPPER QUEEN was kicked out. Yes derby fans, you read me right, the mascot was kicked out of the game. This disturbance delayed the game by approximately 10 minutes.
From what we understand, this whole incident may have been triggered by multiple penalty calls against Peaches Rodriguez by TRD referee RANDI CANYON. When Doe and Peaches tried to discuss the alleged bad calls, Randi ejected them both from the game.
Added 06/22 4:30PDT: We have received clarification (via MySpace messages) from another perspective on the previous paragraph. According to this report, Peaches was ejected by JOHNNY CRASH, TRD's head ref for obscene language made towards Randi. Doe was ejected for re-entering the jam after being called and then making an obscene gesture towards Randi. I also want to point out that neither Doe or Peaches are a team captain or alternate so under the rules, they should not be disputing a call.
Readers, please check out the comments to this blog in LeadJammer as it clarifies more of what happened that evening. =m
Some may wonder what really triggered this incident. From my understanding, this is the first bout that TRD has played under the new WFTDA 3.0 rules. Could the refs be overcompensating the penalties, especially with these new rules fresh in their mind? Some have expressed concerns to me about some internal wrangling going on within TRD and maybe this protest is exactly the wake-up call that was needed. Also, we must mention that the cooling system was not working at Bladeworld and therefore tensions could be pretty high from being in a self-heating roller rink. It was 105 here in Phoenix yesterday, I could only imagine how hot it was in Tucson.
Oh yeah, the scores. Vice Squad over Iron Curtain 164-14 and Copper Queens over FTW 125-73.
Hopefully, whatever skeletons are in the closet south of Mount Lemmon can be headed off and I trust WHISKEY MICK to do that before it turns into something like the boneyard that shadows Squaw Peak.
DAMES
While the ground was rumbling in Tucson last night, I was in Tempe with the ARIZONA DERBY DAMES who were at the grand opening of SICK LOVE TATTOO located at the corner of McClintock and University in Tempe right next door to FETISH FALLS. It was nice to see a special event like this where not only the fresh meat skaters were there but also the veteran skaters such as LOLO, RAE JER, SHARON FISTS, KAT VON DOUBLE D'S and JACKED HART being there. Jacked Hart did show me her rink rash after taking a skate to the back as a result of being pushed in the bench by MADAM (unintentional.. Madam was being pushed by another Bride skater who was in the jam). In addition, we had a few of girls who tried out last Thursday. One girl asked me who my favorite team is in AZDD this year. I had to think about it because each of the teams have a certain quality to them that I like. Overall, the team that is the most friendly to me is the BRUTAL BEAUTIES. But at the same time, I have a lot of friends and Michi-fans on the COFFIN DRAGGERS and my heart is out for the BOMBSHELLS and you got to love those RUNAWAY BRIDES. I hate to say it, but with the exception of a couple of skaters, I feel like the SCHOOL YARD SCRAPPERS are the most distant team this year. I am not just talking about distant from Michi-chan but just overall distant from the fans and others. The 2007 Scrappers was a team that I idolized last year. I barely know this year's Scrappers.
I did have fun last night hanging with the Dames. There are pics on my myspace page.
Let's look at the next bout on July 12:
(1) BRUTAL BEAUTIES VS. (5) BOMBSHELLS
We see the undefeated Brutal Beauties take on the Bombshells, a team who has not won a bout since July of last year. What the Beauties have on their side is consistency. This is a team that, while some new skaters have come on, the core of the team has not changed. You still have RED ROCKER, CELESTE, MAMI CHULA, SALLY WHACKER, LUX BREAKER, MADAM and team captain KAMIKAZE KIWI still there. This is a team pretty much keeps themselves from injury and with this consistency, it's no wonder they are undefeated. Hopefully by the semi-finals in September, we can welcome back MARCI DE SADE who just recently gave birth to a beautiful girl.
The Bombshells on the other hand I have some major concerns about. This is a team with very little consistency and therefore very little ability to focus. The girls who play on this team are trying. I swear, they are. This is a team that needs to focus more on blocking. Hopefully team captain GABRIHELLA GAUNTLET gets the message and works on this. This bout coming up will see some of the recently drafted rookies bout for the first time. The Bombshells is getting ex-Arizona Bruiser NACHO GIRLFRIEND. However, with Nacho coming in, we lose others. EMBER WAVES was seriously injured at the tryouts (leg broken in two places) and we believe that MAZZEPPA will not be in town to skate this bout. I honestly miss the days of PHENOMENON and JUGGER NAUGHTY but I am very impressed with jammer ALKALINE TRINA. The 'Shell co-captain needs a lot of support from her blockers if this team is serious about scoring.
As I always say, my heart is in the Bombshells and I wish the very best for them. With June's defeat by the Coffin Draggers, the only way that the Bombshells will be able to get into the semi-finals is to beat the Brutal Beauties and to score at least 151 points in the bout. If this happens, I will reconsider some of my views on religion. The unfortunate reality here is that I will have to give a prediction with one of my biggest margins ever: BRUTAL BEAUTIES BY 80-100+.
(2) RUNAWAY BRIDES VS. (3) SCHOOL YARD SCRAPPERS
Both the Brides and the Scrappers have 2-1 records. The Brides are only ahead in the rankings by 30 points. Both of these teams are stengthed fairly equal and it's all going to depend on focus. The Scrappers have an advantage with former Arizona Bruiser MIZZ NASHTY who I hope will be jamming for the plaid. Since the Scrappers have been pretty distant lately, it's hard to know who is in for this upcoming bout. The Brides on the other hand is pretty much at full strength except for the recently injured JACKED HART. Unlike Beauties/Bombshells, which was an easy game to call, this one is much different. The Brides' consistency has worked so far and I must give it to them, but not by much: RUNAWAY BRIDES BY 20-40.
So now for the semi-finals in September, we can pretty much safely assume that the Brutal Beauties will be going to the semi-finals, but the question is who will they play against.
If the Brides win this bout, the Scrappers will play the Beauties and the Brides will play the Draggers. In this situation, a Beauties vs. Brides championship bout is very likely.
If the Scrappers win this bout, the Brides will play the Beauties and the Scrappers will play the Draggers. Although I would like to see a Beauties vs. Draggers championship bout (like last year), it most likely will be Beauties vs. Scrappers.
I don't know what my work schedule will be but hopefully I will see you all at the Dames for their last regular season bout. Saturday, July 12 at Castle Sports Club. Tickets will eventually be available at Brown Paper Tickets.
THE ARIZONA DERBY REPORT
Michelle A. Eyre/Michi-chan
http://www.michichan.com
=m
(The opinions expressed are those of Michelle herself and do not reflect the views or opinions of any affilliated association or league.)
Comments
Submitted by QD on June 22, 2008 - 6:21pm.
The Queens had control of this bout from the very beginning with FTW playing catch up the entire time. FTW made quite a few tactical errors including calling jams early while opposing jammers were in the box. The Queens were fast and wiley and obviously came prepared to play.
About halfway through the second period Peaches was ejected for insubordination. She was told to hit the box several times by her jam ref and she questioned the call repeatedly while continuing to skate in bounds. The jam ref (Trikki Nikki - don't quote me on the spelling of that) discussed the situation with fellow ref Randy Canyon (formerly "Bolsha Vixen" of Iron Curtain fame) and after a very short discussion Vixen indicated Peaches was being ejected from the bout. Head ref Johnny Crash confirmed the call and informed Peaches she had to leave. Although surprised, it looked to me like Peaches left without incident.
I believe it was in the very next jam that Deadlock Doe (FTW old timer and their number one pivot) was called on a major (or it might have been her fourth minor) and although I did not see it I heard from many sources that she showed her appreciation of the call by "flipping off" the ref (I heard that there was a unsportsman like hit by one of the players involved as well). Well, that too is insubordination - Endless Justin called that one at Nationals - and Doe was tossed by Roman Johnson. I'm not one hundred percent on that, but I'm just about positive it was Roman that tossed Doe out.
The place was packed with FTW fans and they let the refs know they were not happy about the calls ("bullshit, bullshit, bullshit") but in my opinion the refs called a fair bout and were totally within the specifications of the rules when they made the ejection calls. I saw no "over compensation" in light of the new 3.0 rule set.
After a couple of more jams several members of the Iron Curtain and Vice Squad were seen gathering near turn 2 and between jams about five I.C. girls, a couple of Vice girls, and a few fans layed down on the track. This might be when C.C. mascot Mistah Minah was tossed, but I did not see that and as a matter of fact I never even knew that he was ejected. I did not see or hear the name calling mentioned in Michi's report, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
After Doe and Peaches were ejected the Waitresses were down to 6 skaters including two newbies, Gracie Spoon and Zippy's Takeout. To their credit the Waitresses continued to skate very hard. It was a hot Tucson night and it felt hotter and stickier inside the venue than out, but the girls in pink continued to roll hard with Sloppy Flo (over 1000 career points) picking up a few more points before the bout was over.
There was an odd mixture of happiness and disappointment on the faces of the Copper Queen girls after the bout. Sure, they were spanking the FTW before the ejections, but the ejections tainted the game and they will probably cause fans to question the legitimacy of the win. Let there be no doubt about it - The Queens were never at risk of losing that bout from the beginning whistle. Even with Doe and Peaches in the game it would have been virutually impossible for the Waitresses to beat their opponent that night.
To paraphrase on old Eddie Murphy line: "There's and new sheriff in town, and her name is Copper Queens"
Submitted by bwzimmerman on June 22, 2008 - 6:46pm.
regarding the TRD FTW/Copper Queens bout :
1. PEACHES RODRIGUEZ had just finished serving box time for her 4th minor and rejoined the pack, however the penalty board had not been reset. Ref PIXIE STIX, seeing Peaches on the track with 4 penalties on the board, mistakenly whistled her out. Peaches protested that the board had not been updated and continued skating, at which point Ref RANDI CANYON intervened, whistling her out with profanity. Peaches told her "i'm not _______ going", at which point Canyon whistled, motioned, and ejected her from the game for insubordination. Peaches then left the track and skated to the box. At the end of the jam, Ref Johnny Crash approached Peaches in the penalty box and requested that she leave.
2. Ref Randi Canyon was also responsible for the ejection of DEADLOCK DOE for insubordination due to Doe making an obscene gesture. No other information has been clarified at this time, however multiple skaters had made this same gesture at other points previously in the bout.
3. Following the second ejection, the FTW were left with only 6 skaters to complete the bout.
4. The protest occurred between jams, after the ejection of Deadlock Doe and a prolonged "Bullsh*t" chant by the audience. The protest consisted of a sit-in of approximately 8 people (3 skaters and 5 fans that i could see), all of which laid down peacefully in Turn 2. There were no FTW or Copper Queens in the vicinity during the protest.
5. Mista Miner was removed from the bout by TRD due to interfering with Bladeworld and TRD Security's efforts to peaceably remove the protesters from the track and his interaction with crowd members.
6. The protesters did not interact with any of the team skaters, verbally or otherwise.
7. The crowd, teams, and announcers were not made aware of the reasons for the ejections at the time. This is being addressed.
8. Tucson tends to have lower temperatures than Phoenix. That's neither here nor there when the venue forgets to turn on the ventilation early enough in the day.
9. None of this is to take away from the Copper Queens effort last night - they played a solid defensive game and lead the FTW for the entirety of the bout. The ejections did not and could not have affected the outcome.
10. TRD is addressing these events and concerns internally, and will not have any repeat occurrences.
bradley w. zimmerman
tucson az
Submitted by QD on June 23, 2008 - 11:56pm.
I'm sure Bradley's clarifications reflect a more correct version of the evening's events than my version - gotta lay off that jack and cough syrup...
Submitted by azdr on June 22, 2008 - 6:45pm.
This helps put more of the pieces together of what happened last night. My goal here is to get as much of a complete record as possible with the least amount of speculation. I do not expect anyone official from the league to post here as at this time it would not be appropriate to do so.
We can not deny that an incident happened at Bladeworld last night.
As I kind of alluded to, this was a very embarrassing moment for TRD and the Arizona derby scene as a whole but I feel that this is not going to be a common occurrence going forward.
I do have trust in Whiskey Mick and the rest of the management of TRD to investigate and address this issue to the best extent possible.
If TRD does eventually provide the AZDR with any official statements, we will pass it on.
=m
