photo by Miss Mel Mangles
Sunday, May 10, 2009
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2009
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May
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- Tickets on Sale for the Heathers v. HRMF Semi-fina...
- The Docket
- The Buds pack a punch, but fall short on points
- Sump Pump sighting!
- Derby is a Force that Gives Us Meaning
- The Docket
- The Newest Heather: Butcher Block!
- Fare Thee Well, Apocalipstick
- New Guns 'n' Rollers Blog!
- The Semifinal Matchups
- Break Neck Betties 134, Guns N Rollers 73
- Betties G'n'R open thread
- A Derby Poem by Glenn Pape
- Roller Derby Documentary Casting Call
- RCR at the Portland Action Sports Expo May 15th-17th
- Bootylicious Ringer at Inline Regionals
- Heathers HRMF post mortem open thread
- Vominatrix has Left the Building
- Heartless Heathers v. High Rollers open thread
- Sump Pump: Another View
- And Bragging Rights Go To?
- G'n'R vs. "Some Lovely Ladies of WA!", Friday, May 8
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May
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10 comments:
Props to the High Rollers, especially Bunny's jams! She was fast, slippery and strong. They played a smart game and didn't panic when they got down early. HRMF...That said, I think the biggest turn came when Ringer caught that (cheap shot?) elbow. It looked like she was headed for way more points that jam and from that point on the Heathers just weren't themselves.
Anyway, The Heathers are going to have to find a way to replace Sump Pump's consistently good jams in the semis or I fear they might not be defending their title. HPV!
It was a hard fought bout all the way to the end. I do think Kurt hit it on the head when talking about the turning point in the bout being the shot that Ringer took to the head. With Sump Pump out and Vom gone, not to mention a few other injuries, the Heathers seemed to lack a spark at the end of the bout.
It should be noted, too, that the HR did a fine job of adjusting to the Heathers style of pack play in the second half. The adjustments they made kept them close, until they finally pulled away. The new ruleset seems pretty decent, but there seemed to be some confusion once or twice early in the bout. Time will tell if the new changes are for the best. I hope so.
Hopefully everyone will be back at full strength and health in time of the semis. Congrats to the HR, they skated well and deserved the victory. Tough to swallow an "L," as the Heathers haven't had to do that in a while. Hopefully it will be a while before we have to do that again.
First and foremost, those High Rollers put together the most complete game I have ever seem them skate. Good for them! Their defensive lines,the likes of Mercyful Kate, Heidi Go Seek, Wreck and Skatrina did a great job stringing out the pack and giving those tenacious HR Jammers the holes they needed to put the points on the board. They played with poise for the whole 60 minutes and proved they not only have a talented team but know how to use that talent.
And then there was our Heathers...
No dis here. They skated well but certainly not "well enough". The "little things" we saw, that really made the difference in their previous bouts, weren't as obvious in this bout. Those fantastic opening blocks that feed the jammer the hole were replaced with blocking packs into their jammers path. Or even worse were the little trap holes set up by the HR blockers; the HH Jammer would step right into a well set up block. Heathers blockers would then follow to help and the HR Jammer had her lane open up. There was no going from the out to the inside line on turn one. It was fun to watch from a derby fans perspective but tough to sit through if you wear your heart on your sleeve. Moving forward the HH Blockers better tighten their belts and skate heads up out there or they will once again be dropping their drawers.
Though I don't want to say the bout didn't matter to me, I had thought through the "Big Upset!!!" scenario earlier in the week. As a fan of several sports, having my team drop the last game of the regular season going into the playoffs, actually makes me feel better about the playoffs. In this case, it also sets up the possibility of storied road to the City Championship for someone.
If basic Playoff rules are followed; Number 1 plays Number 4 and Number 2 plays 3 which sets the stage for the final. So victory over the High Rollers would have meant another match up was guaranteed. Now, I think this means, a GnR win next weekend would put the Betties up next in the Semi bout. NICE! This scenario also sets up the possibility a HR vs HH final...also NICE!
Let's face it losing in May beats losing in June. Hopefully the taste of that shit sandwich lingers a bit and motivates the Heathers because it's about to get a whole bunch tougher.
I can't wait...
JeLLyPiG, why would you want a HR vs. HH final? I mean, why would you want to play the only team that has beaten us thus far? I don’t get it. Please explain. Would it not be better for us for the Betties to win this Saturday? (what a strange, strange turn of events for me to actually want the Betties to win, I know)
Okay, I'm no Bracket-ologist. I think a Betties victory over the GnR means, the Heathers would face the High Rollers in the Semi bout.
From my fan perspective, coming off your only regular season loss from the team you now face on the road to the playoffs, makes for great drama.
None of it means anything if they don't tighten up their play and win. Though it's not really a "Win or Go Home" playoff, any loss means a lost position in the rankings.
If you are indeed the "Best", June is the time to prove it.
Thank you fans and my apologies for not paying attention to you on Saturday. The Heathers had some big things to overcome coming into this game and just simply weren't able to pull it together in time to do so, and I apologize to you fans for that as well. Please hang in there with us, we have some time now to heal up and shape up and plan to do so and bring it for the semis & finals!!!
I kinda don't remember much of the end of the game but am doing better today (yeah for vicodin!). I have to agree with "anonymous", taking a hard hit to the chin basically in the same location on the track as Sump did our prior bout was a huge blow to the teams head game. We've had a huge number of injuries on the team and started the game w/ 13 total players on the roster including our new (very awesome) recruit Butcher Block (yeah). Welcome Butcher Block we are so excited to have you on the team!
As far as who was out: Vominatrix & Apocalipstick sadly retired last month, we miss you and love you, X2Z tore her ACL in April, Fire Crotch has been out since feb w/ a knee injury, No Namey & Titania were are also out on injury and of course, sadly, Sump Pump is also out. Scratcher is such a trooper, she was running a fever and throwing up in a garbage can between jams on saturday but still kicked ass for us out there. We are a strong team and we will overcome.
I'd like to give a shout out to the High Rollers, they stepped into that hanger on Saturday ready to win and they did just that!
Oh, Ringer, you know we'll stick by you gals no matter what. I have all the faith in the world that ya'll will kick ass at the semis and the finals.
HPVMF,
Hanner
OK, well here's my slightly belated $0.02:
The High Rollers won that bout, fairly and completely. Certainly the injury to Ringer had an impact, but we're talking about a Heathers team that can roll our "Kill"ya, V.Falls, Scratch, and Goodie as experienced, solid jammers, with Ruby, Mobi-Wan, and Mick as needed.
Injuries alone can't tell the entire tale here, and going into this bout BOTH teams have been limping along somewhat or skating without key players (No Bust'her Spines, DeeCap's done, Bumps has been battling a nagging injury or two, and I can't remember the last time Candy Warhole played).
I agree with JeLLy PiG - HR played the best, most complete bout...ever! What impresessed me most about them was (1) how they rebounded and skated with focus after their humiliating loss to the Betties, and (2) how they adapted their game in the second half.
In period 1 I told everyone who'd listen, "the inability of the High Roller's jammers to stay out of the box, especially when they earned lead, would be the difference." I was only part right, as they largely corrected this mistake in period two.
And I too think there will be positives for the Heathers with this loss under their belts. This is a team that responds well to adversity, and I'm sure this will give them the fire they need to come out strong in the semis.
Also, I'm not sure how the brackets are going to work out either, but had the Heathers beaten HR then they DEFINITELY would have faced them in the semis (1st vs 4th).
Now there will be 2 teams with 2 wins (HH and EITHER BB or GnR), and 2 teams with only 1 win (HR and either BB or GnR).
That means there will be some sort of tie-break scenario. Whether that is head-to-head matchups (which HH wins in either case, and HR loses in either case) or point differential (which BB seems to have an edge at) will determine the seeding.
What I'd like to see is for HH to beat GnR in the semis, and HR to redeem themselves with a victory over BB. Then our beloved Heathers successfully defend their championship over the tough and feisty High Rollers.
Good 2¢'s...Nader
I am not sure but wouldn't the round robin tourney that started the season serve as the tie breaker? Which I think mean a Betties loss to GnR would place them in the 4 spot.
You may be right about the tie-breaker, as that would at least lend SOME significance to that round-robin-style "scramble" they did for the season opener (thought it was kinda lame last year, and not a big fan of it when they did it this year).
The problem with that is not all the teams matched up - if the Heathers and Betties end up with tied records, you can't use the season opener as a tie-break because they didn't play each other in that bout.
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