Derbyderbyderby
Richmond Wrecking Belles vs. SF She-vil Dead at Herbst Pavilion last Saturday night. Not a great night for San Francisco. Richmond outscored them by more than double: 113-42.
On the Richmond side, Dianne Rott and Demanda Riot were the Unstoppable Force and the Immovable Object, respectively. Rott had several 8+ point jams. Nina (the Missus) and I were at one end of the track, just at the outside of the first curve. The pack would start, the jammers would start, they'd all skate down to the other end, and then all of a sudden Rott would be out in front by herself. She's like a machine.
Riot, for her part, just makes people fall down whenever she touches them. It's the weirdest thing. During one jam on Saturday, she just faked at one SF blocker, and that blocker ran smack into another SF blocker - they both fell down and Riot didn't touch either one of 'em. Amazing.
Newcomer Brawllin' Angel also had a good night. She's a fast jammer, thin and agile. She's Nina's new favorite. I'm looking forward to seeing her skate again in September's Oakland/Richmond bout.
On the SF side, Sassy Slayher was on the warpath all night. Seemed like every time she put her shoulder down, a Wrecking Belle went airborne. She racked up some points as a jammer too, but her defensive game was really impressive.
Pia Mess was (IMO) SF's other MVP. She also played aggressively, blocking the opposing jammer way off the track early in the jam and then working her way through the pack. A couple of jams had her pairing her off against Dianne Rott, which was a thrill to watch.
Coolest thing about the evening: Nina and I were sitting right next to a whole pile of Richmond jammer Friskie Meow's friends and family. They all had home-made Friskie t-shirts. Every time she went by they'd holler and make these clawing motions with their hands. How awesome is that?
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