Rockn' Roller Circus

Tampa Bay Derby Darlins wrap up their 2008 season.  Intraleague team the Vicegrip Vixens will take on the Ft. Myers Palm City Punishers at the Rockin Roller Circus in Ft. Myers, at the Generations Skating Center, 2095 Andrea Lane.  The Vixens bring several players from their core lineup this season, including jammer extraordinaire Madame Battle Axe, ZoE Vil, Kemmy Kilmeister, Freak Show (playing her last bout... for a while, anyway), and Shan O'Mercy.  The Vixens this season were a young team, in that many of their players were playing only their rookie or second seasons ever in derby.  Injuries to players such as Mysterious and Frieda Killigan, and other off-the-track issues didn't help much in their two intraleague bouts, but this team rallied at Skate Free or Die on July 5th and put on a defensive clinic, holding Jacksonville's New Jax City Rollers to 37 points in an hour of derby action.  A few of the players from Tampa's Cigar City Mafia (including Leia Flat, Foxy del Fuego, and others) will round out the team to make up for the spots that would've included Mae Lest, Strawberry Shortsk8, and a few other Vixens who are likely now retired.

I've previously called Ft. Myers the hottest new derby league in Florida, and I still mean it.  I'm not sure (m)any leagues can boast of the success that Ft. Myers has had in their first full season of competitive bouting.  They've already split their season series with big sister league Bradentucky (with the rubber match next month).  They've beaten Broward County twice - absolutely dominating them last month at Skate Battle and Brawl, getting 90 points by the end of two periods before they finally let up and had the final score at approximately 129-61.  Early on in the season, this team was though to be the kim bong ill show, but the team has rallied from their crushing loss to Bradentucky in April and shown a lot of heart.  They've been competitive with derby power the Molly Rogers, playing them close for 2 and a half periods before finally losing by 40 points.  Sure, Sintral Florida blew their doors off in the beginning of August, but this has been a totally different team since then.  (A strange "coincidence" - I've seen improvement in at least two teams after they lost to the Sintral Florida Derby Demons - Ft. Myers and Tampa's Cigar City Mafia, who won their last two bouts and are now 5-1 in their last six bouts, having beaten the Switchblade Sisters 153-100 for this year's intraleague championship.  Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmmmm...") 

The Derby world is in a state of shock after yesterday's upset by Chicago's Windy City Rollers, who slaughtered the Kansas City Roller Warriors.  I'm expecting this bout to be competitive and well worth the 120-mile trip for me.  But while I expect Ft. Myers to show that they've come a long way this season, the veteran experience of Tampa, and Tampa's position as the number one derby power in the state, will come out on top here.  Winners: Tampa's Vicegrip Vixens

-Vince Hannity