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Knowing the roller derby bouts usually start later than planned, I arrived around 7:15 p.m. bypassing the line that was still growing outside. I immediately saw a few friends and played catch up with them before the beginning of the bout, which finally started at 7:35 p.m. And man, did it start with a bang.

The first game was The Vaudeville Vixens vs. The Reservoir Dolls. Now, anyone that has attended a few bouts knows that The Reservoir Dolls is the team to beat. They have the flashy star players like Mouse and Crackerjack. They win all the time. They showboat. They expect glory. The Dolls are kind of like the Dallas Cowboys in the 90's or the New York Yankees anytime in their existence, and that is why I must always root against them. In fact, if this bout was covered by ESPN, sports analysts would insipidly describe this match-up as a showdown between "David and Goliath" or "Walmart and the local mom and pop store" or "Knight Rider and Herbie" or "insert big mean thing vs small innocent thing here".

But critics be damned, The Vaudeville Vixens came out of the gates like a well oiled machine on fire ready to give The Reservoir Dolls a kick in their well formed asses. This ass kicking went on for awhile and the crowd was not getting sick of it. But after a commanding lead, the Dolls came back to tie The Vixens 53 to 53. That is when something magical happened. The Vaudeville Vixens scored 16 points in one round, something I'm not sure I've ever seen before. For me, that was the clincher. The Vixens were on a mission and The Dolls just didn't have a chance. When the Vixens finally won, I heard someone next to me say, "I'm happier now then when I got my doctorate." Perfect.

Unfortunately The Unholy Rollers vs. The Quad Squad just wasn't as an exciting game or match-up. Probably the most enjoyable moment was The Unholies introduction, which was skating in slow motion around the court to the song "Chariots of Fire". It was frickin' funny, but when the game itself began, not so funny.

The Quad Squad isn't flashy, but they know how to set up blocks and how to read each other well, so what they lack in finesse, they make up with in pure strength and timing. They're pretty impressive the more you analyze them. Sadly, the game was never really close and The Quad Squad beat The Unholy Rollers by a considerable margin. Too bad as I usually root for The Unholies.

Hardest Hit

Dolly Pardon Me took the hardest blow of the night. It was one of those hits where everyone around in unison jumped back and yelled "Holy Shit!!" But she was a trooper and wearily stood back up, shook it off and finished the game.

Two Minor Rants

I wish The Mad Rollin Dolls would consider shortening up the 20 minute halftime, or perhaps even getting rid of the halftime completely. It seems to me that since the two teams are taking a break when the other two teams are playing, there really is no need for a halftime. After all, in football, halftime is 12 minutes and they play all 4 quarters.

"Pupy Costello and His Big City Honky Tonk" played the after-party at The Badger Bowl and I couldn't have been happier as I love their drunken, country ways. My only hope is that there is a bit more diversity in the bands chosen this season than in years past. Of course, this may just be my bitterness talking as I have tried desperately to get The Shabelles on an after-party bill on numerous occasions and have failed repeatedly. Come on Rollin' Dolls, our picture was in The Isthmus twice this week, throw a fella a bone, won't you?