No one is willing to play nice this season and lucky for us that means damn fine skating and strategy that I can only appreciate and never fully understand. We enter Saturdays bout with last years champs the Reservoir Dolls yet to pull off a win. The Res Dolls are 0-2, Vixens 1-0, Unholies 1-0 and the Quad Squad undefeated. This bout puts the Quad Squad against the Vixens and the Res Dolls face off against the Unholy Rollers. Tonights final scores dictate the rankings for April 12 semi-finals.

The first half of the Quad Squad vs Vaudeville Vixens Darling Nicki pulls off 10 points for the Vixens in jam 2, Stitch hits the crowd hard-- announcer Val Capone mics "Life is hard. Roller derby is harder." Harlot penalties out in jam 5 allowing Lil Miss jam control for the Quad Squad and 5 points evening out the score-- which stays close all half closing at QS:39, VV:43.

Period 1: Reservoir Dolls vs Unholy Rollers... the jammers have a hard time staying in bounds (track wise or penalty wise-- not sure) but we don't see lead jammer control until bout 5, and the first four jams run almost 10 mins. Carie A Hacksaw gives Tatum a nice whip and blocks the UR jammer, Mack the knife gets my attention with her speed and ability to get knocked back and still rush the pack, Ace blocks jammer Maverick out of jam 4. The Unholies earn their gain on the Res Dolls in Jam 7, but quickly lose it. The clock runs out with what looks like could be the Res Dolls first win this season.

Quad Squad vs Vaudeville Vixens, part Duex... QS pulls off three strong jams but in the 4th jam, QS jammer penalties out and Dolly Pardon Me grabs 10 points for the Vixens, bringing them in the lead by 1 point. Stitch and Harlot battle it out in jam 5, but Harlot recovers, returns the hip check and grabbing 3 points for the Vixens. The Vixens keep going strong grabbing 8 pts in jam 7 and securing a 12 point lead over the QS. Stitch is pivoting her heart out and the ever brightening of her red thigh proves it. QS evens the score bringing the Vixens and the Quad Squad to a tie at 76 points with 1 minute and 30 seconds left. Harlot (VV) and Jenny Knoxville (QS) face off in the last jam and Vanna White-trashes Harlots ass as Knoxville grabs lead jammer status, the coveted one point and calls the jam before Harlot has a chance to recover. The clock runs out with Quad Squad taking the match by 1 point: 77 QS, 76 VV.

Period 2: Reservoir Dolls vs Unholy Rollers... the Unholies start out strong-- pulling 25 points in the first 3 jams and pulling ahead of the Res Dolls by 1 point. Carie A Hacksaw helps the Res Dolls take the lead again in jam 4 where the Res Dolls take home 9 pts. Jam 5 takes Mouse to the 500 club-- congrats to that Speedy Gonzales (breakdown of Mouse's stats here). Crackerjack hits the floor hard, alarms us all by staying down for a minute, shouts "fuck!" and recovers-- proving the healing powers of just one "fuck." I leave with 1 min 40 secs left on the clock... leaving Res Dolls at 83 and the Unholies at 66.

Correct me if I missed a wicked comeback... otherwise the semi-finals leave Quad Squad undefeated and the unholy trinity of, well, the Unholies, Vixens and Res Dolls with one win.

This season is an intense one and the way things are going it it could be anyone's win on April 12th. Get there early, secure your seat and appreciate the fine derby style of blood, sweat and torn fishnets. Special thanks to Neil Stechschulte for the pictures. More pictures from Robin are available here.