It was a night of big hits, as the Mad Rollin’ Dolls took the floor for the final bout of the season.

The first match featured the Vaudeville Vixens against the Unholy Rollers in the Grudge Match. Both teams progressed significantly this season, but found themselves on the undercard again.

Image from Chris Norris, see more here.

The match started slow, as bodies covered the floor repeatedly in the first half. Scoring was minimal early as the teams found their groove. As the half ended, the Vixens lead 40-35.

The Quad Squad emerged victorious after a vicious bout, besting their longtime rivals the Reservoir Dolls. A more in-depth writeup of the bout should follow soon. Scores at the Mad Rollin' Dolls blog.

Photos by Chris Norris. More details at the Mad Rollin Dolls Blog. Click images for larger versions.

Just in time for tonight's Mad Rollin' Dolls Semi-Finals the Fire Marshall has reduced the capacity at Fast Forward, the Dolls' skate rink, from 1000 to 600. This new capacity includes skaters, volunteers, Fast Forward staff, and audience. It also means they won't be selling tickets at the door (UPDATE: after calculating the tickets pulled from outlets early yesterday there will be some tickets available at the door, so get there early. Also, tickets will be on the shuttle bus leaving from the High Noon to go to the bout at 5:30 p.m.) and they may not be able to let in press (don't worry, Dane101 will still be covering the bout)! Zoinks! Damn you Smoky the Bear and your...safety. From the Dolls:

When writing about the season opener for Mad Rollin Dolls a few months back, I mentioned this:

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.

It was meant as a compliment (and not a backhanded one either), and in the back of my mind, I always kind of wished I would have written a bit differently as I didn't want the team to take it the wrong way. Luckily, when contacting Joan of Anarchy about this interview, she mentioned this to me:

I thought you might like to know that Quad Squad really enjoyed your description of our team in the Jan bout article. Thanks to you, we've gained a new slogan for season 4: "we may not be flashy, but we get the job done."

Awesome. I'm glad I could help.

The Mad Rollin Dolls have released the brackets for the April 12 semi-final bouts. Quad Squad landed a number one seed followed by the Vaudeville Vixens (2), Reservoir Dolls (3), and Unholy Rollers (4). So the match-ups will be:

Vaudeville Vixens vs. Reservoir Dolls
Quad Squad vs. Unholy Rollers

Team logo montage borrowed from the Mad Rollin Dolls website. Three years of Mad Rollin Dolls coverage can be found right here on Dane101.com.

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.

Last night the Reservoir Dolls' co-captain Mouse became only the second Mad Rollin Doll jammer in the history of the Madison roller derby league to break the 500 point mark. She went into Saturday's bout against the Unholy Rollers with 475 points and ended the evening with 513. Mouse joins the Quad Squad's Jenny Knoxville as the only two Mad Rollin' Dolls to break the 500 point threshold and are only two of a small few in all of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association who have made the landmark. You can read a previous interview dane101 conducted with Mouse and tune in tomorrow for Sarah's full write-up of the dramatic Saturday night bout. Photo courtesy of Neil Stechschulte.

Things just didn't go as planned Saturday night at the roller derby bout. It all started early when the PA system failed during the singing of the national anthem. Although being resilient Madisonians, the packed crowd at Fast Forward immediately and spontaneously busted into an impromptu sing along to help the non-mic'd vocalist get through our nation's anthem. The last time I felt that unifyingly patriotic was when I got Obamafied two weeks earlier at The Kohl Center.

The first bout started with The Vaudeville Vixens (fresh off their surprise win over The Reservoir Dolls) facing up against The Unholy Rollers (a team that has not won a single game since season 2). On our Dane101 podcast last week, we jokingly discussed sponsoring The Unholy Rollers since we all have friends on the team. Jason Dean went as far as to predict a win this weekend. Well, Jason must have known something I didn't because The Rollers finally won a game.

The Mad Rollin' Dolls season is underway and this second bout brought in another sell-out crowd. This month's bouts were the Reservoir Dolls vs the Quad Squad and the Unholy Rollers vs the Vaudeville Vixens. Dane101 photographer Chris Norris (that's me) was there. I believe a full writeup will be coming soon.


Bella Donna (42) pulls forward jammer Thunder Kitten (11)

I know I have talked endlessly about my first roller derby experience with the Mad Rollin Dolls a few years back, but like a middle aged man that can't stop reliving his glory days as high-school quarterback in "the big game", I can't stop reliving that fateful night that I got roped into the world of roller derby.

The first time I ever saw a bout, two players immediately stood out for me: Mouse and Crackerjack. Not only were they on the same team and knew how to fire up the crowd, they also played the same position as jammers and both had this undeniable flare and grace about them while gliding around all the other players. It was one of the reasons I came back to see another bout and one of the reasons I still do. Hell, as a sports fan, they're just fun to watch.

Images by The Chris Project. Click to view larger.

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".

I was with Wild Berry Punch the first time she saw a roller derby bout. It was a few years back and her future husband, who is a good friend of mine, could not attend, so we went without him. Her immediate, excited, childlike reaction was contagious and I remember trying to vicariously relive my first derby doll experience through her. On the way home after the bout, she stated that when she moved back to Madison from New York City, she was going to try out for the Mad Rollin Dolls.

Now, a few years later, Wild Berry Punch is a heavy hitter (in more ways than one) within the league. She is heading up committees, making important decisions, while at the same time performing the tasks of being a team captain for The Unholy Rollers. I recently sat down with Wild Berry Punch, via email, and asked her a few questions.

This Saturday the Mad Rollin' Dolls kick off season four of nail scratching, butt bumping, head hitting, people pushing, doll dodging, wheeling girl on wheeling girl action. And as for me, I can't wait.

Roughly three or four years ago a friend of mine repeatedly tried convincing me to attend a roller derby bout which occurred on Sunday nights at the time. I must admit, I was reluctant and skeptical and continually refused to go. My friend's fanaticism with wrestling didn't much help convince me to attend either. All I could picture were those cheesy, carefully choreographed roller derby TV shows that would air on Saturday afternoons in the 70's and 80's. You know, the ones you would watch when it was too rainy or cold to go outside and skate around yourself (my vice was with skateboarding and not actual roller skates though. Yup, I am a man of the 80's).