Queens and the Bronx Get a Chance to End 2016 with a Win this Saturday

By Thomas Gerbasi

In sports, there’s nothing like a second chance, or in the case of the Bronx Gridlock, a fourth chance for a first win and third place in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league standings. If those are a lot of numbers to digest, suffice to say that the Gridlock are unconcerned with the specifics of this Saturday’s bout against the Queens of Pain at John Jay College in NYC, only that when those numbers are tallied, they have more points than their opponents.

“This is kind of like the playoffs,” co-captain Back Alley Dred said. “There’s a team that can have a bad season, but then all of a sudden, boom, this is the playoff and this is what matters. So in some ways, this is our playoff. We don’t have four out of seven or three out of five, but it’s still that same idea of this is where it counts.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

Winless since May of 2014, the cabbies have had another rough year in 2016, but as is usually the case in such a competitive league, the scoreboard doesn’t always tell the whole story.

“We give people a run for their money,” said Dred. “No one ever walks away from a game with us and says, ‘That was so easy, we felt like we had it in the bag.’ And that’s a win in and of itself.”

That was certainly the case in April, when Queens defeated the Gridlock 200-159 in a bout that was a lot closer than that score would indicate.

“The game went back and forth and felt really close and really hard the whole time,” agreed Queens’ Tiny Apocalypse. When that bout was over, it looked like Queens was just getting warmed up for a spot in the GGRD championship game, but pivotal losses to Manhattan and Brooklyn dashed those hopes. Thankfully for the ladies in black, they too get another shot at finishing 2016 on a high note.

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

“We’re really lucky that we get that extra game and that the season isn’t over for us,” Paco said. “Looking back at the games we’ve already played, we get to take the things that we’ve learned and try to improve on any mistakes we’ve made and keep doing what we’re doing right. It’s a good way to start getting ready for next year.”

2017? Already?

“Not that this game isn’t also important, but we’ve already started thinking about next season,” she said. “We learned a lot from our last game against Brooklyn, and even though Bronx and Brooklyn are very different teams, we’re looking forward to taking what we learned from that game and capitalizing on opportunities against the Bronx where maybe we didn’t in our Brooklyn game. We just want to prove that this season, even though it looks like a rebuilding year for us because of all the new skaters, we’re pretty strong and we’re going to finish strong.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

The Bronx squad has the same motivation, and as Dred describes it, this isn’t the same team that lost to Queens four months ago.

“We played Queens early on, and we had just started working together,” she said. “Right now, we’re at that point where everybody is trusting each other on the track, having a feel for what our jammers want, how to play offense for them, how to stick together in the walls and communicate, and that’s what’s different for us. So we’ve been building after each and every game. Our walls are getting stronger, our jammers are getting better, and we’re working as a more cohesive unit. And this is just going to continually progress. This is one more step of us gelling together and a win would be fantastic.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

As for Queens, they’re also not counting on playing the same team they did in their season opener. They’re ready for a battle.

“I think every team is so close skillwise that playing a team one day versus playing a team a different day, whether it’s four months apart or a week apart, could produce a completely different outcome,” Paco said. “And I think we know that. We see it during the week when we have scrimmage nights and we saw their walls in their game at Coney Island against Manhattan and they looked really good. They were really strong, and they’re really different from us, so we know what we have to focus on. We have to focus on those differences, the difference in size, and their offensive style versus ours, and how we can make the most out of our strengths and take advantage of any of their weaknesses or mistakes.”

And just win. It may not be for the Golden Skate Trophy, but for two teams looking to exit the 2016 season with a victory, it could be even more important.

Tickets for Saturday are available here.

Brooklyn Gets Scare Before Vanquishing Queens

By Thomas Gerbasi

For a while in the July 16 bout between the Queens of Pain and the Brooklyn Bombshells at Abe Stark Arena in Coney Island, it looked like Queens was about to rebound from their lone loss of the year and secure yet another trip to the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league championship game on August 27.

But it was not to be, as a one-time 69-20 lead turned into a 179-152 loss that sent the unbeaten Bombshells to John Jay College for an opportunity to defend their title against the Manhattan Mayhem.

“It will definitely be a good matchup between our teams,” said Brooklyn MVP D.A.R.Y.L.  “It's going to be an intense game but it's a really great way to end the home team season.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

Queens, the four-time winners of the league’s Golden Skate Trophy, will now play the Bronx Gridlock in this Saturday’s third-place game. “It is always physically and mentally demanding to play Bronx,” said Queens’ MVP Pinky Swears. “We have very different styles of game play. Queens is about recycling and utilizing speed changes. Bronx plays a slow and controlled game with effective delayed offense, so you have to be on guard and ready to anticipate the next move. We joke they are ‘the Land of the Giants,’ whereas Queens is a fairly ‘vertically limited’ team in comparison.”

The idea of Queens playing this weekend and not in three weeks didn’t seem realistic early on in their battle with the Bombshells. Shortstop put up 48 of her team high 73 points in the early going, and soon, the ladies in black were up by nearly 50 points. Brooklyn was on the ropes, but not rattled.

“We were able to trust each other and our leadership that we were stronger than how we started the game,” D.A.R.Y.L. said.  “It only takes a jam or two to get back in the game, so we just kept our heads up and kept fighting.”

And while Queens aimed to put the nail in their rivals’ coffin, penalties allowed Brooklyn back in the game.  “We went into the game knowing we needed to remain calm and super focused to be able to pull off a win against the very challenging Brooklyn team,” Pinky said. “We were able to build a lead at the beginning, but as derby often proves, there is no such thing as a solid lead. Penalties, of course, are often what can win or lose a game. Even with getting lead 60 percent of the game, we had some trips to the penalty box that came at very critical moments, like during power jams, and we just weren't able to gain the traction we needed to jump ahead again.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

By the 20th jam of the bout, a 22-point effort from Miss Tea Maven gave Brooklyn an 87-73 lead,and while Queens superstar Suzy Hotrod put her squad up by 10 points at halftime, Brooklyn regained the advantage early in the second period and never let it go, setting up what should be a memorable championship game. Yet for the blue-clad bombshells, they expect it to be business as usual.

“I think that we're just going to keep doing what has been working for us,” D.A.R.Y.L. said. “Working hard, practicing our basic formations, and being mindful of penalties and staying clean.”   

PHOTO: ASA FRYE

QUEENS vs. BROOKLYN STATS

Queens 100 52 152

Brooklyn 90 89 179

Queens MVP – Pinky Swears

Brooklyn MVP – D.A.R.Y.L.

Leading Queens Scorers

Shortstop – 73 points (19 jams)

Suzy Hotrod – 72 points (20 jams)

Beauty Andie Beast – 7 points (6 jams)

Leading Queens Blockers

Puss ‘N Glutes – 31 jams (+20)

Livvie Smalls – 31 jams (-42)

Chopstick Murphy – 25 jams (+35)

Leading Brooklyn Scorers

Miss Tea Maven – 107 points (28 jams)

D.A.R.Y.L. – 51 points (14 jams)

Hela Skelter – 12 points (4 jams)

Leading Brooklyn Blockers

Sexy Slaydie – 37 jams (+89)

Lady Fingers – 28 jams (-13)

Papierschnitt – 25 jams (-30)

Queens Penalties

Minutes in Box: 35 Jammer Box Trips: 4

Brooklyn Penalties

Minutes in Box: 30 Jammer Box Trips: 4

Stats compiled via Rinxter

1 2 F

Mayhem in Coney Island, as Manhattan Earns Title Shot

By Thomas Gerbasi

First, the Manhattan Mayhem put a dent in Queens’ hopes for a return trip to the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league championship game. Then on July 16 at Abe Stark Arena in Coney Island, the orange-clad ladies put the stamp on their own ticket to the title bout with a 140-119 victory over the Bronx Gridlock.

The win capped off a 2-1 regular season for the Mayhem and sets up a showdown with the defending champs, the Brooklyn Bombshells, for the Golden Skate trophy on August 27 at John Jay College in NYC.

“Brooklyn vs. Manhattan is always a very physical game, but I think that the winner of that game will come down to who wins the mental game, which team remains the most calm,” said Manhattan MVP Veronica Ache. “During the season opener with Brooklyn, our team really struggled with penalties.  We have been working throughout the season to clean up our game and stay out of the box.  Our last two games, our penalties significantly dropped and no one fouled out during our last game.  Hopefully, we can carry that on to the championship bout.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

In that season opener, Brooklyn outlasted the Mayhem 153-148 instant classic. The Bombshells went on to win their next two and wrap up an unbeaten season, while Manhattan was forced into must-wins in their final two bouts. They fulfilled their end of the bargain, with the win over the Gridlock cementing their championship game slot.      

“The key to our victory against the Bronx was our ability to focus on playing our game and not be ruffled by their offense,” Ache said. “We knew that the Bronx had been playing a great deal of offense all season long, especially off the line.  So, we knew we just had to ignore their offense, step in front of it, give them a little bump back and focus on maintaining our strong four wall to contain their jammers, so that our jammers would have time to work and get free. Also, our chance to go to the championships was on the line during the bout, and I think that drove everyone to push harder and really lock it down.”        

Jumping out to a 20-0 lead thanks to Bruzin Brody’s efforts in the first jam of the game, Manhattan soon had to hold off a ferocious charge from the gutsy Gridlock, who were seeking their first win of the year. Kate Sera Sera put the Bronx ahead 33-24, but penalties would eventually allow Manhattan to soar ahead and stay there.

There would be one more big push in the second half, as the Gridlock cut the Mayhem lead to two thanks to a 43-10 run, but Manhattan got back on track and locked things down defensively in order to secure the victory. The loss put the cabbies at 0-3 for the 2016 regular season, but they never stopped fighting.  

“Gridlock's biggest takeaway from 2016 is our incredible potential,” said team MVP Fast and Luce. “We have had a taste of the success that comes with teamwork and dedication, and we definitely want more. The fight and heart that was with us every second of the season is exactly the spirit we are ready to lead with moving forward. We are ready to come into our own next season, building upon the solid foundation we have laid down throughout the year. I'm confident when I say we are more unified than ever before, which is going to be a key factor in the Cabbies' rise to power.” 

PHOTO: SEAN HALE

Unlike previous seasons, the teams that didn’t earn a place in the title game will get one more shot in this Saturday’s third-place bout, with the Gridlock facing the Queens of Pain.

“Fans can expect a fast-paced bout with a well-matched defensive performance,” Luce said. “Queens is an excellent opponent, and we look forward to the rematch.” Then three weeks later, it’s another rematch. This one is for all the marbles. Just the way Manhattan likes it.

“I am really glad how it played out,” Ache said. “It feels great to go into the championship bout and have a rematch against Brooklyn.”      

PHOTO: ASA FRYE

MANHATTAN vs. BRONX STATS

Manhattan 83 57 140

Bronx 62 57 119

Manhattan MVP – Veronica Ache

Bronx MVP – Fast and Luce

Leading Manhattan Scorers

Bruzin Brody – 47 points (11 jams)

J Rod – 42 points (12 jams)

Em Dash – 41 points (10 jams)

Leading Manhattan Blockers

Roxy Dallas – 22 jams (+48)

Bonita Apple Bomb – 22 jams (+21)

Sunshine Skate – 21 jams (+19)

Leading Bronx Scorers

Kate Sera Sera – 63 points (10 jams)

Legs / Cite – 21 points (5 jams)

Big Banger – 19 points (10 jams)

Leading Bronx Blockers

Fast and Luce – 19 jams (-33)

Caf Fiend – 19 jams (-34)

Cherry Napalm -17 jams (+11)

Manhattan Penalties

1 2 F

Minutes in Box: 34 Jammer Box Trips: 5

Bronx Penalties

Minutes in Box: 46 Jammer Box Trips: 10

Stats compiled via Rinxter

Manhattan and the Bronx Fight to Own the Track in Coney Island

By Thomas Gerbasi

Heading into the final weekend of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby’s home team regular season before the championship and third place games, a cut-and- dried title matchup between Brooklyn and Queens got a shake up when the Manhattan Mayhem upset Queens on June 11.

For the Mayhem’s Full Metal Jackie, she knew what was going to happen the moment she stepped into the locker room at John Jay College. And it had nothing to do with the idea of “staying alive” in the title race.

“When you say something like we need it in order to stay alive, that evokes a lot of desperation,” she said. “There is that reality, but I think fortunately, we didn’t allow ourselves to have that infiltrate that team mentality or even let it be recognized. Coming into that game and walking into the locker room and seeing my team’s faces staring back at me, there was a sense of calm and reassurance and an understanding that we have to get this done. That’s it. There was a goal, we had to achieve it, and there wasn’t any other way.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

Sixty minutes later, Manhattan skated away with a 192-187 win, and heading into this Saturday’s matchup with the Bronx Gridlock at Abe Stark Arena in Coney Island, another pivotal win could produce a three-way tie for two title bout spots, pending the outcome of the other doubleheader bout between Brooklyn and Queens.

That’s a lot to play for when it comes to the top three squads in the standings, but what of the Gridlock, who sit outside of the title party but have not played like it in their first two bouts, showing the parity of the league in 2016. It’s frustrating, but as Bronx standout Fast and Luce points out, that’s part of the gig as a GGRD skater.

“Every team has taken its turn rebuilding, growing, coming to a peak and then going through the cycle again, so that’s something we always keep in mind with the Bronx,” she said. “At this point, I think we’re really just trying to play the best game that we can play. We find a lot of success in scrimmages every week. I think the public games that we play only a few times a year are only part of the story for the Bronx. And I think that we’re just now realizing that when we play well and we play together, then that feels good and it feels like winning and that’s our main focus for how we’re preparing to go into this game against Mayhem.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

Saddled with an 0-2 slate heading into this bout, the Gridlock have not won a game since defeating Brooklyn in May of 2014. It’s been a painful drought, but one that the cabbies aren’t focusing on heading into the weekend, simply because they can erase that streak with a victory against Manhattan.

“We’re definitely a team that plays with a lot of heart, we give a hundred percent in every game and I think that we always go in with the hope that our work will pay off in that moment,” Luce said. “But it’s also derby and games go the way that they go, so it is a difficult thing to kind of pick your head up after a game time after time and experience so many losses in these last couple seasons. But if we feel that we play well and play our best and are together on the track and we’re executing all the things that we work on in practice, then you have to take away what you can from it, and leave the rest on the track.”

And would a win mark 2016 as a success?

“A win on Saturday would mean that we have improved over the season, that we looked at how we were performing in previous bouts and that we worked on specific goals in practice to get better as a team,” she said. “And I think anytime you’re successful at that - and a win this Saturday would absolutely tell us that we were successful in that way - we can go away from this season being happy with it. I think it would be a great wrap-up to the season if we could say that we pulled through in the end.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

The Mayhem are in a different place than the Gridlock though, and they have a different goal. In other words, they want to be playing someone on August 27 with the Golden Skate Trophy on the line. Does Metal have a preference if they make it that far?

“My preference is to play the most competitive and the most highly skilled team,” she said. “The team coming out of that game (Brooklyn vs. Queens) victorious is the obvious answer, so I’m looking forward to seeing who walks away from that, and I’m looking forward to playing them and beating them.”

But first, there’s the Gridlock, a squad whose championship game is a day away. “When preparing for Mayhem, we really have just been focusing on being prepared for their offensive skills and I think that both teams have good defense, so you can expect to see that matching up,” Luce said. “We always look to try to keep it calm and collected and Mayhem is a very chaos-driven team, with their offensive plays especially, so the Bronx is focusing more on the opposite of that and keeping cool and together on the track.”

Mayhem is fine with that, and if you think they’re focused on the end of August, think again. They’re just looking at taking it two minutes at a time, starting tomorrow night. “The game is just a series of two-minute segments, and how you play those two minutes and what you do in those two minutes can affect all your teammates,” Metal said. “So we try to play our hardest and our best for them. It’s all about concentration and where you allow your concentration to focus emotionally and physically. Going into this game, we’re focusing on each other and how we play. I feel that for any team, you are playing the way your team has been trained. If Bronx plays Manhattan’s style, then we will absolutely take it as a win and walk away victorious. But that’s always the biggest challenge – owning the track.”

More Coney Island Fireworks Expected in Brooklyn-Queens Clash

By Thomas Gerbasi

This Saturday’s Coney Island showdown between the defending Gotham Girls Roller Derby league champion Brooklyn Bombshells and the Queens of Pain at Abe Stark Arena was expected to be a clash of unbeatens that previews the August 27 home team title game.

Then Manhattan got in the way, defeating Queens in June and setting up the possibility of a three-way tie at the top pending the results of Saturday’s doubleheader. While it wasn’t a shock that Queens went from 1-0 to 1-1, it was a disappointment for the team and co-captain Livvie Smalls.

“We were disappointed because, of course, we wanted to win, but I don’t think we were surprised,” she said. “Everyone was pretty aware this year that the teams were closer than even they have been in recent years and that on any given game day, any team could rise up. We also know that Manhattan’s always a tough team, and I really feel like they step up when they play Queens so we definitely would have liked to win, but to say that we were surprised that they fought so hard, we’re never surprised at that.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

It’s a classy attitude to have, but at the same time, it does throw this weekend’s game into a new light. If both teams entered at 2-0, it would be an opportunity to perhaps test out some new strategies, get some bench players some more track time, and basically stay sharp for the title bout. Now, it’s a must win game. But as Livvie points out, with only three home games per season, every trip to the track is a must win.

“We play so few games that, in a way, we try to put all our energy into every single game,” she said. “There’s added pressure, but we want to be in that finals game and we want to win that finals game. So we want to lay the groundwork to show Brooklyn what they’re going to be up against and we want to win. I think we would have wanted to win anyway, but the added pressure is undeniable.”

As for the Bombshells, 2016 has basically been a continuation of 2015 – Eat, Sleep, Dominate, Repeat. Looking as good as they ever have, the team appears to be on their way to another title bout and, if they have their way, a repeat as champions. But one chat with All-Star jammer Miss Tea Maven and you’ll understand that their key to victory thus far has been staying humble.

“I don’t think we think we’re the greatest,” Maven said. “This league is so talented and every game is anybody’s game. A lot of times, it just depends on if the other team can play their game or not. And if both teams are on their game, it’s one or two points difference. So we need to stay humble in order to keep playing the game that we know and love to play. And another big contributing factor is our leadership. Our three captains do a fantastic job of organizing us and keeping us calm. We focus on the now and the moment, and once it gets closer to game time, we focus on what we need to do in that game. So while we’re proud of our accomplishments, it’s never a driving force, and it keeps us humble.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

What both teams can agree on though, is that Brooklyn vs. Queens always ends up being a special bout, filled with hard hits, high-scoring jams and Cyclone-worthy ups and downs. As such, don’t expect either team to come in mentally unprepared.

“I think we’ve been mentally preparing for this for a while, pretty much straightaway since the Manhattan game, and it definitely feels like we’re in the mental place that we want to be,” Livvie said. “The biggest thing for us is that when we’ve been playing together, we looked fantastic and were a challenge for any of the home teams. So mentally, we’ve really tried to focus on having Queens look inside, rather than looking too much at what Brooklyn’s going to do, play our game, play together, and stay out of the box.”

“Every game is a new game, every jam is a new jam,” Maven added. “Every time I take the line, it’s 0-0. If we win our next game, then we’re absolutely in, but we’re not guaranteed at this point. So everyone’s gunning for everybody.”

As the favorites though, does Maven have a preference if Brooklyn makes it to the Big Dance? “We’re going to be ready for any team at any time,” she said. “So I don’t know if we have a preference. Each team has its own unique style of play. Manhattan is much stronger and has a hard-hitting, aggressive style of play, and Queens is a lot slower, but controlled, and they recycle really well and they use a more strategic style, so it’s more organized. But Manhattan is one of the most intense teams you can play.”

PHOTO: DAVID DYTE

In other words, it doesn’t matter. Just bring ‘em on. And should Brooklyn become the first team to repeat as GGRD home team champions since the Bronx Gridlock did it in 2009-10, what would that mean for the Bombshells?

“When we repeat as champions, I’m just going to look at the team and say, ‘All right, now we’re going to be the first team ever to win three in a row.’”