This last weekend was a big wow in many ways because of the exciting events that took place on not just Saturday but also took place on Sunday and Monday. I think you will agree with me that there's something special about roller derby in Arizona.
AZRD
So were you there? Why not? You missed out on a great season opener as the BRUISERS took on the BRAWLARINAS. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am very jazzed over us having DENISE LIGHTNING back in Arizona! That Bruiser team was on fire last Saturday night. In addition to Denise, you also had SHIRLEY DEMISE and SHEDONIST who were contributing to a Brusier victory. For the Brawlarinas, they played in many was, like the Brawlarinas. I have noticed in the past, the Brawlies will score early in the game, go through a slump and then try to rally near the end. This is exactly what happened in this bout. The Brawlas would score 29 points in the first half and go into a scoring slump until 20 minutes in the second half when jammer CERTIFIED LUNA CHICK put some Brawla points on the board. Near the end, FRENCH LYCK would take advantage of the penalties to lessen the spread and get another 29 points in the second half. If this game was split into three periods, I believe the Brawlies would have received 22 in the first period, 7 in the second period and 29 in the third. As I mentioned in the bout summary, this season is really young. One of the things that I missed from my bout summary but was mentioned in BRET DIESEL's blog was about a report that A WHACKS QUEEN of the Brawlarinas was ejected from the bout for a hit on Shedonist. I don't have the full info on this and while the clarity of the announcers for this Castle bout was better than a typical Dames bout, I remember the announcers possibly giving some information near the end of the game, but it was still a bit hard to hear. This is not an issue with the league, it is with the Castle. While I am personally a little disappointed about the no-video rule that AZRD has imposed, I can tell you as an advisor to a nationwide organization that their reasons are totally understandable, especially since I have released jam-by-jam coverage. Honestly, I would have liked to see an agreement with AZRD where I can shoot video with a release and there be a restriction on what I can release (e.g. no more than 5 minutes of any single bout). If you all want to talk, I'm all ears. Oh by the way, for those who were there, didn't Bret look cute in purple? Thanks again to AZRD for your hospitality. The changes were definitely for the better!
Now, we have the next task at hand. The TENT CITY TERRORS will be traveling to Portland to take on the ROSE CITY ROLLERS. I wish our TCTs the best of luck on this bout. With the recent Tucson outcome (which we will talk about), let's hope this good kharma rubs off on AZRD.
TUCSON
Well, the bout that we all knew about was the SADDLETRAMPS vs. the CARLOINA ROLLERGIRLS. In which, TRD took a loss to in a low scoring game. But what we did not even know about was there was a second bout last Sunday against DOMINION ROLLER DERBY, where TRD beat the 22 ranked team by a score of 144-51. Congratulations to TRD for this surprise win. The Tramps return to Bladeworld to take on PHILLY ROLLER GIRLS on September 27 just prior to the BATTLE ROYALE WFTDA regional tournament in Houston. Oh, our special heartfelt wishes go to Dominion, who had to turn down their inviation to the Eastern Regional tournament in Madison, WI due to lack of funds and a lack of a travel roster that is willing and/or able to travel.
RENEGADES
One of the things that I love about the roller derby scene in Arizona is the "sub-sub-cultures" of the sport, especially where it comes to the arts. We have a lot of creative people directly or indirectly involved in derby here. The Arizona Renegades recently did a photoshoot for ICANSMELLYOURBRAINS.COM, a horror movie enthusiast site. The photoshoot was done by ANDY HARTMARK who did an excellent job capturing the girls in the various themes of the shots. The Renegades appeared as "gore girls" for the film website. Again, great job to the Renegades and Andy.
DAMES
What else can I say, except Beauties over Scrappers by 50-70 and Brides over Draggers by 30-50. We'll talk about the Dames October events next week.
VFRD
VFRD has a nice temporary logo now. It's a Phoenix outlined by an Arizona flag.
Recovered from MCRSP records, December 4, 2025.
