There are so many things in Google reader because I haven't checked it in a couple of days. I honestly haven't had time, and given how easily I get sucked into the computer, for me not to have time means I must have been very busy. Given the whirlwind that last week was in general and add to that a weekend of roller derby and I'm surprised there are as few things there as there are.
Speaking of roller derby, the team from the western end of the state won all their bouts while the team from the eastern end of the state won only one. The team from the middle of the state lost both their A team bouts, but they won against a team of mostly rookies from the eastern end combined with some skaters from the northeast corner who don't quite have enough skaters to form a team, essentially rookies.
A scrimmage bout that was part of the weekend saw me cheering on some girls I'd only cheered against as well as sitting and cheering with some girls I'd only cheered against. As part of the weekend we had several scrimmage games with the teams made up of a mixture of girls from all teams. We had tattooed girls versus clean slates, for example, but the game I cheered the most was gay versus straight. I think you can imagine who I cheered for, and when family won I declared it a moment of proof of gay cultural superiority, whether or not it really was.
To my credit, I drank a lot less this weekend that I would have in the past. For some reason, hanging out with a hot boy who just doesn't drink anywhere close to what I do has prodded me toward drinking less. That's so not a bad thing and one more reason to like this new boy.
And speaking of that, he's the other reason I've been a bit busy this past week. At some point I'm assuming we can all settle into some reasonable pattern, but just now I sort of like being caught up in all of this. It's a great kind of crazy.
Showing posts with label roller derby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roller derby. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
switching lanes
In derby related news we have a story that isn't nearly as new as it could be. My own place in the beautiful thing that is Hard Knox Roller Girls is changing. I've considered some different options lately, trying to decide what or even if I wanted in terms of derby.
Announcing derby has been fun, and I'm glad I got to do it. It will be interesting to see what the new guys have to say. I hope they take the time to think about it. I hope they know the game and can help people understand and appreciate derby. I think fan's ability to get the game is so important in making derby something that will be around.
Instead of a microphone I get a microphone and a camera. I get the camera either tonight or tomorrow or Wednesday. There's old(srsly old) bout footage on it now. The person who has the camera is uploading it and will get it to me tonight if it's done in time for the meeting at which she'll see and give it to Momma. If not then the camera may or may not show up by tomorrow, and if it's not, Wednesday is the key day. I have to figure out how to operate it, and with my techno slow style that takes time.
Also I have to figure out what I'm gonna do. I get a camera and get to walk around making video. We're going to post what I record on YouTube and possibly on the local version KnoxTube. There are much more professional people concerned with getting bout footage, so my job will be to find things worth watching, interview skaters and family and fans and refs. I hope it doesn't suck, and I hope the sound of my voice doesn't make me any more mental than I already am lately.
Whatever happens I'll try to post as I know more.
Announcing derby has been fun, and I'm glad I got to do it. It will be interesting to see what the new guys have to say. I hope they take the time to think about it. I hope they know the game and can help people understand and appreciate derby. I think fan's ability to get the game is so important in making derby something that will be around.
Instead of a microphone I get a microphone and a camera. I get the camera either tonight or tomorrow or Wednesday. There's old(srsly old) bout footage on it now. The person who has the camera is uploading it and will get it to me tonight if it's done in time for the meeting at which she'll see and give it to Momma. If not then the camera may or may not show up by tomorrow, and if it's not, Wednesday is the key day. I have to figure out how to operate it, and with my techno slow style that takes time.
Also I have to figure out what I'm gonna do. I get a camera and get to walk around making video. We're going to post what I record on YouTube and possibly on the local version KnoxTube. There are much more professional people concerned with getting bout footage, so my job will be to find things worth watching, interview skaters and family and fans and refs. I hope it doesn't suck, and I hope the sound of my voice doesn't make me any more mental than I already am lately.
Whatever happens I'll try to post as I know more.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
because you need to know
Hard Knox Roller Girls site is finally up and looks for real awesome. Go visit, check out all the cool things, buy some merchandise and most importantly, check out the schedule and start making plans to attend each and every bout. It's really the least you can do.
And because you need to know, someone is back. Momma attended practice last Wednesday and is so back that the derby world felt a bit of a tremor and still doesn't know if it was an earthquake or the return of one amazing jammer.
And because you need to know, someone is back. Momma attended practice last Wednesday and is so back that the derby world felt a bit of a tremor and still doesn't know if it was an earthquake or the return of one amazing jammer.
Monday, June 02, 2008
my mouth on t.v.
As mentioned, Hard Knox Roller Girls played a bout this past Saturday night. Unbeknownst to me, we had some fine folks from one of our local channel's news, and they featured roller derby where it belongs, with the rest of the sports.
Follow THIS LINK to see WATE feature barely any of me, just a little mouth in the beginning. You'll also see Momma and a friend cheering on our girls, Momma in the light green shirt matching our girls' Goblynn Green theme.
Also of note in the video, Tank Her A knocking down a jammer and Drop Dead Gorgeous easing effortlessly through the pack.
Also worth mentioning, look for more derby to make a comeback in the blog as Momma plans her own comeback to derby. Hard Knox is getting the Skull back! HIP! HIP! Fuck Yeah! HIP! HIP! Fuck Yeah!
Follow THIS LINK to see WATE feature barely any of me, just a little mouth in the beginning. You'll also see Momma and a friend cheering on our girls, Momma in the light green shirt matching our girls' Goblynn Green theme.
Also of note in the video, Tank Her A knocking down a jammer and Drop Dead Gorgeous easing effortlessly through the pack.
Also worth mentioning, look for more derby to make a comeback in the blog as Momma plans her own comeback to derby. Hard Knox is getting the Skull back! HIP! HIP! Fuck Yeah! HIP! HIP! Fuck Yeah!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
pissing people off . . . again
As seems to happen often enough, I pissed off at least three different people last night, though to their credit, two of them apologized for what was clearly their problem and not my own.
I'm not getting into too many specifics, but last night saw me behind the microphone once again announcing what was one hell of a roller derby bout. Though unable to gain the lead our much loved Hard Knox Roller Girls played amazingly.
So on to the pissing people off.
Apparently plenty of people seem to think I do a good job as announcer. I, in my typical pessimistic and cynical and self deprecating sort of way assume that they mean to say I do a good enough job or that I'm okay till they find someone at least as competent as me. It's this sort of thing I do where I have trouble having nice thoughts about myself and my abilities, but that's been covered often enough throughout the recent postings.
I've long had a problem with the reffing in roller derby bouts. I don't want to be the sour grapes guy and suggest anything other than that too many refs just don't seem to quite get the rules, and in any sport, if you give the athletes too much space, there will always be some that jump at the chance to take any advantage they can.
Many penalties were missed last night, and many attempts at rule breaking were missed. If you see someone attempt a trip but not succeed do you still punish the attempt? Is a baseball slide into someone's ankles as bad as trying but failing to baseball slide into someone's ankles?
Over the time I've been announcing for HKRG I've gotten more comfortable with what I'm doing, and sometimes I see things that the refs apparently missed, like the cheap shot into the back while the skater getting hit was already out of bounds. Yeah, the ref completely missed two fouls at once, but I didn't, and I told our fans about it.
Part of announcing for me is to inform the fans as much as possible about roller derby. It is new to so many of them, and if you are not familiar with the sport you may well see it as a huge nearly free for all of speed and skates and cute girls and hits. But it's my job to set you straight, to let you know that it is a sport, that there are rules, that regardless of what the refs do we can inform ourselves of the rules and demand better.
Two different refs and one of the opposing skaters, at different times, demanded that I stop calling penalties. I informed the refs that I was just doing my job of announcing and went so far as to tell one of the refs that if they weren't going to call the fouls then not to get mad at me when I did. I'm personally sick of seeing derby being degraded by teams/skaters flaunting the rules and making it unfair and unsafe.
The third person to demand I halt my calls was the skater from the other team. The irony of this is that she was in the penalty box when she shouted at me. My answer was quite simple. I told her that if she wanted me to stop calling fouls then maybe she should stop committing them. She was one of the three to apologize after the bout was finally over. We hugged and commiserated and had some laughs together at the after party. She's an amazing skater and one of her team's best, so it really sucks that she can't manage to stay within twenty feet of the pack.
And that's my story. I roll through life in a pissing-people-off sort of way. Or so it seems. Maybe that's part of me coming off as an asshole. Maybe I'll look into that one day.
or not
I'm not getting into too many specifics, but last night saw me behind the microphone once again announcing what was one hell of a roller derby bout. Though unable to gain the lead our much loved Hard Knox Roller Girls played amazingly.
So on to the pissing people off.
Apparently plenty of people seem to think I do a good job as announcer. I, in my typical pessimistic and cynical and self deprecating sort of way assume that they mean to say I do a good enough job or that I'm okay till they find someone at least as competent as me. It's this sort of thing I do where I have trouble having nice thoughts about myself and my abilities, but that's been covered often enough throughout the recent postings.
I've long had a problem with the reffing in roller derby bouts. I don't want to be the sour grapes guy and suggest anything other than that too many refs just don't seem to quite get the rules, and in any sport, if you give the athletes too much space, there will always be some that jump at the chance to take any advantage they can.
Many penalties were missed last night, and many attempts at rule breaking were missed. If you see someone attempt a trip but not succeed do you still punish the attempt? Is a baseball slide into someone's ankles as bad as trying but failing to baseball slide into someone's ankles?
Over the time I've been announcing for HKRG I've gotten more comfortable with what I'm doing, and sometimes I see things that the refs apparently missed, like the cheap shot into the back while the skater getting hit was already out of bounds. Yeah, the ref completely missed two fouls at once, but I didn't, and I told our fans about it.
Part of announcing for me is to inform the fans as much as possible about roller derby. It is new to so many of them, and if you are not familiar with the sport you may well see it as a huge nearly free for all of speed and skates and cute girls and hits. But it's my job to set you straight, to let you know that it is a sport, that there are rules, that regardless of what the refs do we can inform ourselves of the rules and demand better.
Two different refs and one of the opposing skaters, at different times, demanded that I stop calling penalties. I informed the refs that I was just doing my job of announcing and went so far as to tell one of the refs that if they weren't going to call the fouls then not to get mad at me when I did. I'm personally sick of seeing derby being degraded by teams/skaters flaunting the rules and making it unfair and unsafe.
The third person to demand I halt my calls was the skater from the other team. The irony of this is that she was in the penalty box when she shouted at me. My answer was quite simple. I told her that if she wanted me to stop calling fouls then maybe she should stop committing them. She was one of the three to apologize after the bout was finally over. We hugged and commiserated and had some laughs together at the after party. She's an amazing skater and one of her team's best, so it really sucks that she can't manage to stay within twenty feet of the pack.
And that's my story. I roll through life in a pissing-people-off sort of way. Or so it seems. Maybe that's part of me coming off as an asshole. Maybe I'll look into that one day.
or not
Sunday, April 20, 2008
the roof, the roof
The roof of my mouth, while not on fire, has a certain hurtiness about it. I'm quite sure I know why this is. I spent a large portion of yesterday yelling and or talking loudly.
As per usual for our eight week spring soccer season I was at the fields only slightly late. Along with The Boy one other of my U6's showed up for the game, and the opposing coach was happy to agree that we'd play two versus two. We made it through two thirds of the game before The Boy decided he'd had enough. No amount of urging would compel him to continue playing, and once again the opposing coach was obliging. His team was being absolutely creamed by my guys, though to be fair, The Boy never does really give an entire shit about playing soccer as opposed to just playing, so the other team was actually being quite handled by only one of my guys. I was doing everything in my power to slow him down, and by the end of the game he was doing everything in his power to get the ball to The Boy, however, as I've mentioned, The Boy just doesn't have it in him.
Game two, U10's. We had enough time between games yesterday to run to Burger King (no need to point out the ridiculousness of fast food on soccer day thank you very much) and speed back to the fields.
Where to start on this game? Most of the goals score by the other team were goals my guys should have stopped. How do you get eight and nine year olds to be more aggressive on defense? We certainly could have won this game if I could instill in my team the usefulness of working on passing and shooting with your left as well as right foot, and perhaps this game will be a good way to work on that in our practices this week. We missed at least three goals because the shot was from the left of the goal and taken with the right foot. The kid that missed them has an excellent foot on him and is the same kid that could have scored from the half line earlier in the season.
To their credit, my U10's mostly stayed nearly in position and bunched up much less than usual. They actually passed the ball a number of times and showed us some beautiful plays involving multiple passes. I was immensely proud of the work they did and the fact that they are slowly starting to learn.
We had a couple of hours between soccer and roller derby, too much of which I spent taking a nap. I may have mentioned in the past my disdain for naps as well as my need to not take them. I only ever wake up disoriented and slightly irritated, not exactly the purpose of a nap, and they never seem to be the least bit restful to me.
The bout was exciting even if Hard Knox lost to Memphis 110-55. I'll try to only say nice things, and this is generally my goal as an announcer, to only say nice things. Last night was just hard on a person who attempts to say only nice things.
The highlights of the evening-record ticket sales, record merchandise sales, new location proved we can bring a good crowd of mostly new fans. Word of mouth should make our next bout even bigger. The new location issues that were of concern seem to have been handled handily by support staff/volunteers/husbands and boyfriends and girlfriends of our derby girls. Several of our new skaters are a little less new, perhaps one could say even a little less virginal in that they've skated in a bout against a truly powerful team.
The not so highlights-someone didn't seem to have brought their B team to play our B team. I'm not sure exactly what makes ours a B team because we did have a few of our stronger skaters on the track, but for the most part we seemed to be giving some of the newer and less experienced skaters their chance. As someone pointed out at the after party though, no one drives six hours to lose.
A final highlight-derby is awesome, and I love the way it brings people together. As I mentioned at some point in my announcing, there's nothing like derby to bring the two ends of our lovely state together. And there's a certain something special when, during a timeout for the referees to huddle and discuss referee stuff, watching as the pack dances to the music, girls in Memphis red and Hard Knox green doing a family friendly bit of bump and grind. And they call it derby love.
And so I shouted and hollered and yelled and spoke loudly into a microphone all day. I'm sure I spent some amount of time at the after party being a vociferous bit of an ass. It's cool, but damn if the roof of my mouth isn't just a little hurty today. My throat is tiny bit raspy, but having been an announcer and slightly less a fan, at least I wasn't screaming then and voiceless now.
Oh, and the final, final highlight, the beefcake card. Being a boy, I'm obviously not allowed to join in the coo tag game our skaters so love to share, so when one of our skaters gave me my beefcake card I felt inclined to share. She had brought and was passing out a deck of playing cards which featured mostly nude male models. She was kind enough to let me pick my own, so I was lucky enough to end up with the one that wasn't wearing bondage apparel.
The trick is to not make a huge point of the card but to hold it just obviously and wait. Soon enough the victim looks over and aaaaaaaagggggggghhhhhhhhh they realize they've just seen a cock. Is it only gay men that enjoy seeing cock? Straight men and lesbians I can understand, and they are obviously the most fun targets of this game, but one would think at least a couple of the straight ladies would mind a little less.
As per usual for our eight week spring soccer season I was at the fields only slightly late. Along with The Boy one other of my U6's showed up for the game, and the opposing coach was happy to agree that we'd play two versus two. We made it through two thirds of the game before The Boy decided he'd had enough. No amount of urging would compel him to continue playing, and once again the opposing coach was obliging. His team was being absolutely creamed by my guys, though to be fair, The Boy never does really give an entire shit about playing soccer as opposed to just playing, so the other team was actually being quite handled by only one of my guys. I was doing everything in my power to slow him down, and by the end of the game he was doing everything in his power to get the ball to The Boy, however, as I've mentioned, The Boy just doesn't have it in him.
Game two, U10's. We had enough time between games yesterday to run to Burger King (no need to point out the ridiculousness of fast food on soccer day thank you very much) and speed back to the fields.
Where to start on this game? Most of the goals score by the other team were goals my guys should have stopped. How do you get eight and nine year olds to be more aggressive on defense? We certainly could have won this game if I could instill in my team the usefulness of working on passing and shooting with your left as well as right foot, and perhaps this game will be a good way to work on that in our practices this week. We missed at least three goals because the shot was from the left of the goal and taken with the right foot. The kid that missed them has an excellent foot on him and is the same kid that could have scored from the half line earlier in the season.
To their credit, my U10's mostly stayed nearly in position and bunched up much less than usual. They actually passed the ball a number of times and showed us some beautiful plays involving multiple passes. I was immensely proud of the work they did and the fact that they are slowly starting to learn.
We had a couple of hours between soccer and roller derby, too much of which I spent taking a nap. I may have mentioned in the past my disdain for naps as well as my need to not take them. I only ever wake up disoriented and slightly irritated, not exactly the purpose of a nap, and they never seem to be the least bit restful to me.
The bout was exciting even if Hard Knox lost to Memphis 110-55. I'll try to only say nice things, and this is generally my goal as an announcer, to only say nice things. Last night was just hard on a person who attempts to say only nice things.
The highlights of the evening-record ticket sales, record merchandise sales, new location proved we can bring a good crowd of mostly new fans. Word of mouth should make our next bout even bigger. The new location issues that were of concern seem to have been handled handily by support staff/volunteers/husbands and boyfriends and girlfriends of our derby girls. Several of our new skaters are a little less new, perhaps one could say even a little less virginal in that they've skated in a bout against a truly powerful team.
The not so highlights-someone didn't seem to have brought their B team to play our B team. I'm not sure exactly what makes ours a B team because we did have a few of our stronger skaters on the track, but for the most part we seemed to be giving some of the newer and less experienced skaters their chance. As someone pointed out at the after party though, no one drives six hours to lose.
A final highlight-derby is awesome, and I love the way it brings people together. As I mentioned at some point in my announcing, there's nothing like derby to bring the two ends of our lovely state together. And there's a certain something special when, during a timeout for the referees to huddle and discuss referee stuff, watching as the pack dances to the music, girls in Memphis red and Hard Knox green doing a family friendly bit of bump and grind. And they call it derby love.
And so I shouted and hollered and yelled and spoke loudly into a microphone all day. I'm sure I spent some amount of time at the after party being a vociferous bit of an ass. It's cool, but damn if the roof of my mouth isn't just a little hurty today. My throat is tiny bit raspy, but having been an announcer and slightly less a fan, at least I wasn't screaming then and voiceless now.
Oh, and the final, final highlight, the beefcake card. Being a boy, I'm obviously not allowed to join in the coo tag game our skaters so love to share, so when one of our skaters gave me my beefcake card I felt inclined to share. She had brought and was passing out a deck of playing cards which featured mostly nude male models. She was kind enough to let me pick my own, so I was lucky enough to end up with the one that wasn't wearing bondage apparel.
The trick is to not make a huge point of the card but to hold it just obviously and wait. Soon enough the victim looks over and aaaaaaaagggggggghhhhhhhhh they realize they've just seen a cock. Is it only gay men that enjoy seeing cock? Straight men and lesbians I can understand, and they are obviously the most fun targets of this game, but one would think at least a couple of the straight ladies would mind a little less.
Monday, April 14, 2008
derby hits downtown k-town
This should have made it to the blog when I first learned about it, but negligent blogger that I've become, I'm just now finding my way to posting.
Hard Knox Roller Girls have had a couple of homes, each with their pros and cons. We're now looking forward to a bout this Saturday, April 19, and the ladies are hitting downtown, literally.
HKRG will be playing Memphis, I believe the B teams from both leagues, and it's happening in the old convention center under the Days Inn on Henley Street. You heard right, down-frickin-town.
Visit Brown Paper Tickets to preorder tickets for ten dollars or show up at the door for fifteen dollar tickets. Better yet, show up with five cans of food for Second Harvest Food Bank and get five bucks knocked off your ticket price and help feed some families that could use a little help. Kids under three are free, while kids three to five are only five dollars. Afterward, join the ladies at Sassy Anns to, hopefully, celebrate yet another win.
As usual, yours truly will be doing the announcing with a little help from Memphis' announcer. I haven't worked with another announcer before, so I look forward to meeting her, and I hope working with her can help me be a better announcer.
So, friends and neighbors, and anyone within the sound of this broadcast, put on your girdle, glue in your weave, pull out your big foam fingers and come on down.
Hard Knox Roller Girls have had a couple of homes, each with their pros and cons. We're now looking forward to a bout this Saturday, April 19, and the ladies are hitting downtown, literally.
HKRG will be playing Memphis, I believe the B teams from both leagues, and it's happening in the old convention center under the Days Inn on Henley Street. You heard right, down-frickin-town.
Visit Brown Paper Tickets to preorder tickets for ten dollars or show up at the door for fifteen dollar tickets. Better yet, show up with five cans of food for Second Harvest Food Bank and get five bucks knocked off your ticket price and help feed some families that could use a little help. Kids under three are free, while kids three to five are only five dollars. Afterward, join the ladies at Sassy Anns to, hopefully, celebrate yet another win.
As usual, yours truly will be doing the announcing with a little help from Memphis' announcer. I haven't worked with another announcer before, so I look forward to meeting her, and I hope working with her can help me be a better announcer.
So, friends and neighbors, and anyone within the sound of this broadcast, put on your girdle, glue in your weave, pull out your big foam fingers and come on down.
Friday, February 22, 2008
this blog still active
Was it the cold moonlight soccer practice that ended up with me getting more exercise in one hour than I've had since the last soccer practice of the fall season? Is it the combination of beer and cigarettes and perhaps some other smoked substance drug addling me good? Is it the complete sitting here alone with no noise but the dog rolling and huffing in the floor?
Something is working to make me slightly less maudlin and depressed than I've been lately. It would be nice if this were more than a one night thing, but recently, that premise is highly doubtful.
We spent this past weekend in Nashville, or more honestly, we spent most of it in Clarksville, about forty five minutes northish of Nashville. We were in middle TN for roller derby.
I'm sure everyone has missed the roller derby talk. This bout was the season opener for HKRG, so expect me to at least have that to post about eventually. Our team won, tearing each point from their scrabbling hands. It was one of the most amazing bouts I've seen, though had Momma been skating it would likely have been a slightly easier win. Though she wasn't not skating for a bad reason, that's it's own story for some other time.
In that purest if cheesiest of sports moments, the bout was won in the final jam. Nashville was up thirty points as the first period ended. By the end of the second period, our side had whittled that lead down to nothing. Knoxville took the win in the final jam with a final score of seventy eight to seventy seven. It was freakin' sweet.
The annoying twist from the weekend involves me realizing that I have an extremely stupid crush on someone I've seen three times in the last year and a half, someone I've seen across a rink more times than I've spoken to him. I may have said "hi" and/or introduced myself once. It has been roller derby related each time. I can't say I actually know him, and I live at least three hours away.
It's stupid. It makes no sense.
The first meeting was in my town and was most certainly in my bury/ignore being gay days. I noticed him and liked what I saw, but I wasn't in a place where I was going to do anything about it. You could say I got a little stuck on him, though I didn't really realize it at the time. The next time I saw him was in his town. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually talk to him, but I did see him, and I remembered the first time and was still stuck. This would have been between learning of Momma's infidelity but before my own acceptance of me, a really weird time. I saw him again recently, somewhat after having come out and accepted that I do like the fellows, and for some reason I got really stuck, completely based on seeing him in the crowd a few times. It was a classic moment filled with instances of "did he look at me or catch me looking at him?"
It's stupid. There's no sense in it. It's irritating the living shit out of me, like I've once more found a helluva way to go right back to sixteen years old. Damn! and sigh . . .
Something is working to make me slightly less maudlin and depressed than I've been lately. It would be nice if this were more than a one night thing, but recently, that premise is highly doubtful.
We spent this past weekend in Nashville, or more honestly, we spent most of it in Clarksville, about forty five minutes northish of Nashville. We were in middle TN for roller derby.
I'm sure everyone has missed the roller derby talk. This bout was the season opener for HKRG, so expect me to at least have that to post about eventually. Our team won, tearing each point from their scrabbling hands. It was one of the most amazing bouts I've seen, though had Momma been skating it would likely have been a slightly easier win. Though she wasn't not skating for a bad reason, that's it's own story for some other time.
In that purest if cheesiest of sports moments, the bout was won in the final jam. Nashville was up thirty points as the first period ended. By the end of the second period, our side had whittled that lead down to nothing. Knoxville took the win in the final jam with a final score of seventy eight to seventy seven. It was freakin' sweet.
The annoying twist from the weekend involves me realizing that I have an extremely stupid crush on someone I've seen three times in the last year and a half, someone I've seen across a rink more times than I've spoken to him. I may have said "hi" and/or introduced myself once. It has been roller derby related each time. I can't say I actually know him, and I live at least three hours away.
It's stupid. It makes no sense.
The first meeting was in my town and was most certainly in my bury/ignore being gay days. I noticed him and liked what I saw, but I wasn't in a place where I was going to do anything about it. You could say I got a little stuck on him, though I didn't really realize it at the time. The next time I saw him was in his town. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually talk to him, but I did see him, and I remembered the first time and was still stuck. This would have been between learning of Momma's infidelity but before my own acceptance of me, a really weird time. I saw him again recently, somewhat after having come out and accepted that I do like the fellows, and for some reason I got really stuck, completely based on seeing him in the crowd a few times. It was a classic moment filled with instances of "did he look at me or catch me looking at him?"
It's stupid. There's no sense in it. It's irritating the living shit out of me, like I've once more found a helluva way to go right back to sixteen years old. Damn! and sigh . . .
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
bad derby blogger
Haven't you missed hearing about roller derby? Aren't you just dying to know what the fabulous ladies of Hard Knox are up to?
There are a couple of stories in this post, one of which involves Momma leaving Hard Knox for another local league, a very small and just getting started league. She left for a couple of personal reasons that didn't make it easier, and she worries often that she might should regret the decision. I think in the end it really will be for the best, but change is often hard no matter how much we might need it.
She left with the best intentions to maintain a good relationship with the league, and we remain close friends with so many people we met. In addition we plan to work to maintain good relations between the two leagues.
As long as they'll have me, I plan to continue to announce for Hard Knox. And I get that chance in just a few (too short) hours. Tonight's bout is a scrimmage as the team prepares for the season opener in one week in Nashville. Momma has been planning on our driving out with the team to provide support and hollering as well as to see a couple of friends we've missed greatly. I'm not sure if we'll have the money to make the trip, and I don't know if we'll have the money for tickets either.
And that's a quick run down of our derby life as it stands. Look for more in the future and hope that I'm not a bad blogger and can get a message up earlier than the day of.
And finally, if you live in or around Knoxville and need something to do tonight, come out and see us at Skatetown on Broadway. Doors open at seven with the bout starting at seven thirty. Tickets are only five dollars, and it's a great time for the youngest kids to the oldest kids.
There are a couple of stories in this post, one of which involves Momma leaving Hard Knox for another local league, a very small and just getting started league. She left for a couple of personal reasons that didn't make it easier, and she worries often that she might should regret the decision. I think in the end it really will be for the best, but change is often hard no matter how much we might need it.
She left with the best intentions to maintain a good relationship with the league, and we remain close friends with so many people we met. In addition we plan to work to maintain good relations between the two leagues.
As long as they'll have me, I plan to continue to announce for Hard Knox. And I get that chance in just a few (too short) hours. Tonight's bout is a scrimmage as the team prepares for the season opener in one week in Nashville. Momma has been planning on our driving out with the team to provide support and hollering as well as to see a couple of friends we've missed greatly. I'm not sure if we'll have the money to make the trip, and I don't know if we'll have the money for tickets either.
And that's a quick run down of our derby life as it stands. Look for more in the future and hope that I'm not a bad blogger and can get a message up earlier than the day of.
And finally, if you live in or around Knoxville and need something to do tonight, come out and see us at Skatetown on Broadway. Doors open at seven with the bout starting at seven thirty. Tickets are only five dollars, and it's a great time for the youngest kids to the oldest kids.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
been quite some time
How I kept from screaming myself hoarse I'll never know. The scene was a classic in sports stories. The small town team, having faced the league team only once and in enemy territory, now finds themselves on the night of the rematch, at home. That first meeting found our team facing defeat and a severely mismatched final score. So many things seem to be working against a win for the home side tonight, from memories of the last time to the fact that several skaters and support staff have found themselves running extremely late due to some absurdly heavy traffic for our town on a Saturday evening.
The scene is Hard Knox Roller Girls facing off against Huntsville Alabama's Dixie Derby Girls. The first bout between these teams was an absolute battle that saw an HKRG jammer taken out in the first period. Our side represented themselves well that night, making us proud even as they went down to the Dixie Derby Girls.
Saturday was our night to welcome DDG to our house. I was fortunate enough to witness one of the greatest nights of flat track roller derby I've seen yet.
Hard Knox grabbed an early lead in the first period, seeming to have put a comfortable space between themselves and Huntsville. The second period saw Huntsville begin to chip away at that lead. The third period was an absolute fever of all out derby, neither team able to maintain the advantage for very long.
The final jam began with less than two minutes on the official clock meaning that there would be no lead jammer, and the jam would last the full two minutes. As the whistle sounded to start the jam, Huntsville was ahead with 98 points to Knoxville's 94. The next two minutes were a flurry of teamwork as Hard Knox came together to win themselves a jam score of 12 to 2 and a win over DDG, final score 106-100. Our jammer was pure speed as our blockers kept a clear lane open using every tool from hard hits to timely whips.
I can't say enough about the people that came together this night. The fans were amazing, and they make everyone do their job better when they show up and have fun. Huntsville brought a ref, an amazing and charming young lady we've had the pleasure of working with before. A fine pair of gentlemen drove all the way across our state from Memphis to help our refs as well. All of the refs did an amazing job calling the bout. Dixie Derby Girls brought our town one hell of a bout and, we hope, the promise of more to come.
The scene is Hard Knox Roller Girls facing off against Huntsville Alabama's Dixie Derby Girls. The first bout between these teams was an absolute battle that saw an HKRG jammer taken out in the first period. Our side represented themselves well that night, making us proud even as they went down to the Dixie Derby Girls.
Saturday was our night to welcome DDG to our house. I was fortunate enough to witness one of the greatest nights of flat track roller derby I've seen yet.
Hard Knox grabbed an early lead in the first period, seeming to have put a comfortable space between themselves and Huntsville. The second period saw Huntsville begin to chip away at that lead. The third period was an absolute fever of all out derby, neither team able to maintain the advantage for very long.
The final jam began with less than two minutes on the official clock meaning that there would be no lead jammer, and the jam would last the full two minutes. As the whistle sounded to start the jam, Huntsville was ahead with 98 points to Knoxville's 94. The next two minutes were a flurry of teamwork as Hard Knox came together to win themselves a jam score of 12 to 2 and a win over DDG, final score 106-100. Our jammer was pure speed as our blockers kept a clear lane open using every tool from hard hits to timely whips.
I can't say enough about the people that came together this night. The fans were amazing, and they make everyone do their job better when they show up and have fun. Huntsville brought a ref, an amazing and charming young lady we've had the pleasure of working with before. A fine pair of gentlemen drove all the way across our state from Memphis to help our refs as well. All of the refs did an amazing job calling the bout. Dixie Derby Girls brought our town one hell of a bout and, we hope, the promise of more to come.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
walking skaters
A quick post to ask for donations. Hard Knox Roller Girls are asking for donations for Light the Night.
About Light the Night, brazenly lifted from their website:
Walks will be held throughout the country. Either above link will take you to a local chapter, but in the upper right hand corner you can change the page based on your zip code.
About Light the Night, brazenly lifted from their website:
Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's nationwide evening walk to raise funds and awareness about blood cancers.Visit Light the Night's Tennessee chapter home page HERE or visit the HKRG donation page HERE. Thanks in advance for any donations, for helping us reach our goal and for donating to a good cause.
Participants carry illuminated balloons to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer. Funds raised support the Society's mission: cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
Your participation helps save lives. Anyone can take part. Children, adults and seniors are all welcome. This is a casual walk with no fitness requirements.
Please join us at a Walk in your area and support our fight against blood cancers as we "light the night" with hope and raise funds to find cures.
Walks will be held throughout the country. Either above link will take you to a local chapter, but in the upper right hand corner you can change the page based on your zip code.
Friday, September 21, 2007
sports weekend
If all my friends out there in radio land within the sound of my voice, or at least a not too long drive, want to witness what promises to be a grand sporting weekend, then please head on down next weekend, 9/29-9/30.
Momma's roller derby team is playing Saturday September 29. It promises to be a great bout and will be the final intraleague bout of the season to determine who goes on to the championship bout.
Momma's Machine Gun Kellys take on the Black Bettys. MGK beat the Lolitas Locas in our season opening bout, and our second bout saw the Lolitas defeating the Black Bettys. To support three teams, our non playing skaters supplement the bouting teams, so Momma, as a Betty for the night faced off against some of her team mates who were helping out the Lolitas. It was an exciting match, but the day I see a derby bout that isn't exciting, I'll something.
The very next day, September 30, UT's Lady Vols soccer team faces off against Florida. Apparently the rivalry between the two schools extends throughout all the various sports teams. Making this game more special is that it's both AYSO day and "orange out" day. Children in their AYSO jerseys as well as all fans in orange can get in for half price. This will be our first visit to the Lady Vols new complex, and I'm really excited to see the game.
So, you have slightly less than a week if you live near enough. Roller derby and soccer in one weekend. What more could a body ask for? And if you want more soccer I can offer you a U6 game at 9:30 in the AM. Our U10 game that day is being rescheduled for a date yet to be determined.
And I wonder if, instead of wearing orange, I could get half price wearing my soccer jersey from when the adult league was still somehow part of AYSO. It's doubtful, and I'm sure I'll have to wear the dreaded orange. I don't think I own any orange clothing, a truly punishable offense in my town.
Momma's roller derby team is playing Saturday September 29. It promises to be a great bout and will be the final intraleague bout of the season to determine who goes on to the championship bout.
Momma's Machine Gun Kellys take on the Black Bettys. MGK beat the Lolitas Locas in our season opening bout, and our second bout saw the Lolitas defeating the Black Bettys. To support three teams, our non playing skaters supplement the bouting teams, so Momma, as a Betty for the night faced off against some of her team mates who were helping out the Lolitas. It was an exciting match, but the day I see a derby bout that isn't exciting, I'll something.
The very next day, September 30, UT's Lady Vols soccer team faces off against Florida. Apparently the rivalry between the two schools extends throughout all the various sports teams. Making this game more special is that it's both AYSO day and "orange out" day. Children in their AYSO jerseys as well as all fans in orange can get in for half price. This will be our first visit to the Lady Vols new complex, and I'm really excited to see the game.
So, you have slightly less than a week if you live near enough. Roller derby and soccer in one weekend. What more could a body ask for? And if you want more soccer I can offer you a U6 game at 9:30 in the AM. Our U10 game that day is being rescheduled for a date yet to be determined.
And I wonder if, instead of wearing orange, I could get half price wearing my soccer jersey from when the adult league was still somehow part of AYSO. It's doubtful, and I'm sure I'll have to wear the dreaded orange. I don't think I own any orange clothing, a truly punishable offense in my town.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
my ol' theme
Too much time has passed in which I've failed to mention roller derby. We've been to Nashville and now Louisvill Kentucky in the past couple of months. We've also begun bouts at our new home, opening with our first intra league bout of the 2007 season. The league has faced some defeat, but the skaters continue to grow and develop. They play an amazing game, and they know the rules and usually keep their elbows down.
As mentioned, we have now played a team from Louisville Kentucky. We made the drive in possibly record time Sunday morning with the two teams facing off Sunday night. Monday was another early awake and out the door day for the drive home and getting Momma to work by four. It's amazing what people do for derby.
The original plan for Louisville involved us bringing two teams worth of skaters to face their intra league teams in two abbreviated bouts. Upon arrival, we learned that some of their skaters would be unable to play, so they rearranged the plans and played one regulation bout. That was great news for us as many of our girls were unable to make the trip meaning those that did would most likely have had to play in both games. Because so many of our skaters were unable to come, we certainly didn't put our usual Hard Knox travel team on the rink. In the end, due to our skaters' hard work in practice, we're getting to the point where all our skaters that aren't fresh meat are at a level that they are quite as able as most of the girls to be considered for the travel team.
Momma skated the first jam to open the bout and pulled off three grand slams in the two minutes of skating. A grand slam in roller derby is when your jammer laps the opposing jammer. It doesn't happen that often, but it's kind of hard to keep up with Momma much less stop her.
I lifted this picture from Louisville photographer Mr. Quick, and HERE is the link to his Flickr set of the bout. He's got some good pictures, and if you love derby, go peruse. I hope he doesn't mind that I've lifted one of his pics for the blog, but it is mostly my wife, so I don't actually feel bad about it.
I won't pretend that Louisville was an easy match for our team, because they played well. They don't have the experience yet that our league does, but based on their performance, they will get that experience and make our next win that much harder.
As mentioned, we have now played a team from Louisville Kentucky. We made the drive in possibly record time Sunday morning with the two teams facing off Sunday night. Monday was another early awake and out the door day for the drive home and getting Momma to work by four. It's amazing what people do for derby.
The original plan for Louisville involved us bringing two teams worth of skaters to face their intra league teams in two abbreviated bouts. Upon arrival, we learned that some of their skaters would be unable to play, so they rearranged the plans and played one regulation bout. That was great news for us as many of our girls were unable to make the trip meaning those that did would most likely have had to play in both games. Because so many of our skaters were unable to come, we certainly didn't put our usual Hard Knox travel team on the rink. In the end, due to our skaters' hard work in practice, we're getting to the point where all our skaters that aren't fresh meat are at a level that they are quite as able as most of the girls to be considered for the travel team.
Momma skated the first jam to open the bout and pulled off three grand slams in the two minutes of skating. A grand slam in roller derby is when your jammer laps the opposing jammer. It doesn't happen that often, but it's kind of hard to keep up with Momma much less stop her.
I lifted this picture from Louisville photographer Mr. Quick, and HERE is the link to his Flickr set of the bout. He's got some good pictures, and if you love derby, go peruse. I hope he doesn't mind that I've lifted one of his pics for the blog, but it is mostly my wife, so I don't actually feel bad about it.
I won't pretend that Louisville was an easy match for our team, because they played well. They don't have the experience yet that our league does, but based on their performance, they will get that experience and make our next win that much harder.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
long weekend
What a freaking time, and I have to say it was good that the boys were with us. I can only imagine the trouble we'd have gotten into without them. We successfully avoided all after parties, though we did eat a late supper at one of the places on the list of the pub crawl that ended the first night of the Honky Tonk Stomp, though there was in fact no party at this establishment when we went.
We missed everything but the two bouts Momma skated in of the first Tennessee roller derby conference, so I don't know what all happened that we just aren't aware of. Arriving late Friday night, we got the boys to sleep and wandered to a different room for a couple of beers with some other skaters. Saturday morning we visited with some Nashville friends before running late to get to the bout. I had to drop Momma off and go feed the boys fast food, which in no way helped the butt problems I suffered with over the weekend. It wasn't a major ordeal, just some minor discomfort that I could easily have done without.
Saturday night, HKRG played Memphis Roller Girls. They certainly had more fans than us, and they also had at least one fairly decent jammer, but I'm still astounded by the moves she came up with. Momma's moves are smooth and fluid, reading the pack and hitting the gas when needed. I'd say that most of our jammers skate similarly, though they do each have their own style. The jammer I'm talking about for MRD was insane. She skated like she practiced on some sort of '80's video game in which random obstacles would present themselves, a pit full of vipers perhaps or a sucking mud hole. If there'd have been a rope she'd have swung over the pack at least once. Our blockers took her down a few times though, which is always fun to see.
Halfway through the second period, The Boy insisted on being held. I didn't realize that he was asleep till he was well past waking up, so I spent about half the bout holding a sleeping four year old while screaming at the refs and yelling the word "ELBOWS, DAMMIT REF!" I really need to work on my screaming at the refs. It's not a good side of me. And my arm is still sore from holding him for so long.
One of our newest jammers got her first jammer take down against Memphis, and I actually jumped for joy. I do that sometimes, but this time I was holding a kid much too big to be held, and our heads bonked together a little bit. The jammer's husband was giddy as well, probably moreso. I can see that he's getting sucked into this roller derby too, and I can't wait to see the confidence this skater should take away from this moment.
We had a lovely pivot battle with Memphis, two long lost twins of the rink. It was definitely fun to watch those two go at it, pushing the very edge of the twenty feet rule. If you don't know, the jammer may not be engaged outside of twenty feet from the pack. This gives the jammer a chance to lap the pack, as, otherwise, a team could just send their pivot all around the rink, and the jammer would never score. As much as I love to see our pivot showing her mastery of the stall block, it really burns when it's their pivot doing nicely as well.
Sunday, Momma let me sleep in while she attempted to take the boys to breakfast. Everywhere was crowded, given the time and that it was a Sunday, so she hit the grocery store and came back to the hotel. To wake me up the rest of the way. She and the boys ate while I had some more butt problems and finally felt like eating when it was time to go.
HKRG played Nashville Sunday. We beat them not so long ago at our home, but such was not to be the case this time. I felt we played better as a team, but I think some people were taking the loss to Memphis to harshly, and I think that may have held the team back some. It's also odd that at the same time, the skaters who were on for the game wear totally on and worked really well together. It was still an awesome bout, but again, I have to say my yellling problem, in retrospect, is kind of embarassing. I'd do a lot better cheering as opposed to getting so pissed off at the refs. I do have a post in the back of my brain about this exact sort of thing I do. I'm not sure which direction I'll find myself going, but it's a problem most readers here don't see. But I'll have to remember to talk to you bout it.
Sunday, after the bout we ended up driving south to the farm home of the parent of one of our skaters and hanging out with her and her hsuband and kids. Big Brother got to ride the four wheeler once before the skater's mother decided she couldn't sleep, and we wondered why she was going to bed so early? It was between nine and ten I think, but we didn't set the clock in the car when we entered the central time zone, so all the way down to the farm, nearly an hour drive, I was convinced that it was an hour later than it really was, even though I was also constantly being reminded that it wasn't that late. I should have set the clock now that I think about it because that damn think kept me fucked up all weekend.
We ate hot dogs and chips and drove back to the hotel, earlier than the clock said. We got the boys to bed, opened a beer, and heard a noise on the balcony. It was one of our refs, stuck as one of the only people at the hotel that any of us knew. I think he was happy to have someone to chat with, so we shared our beer with him until it was gone and went to bed, earlier than we had any other night.
Monday was IHOP and a visit with our friends in Nashville again. Their kids and our kids played and got mosquito bites and got dirty. Big Brother left with black toes, and both boys had gray streaked faces. We hung out until we had to leave to come back home, and there it was. Not a bad drive, and we were back to needing to wash dishes, and the trash needs to go out. But most of the toys are picked up. And that's always a good sign. Having a full day at home, we can begin to look forward to the next time we travel. Maybe we should get a baby sitter this time. It's not much farther than Nashville, and it's only one day.
We missed everything but the two bouts Momma skated in of the first Tennessee roller derby conference, so I don't know what all happened that we just aren't aware of. Arriving late Friday night, we got the boys to sleep and wandered to a different room for a couple of beers with some other skaters. Saturday morning we visited with some Nashville friends before running late to get to the bout. I had to drop Momma off and go feed the boys fast food, which in no way helped the butt problems I suffered with over the weekend. It wasn't a major ordeal, just some minor discomfort that I could easily have done without.
Saturday night, HKRG played Memphis Roller Girls. They certainly had more fans than us, and they also had at least one fairly decent jammer, but I'm still astounded by the moves she came up with. Momma's moves are smooth and fluid, reading the pack and hitting the gas when needed. I'd say that most of our jammers skate similarly, though they do each have their own style. The jammer I'm talking about for MRD was insane. She skated like she practiced on some sort of '80's video game in which random obstacles would present themselves, a pit full of vipers perhaps or a sucking mud hole. If there'd have been a rope she'd have swung over the pack at least once. Our blockers took her down a few times though, which is always fun to see.
Halfway through the second period, The Boy insisted on being held. I didn't realize that he was asleep till he was well past waking up, so I spent about half the bout holding a sleeping four year old while screaming at the refs and yelling the word "ELBOWS, DAMMIT REF!" I really need to work on my screaming at the refs. It's not a good side of me. And my arm is still sore from holding him for so long.
One of our newest jammers got her first jammer take down against Memphis, and I actually jumped for joy. I do that sometimes, but this time I was holding a kid much too big to be held, and our heads bonked together a little bit. The jammer's husband was giddy as well, probably moreso. I can see that he's getting sucked into this roller derby too, and I can't wait to see the confidence this skater should take away from this moment.
We had a lovely pivot battle with Memphis, two long lost twins of the rink. It was definitely fun to watch those two go at it, pushing the very edge of the twenty feet rule. If you don't know, the jammer may not be engaged outside of twenty feet from the pack. This gives the jammer a chance to lap the pack, as, otherwise, a team could just send their pivot all around the rink, and the jammer would never score. As much as I love to see our pivot showing her mastery of the stall block, it really burns when it's their pivot doing nicely as well.
Sunday, Momma let me sleep in while she attempted to take the boys to breakfast. Everywhere was crowded, given the time and that it was a Sunday, so she hit the grocery store and came back to the hotel. To wake me up the rest of the way. She and the boys ate while I had some more butt problems and finally felt like eating when it was time to go.
HKRG played Nashville Sunday. We beat them not so long ago at our home, but such was not to be the case this time. I felt we played better as a team, but I think some people were taking the loss to Memphis to harshly, and I think that may have held the team back some. It's also odd that at the same time, the skaters who were on for the game wear totally on and worked really well together. It was still an awesome bout, but again, I have to say my yellling problem, in retrospect, is kind of embarassing. I'd do a lot better cheering as opposed to getting so pissed off at the refs. I do have a post in the back of my brain about this exact sort of thing I do. I'm not sure which direction I'll find myself going, but it's a problem most readers here don't see. But I'll have to remember to talk to you bout it.
Sunday, after the bout we ended up driving south to the farm home of the parent of one of our skaters and hanging out with her and her hsuband and kids. Big Brother got to ride the four wheeler once before the skater's mother decided she couldn't sleep, and we wondered why she was going to bed so early? It was between nine and ten I think, but we didn't set the clock in the car when we entered the central time zone, so all the way down to the farm, nearly an hour drive, I was convinced that it was an hour later than it really was, even though I was also constantly being reminded that it wasn't that late. I should have set the clock now that I think about it because that damn think kept me fucked up all weekend.
We ate hot dogs and chips and drove back to the hotel, earlier than the clock said. We got the boys to bed, opened a beer, and heard a noise on the balcony. It was one of our refs, stuck as one of the only people at the hotel that any of us knew. I think he was happy to have someone to chat with, so we shared our beer with him until it was gone and went to bed, earlier than we had any other night.
Monday was IHOP and a visit with our friends in Nashville again. Their kids and our kids played and got mosquito bites and got dirty. Big Brother left with black toes, and both boys had gray streaked faces. We hung out until we had to leave to come back home, and there it was. Not a bad drive, and we were back to needing to wash dishes, and the trash needs to go out. But most of the toys are picked up. And that's always a good sign. Having a full day at home, we can begin to look forward to the next time we travel. Maybe we should get a baby sitter this time. It's not much farther than Nashville, and it's only one day.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
the agony
Weight on my left foot, left arm through the straps of the large blue pad, top of pad resting on shoulder, bottom of pad resting on left thigh, right foot planted solidly, extended behind me. She skates almost past, but at the last minute, without even a look at me, she strikes. I take the brunt of the hit and allow it to push me up and a little backward. That right foot is planted, and for a moment, it's the only foot in contact with the floor.
"Nice hit," I say, "You got the hip in," as she skates off, takes a lap and gets back in line.
I felt the hit as a solid line of force through the pad, top to bottom. Her last hit was more shoulder then hip, which for some girls is a more natural motion. Seeing who's coming next, I know to expect that shoulder then hip. As I'm back into my stance, it's the same thing almost, as she skates almost past, and then she does it. The shoulder starts that little lift, but the hip quickly shoves me backward, and my right foot pivot point does no good, and I stagger back a little bit.
And I woke up today feeling every bit of it. I got to help the derby girls by being a target zone, holding a blue pad and being the last of five people they hit. It was a cut back drill requiring the skaters not to skate directly at the pads but to skate straight through the line of pads and hit directly from the side. I'm sure I'm lucky that they might just have worn themselves down by the time they got to me, but I don't know that that's anymore than discussing it with the other four guys trying to pretend they got it worse.
It's a nice pain platter across my shoulder blades, and the swiveling did a little something to my hips. I'm quite sure no one was taking out any sort of grudges on me, but knowing my mouth, it's easy that just my presence on their floor was bringing back some mildly acerbic comment I may have made, some wedgie I may have caused to happen, some joke I may have carried to far. I won't say I didn't see a certain glint of something in some of the eyes as they struck at number four and looked up to see number five, me again.
Going in, I was pretty sure I knew who I'd need to worry about, but I quickly learned that there wasn't anyone I didn't need to worry about. Our heavy hitters, our veterans, certainly did the most damage, but even the freshest meat was hitting well and hitting hard. It's exciting to see this and see the kind of players these girls will be in the future.
I won't pretend that I suffered through an actual ordeal equal to a roller derby bout. I don't have rink rash or a 'gina shiner, just a little soreness in the back. It's not unlike what I'd feel after fighting off midfielders. But it did give me a little goofy kind of feeling. It's a way to help the league, something I can actually do. I can talk, as we've learned, and I can take hits.
"Nice hit," I say, "You got the hip in," as she skates off, takes a lap and gets back in line.
I felt the hit as a solid line of force through the pad, top to bottom. Her last hit was more shoulder then hip, which for some girls is a more natural motion. Seeing who's coming next, I know to expect that shoulder then hip. As I'm back into my stance, it's the same thing almost, as she skates almost past, and then she does it. The shoulder starts that little lift, but the hip quickly shoves me backward, and my right foot pivot point does no good, and I stagger back a little bit.
And I woke up today feeling every bit of it. I got to help the derby girls by being a target zone, holding a blue pad and being the last of five people they hit. It was a cut back drill requiring the skaters not to skate directly at the pads but to skate straight through the line of pads and hit directly from the side. I'm sure I'm lucky that they might just have worn themselves down by the time they got to me, but I don't know that that's anymore than discussing it with the other four guys trying to pretend they got it worse.
It's a nice pain platter across my shoulder blades, and the swiveling did a little something to my hips. I'm quite sure no one was taking out any sort of grudges on me, but knowing my mouth, it's easy that just my presence on their floor was bringing back some mildly acerbic comment I may have made, some wedgie I may have caused to happen, some joke I may have carried to far. I won't say I didn't see a certain glint of something in some of the eyes as they struck at number four and looked up to see number five, me again.
Going in, I was pretty sure I knew who I'd need to worry about, but I quickly learned that there wasn't anyone I didn't need to worry about. Our heavy hitters, our veterans, certainly did the most damage, but even the freshest meat was hitting well and hitting hard. It's exciting to see this and see the kind of players these girls will be in the future.
I won't pretend that I suffered through an actual ordeal equal to a roller derby bout. I don't have rink rash or a 'gina shiner, just a little soreness in the back. It's not unlike what I'd feel after fighting off midfielders. But it did give me a little goofy kind of feeling. It's a way to help the league, something I can actually do. I can talk, as we've learned, and I can take hits.
Friday, July 06, 2007
is that a little skull on your back?
I've tried a couple of times now to write something witty and hilarious about this picture and about roller derby in general. Crazy things happen around roller derby. Momma, the one with the skull face, is known to share some of that skull face with others, hugs and affection and craziness that are the natural fall out of roller derby. I've been known to wander around with a black dot on the tip of my nose from a quick kiss.
In the end though, it's just a great picture that speaks for itself. In the red is the lovely Sauvingnon Block, a great blocker and all around cool person. Momma you will of course recognize as the lovely young lady in black, a great jammer and all around cool person.
The skull on Sauvignon's back came from Momma in a brief meeting between the two on the rink. It was a clean hit, if a bit of an accident, that sent both to the floor. Though many people may end the night with a bit of skull on them, never has it been so perfectly imprinted as in this picture.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
stumble
I might have mentioned that I've got a new job. It's not a cash paying job, more a volunteer position. I've now announced two separate roller derby bouts, and based on their smiles and compliments, the league seems to like me.
To an extent, I'm almost worried that my abilities are not so much good as they are better than the last guy. I hate to say too much bad about him, especially considering all the bad that's already been said about him. I have to imagine at some point that karma may swing around and whop me in the butt, but there's also the fact that he did indeed suck, long and loud, though not really too loud as one of the complaints about him involved an inability to understand or even quite hear him.
So with two bouts under my belt, I'm much more comfortable doing it than I was when it was just this thing looming on the horizon. Our next home bout is not till August, so it will be that long till I get my talk on again. That one is our first intra league bout of the season.
Our last bout was not a "real" bout, in a sense, but it was certainly real enough as any of the participating skaters can verify. It was put together almost at the last minute in a bid to decide what we think of a new location as well as to let the new location decide what they think about us. The three teams that make up our league played three periods, but rather than time them, we set them to be twelve jams each, something that didn't quite work in the end, as we ran pretty long. It was the only way to really make it fair though, to make sure that each team, playing staggered jams, had the same amount of time on the rink as well as having each team face each other an equal number of times.
It was an exciting bout. Momma's team pretty much flattened the other two, though all the teams were skating down some girls. Between injuries and people being out of town, we are missing a few people.
As far as announcing goes, I'd agree that, for the most part, I did a pretty good job. It's really not hard for me to talk, and it's certainly not hard for me to get excited about roller derby. I know the rules, and I know the skaters, and I've absolutely fallen in love with both roller derby and our entire league. I can only hope that my excitement comes through and infects our fans, building our fan base.
And that's really where it's hard for me to express myself. I think I'm gracious with praise, maybe slightly less so with criticism, though I do want to know people's opinions, want to improve myself and the job I do. The skaters and refs have all fairly lavished me with praise, almost to the point where it starts to sound like flattery, leaving me to wonder if it's me or just that I'm not the other guy.
One of the biggest differences between me and the last guy, I'm not doing this for me, though there is a part of me that's proud to get to be involved, that loves the acceptance. It all comes down to the fact that I really believe in these girls. I believe in our league. I believe in the power of roller derby to bring out the best in people and to show women what they are truly capable of.
And then we come to the things I've fucked up, whether or not anyone else heard it happen. There was the first bout when I referred to LP as a jammer, which she happened to hear and which she is certainly not. She is in fact a blocker, one hell of a hard hitter as well. In the expo bout I referred to her three separate times as MM, another blocker, equally as amazing with her hits. I suppose I had Momma's team Machine Gun Kellys on my mind when I called the penalty box the machine gun box, though I can honestly tell you that I really have no idea how that came out. There was at least on instance, which a few people caught, when I almost called one of our skaters by her nickname, Douche-ass, funny but best left a bit private as it certainly is not her derby name. There were several other random flubs that I caught at the time, though they weren't as memorable as they could have been.
And that's the story of my new job. It may not pay cash, but I get paid back when the league has that much more fun, when the fans scream and cheer that much louder, when people start to understand derby and start to fall in love like I did. And really, how hard is it to convince people that roller derby may be the best thing to ever happen to them? even when I am stumbling over my words.
To an extent, I'm almost worried that my abilities are not so much good as they are better than the last guy. I hate to say too much bad about him, especially considering all the bad that's already been said about him. I have to imagine at some point that karma may swing around and whop me in the butt, but there's also the fact that he did indeed suck, long and loud, though not really too loud as one of the complaints about him involved an inability to understand or even quite hear him.
So with two bouts under my belt, I'm much more comfortable doing it than I was when it was just this thing looming on the horizon. Our next home bout is not till August, so it will be that long till I get my talk on again. That one is our first intra league bout of the season.
Our last bout was not a "real" bout, in a sense, but it was certainly real enough as any of the participating skaters can verify. It was put together almost at the last minute in a bid to decide what we think of a new location as well as to let the new location decide what they think about us. The three teams that make up our league played three periods, but rather than time them, we set them to be twelve jams each, something that didn't quite work in the end, as we ran pretty long. It was the only way to really make it fair though, to make sure that each team, playing staggered jams, had the same amount of time on the rink as well as having each team face each other an equal number of times.
It was an exciting bout. Momma's team pretty much flattened the other two, though all the teams were skating down some girls. Between injuries and people being out of town, we are missing a few people.
As far as announcing goes, I'd agree that, for the most part, I did a pretty good job. It's really not hard for me to talk, and it's certainly not hard for me to get excited about roller derby. I know the rules, and I know the skaters, and I've absolutely fallen in love with both roller derby and our entire league. I can only hope that my excitement comes through and infects our fans, building our fan base.
And that's really where it's hard for me to express myself. I think I'm gracious with praise, maybe slightly less so with criticism, though I do want to know people's opinions, want to improve myself and the job I do. The skaters and refs have all fairly lavished me with praise, almost to the point where it starts to sound like flattery, leaving me to wonder if it's me or just that I'm not the other guy.
One of the biggest differences between me and the last guy, I'm not doing this for me, though there is a part of me that's proud to get to be involved, that loves the acceptance. It all comes down to the fact that I really believe in these girls. I believe in our league. I believe in the power of roller derby to bring out the best in people and to show women what they are truly capable of.
And then we come to the things I've fucked up, whether or not anyone else heard it happen. There was the first bout when I referred to LP as a jammer, which she happened to hear and which she is certainly not. She is in fact a blocker, one hell of a hard hitter as well. In the expo bout I referred to her three separate times as MM, another blocker, equally as amazing with her hits. I suppose I had Momma's team Machine Gun Kellys on my mind when I called the penalty box the machine gun box, though I can honestly tell you that I really have no idea how that came out. There was at least on instance, which a few people caught, when I almost called one of our skaters by her nickname, Douche-ass, funny but best left a bit private as it certainly is not her derby name. There were several other random flubs that I caught at the time, though they weren't as memorable as they could have been.
And that's the story of my new job. It may not pay cash, but I get paid back when the league has that much more fun, when the fans scream and cheer that much louder, when people start to understand derby and start to fall in love like I did. And really, how hard is it to convince people that roller derby may be the best thing to ever happen to them? even when I am stumbling over my words.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
expo bout
Our roller derby league was lucky in the earliest days of the league to find a place to skate, a place for both practice and bouts. There have always been some issues with the rink, and location and size have always been the top issues.
Saturday night Hard Knox Roller Girls present Triple Threat, our expo bout where we check out a possible new location. The Icearium is huge, lots of parking, serves alcohol, has parking, is still technically in our town, et cetera. Did I mention they sell beer?
The fact that our current home is in the next county is enough to throw some people off. People just don't want to go to Maryville, as it seems like a drive. It's not any closer or farther for the average person than the Icearium, but sometimes it's just the name.
All three of our intra league teams will be playing in Triple Threat. I'm not sure how we're going to manage it, though some system of staggering the teams on the floor will occur so that each team skates the same number of jams and each team faces each other team the same number of jams.
If you live anywhere within the sound of my voice, I suggest you hitch up the mules, help grandma and the kids into the wagon, and come out and show your pride. Whether you wear Kelly purple, Betty red or Lolita black and white, your favorite team needs you to come and show your love. More than that, your league wants you here, screaming and cheering for us all.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
them toes
Before I say anything else, the following post is to be in no way misconstrued as a comparison to any real injury earned in the actual bout. Yes, you are getting another post that is in some way derby related, but I really have to reiterate the whole not comparing thing. I'm not including bruise or contusion pictures, because this post isn't about that, and I don't have any.
I do have some toe issues though that are related to the bout. This was my first time as an announcer for the league. For the most part I did team and skater intros, I introduced the refs and tried to do a reasonable play by play. I exhorted our fans to cheer louder and audibly swooned over the soul crushing hits our team dealt out.
My toe problem is related to both the shoes I was wearing and the physical stance I take when actively observing a roller derby bout. I tend to squat on one leg, a position that is not quite standing or sitting but leaves me in a position from which I can easily stand to shout encouragement or even to leap into the air with joy when our jammer makes that move past the opposition's pivot, faking a quick step before ducking to the inside and hitting the power as she skates away, hands raised high in the devil horns.
And here is where we come to the shoes. They are some absolutely sweet shoes, black and white wing tips, a good bit clunky, and they even sport a steel toe, for whatever the hell that gets me these days. Steel toes on me are nothing more than added weight. The shoes get really uncomfortable after an evening of being out, so I tend to reserve them for those random nights that we actually have an all night baby sitter and it's worth getting dressed up.
Getting to cheer on the league that much louder is certainly a worthy event, and that they match the team's black and white motif makes it that much harder not to wear them. However, combining them and the squatting stance, I've temporarily fucked my foot up. I've almost convinced myself that it's the shoes fault and not that I squat like an idiot on one foot. At the same time I'm sure it's not the shoe's fault.
Monday morning I woke none the worse for wear except that the toes on my squatting-on foot felt numbish. They'd bothered me throughout the bout, mostly in the breaks between periods when I climbed down from my perch and walked around, and I knew it was from the squat or maybe the shoes, but I assumed it was just a thing, too long in one odd position kind of thing.
That does happen to me, but it's because I squat, and it's never something I don't just walk off. I do it outside smoking sometimes too. I don't really think about doing it, and it's weird to occasionally realize you've bypassed a perfectly good chair in order to squat on your haunches.
I may just have to stand up when I do the announcing, but at the rink we currently use, the place I have to be is just this crazy perch in the air where I'm just standing like a dancer in a cage without the cage part. There are people crowded all around it to the point where I almost feel like putting up a sign that reads "servers only." Maybe it just feels weird that I have absolutely no separation beyond height from the people I'm talking too. It bears thinking about I'm sure. Maybe it's looking down and realizing I'm standing in someone's face.
The toes don't hurt. They're actually a sort of numbish, asleepish feeling. I can feel the feeling coming back into them with each day, but I also feel that I need to rethink those shoes. I really never thought I'd be concerned with the price of beauty, and in many ways I really feel I should be able to be above it. But you should see those shoes. And that leads me to think I should just wear the shoes. Who really needs to squat anyway? We're evolved past squatting. Hell, we've evolved to the point where our women can pit themselves against each other in feats of strength and speed combined. The least I can do is look good for them.
I do have some toe issues though that are related to the bout. This was my first time as an announcer for the league. For the most part I did team and skater intros, I introduced the refs and tried to do a reasonable play by play. I exhorted our fans to cheer louder and audibly swooned over the soul crushing hits our team dealt out.
My toe problem is related to both the shoes I was wearing and the physical stance I take when actively observing a roller derby bout. I tend to squat on one leg, a position that is not quite standing or sitting but leaves me in a position from which I can easily stand to shout encouragement or even to leap into the air with joy when our jammer makes that move past the opposition's pivot, faking a quick step before ducking to the inside and hitting the power as she skates away, hands raised high in the devil horns.
And here is where we come to the shoes. They are some absolutely sweet shoes, black and white wing tips, a good bit clunky, and they even sport a steel toe, for whatever the hell that gets me these days. Steel toes on me are nothing more than added weight. The shoes get really uncomfortable after an evening of being out, so I tend to reserve them for those random nights that we actually have an all night baby sitter and it's worth getting dressed up.
Getting to cheer on the league that much louder is certainly a worthy event, and that they match the team's black and white motif makes it that much harder not to wear them. However, combining them and the squatting stance, I've temporarily fucked my foot up. I've almost convinced myself that it's the shoes fault and not that I squat like an idiot on one foot. At the same time I'm sure it's not the shoe's fault.
Monday morning I woke none the worse for wear except that the toes on my squatting-on foot felt numbish. They'd bothered me throughout the bout, mostly in the breaks between periods when I climbed down from my perch and walked around, and I knew it was from the squat or maybe the shoes, but I assumed it was just a thing, too long in one odd position kind of thing.
That does happen to me, but it's because I squat, and it's never something I don't just walk off. I do it outside smoking sometimes too. I don't really think about doing it, and it's weird to occasionally realize you've bypassed a perfectly good chair in order to squat on your haunches.
I may just have to stand up when I do the announcing, but at the rink we currently use, the place I have to be is just this crazy perch in the air where I'm just standing like a dancer in a cage without the cage part. There are people crowded all around it to the point where I almost feel like putting up a sign that reads "servers only." Maybe it just feels weird that I have absolutely no separation beyond height from the people I'm talking too. It bears thinking about I'm sure. Maybe it's looking down and realizing I'm standing in someone's face.
The toes don't hurt. They're actually a sort of numbish, asleepish feeling. I can feel the feeling coming back into them with each day, but I also feel that I need to rethink those shoes. I really never thought I'd be concerned with the price of beauty, and in many ways I really feel I should be able to be above it. But you should see those shoes. And that leads me to think I should just wear the shoes. Who really needs to squat anyway? We're evolved past squatting. Hell, we've evolved to the point where our women can pit themselves against each other in feats of strength and speed combined. The least I can do is look good for them.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
ooooh, derby stuff
Want to see some derby action? You know you do, so click HERE to go to the video. It was produced and is hosted by a local group, Mind Punch that is basically like a local Myspace. I couldn't figure out how to embed the video in this blog post.
Our team is in black with our pivots and jammers in red helmet covers. As usual, look for Momma wearing the skull face. She's an amazing jammer, which you might know if you'd come to town and watch our league tear shit up. You might also know if you ever read here, as I kind of have a habit of making sure people know that my wife rocks.
If you do in fact pay attention and find the girl with the skull you might also see here take a couple of hard hits. Pay special attention and see that she deals out some hard hits. I'm not sure how many roller derby leagues have jammers that hit as do ours, but I doubt there's too many jammers that hit as well as ours. Another of our jammers, Goblynn, is also seen knocking an opponent ass over tea kettle.
The match is our Hard Knox Roller Girls versus Tragic City Rollers from Birmingham Alabama. They beat us in our first ever bout last year and have beaten us again. They took an early lead and not only held on but increased it. The score totals between the different jams however was all over the place and, in my opinion, gives a better view of the skills evident in both teams.
I can't speak for playing with them as I'm not allowed, because of my dude parts, but our team seemed to have fun, and TCR was a blast at the after party. I don't know if any of them will read this, but I'd love to tell them thanks again. Thanks for a great game and for great after party. I'm pretty sure we and they all made it back home and in one piece, so outside of the fact that the win is ours next time, we couldn't really have asked for a better weekend.
Our team is in black with our pivots and jammers in red helmet covers. As usual, look for Momma wearing the skull face. She's an amazing jammer, which you might know if you'd come to town and watch our league tear shit up. You might also know if you ever read here, as I kind of have a habit of making sure people know that my wife rocks.
If you do in fact pay attention and find the girl with the skull you might also see here take a couple of hard hits. Pay special attention and see that she deals out some hard hits. I'm not sure how many roller derby leagues have jammers that hit as do ours, but I doubt there's too many jammers that hit as well as ours. Another of our jammers, Goblynn, is also seen knocking an opponent ass over tea kettle.
The match is our Hard Knox Roller Girls versus Tragic City Rollers from Birmingham Alabama. They beat us in our first ever bout last year and have beaten us again. They took an early lead and not only held on but increased it. The score totals between the different jams however was all over the place and, in my opinion, gives a better view of the skills evident in both teams.
I can't speak for playing with them as I'm not allowed, because of my dude parts, but our team seemed to have fun, and TCR was a blast at the after party. I don't know if any of them will read this, but I'd love to tell them thanks again. Thanks for a great game and for great after party. I'm pretty sure we and they all made it back home and in one piece, so outside of the fact that the win is ours next time, we couldn't really have asked for a better weekend.
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