Oakland Outlaws Cut Down Redwood Rollers
The Oakland Outlaws (in black) traveled north to Humboldt County Memorial Day weekend 2009 to take on the undefeated Redwood Rollers (in green).
View GalleryOakland Outlaws Cut Down Redwood Rollers
The Oakland Outlaws traveled up to Humboldt County over Memorial Day weekend to take on the undefeated Redwood Rollers in a flat-track ladies-only roller derby bout. The Oakland Outlaws (in black) traveled north to Humboldt County Memorial Day weekend 2009 to take on the undefeated Redwood Rollers (in green). A few of the referees from the Bay Area Derby Girls made the trip as well, including John Diss seen here leading the pack of refs with the black helmet, as well as Sexy Beast on the right also wearing a black helmet. The Redwood Rollers got lead jammer in the first jam and they scored 4 points to Oakland's 0. The hometown fans were fired up, loud and feeling confident at the sold-out double header. Redwood got lead jammer again for the second jam, but the jammer was thrown into the penalty box and Oakland took advantage of the situation scoring 10 points. Redwood has improved a lot since first forming a league a year ago, and Oakland was their toughest competition yet. Jammers wear stars on their helmets so skaters (and spectators) can tell who the point scorer is. Here Redwood's jammer gets past Oakland pivot Polly Puredread. Redwood hung in there for the first half, until Oakland jammer Jane Hammer #777 seen here in the middle in black, had a 17-point jam leaving Redwood in the dust @ 49-10. Oakland never looked back. By half-time, the Outlaws had a healthy lead @ 55-27. Chesty Gillespie #34DD looks behind Oakland pivot Deadly Nightshade #N-CH3 (my wife). Pivots wear a stripe on their helmet and they are in charge of the pack, often acting as the last line of defense. Redwood jammer McNasty #34B (right) had her own cheering section. Oakland's jammer Jane Hammer takes the outside track while Redwood's jammer makes her way through the inside. Thunder Muffin #73 listens to RaqHELL #10/6 as they sit in the penalty box. Redwood's jammer McNasty #34B grabs her teammates shirt to pull herself forward as Oakland jammer Sharron Needles #100cc tries to get around the blocker. Humboldt's MC Jason Whitcomb was hilariously awesome, er, I should say, "AWWWWWWESOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Redwood jammer Anya The Bunny Slayer #11:11 slides into the penalty box where two of her teammates are already doing time. I think Redwood's penalty troubles really hurt them in this bout. Oakland had their fair share of penalty time as well, with Outlaw jammer Sharon Needles #100cc siting in the box here. Oakland jammer Killer Vee goes into blocker mode trying to slow down Redwood's jammer. Vee posted a blog about the trip and mentioned that each of the Oakland Outlaws were given a redwood tree to take home and plant as a thank you for coming up north for the bout. Both team's blockers start off the line under the watchful eyes of John Diss and Hannah Grenade. Redwood Rollers jammer Anya The Bunny Slayer #11:11 and Oakland Outlaws jammer Jane Hammer #777 wait for the second whistle to sound so they can get after it. Jammers McNasty #34B (right) and Polly Puredread #676 battle it out on the turn. Deadly Nightshade #N-CH3 (center) complains to Killer Vee #33 about the penalty call that sent her into the box. If you listen closely, you can hear Deadly announcing her retirement before Vee took off back into the action. The bout was held at Redwood Acres, in Eureka, CA on a polished cement floor that left some pretty nasty bruises (wait for the last picture...). "Ms. Chief's Mister" was what the back of the MC's shirt said, and while I couldn't find him on the Redwood Roller Derby website ( http://evilwench.com/derby/ ) I did see that Jenneral Ms. Chief is listed as the league founder, so I'm guessing he's her man. McNasty #34B takes a spin around the track. Oakland Outlaws Deadly Nightshade #N-CH3 (left) and Chesty Gillespie #34DD get all strategical. Redwood Roller jammer #81 takes the outside track around Oakland's blockers. Oakland's star blocker Taxi Scab #.50/mile was the bench coach for the Humboldt bout. Redwood Rollers jammer Sissy Jr. #00 tries to get around Oakland pivot Deadly Nightshade #N-CH3for lead jammer status. Chesty Gillespie #34DD takes a seat in the penalty box. Celebrations start on the Oakland Outlaw side as the final seconds tick down signaling the end of the bout. The final score was 115-65 with Oakland handing Redwood their first loss ever. The Redwood Rollers were gracious hosts and said they had a great time despite the score. Honey Hex #13 seen here wrote on Killer Vee's blog, "We heart you all even though you trampled us. THANK YOU, so much for coming up. We learned so much from your team and we can't wait to beat you next time! XOXO, Hex #13" Anya The Bunny Slayer #11:11 (center) and Thunder Muffin #73 skate around the track slapping high-fives to the fans around the rink. The zebras! John Diss (center w/ crossed arms) and Sexy Beast (next to Diss w/o helmet) ref in the Bay Area and came up to Humboldt to help out in the double feature bout. Both teams got together for a photo to document then event. McNasty #34B uses my sharpie to sign Danielle Graham's chest. McNasty then writes "I eat poo" on Roshawn "Rice Cube Rowdawg" Beere's arm. I'm guessing she may have been referencing the Kinetic Sculpture "Compost Sheep" where the Redwood Rollers were "Fly Girls"... ...see... here's McNasty on the Kinetic Sculpture race route skating with her Fly Girls (or is it, Garden Girls?) trailing behind... ...a giant pile of crap, in the most beautiful sense, as Compost Sheep, a kinetic sculpture designed to look like a compost heep, heads down Ferndale's Main Street to the finish line. To find out what the heck this is, check out my Kinetic Sculpture Race coverage on this site. I always like putting funny pictures at the end of my slideshows, and this one makes me gasp and laugh at the same time. I call it "Green Eyed Osama bin Bruisin'" because the bruise on Deadly Nightshade's leg after the Humboldt bout looks kinda like Osama's beard and turban so I added the eyes and I made them green to look like mine.
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