Roller Derby Disorder

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Boston vs. Detroit on MavTV

I watched the MavTV broadcast of Boston vs. Detroit this morning. So exciting! If you haven't seen it yet, go see it now! A few of my favorite quotes (not direct quotes I am paraphrasing from memory):

"Doom is not the lead jammer; she was naughty!"
"Clobber, looking like a mini Kareem Abdul Jabar with her goggles on"
"Those aren't boos -- that's the crowd chanting Doom!"

Some really nice skating going on...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Bad news

So I tore a ligament in my knee. I am now on crutches. Life sucks. I want to skate. Grrrrrr.

Roller Derby Jack o'Lantern Contest

Hey all you roller derby folks out there -- the Boston Derby Dames are having a pumpkin carving contest in honor of Halloween and you are all invited to enter! Win tickets to the November 10 bout. And hey -- even if you're not from Boston, do it for the glory (we'll post the photos on our website). Give your tickets away to friends you know who should really be watching roller derby. Anyway, here is the announcement:


Win tickets to the November 10 bout Sharpen your knives and show us how much you love us. The Boston Derby Dames are looking for a few good pumpkins to celebrate Halloween with. Send us a photo of your best pumpkin design by October 29 for a chance to win two tickets to our November 10 bout. Preference given to roller derby and Boston Derby Dames-themed pumpkins. Send a photo (no grainy cameraphone shots, please) with your name to events@bostonderbydames.com. Winner and runners-up will be announced on our site on Halloween. (Boston Derby Dames pumpkin by Mike Derhammer.) Rules 1. All entries must be received by events@bostonderbydames.com by 11:59PM EST October 29, 2007. Late entries will not be considered. 2. Submit original carved designs only. We're big jack o' lantern fans, so we'll know if you snatched something from extremepumpkins.com 3. Entrants accept and agree to these rules and the decision of the judges, which shall be final. Entrants also agree to allow Boston Derby Dames, LLC, to use name, contest entry, likeness and/or other related information for promotional purposes. 4. Prizes: One Grand Prize winner will receive 2 tickets to the November 10, 2007 Bout. 5. This contest is not open to members of Boston Derby Dames or their immediate family.

MavTV bouts now online!

just finished watching the Atlanta - Windy City bout on MavTV. It is a little complicated to find it so here is how I did it:

Go to http://www.mavtv.com/
Click on the blue "Watch MavTV" button which is in the middle of the screen towards the top.
On the bottom of the screen there are "channels" like "motors" and "women." Scroll until you get to"Men's Entertainment" and click on it.
On the right of the screen there is a box with a listing of shows. At the top of the box "schedule" should be highlighted. Click on "Just added" to change the listing.
Scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on the link for "MavTV Roller Derby: Atlanta vs. Windy City."
Enjoy!

There are a couple of interview clips featuring Boston Derby Dames Ivana Clobber and Wanda Whipya. Yay! The coverage itself isn't bad considering. Beware of the commercials, though, they're a little Playboy channel-ish.

Some things I would like to see in future coverage:

Some way to highlight the jammers during the jams. They are kind of hard to distinguish. Maybe they could do something like they did for televised hockey matches where they highlighted the puck. Maybe they could somehow highlight the jammers.
A running score that is on screen all the time, not just between jams or between periods. Also I would like to see who the lead jammer is and some sort of running tally of penalties. That would be cool.
I know this is not going to happen anytime soon, but maybe some kind of camera that moves around the track to follow the action instead of all this constant cutting, which can get a little distracting. It would have to be suspended somehow from the ceiling or hanging from a crane or something like that, because you wouldn't want the skaters to trip over it, but that would be awfully nice.
I know it is a difficult thing to video, but I would like to see more replays of cool moves and penalties (not just the wipe-outs) with explanations of what is going on. That would really help a lot with getting the audience to understand and appreciate what is going on.

That being said, I thought the commentary was not bad, and the coverage was pretty decent, considering this is basically the first time they've tried to do it.

Can't wait for the Boston bout next week!