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Vague roller derby blogging

February 22, 2012 by Frisky Sour

This weekend the Betties (yay!) are playing the Heathers (boo!) in Rose City intraleague play. Sometimes I blog about roller derby; I tell you all about my feelings, maybe some helpful tips (as helpful as they can be from someone who’s only about average), news, etc. But I don’t blog everything.

I’d like to tell you how I might be playing a lot this weekend because of who won’t be playing – but I’m not telling you the roster. Why?

1. I have no idea if the other team knows the roster.

2. I’m not telling you why people aren’t playing.

The internet doesn’t get to know ahead of time if one of my teammates is out of town, or having personal issues, or injured. It doesn’t seem right to reveal that for amateur athletes who pay dues to play.

What do you think?

What kind of information needs to be available for fans for roller derby to be viewed as a “real” sport by the mainstream media?

Rinxter’s a start, right?

Do you need to know the approximate return time for any injured skaters, and how they picked up the injury?

Posted in Derby | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments »

Minor injuries I’ve accumulated this week

February 17, 2012 by Frisky Sour

  1. Long fingernail scratch on the upper arm
  2. Elbowed in the eye
  3. Cut thumb
  4. Bruised inner thigh
  5. Bruised knee

Now, match to how I got them!

  • Work
  • Gymnastics gone awry
  • Teammate at scrimmage
  • Unknown culprit at scrimmage
  • Attempting and failing feats of strength

Posted in Derby, My super fun activities | 3 Comments »

Trying out for Fresh Meat?

February 10, 2012 by Frisky Sour

One of my most popular posts ever is about trying out for Fresh Meat. Do you want to try out for Fresh Meat? Head on over and read it - but first, remember that tryouts are now in the evening.

It can be a freaking nightmare to get to the hangar in rush hour traffic. Lots of you have made the trek on Fridays at 6pm, and you know how bad it can be. Leave lots of time. Do a dry run if you can. If you’re coming from inner Southeast, avoid 12th between Division and Powell due to lane closures.

Lots of people are going to try out. The panel will take as many people as they think are qualified, up to a maximum. They’ll never give you an exact number.  Fresh Meat numbers are low right now, so your chances are decent.

Ask now if you have questions – email the Fresh Meat admins, or just ask me!  It’s okay, really! I’ll probably be at the tryouts since it’s my normal coaching day, and I can tell you to breathe or slap you in the face, as your personal needs may dictate.

And remember: roller skating is fun.

Posted in Derby | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Outdoor Skate Bingo

February 5, 2012 by Frisky Sour

When it’s 55 degrees and sunny in February, I go outside to skate. Skating the Esplanade and Springwater Cooridor can be a colorful experience.

This is made with Portland in mind, but most of these might apply if you skate in an urban area or near water.

Yep, I would have gotten one bingo today. Guess which!

Did I miss anything?

Posted in Derby, My super fun activities | Tagged , , | 3 Comments »

Changes in the WFTDA West Region?

February 3, 2012 by Frisky Sour

Yesterday, Atomatrix and Hockey Honey announced that they’re leaving the Oly Rollers to move Atom Wheels’ operations to Arizona.

DeRanged, Psycho Babble and Urrk’n’ Jerkk’n have all retired from Rocky Mountain.

And check out who remains on the Wheels of Justice from the Championships roster:

  • Mel Mangles
  • Sully Skullkicker
  • Cadillac
  • SoulFearic Acid
  • Wreck Deckard
  • Scald Eagle
  • Mick Swagger
  • White Flight
  • Layla Smackdown
  • Napalm Beth
  • Havana Goodtime
  • Hurricane Skatrina
  • JK Rolling
  • Mercy
  • Heidi Go Seek
  • Scratcher in the Eye
  • Rhea DeRange
  • Joyride
  • Mobi-Wan Kenobi

That’s a lot of turnover. Several of these people are still skating for Rose City and could come back before tournament season, but no guarantees.

What do ya’ll think?  How will the West region look this year?

Posted in Derby | Tagged , | 6 Comments »

Running Buddies Check In

February 2, 2012 by Frisky Sour

How’re we doing?

My last goals were to:

  • Run 6x/week
  • 5k in 30 minutes at Shamrock Run
  • 7-minute mile by September

Hm. Well, things aren’t going perfectly. The running 6 times a week has fallen by the wayside, as I prepared for a bout, then prepared for travel team tryouts, then felt regrouped from all that. I think 5 times a week is a little more doable with my schedule, so we’ll do that going forward.

I’ve increased my short runs from one mile to a mile and a half. Crazy, I know.

Here are some mini-goals for the month:

  • Run 5x/week
  • 5k in 32 minutes
  • 8:45 mile - Done!
  • Two 3.5 mile runs, two 4-mile runs
  • Get some new running music

Because, seriously, I’m starting to hate Be Your Own Pet and The Thermals. Girl Talk is losing its luster. MIA is too slow. Et cetera.

What about you guys/ladies? Hanging in there?

Posted in My super fun activities, Running | Tagged | 4 Comments »

Only one kind of failing

January 30, 2012 by Frisky Sour

Once again, I tried out for travel team, and once again, I didn’t make it.  For the most part, I’m disappointed, annoyed, hurt, and embarrassed. And a little panicky, thinking how good the chance is that I’ll never make it. All that with a good layer of just plain sad.

I feel kind of like slipping a note to the travel team leadership just to clear up this question once and for all:

Then I could move on with my life with that knowledge.

The worst part is that I sucked at tryouts. I didn’t skate well. I tripped Effy trying to hit her out of bounds in a line drill. Half an hour into the 2-hour scrimmage, it hit me how poorly I was playing.  Tears started welling up, and that defeatist attitude started creeping in. You already screwed it up. That’s it. You’ll never make it.

So I’m mad at myself. Why didn’t I rotate my toestops? Why wasn’t I more aggressive? Why in the hell did I get three majors in such a short period of time, when I barely got that many in my last five bouts with AoA?

It’s not very satisfying when you only have yourself to blame. You still have to hang out with yourself all the time and buy lunch for the person you’re mad at.

*

Today, I’m not really feeling like working harder is going to do anything, but I’m going to anyway. I’m re-focusing my workouts to work more on agility, balance, core and leg strength. I’m making a doctor’s appointment to get my ears cleared up.  Getting new inserts for my skates.  Who knows if I’ll get the result I want, but going through the motions is good therapy.

A couple of years ago, I was shredding old documents and came across a personal statement from a Chinese student. For whatever stupid reason, this phrase stuck with me, and I keep it on my desk as a reminder:

There is only one kind of failing, called “give up.”

So who knows if it’s courage, intertia, or stubbornness, but I’m not ready to give up just yet.

Posted in Derby, My super fun activities | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments »

I love my team.

January 27, 2012 by Frisky Sour

…and posting pictures of myself.

By Masonite Burn/Sharkey

Thanks Sharkey!

Posted in Derby | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

Betties 126, High Rollers 138

January 24, 2012 by Frisky Sour

We lost on Saturday. It was a close, fast, tight game, but we lost. I hate it.

But let’s talk about me, okay?

I did fine according to my teammates, but not according to the stats:

Total over/under: -5

Per jam over/under: -2

That means that in the lineups I’m listed in, the High Rollers scored five more points than the Betties. Not great, but not terrible, right?

Wrong. It’s really lame, actually.

19 points were scored by the High Rollers when I was in the penalty box for two minutes (TWO MINUTES) for something I didn’t even do. That ended up being two full jams, over which time we were outscored by 19.

When I say it was for something I didn’t do, I mean it. We had a support person step across a piece of tape into our team bench area. Illegal Procedure, Major. Apparently twice? Those penalties were given directly to the pivot on the floor. (Imagine me looking pissed and raising my hand.)

So, lesson learned, let’s hope. Stay on the correct side of the tape, everyone. Imagine the chaos if we start having people NEAR the end of the bench in a game! Nowhere near the action! While not wearing skates! (I’ll be mad about this for months.)

Anyway. Other stuff happened.

There was another bad jam where my toe guard got stuck between my wheel and skate and I kept falling and wondering what the hell was going wrong. That was my problem in jam 10, if you’re watching the footage. Ouch.

Other than that? Some good things happened. I hit some jammers. I helped other people hit some jammers. I helped my jammers. I stayed with my team. I got genuine compliments from my teammates and others. We had fun. I got placed into more jams as the night went on, not less (until I got three minors at the very end).

It was a good game, wasn’t it?

Posted in Derby | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

Bout week to-do list

January 18, 2012 by Frisky Sour

Clean out gear bag

Buy knuckle bandages so I don’t lose this scab

Plan and buy gameday meals and snacks

Fill flask

Find checkered shorts, nude tights, fishnets with feet cut out, socks

Double-check Betties ticket deposit checks

Get tickets to my parents

Bettie spaghetti

Plan afterparty outfit

Find a ride to Coliseum, plan how to get home from afterparty, how to get my gear home from Coliseum

Paint nails red (fingers and toes)

Kick ass

Posted in Derby | Tagged , | 5 Comments »

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