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Sirens seize LADD 2007 Championship
Submitted by Bustaarmov on December 10, 2007 - 8:54pm.
(Played by Derby Dolls banked track rules: 1 minute jams, lead jammer is always the one in front, minor penalties = penalty box for one minute and one blocker down from the team, major penalties = penalty box for one minute, no jammer for the penalized team, 2 penalty points for penalized skater, 5 penalty points and the skater is ejected. Penalty assessment is regardless of whether the penalized skater is a jammer or blocker. Penalties are similar to WFTDA 2.0) THE DOLL FACTORY, LOS ANGELES - The Sirens took the LA Derby Dolls 2007 Championship home in a tight race and squeaky last minute victory in the closest game so far in LADD's 4 year history. In the second public game at the Doll Factory, the mini-instastadium was packed to its 1600 person capacity with a boisterous partisan crowd holding signs for their teams, wearing team colors who screamed themselves hoarse for nearly two hours as the Fight Crew and Sirens duked it out one last time in 2007. But unseen by most was the preamble to the game that took place a scant week and a half before: The Secret Game. It wasn't really a secret, so much as what might be called an "equity waiver" game limited to a capacity of 99 people, which had to be squeezed exactly halfway between the last game on November 17 and the December 8 championship for the Sirens and Fight Crew to have their full 4 game season. The results counted as much as any regular game, and would determine who would go to the championship. In that game, if the Fight Crew didn't pull off a win, they wouldn't be seen again until 2008 making the August game in which the Sirens defeated them 40-35, their last for the year. The FC came out with a saturation bombing pack controlling defense that caught the Sirens by surprise and pulled to a 17-2 lead in the first quarter. From that point, the Sirens caught on and adjusted their tactics to match the FC for the remainder of the game, the FC finally coming away from the game with a 38-24 victory. The Sirens narrowed the first quarter spread by a single point. This contrasts with the Sirens' 55-24 victory against the Tough Cookies on November 17. The league win/loss stats stood at an even 2-2 for all three teams. The determining factor for qualification to be in the championship game would be the point spread. For the Tough Cookies to reach the championship, the FC would have had to win by 62 points in that game. The final three quarters of The Secret Game proved that the two teams were a dead even match, and no one could give either team more than even odds in the championship. This was a game that was gift wrapped for fans and tied with a ribbon. The championship opened with the teams coming out hard and fast in the first quarter with the Sirens scoring the first point in the game. The Fight Crew countered with a 3 point jam. The success for each team hinged entirely on a near binary defensive success or failure mode: for either team, the defense either worked perfectly or failed miserably. In what would be the loosest quarter in the game, the Crew pulled ahead 16-10. For the FC, this was a particularly impressive accomplishment, because due to minor penalties they skated nearly every jam a blocker short, running three blockers to the Sirens four. The second quarter was make it or break it for the Sirens. With both teams running a near identical "wall of 'gina" defense, throwing their blockers at the front of the pack rather than running a split defense and escorting their jammers through the pack regularly, the pace of point gains slowed. Both sets of jammers were hampered in the pack so successfully, there were few that escaped the defense clutches with enough time to score. With four 0-0 jams and only three full pack sweeps, two deftly pulled off relative newcomers to the Sirens, Roxy Cotton and V. Lee, the Sirens closed the gap to a razor slim 22-21 Fight Crew lead. After the period break, the Sirens and Fight Crew tightened the stranglehold of their respective defenses. The jammers, caught in the crossfire, rarely escaped and even more rarely scored. When they did score, it was a game of inches as each jammer squeezed out a paltry one or two points before defensively calling off the jam to keep their opponents from scoring. In the only jam where both teams scored, Kung Pow Tina and Crystal Deth chalked up a single point each. Mila Minute pulled the highest scoring jam in the third quarter, adding two points for the Sirens. There were five 0-0 jams and three 1-0 jams. The Sirens edged ahead in the third quarter to 26-24 lead. It all came down to the last quarter. The first two jams were fought to 0-0 standstill. In the third jam, Fight Crew novice but three league veteran Fighty Almighty pulled off a three point sweep that pulled the Fight Crew a single point ahead 27-26. This triumph cost the Fight Crew dearly, as defense superstar Tara Armov was ejected due to a major elbow penalty. But the following jam the Sirens' Kung Pow Tina, the lone jammer due to the FC major penalty, countered with her own three point sweep, edging the Sirens up 29-27, where they would stay for the next six jams. Leia Mout and Mila Minute raced out of the pack together with Leia edging Mila in an all out race for the pack and risked widening the Sirens lead with a two point gain against the full Sirens pack before a hastily calling off the jam just as Mila was entering the pack, tying up the score 29-29. With four jams left in the game, all the Fight Crew had to do was keep the Sirens from scoring. The next three jams were a brutal series of defensive take downs as neither team could manage to get their jammers out of the pack to score. This was classic Derby Doll defense at its height, as blockers didn't seek to redirect, hamper or obstruct their opponents. Their single goal was to make their counterparts come to a sliding face down halt on the track as the pack moved at car crash speeds. In the second to the last jam, FC blocker Tawdry Tempest was flung off of the track to the concrete below, and the jam was called off before anyone could score. At this point, the ground was shaking from the deafening crowd roar. As loud as the sound system was, the announcers were a thin, barely audible voice in the distance. The teams were rapidly reassembled on the track, with the Sirens running the same defensive line up but replacing Mila Minute with Kung Pow Tina as jammer. The Fight Crew was running Leia Mout again, but put Apocalyptica, and Myna Threat up with Broadzilla this time, replacing Fighty Almighty and Tawdry. The FC were still running a three blocker pack, Crystal Deth still serving a penalty for ramming, against a full four blocker Sirens defense. The Sirens came out pounding the Fight Crew this time, successfully rattling them. Leia Mout made the mistake of trying to pass between Amber Alert and the rail, and got nailed the rail. Broadzilla hung back to try and rescue Leia Mout from a repeated pounding, a serious tactical error as Kung Pow Tina took full advantage of the distraction and breezed by her. FC captain Myna Threat could be heard as she passed the crowd yelling and gesturing for her team to wall up behind the Sirens. But the FC defense was dispersed as KP Tina deftly avoided them and was flung forward by her team for a scoring lap. Crystal Deth was released from the penalty box to join the FC defense. Still failing to reassemble as a team, Broadzilla and Apocalyptica expended their efforts to get Leia through the pack for the first pass just as KP Tina was about to enter the pack. Crystal Deth lined up with the trailing Broadzilla, but KP Tina had too much speed on them and breezed past. Myna Threat and Apocalyptica were shadowed by PITA, Amber Alert, Paris Kilton and Haught Wheels, who ably knocked the divided FC blockers aside. KP Tina had a clear path for a high speed full pack, four point sweep, bringing the Sirens to a 33-31, victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, 2007 LA Derby Dolls Championship win. Team Lineups Sirens Fight Crew STATS Sirens Fight Crew PENALTY TOTALS Sirens Fight Crew
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