Eastern Regional
Dates: September 24-26, 2010
Location: White Plains, New York
Host League: Suburbia Roller Derby

The Eastern Regional should be an exciting tournament and has many possibilities for excellent games. While it looks like the same stories of last year will unfold on paper with Gotham, Philly, and Boston making the WFTDA Championships, Charm City and Steel City both have a realistic shot of getting in as well and Montreal is a long shot bet but could happen. Anyway you cut it, this is going to be an extraordinary weekend of roller derby.

Team Breakdowns

1. Gotham Girls Roller Derby: Lets be honest here, this is Gotham’s tournament to lose. Last year Gotham lost twice for the first time in two years within the span of a month to Philly and Oly. What is scary is those 2 losses might have been the best thing to happen to Gotham as they had to push themselves again to be the best and with the rise of the West, Gotham now has plenty of challenges to try and over come. Recently Gotham went 3-0 against BAD, Rose City, and Rat City in games that weren’t even close to being competitive. All the usual suspects are still here, Suzy Hotrod, Bonnie Thunders, Ginger Snap, Hyper Lynx, and have added Swede Hurt from Rat City. Its amazing to see how Gotham uses a simple 2-2 pack to dominate other teams, which speaks again to the level of talent they have. Gotham has beaten all of the teams in the top tier teams in the East and while I do think they won’t walk through Philly or Boston, they will win either of those match ups. This is the year for Gotham to be East Regional champions.

2. Philly Rollergirls: Philly was the hot team in 2009 but can they recapture that magic in 2010? They were the team who slayed the invincible dragon known as Gotham and took the number 1 seed in the East in the process. Then they were shockingly upset by Rocky Mountain at home at the Declaration of Derby. They have lost a few games this season, but they do hold a big victory over Denver. Missing Nina Knockout this year has been noticeable in their line up, but Teflon Donna is still in the mix, doing her thing. I recently learned that Robin Drugstores is out for the season with an injury but Dara Licks has helped to fill the void with her amazing pack play.  I think the finals of this tournament will be a repeat of last year, but Gotham will come out on top. That being said, number 2 in the East and getting a spot in the WFTDA Championships is never a bad place to be.

3. Boston Derby Dames: Boston finds itself in a very interesting spot in 2010. After years of trying to make a WFTDA Championship tournament, they finally jumped to the next level in 2009. Now the question becomes has Boston plateued at a spot of beating the teams ranked below them but never beating the teams ranked above them? Case in point, Boston had a great first half against Rose City at ECDX before they let the lead slip away in the second. On the flip side, a sluggish first half against Windy City cost them the chance at a second half comeback win. Boston has the tools to make it to the top level with Harley Quinn, Shelby Shattered, Harlot Fevah, and Killary Clinton but the question is now, can they take the next step and beat a team ranked above? On the elite level of any sport, mental preparation and confidence are two of the main factors that determine who wins games. That being said, I still think they will beat Steel City or Montreal in a head to head matchup but Charm City is a tossup.

4. Charm City Roller Girls: Charm City wants to make it to the WFTDA Championships; the question is can they in 2010? Charm has been off and on this year losing to Denver and other Western teams, but picking up a victory over Texas in Austin and a recent home win over east coast rival Boston. Charm has not had the mass turn over of other teams but their meteoric rise has begun to cool as they are now consistently playing against the best in the world and not always getting the win because of it. Just Carol came on strong last year and is now co-captaining the team alongside Joy Collision and love her or hate her, Dolly Rocket will be rocking the pivot stripe in Baltimore longer then Cal Ripken Jr. played consecutive games. I don’t see them defeating either Gotham or Philly, but are on even ground against Boston who they are 2-2 life time, taking the W in their most recent meeting by 16 points, the largest margin of victory between these 2 teams ever. I can only hope and pray that we get to see Charm vs. Boston for the fifth time with a trip to Chicago on the line. Also their opening game against Steel City is going to be a great one to watch as Steel Hurtin’ reminds me of Charm City circa late 2008/early 2009.

5. Steel City Derby Demons: The Steel City Derby Demons’ Steel Hurtin’ continue to rise up as a team but are they ready to break the glass ceiling in the East? In my opinion, maybe but they are going to need some things to fall in place for them. Steel City has a lot of talent and when they control the tempo of the game can score a lot of points with Hurricane Heather on the jammer line and Athena and Bonecrusher in the pack. I don’t see any of the teams ranked above them, allowing them to control the speed of the pack. Steel City’s focus is offense and if they get matched up against a team that plays stiff defense and makes their jammer fend for themselves, I think that is going to stifle their game. This tournament is crucial for SCDD to find out where they truly rank as a team and with a first round match up against Charm City looming, its definitely going to be an up hill battle, lets see if they can rise to the occasion to meet the challenge.

6. Montreal Roller Derby: In the movie Happy Gilmore, Happy walks up to his competitor Shooter McGavin at the final golf tournament of the film and says “Happy learned how to putt, uh-oh.” That’s the way I feel about Montreal’s blocking as they went from being the team in the funny neon uniforms in 2009 to the team in the funny neon uniforms who could play some great roller derby in 2010. Georgia W. Tush, Iron Wench, and Ewan Wotarmy are going to be big name players down the line. While they have had some big victories this year and a solid winning record, I don’t’ see them making the WFTDA Championships.

7. Caronlina Rollergirls: Carolina has hit the largest slump of their existence in the past two years. After making appearances at the original Dust Devil, 2007 and 2008 WFTDA Championships; Carolina put all their stock into playing high level teams in 2009 and began losing games on a regular basis, a trend that they are still grappling with today. With veterans like Jesse King and Princess America, Carolina does have some fuel left in the tank. A positive tournament for them is if they could leave the East ranked 5th or higher. However they are going to have to work and play at top form to make that happen.

8. Providence Roller Derby: Providence had a rough time in 2008 after losing Dolly Rocket in 2007 to Charm City and other players moving on as well. 2009 was a good rebuilding year for them and they are making their fourth regional appearance in a row. Providence has Jetta Von Diesel and Baby Fighterfly, but question how deep their bench is. If Providence gets a win, then it’s a positive tournament for them.

9. Dutchland Rollers: Dutchland is making their first appearance in a regional tournament this season. I am not expecting them to shock the world, but they definitely deserve their spot as they have improved a lot this year. Their focus should be on trying to keep games close and when they aren’t bouting, studying other teams to see what they need to add to their repertoire to win on the next tier of play. If Dutchland can get a W, it’s a step in the right direction.

10. DC Rollergirls: After languishing in mediocrity for years, DC got their game figured out in 2010 and have put together some impressive wins for their league. They have a good blocker in Hoova Dayum and an excellent pivot in Gunherdown. DC has no where to go but up in this tournament which they can do. Getting even 1 win at Eastern Regionals equals a successful weekend for DC and I think they will get at least 1 that weekend.

Drop by later in the week for my bracket picks for this weekend. What teams do I think are going onto the WFTDA Championships? Will I pick a wild card team to sneak in or do I stick with the safe money? And more importantly who do you think will and won’t be going to Uproar on the Lake Shore? Let us know with your comments below.