TRD: Vice Squad Busts (And Busts and Busts) Waitresses By King Daevid MacKenzie

TUCSON (Observer Update) - How does the Tucson Roller Derby spell “police brutality”? V-I-C-E S-Q-U-A-D.

The gals in blue busted, and busted, and busted some more, the Furious Truckstop Waitresses 185-33 at Bladeworld on perhaps the wildest Saturday night for badge-toting enforcers since Chicago ’68. Two VICE jammers even racked up more individual point tallies than the entire FTW team scored all night; #22 Sami Automatic booked an amazing 76 points on her own, and #7 Polly Graf pinned 53 more points, with a third Squad jammer, #111 The Turkish Slammer, not far behind with 22 points on the night. At November’s 2008 Wheelies Awards, Sami was named best jammer for both VICE and the all-star Saddletramps, as well as best jammer in the TRD league-wide and the Squad’s MVP. The only Waitresses who generated double-digit individual scores were #ForkQ Gracie Spoon with 11 points and #1/2 pint Peaches Rodriguez with 10. Although Saddlebrats graduate LUC3FER (an Iron Curtain rookie this year) was loaned to the FTW for the night, it was hard to believe this was last season’s #2 side in the league.

The VICE Squad also had a loaned skater on the track Saturday night, Copper Queen Venus Dynamite; the teams’ depleted rosters were “due to injuries and incidents,” according to tucsonrollerderby.com Sunday. Halftime music was provided by Tucson punk trio The Fisters. The unexpected death of Joe “Bones” July, the TRD’s long-time EMT, cast a somewhat sombre mood over both skaters and audience throughout the evening. Bones, 49, had died of apparently natural causes Saturday morning, and was scheduled to work the bout that night. The TRD is expected to conduct some sort of commemorative event for Bones later in the season, but exactly what form that event would take was not determined at press time.

The next scheduled TRD bout at Bladeworld, 1065 Grant Road, will be held on March 28, when the Copper Queens and Iron Curtain meet in a MetalBrawl. Doors will open at 6:30, with the bout starting at 7:00; advance tickets cost $8.00, while door tickets will cost $10.00. Halftime music act will be Los Angeles band Psychostar, who will also play the afterparty at the Surly Wench Pub later that night.