All that's left is the finals on June 10th! The Mad Rollin' Dolls wrapped up season two's regular-season play on Saturday, May 20th with the most righteous flat-track roller derby Madison has ever seen. The last few months have shown that the days of blow-out victories and foregone conclusions have ended; all four teams worked their butts off this season, resulting in tough competition, surprise reversals and edge-of-your-seat excitement.

pic by Papa-Razzi

The first period featured the Vaudeville Vixens (1-4), coming off a valiant effort against the Reservoir Dolls on May 6th, bouting a Quad Squad team (4-1) guaranteed a Championship birth. Strong jamming and disciplined blocking propelled the resurging Vixens into a wire-to-wire battle with a disciplined Quad Squad team. Appropriately, the first jam featured two jammers that are arguably the strength of their teams - the Vixen's Dolly Pardon Me and the Quad Squad's Jenny Knoxville. Dolly came out hot and started the Vixens off to a two point lead, but big jams from league scoring leader Jenny Knoxville helped the Quad Squad turn the deficit into a nine point lead with three minutes remaining. The Vixens' fans are loud and proud, and their cheering late in the period energized their team. The Vixen's defense stiffened, giving up just two more points while getting two strong four-point jams from Dolly and Darling Nikki. After Nasty Canasta earned a point for beating Dolly in a penalty "pillow fight" showdown, the Vixens trailed by only four points as they left the floor.

In the second match-up, the Unholies (1-4) were coming off a three-bout stretch in which they handed a defeat to the Vaudeville Vixens and nearly upset both Championship teams. Meanwhile, the Reservoir Dolls (4-1) were fighting for pride, with their eyes on the Championship prize. In a period that recorded only one high-scoring jammer performance - an 8 point jam by the Res Doll's Mouse - both team's blockers combined hard hits with strong defensive strategy to keep the score close. The fast and sassy Crackerjack pleased and teased the crowd, earning a point for her penalty showdown against Wildberry Punch in a stunt requiring skaters to put on a pair of boxer shorts and complete one lap. The Unholy Rollers hit the locker room with a four-point lead. Halftime featured the Mascot Olympics, an event pitting each team's mascots against each other in feats of strength, skill and sobriety. The inaugural contest featured events such as the "severed ear toss" and the "blood chug." The Quad Squad's Kid Lightning and Rowdy Rod Lightning took gold after winning two of four events.

pic by Papa-Razzi

pic by Papa-Razzi

The energy levels at Fast Forward skyrocketed at the beginning of the third period as Doll Pardon Me and Jenny Knoxville both scored seven points in the first jam. Although Jenny and Dolly's consistent jamming, as well as Hell Kat's reemergence to full strength were good subplots, the story of the night became rookie Quad Squad jammer Big Bang. Big Bang exploded onto the scene with strong jamming in March, but this night's performance was legendary. The pinnacle of the season was the final jam. With the Quad Squad down two points, and only 36 seconds remaining, a Vixen victory seemed imminent. In a furious explosion of speed, Big Bang managed to score two points before time expired, forcing the first tiebreaking jam in Mad Rollin' Dolls history! Big Bang had pulled "a rabbit out of a hat" to force overtime, but the Vixens were not to be denied. Overtime is played with a full two-minute jam, and as Dolly Pardon Me faced off against Jenny Knoxville once again, Dolly had the jam of her career. As the Vixen defense stifled the dangerous Knoxville, keeping her scoreless, the stout Quad Squad defense could not deny Dolly the win, scoring nine points (38 total), the highest jammer score of the bout. As the Vixens celebrated their second win this season the other three teams rushed the rink to congratulate them on their hard-earned win. Final score: Vaudeville Vixens 78, Quad Squad 69

With the crowd still in frenzied, the Reservoir Dolls and Unholy Rollers returned to finish the battle they had started before halftime. In a period that saw a mix of the "Fab Four" - the Res Dolls veteran jammers - battle against an Unholy Rollers' jamming core led by the strength of Jewels of Denile, key jams by the Res Doll's Mouse and Tatum Tantrum slowly closed the gap halfway through the period. Once again, the crowd shifted in their seats anticipating another exciting finish. As the clock ticked down to just under six minutes, the score was tied at 47 and the crowd was cheering with every point. But this was where the Reservoir Doll's bench strength and defensive discipline showed them to be the most balanced team in the league. In an unbelievable turn of events, the Unholy Rollers were held scoreless the rest of the period, while Res Dolls jammers earned lead jamming honors every jam. The Reservoir Dolls wisely managed the game by scoring points and stopping play before the Unholies could make headway. The score slowly crept in the Res Dolls' favor until reaching a final score of 55 to 47, earning last year's champs the best record in the league for their second straight year. Final score: Reservoir Dolls 55, Unholy Rollers 47

pic by Papa-Razzi

Scores: Vaudeville Vixens 78, Quad Squad 69 Reservoir Dolls 55, Unholy Rollers 47 Check out the rest of the action-packed photos. HUGS AND SLUGS Referees: Boom Boom, Graham Slam, James Blond, Marshall Law, Reverend Riot, Rat Bastard - guest referee from the Minnesota Rollergirls Announcers: Baam Baam and Bob Noxious Scorekeeper: Persecutor Mike and Flash Whoredon Scoreboard: Choppy McSideburns Dolls of Discipline: Zsa Zsa LaGore, Olivia Neutron Bomb Statistics: Big Al, X. Static, Victimizer, Raezor, Sgt. Hardway, and Viv Sexton Halftime: Mascot Olympics

FRIENDS OF DERBY

Alt n' Bachs Amsterdam Audio Depot Buckeye Capital City Tattoo Cat's Meow Cha Cha Beauty Parlor Circa Cleveland's Diner Details By Bill Fast Forward Skate Center Four Star Video Heaven Freedom/Knuckleheads

High Noon Saloon Ikens Hardwood Floors Just Coffee Lakeside Press Mother Fool's Nick's Restaurant Revolution Cycles Shamrock Bar Shoe Box Sooper Dooper Supreme Pizza Willy Street Pub & Grill

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Kappy; Rickster the Trackster; Pi-rate; Grunt & The Kick A** Security Team; Lothlorien Cooperative & The Elven Rink Rats of Doom; Bellezebub; Attackula; Josh and Mary Meier; Hell Hound; Texas Rollergirls; Ralph at Lakeside; King Thong, Sr.; David Coppafeel; Dr. Don T. Sumee; The Merchant of Vengeance; Ken from Audio Depot; Dewey Decimator & Dr. Dewey; Weaztek; Pappa-Razzi; Flash; all the derby widows; our moms; and Madison - we love you!

PROCEEDS

A portion of this bout's proceeds will be donated to Encore Studio for the Performing Arts. Encore is the only professional theatre company for individuals with disabilities in Wisconsin, and one of the only of its kind in the country. Founded in 2000, Encore produces all-original material utilizing casts made up of actors with and without disabilities. Productions deal with universal themes surrounding the lives of people with disabilities and the people close to them. Encore actively promotes an environment where each individual's talents, skills and abilities can be fostered and developed to reach their goal of having a career as a performing artist. For more information, visit: www.encorestudio.org