I Come From Brooklyn Cuz That's Where I'm From

With the new job, I've in the New Jersey/New York City area most weekdays lately...a region of the country I'd never been before a few weeks ago. It's weird for me to see the place where so much of American culture originates and at the same time, think that I'm in a foreign country. It's not foreign to me like going to Botswana or Tannu Tuva. It's foreign like going to a church of a different denomination of the same greater religion. Same basic beliefs, different rituals, songs, and costumes. Some things frustrate me while others I wish on my home community. For example:

Why don't gas stations in NJ carry fucking beer!

Why does an economically successful state like New Jersey (relative to Kentucky) MANDATE that some poor bastard pump my gas for me?

Why don't economically challenged areas in Appalachia mandate that some poor bastard pump my gas for me?

Why is gas in Kentucky .30-.50 cents higher than in New Jersey?

Why don't we have a kick-ass train system in the Louisville area when it is the economic hub for the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky?

Why don't transportation officials in New Jersey learn that green turn signals at traffic lights are better than mile-long "jug handle" re-routes?

Well enough of that. The good news is that I got a personalized tour of NYC from my friend Steve, king of the Octaku. I may be going on another tour of NYC next week with some folks from work, and I'm planning to see Spamalot, the Duke Gardens in NJ, and the statues at Eldridge R. Johnson Park. More to come...

The Final Bout Down or Championship?

My prediction was right. The final score of the season ending "Final Bout-Down" (Red Menace 78, Jackies 76) shows evidence of a tight, end of season defensive bout.

The weird thing was that they started billing it as the championship bout despite internal questioning of that nomenclature from the beginning of the season. Now I'm no expert, but "championship" implies that best two teams with equal records fight it out to determine who has the best record at the end. The best team in the NFC doesnt play the second best team in the AFL in the Superbowl right? The Menace earned and deserved this win tonight and their play was impressive, but do they deserve a championship trophy for the season? I don't think so since tonight's bout was their ONLY win all season. DCRG travel team bouts aside, the FINAL record for the Jackies is 2 wins -1 loss, the Menace, 2 losses - 1 win. Internally, the Jackies and Menace are now officially 1-1 verses each other.

So where am I going with this? Well there are two major points. First, the DCRG as a league needs to progress and reorganize damn near every aspect of its organization. The "this is our first season" excuse is no longer valid. Make up your mind to play with multiple teams or not (I say go for 4 teams and do massive recruiting this Fall, but inside sources say that ain't happening). And if you do have multiple teams, make a pre-planned structure and playoff system that is REAL. Second, don't call it a championship bout and hand out trophies when it is NOT a championship. If you wanna go that rout with 2-3 teams, then go to a cumulative point tally or a weighted average of game wins. This is so terribly disrespectful to the players, the Flat Track Derby/DIY movement, and the legitimacy of the flat track roller derby.

Luckily, the league is taking well deserved and needed a Fall hiatus and will come out in February a much different league...but will it re-emerge at all? Waiting in the wings are a handful of eager and impressive rookies that could have started play 6 weeks ago. I still don't get why they weren't drafted on to the short benches of either team. I also fear a high number of retirements due to injury and burn out as well. Critical as I may be of this season's end, I LOVE this sport and look forward to next season. Congrats to all my homies on the Red Menace for their win and kudos to my war-torn Jackies for fighting all the way to the end. Also, good thoughts, prayers, and huju to Gretel Von Slap (anyone have an update?) who went out on a stretcher during the game.