West Preview - Rollin' on the River

I was really hoping to have a rankings update this week but it looks as if that is very unlikely to happen. I still have to get a preview up of the most hyped region playoffs in roller derby history, though.

Hellarad says that Westerns are the new Nationals. They would be right if Gotham (#1, 10-0) didn't exist. This region is ridiculously stacked from one through seven. It could also be one of the most unpredictable, if not the most unpredictable, of all the regions. Oly (#3, 9-0), Rocky Mountain (#2, 8-1), and Denver (#4, 7-1) have clearly set themselves up to be the three teams heading to nationals again this year. Unless, of course, the grouping of Rose City (#11, 7-4), Rat City (#8, 6-5), and Bay Area (#9, 5-5) has inched close enough to challenge for at least one of those spots. Those three teams essentially just played a round-robin at the Hometown Throwdown and they each finished 1-1. Did I mention this region would be unpredictable?

The matchups in this one are going to be fun to watch. Rose City and Rat City meet on the first day which will be the rubber game of this year's series with Rose taking the first 124-105 and Rat taking the second 155-111. Both games were played in Portland. Another potential rubber game is a possible matchup of Rocky Mountain and Denver in the semifinals. The two squads from Denver haven't played this season but did meet at Westerns and Nationals last year with RMRG taking it 122-107 in a classic at Westerns and the Mile High Club beating a Deranged-less 5280 Fight Club 151-103 in the 3rd Place game of Nationals. Finally, Oly has won both matchups with Rocky Mountain but the third time could be the cliched charm as the Fight Club have never looked better than they do right now.

1: Oly Rollers (#3, 9-0)
2: Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (#2, 8-1)
3: Denver Roller Dolls (#4, 7-1)
4: Rose City Rollers (#11, 7-4)
5: Rat City Rollergirls (#8, 6-5)
6: B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls (#9, 5-5)
7: Jet City Rollergirls (#14, 4-2)
8: Duke City Derby (#27, 4-4)
9: Tucson Roller Derby (#38, 5-3)
10: Sacred City Derby Girls (#41, 3-3) 

Champion: Rocky Mountain. All giants fall eventually. Oly is going down this year, whether it's to Rocky Mountain in the Western Championship or Gotham in the WFTDA Championship (or semifinals). The 5280 Fight Club are just too much of a force this season.

Ticket-punchers: Rocky Mountain, Oly, Denver. These three are the cream of some great competition. I don't see any reason to believe that the ticket-punchers won't be a repeat of last year.


Team most likely to play above their seed: Uhh...None. While the Derbytron's picks don't line up exactly with WFTDA's seeds, there is pretty solid reasoning behind the WFTDA seeding. Oly has beat Rocky Mountain twice. Rat City and Rose City split their series this year and Bay Area just went 1-1 against those two teams. You'd have to be a crazy person to think any team is likely to play above their seed.

Predicted finish:
1: Rocky Mountain
2: Oly
3: Denver
4: Rat City
5: Bay Area
6: Rose City
7: Jet City
8: Duke City
9: Tucson
10: Sacred City