The Rosters Are A’Roarin’: Home Season Begins The hottest part of a flame is closest to the source. In this case, the greatest competition in roller derby is always at home – home season that is! Last year, spectators witnessed home bouts that ended with single points separating the teams or rolling into overtime. When you pit athletes who know one another so well against each other, you’re going to get some fight-to-the-finish finales! Subtract veteran derby girls and add newly established skaters, and you never know what is going to happen! This year’s three home bouts will take place one Saturday per month at the Alex & Ani Outdoor Rink in downtown Providence. On July 25, it will be Old Money Honeys versus the Sakonnet River Roller Rats. On Aug 29, you’ll see the Mob Squad battle against the Sakonnet River Roller Rats. Then on Sept 19, the Old Money Honeys will go skate-to-skate with the Mob Squad. After all is rolled and won, after the victories and the points have been tallied, we will conclude this year’s season with the Home Team Championship Double Header at Teamworks in Warwick on Oct 10! Tickets are available for the Providence bouts now at ProvidenceRollerDerby.com. Before you turn the page, get to know your teams! Without further adieu, I present to you PRD’s home team rosters. Mob Squad: (Captain) Smashley Olsen, Baby Fighterfly, Beat-Trix LeStrangle, Boones Harm, Caped Crusk8ter, Citizen Toxie, Death Rochelle, Dita Von Muerta, Elsie Ya Later, Freak’n’Awesome, Goldie Glocks, Lana Arvina, Shotz of Petrone, Shreddy Roosevelt, Sun Scream, Terror Swift, Toni Montana and Varla Gunz. Old Money Honeys: (Captain) Cindy Lou Screw, Breakbeat Betty, Checker Pulse, Delta Bravo, Jetta Von Diesel, Jigsaw, Lexi Laweless, Malady D’Amour, Mortician Addams, Nutritional Beast, Raggedy Anneurysm, Rhoda Perdition, Roxy ElbowYa, Sinnamon Splice, Smoke ‘n’ Mirrors and Val Kyrie. Sakonnet River Roller Rats: (Captain) Trannie Oakley, Annie Trackburne, Axe A. Dental, Craisy Dukes, D.A.Lek, Dark & Stormy, Mary Slayne, Max Slayer Stone, Milla Lowlife, Pez DispensHer, Puma Thurman, Scarizard, Shamblock, Sis Boom, Bonnie, SmackGyver and Trophy Knife. Tickets on sale now at ProvidenceRollerDerby.com. Know Your Mom and Pop: Lang’s Bowlarama There’s nothing like a good night of bowling. Something about being in a bowling alley inspires a nostalgic feeling of simpler times. It’s a simple game (at least to the casual player) and doesn’t matter much how good you are — everyone has fun in the end. Ed Lang was a living legend in his time. He managed to sweet talk his way to numerous jobs, all with slight truths and a salesman’s wit. Though he was successful and a name around Rhode Island, Lang had an unfulfilled dream. He yearned to open a bowling alley and remained persistent until he found a piece of property in Cranston and opened Lang’s Bowlarama on October 2, 1960. He ran the business by himself until 1972 when his son, Bruce, came back to Rhode Island to help run the company after a successful stint as president of a production company. The father and son team ran the bowling alley during its heyday in the 1970s, including hosting the pro tour in 1976. The family made the decision to lease the bowling alley to AMF in 1983, which seemed to mark the end of an era. Twenty-nine years later, the center was in disrepair, a far cry from its neon-lit popularity of yore. Rich and Dave Lang, grandsons of Ed, came to the rescue, taking over the company with the hope of restoring it to its glory days. They decided to renovate the entire place, discovering the color schemes and old logos from the 1960s, which they incorporated into their design. “It has been a non-stop adventure of passion, fun and building the business – one happy customer at a time,” Rich said, detailing how today’s Lang’s Bowlarama is a unique reimagining of the original. “The colors were matched to the original palette we found during renovation,” he noted. Lang’s also features some classic design references to the ’60s and ’70s, such as a huge “BOWL” sign and a massive atomic lamp, as well as vintage photos of the family. Lang’s has a lot to offer in addition to 10-pin bowling, such as a variety of leagues for ages ranging from kids to seniors, with sign-ups for fall leagues starting soon. They book for birthday parties and corporate events. They have Atomic Bowling under black lights and a laser light show Thursday through Sunday. There is a full service pro shop and bowling lessons from a Top 100 Nationally Ranked USBC Certified Coach. There is also a full bar and menu with a lot to choose from. The Skyline Lounge, which is located in the bowling alley, features live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Summer improvement plans include adding a new expanded bar, event center and larger pro shop. 2015 is its emerald year — recognition of its 55th anniversary — and various activities are planned for the rest of the year. Every Friday and Saturday features “Spin the Prize Wheel,” which takes place during Atomic Bowling and is hosted by DJ Duval. Participants can win almost $300 in prizes. There is a free concert featuring local musicians on July 18 that will benefit Operation Clean Government, an organization that means a lot to the Lang’s. They also partnered with RI Community Food Bank to host a charity car show on August 8, 2015 from 10 am – 3 pm. The event is free to the public (a $10 fee and a canned good for anyone wishing to register their car) and features DJ Car Guy, the Gansett Girls and food for $1.55. June 28 was a successful part of the anniversary celebration, as Lang’s hosted the first annual Lang’s Scholarship Tournament. Eighty-nine bowlers registered for the tournament, which exceeded expectations. Hunter Kempton shot a 300 game, but Jalen Scott-Jones took first place, with a total score of 908. A $1,000 scholarship was awarded to Qwadaris Rembert, who will attend Vincennes University in Indiana studying business management. A $665 scholarship was awarded to Jalen Scott-Jones, who will study sports business management at Webber International University in Florida. These events are leading up to the main celebration on October 2 and 3. October 2, which marks 55 years to the day of Lang’s opening its doors to the public, will feature live music on the bowling lanes, along with plenty of prizes and giveaways. October 3 is an all-day family event that will be full of great food and bowling specials. There will also be face painting, balloon animals and other kid-friendly activities. Of course, there will be plenty of giveaways and a few can’t-miss surprises. Lang’s Bowlarama is a Rhode Island staple, proving that tradition and family are important to the residents of our state. Its longevity as a business shows the perseverance of its owners. The celebrations planned this year will let everyone know that Lang’s knows how to throw a great party, just like they know how to keep a fantastic and successful business rolling. Riveters Rally to Victory at ECDX Providence’s travel team, the Rhode Island Riveters, were plagued this year with injuries and zero wins going into the 2015 East Coast Derby Extravaganza, slipping from #78 to #98 in the WFTDA rankings. The event featured back-to-back bout days with PRD taking on Lansing Derby Vixens (#97) on Saturday and DC Rollergirls (#80) on Sunday. Both bouts were intense and dramatic, and concluded with the final scores separated by single digits. Lansing came up on top with a 174-170 victory. However, on Sunday, Providence went above and beyond, coming out strong by toppling DC with an upsetting 197-191 victory! Interestingly, DC defeated Ithaca Sufferjets (#87) the previous day, also by six points. Now it’s time to get geared up for when the season gets very interesting. Starting on Saturday, July 25, the home season starts for three straight months at the Alex & Ani City Center – the downtown Providence outdoor rink. The travel teams get broken up into three home teams: The Old Money Honeys, The Sakonnet River Roller Rats and The Mob Squad. Who will be this year’s Providence Roller Derby Home Season Champions? Tickets are available now for all three bouts: July 25, August 29 and September 19 at ProvidenceRollerDerby.com! Pics or it Didn’t Happen If you live in New England, there is a good chance that you or someone you know has a fish photo hanging on the wall. Maybe it is Grandpa posing with a pike or your friend’s dad holding a bass. Maybe it is your sister showing off a monster striper from when she was a kid. Historically, people claim, “It was this big!” as they make an exaggerated version of the size of the fish with their hands. When it comes to fishing stories, as far as I am concerned, if there is not a photo, it didn’t happen. Perhaps there is no better way to display your angling skills to your peers than to post a photo of a lunker on Instagram. You might measure the success of your day by the number of likes your photo gets rather than the size of the fish. The dog days of summer are almost here and there will be ample time to get out and beef up your social media.