Leading Off

[originallink:10734326:703712]

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN SUTTON/DUOMO A Tip of the Derby With USA's WWF ratings body-slamming the Nielsens and Jesse Ventura clanging his dumbbells in the governor's mansion in St. Paul, it was only a matter of time before Roller Derby skated back into our lives. This latest take on the original TV pseudosport is called RollerJam; it has five coed teams strategically "placed" across the country (California, Nevada, Texas, Florida and New York), although all contests are staged before TV cameras in Orlando. Doubleheaders are telecast weekly on The Nashville Network (Friday, 9 p.m. Eastern time).

FOUR COLOR PHOTOS: PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN SUTTON/DUOMO The original Derby, concocted by promoter Leo Seltzer in 1935, prohibited physical contact, but Seltzer decided to give the people what they wanted and rewrote the rules in 1937 with help from his pal, Damon Runyon. The Sisters of Suffering (above), who skate for the New York Enforcers, say they like it rough but won't say how much they saved by getting a group rate on those fake SOS tattoos.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN SUTTON/DUOMO Killer Cathy Evangelo of the Florida Sundogs gets derailed after tangling with one of the Sisters of Suffering.