We're pretty sure that this is the first Half Smokes entry to ever be about roller derby. We'll admit we have some personal ties to the game. Our sister, after spending her first two decades of life not knowing, to use Bill Parcells' famous phrase, if a football was blown up or stuffed with feathers, took up the sport in college and has skated on both sides of the Atlantic for various clubs. We also had a former colleague who played with the DC Rollergirls, so we like to think we have a sense of the good a sport, any sport, can do for a person's body, mind, and soul.

So, with that in mind, the DC Rollergirls are soliciting donations for a permanent practice space (their bouts are held at the D.C. Armory, near RFK Stadium), preferably in a bought-and-paid-for warehouse somewhere in town.

They have a Crowdrise page, and they've raised, at last check, $2,582 of the necessary $25,000. We know this is a crowded market for donations this time of year, but if you can spare a bit, you can do a lot worse than give to these ladies.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Andray Blatche coverage.