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Attendance plummeted when Rains left the organization. Griffiths and two television producers revived the operation in a more glamorous form in 1989, as the short-lived television show '' RollerGames ''. The league was revived as Roller Games International from 1990 to 1993, and again under Griffiths' son in 2000. ADDITIONAL HISTORY Roller Games actually consisted of several separate leagues, including the (U.S.) National Roller Derby (NRD) which was renamed to National Roller League (NRL) and consisted of the Northern Hawks, Detroit Devils, New York Bombers, Texas Outlaws, and Brooklyn Red Devils. Roller Games also encompassed the Canadian National Roller League (CNRL) and Japanese National Roller League (JNRL). Roller Games were mainly broadcast on Los Angeles television affiliate KTLA with Dick Lane (TV Announcer) calling the play-by-play. He was famous for saying "Whoaaaa, Nelly" (predating Keith Jackson ) when fights broke out between the players. Years later, it was revived on Channel 52, a small UHF station out of Corona, CA. In order to compete with Roller Games' international flair, Seltzer's Roller Derby also formed its own International Roller Derby League (IRDL), which included Roller Derby's most famous teams, the Bay Bombers, Midwest Pioneers, and Jolters, among others.http://web.archive.org/web/20030728065919/www.rollersport.us/history2.cfmhttp://www.rollerderbypreservationassociation.com/modules.php?name=Leagues&op=ShowLeagueAll&id=175&id_cat=32&categories=ROLLERGAMES In 1973, Seltzer shut down Roller Derby and sold the promotional rights to Griffiths, who immediately disbanded Roller Derby's IRDL and his own NRL, but recruited some of IRDL's star skaters to skate in an NRL successor league, the International Skating Conference (ISC), which was to focus on the Los Angeles Thunderbirds.http://web.archive.org/web/20030728071050/www.rollersport.us/history4.cfmhttp://www.rollerderbypreservationassociation.com/modules.php?name=Leagues&op=ShowLeagueAll&id=179&id_cat=32&categories=ROLLERGAMES However, as time progressed, the circus-like approach doomed all of Roller Games, and fans deserted the arenas. After continuing the television program in a handful of U.S. television markets, and a short-lived revival on the ESPN cable television network in 1986, Griffiths eventually closed down Roller Games, but retained the rights to the name and occasionally organized one-off matches between teams of former Roller Games skaters in the years that followed. RollerGames See Also: RollerGames In 1989, two television producers David Sams and Mike Miller , worked with Griffiths to produce ''RollerGames'', a U.S. television show that presented an even more theatrical variant of the sport for a national audience. It featured a steeply banked figure-eight track, an alligator pit, and a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games league, as well as younger participants. It was broadcast for one season (1989–1990) before its distributor, Quintex Media, went bankrupt. Roller Games International Following the cancellation of ''RollerGames'', Griffiths organized three Roller Games International events (untelevised):
All three matches were T-Birds vs. RGI All-Stars. Post by "williamwsl1" on bankedtracknews, February 24 , 2000 . Griffiths' son, Bill Griffiths Jr., relaunched Roller Games International (RGI) in 2000.http://www.rollerderbypreservationassociation.com/autohtml.php?filename=Banked_Track_News_Archives/issue09.htm CURRENT ACTIVITY As Of Dec. 2004 , the Bob Sedillo owned Roller Games International (RGI) league still operates a single team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds). A match between the ARDL's San Francisco Bay Bombers and RGI's Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds) took place on July 29 , 2006 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The Bay Bombers defeated the T-Birds 81-79.http://www.latbirds.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=77 SEE ALSO
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