With all of the fans, media, and the talking heads on ESPN slobbering on the knob of Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, you would think that the Vikings were God’s gift to football and that no team will ever be able to compete with them and the opposing team should just forfeit because they are just so good.

Well, I am here to tell you that the Vikings will not win the Super Bowl and more than likely won’t even get to the big game. First off, the Vikings have played exactly three teams with a winning record, and two of those teams have a resounding record of 6-5. Granted, the other team they beat, they beat twice, the Green Bay Packers. However, the game they won at Lambeau Field is one of the games in which the Packers were without Aaron Rodgers’ safety valve, tight end Jermichael Finley. In those four games against winning teams, the Vikings have murdered their opponents, winning three of them, winning by an average of seven points per game, two of them at home. That doesn’t even include them needing an improbable last ditch heave from Favre to Greg Lewis to beat the San Francisco 49ers, who now have a record of, wait for it, wait for it……….5-6. Did I mention that game was at the Metrodome too?

There is also another reason for why the Vikings will not be winning the Super Bowl this year. In previous years, Favre has been known to choke big time games, as do the Vikings as a team. Having them together is just perfect. Ever since the Packers last Super Bowl appearance, Favre has a record of 3-6 in the playoffs with 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and has at least one interception in seven of the nine games. Now, let’s talk about the Vikings and their tendency to choke in the playoffs. It dates back to 1998. Like 1998, every Viking fan is talking Super Bowl and how they will finally win it. Same goes for 2000. Both years, the Vikings’ Super Bowl chances came to a screeching halt. They were 15-1 in 1998, and heavy favorites in the NFC Championship game, yet they ended up being upset by the Atlanta Falcons 30-27 in overtime. The following year, they were embarrassed 41-0 on the road against the New York Giants. They haven’t made it past the Divisional Round since and lost last year in their first playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, because I am talking about how the Vikings won’t be a Super Bowl team, or at the very least win their first Super Bowl ever, I must have a few teams that will beat the Vikings when or if they meet in the playoffs. This is true. In the NFC, there are a few teams that could, or in one case, would beat the Vikings if they played in the playoffs. First off, the New Orleans Saints would embarrass the Vikings. Their offensive line is very good, especially in pass protection. If they keep Drew Brees upright, the Vikings will be exposed and badly. He has so many weapons at his disposal. On defense, the Saints are very opportunistic. They force many turnovers and have a great pass rush. If they can get to Favre without bringing the blitz, the Vikings have no chance. The Vikings would get killed against the Saints. The Arizona Cardinals have the horses to be able to hang Minnesota with Kurt Warner at quarterback and have a great receiving trio in Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston. And even the Packers would hang with them and could knock them off. It is extremely hard to beat a team three times in one season and the Packers have been playing extremely well, especially defensively, since the embarrassing loss to the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

You may remember watching roller derby years ago, but this year, the Wausau area saw the birth of the River Valley Rollergirls (RVRG), a nonprofit roller derby league. UWMC has acted as a recruiting ground for some players, with one of our very own academic advisors, Liberty “Hell” Heidmann, being an active player.

Hether Blair-Van Zante, a Wausau native and Derby veteran, decided to start the league after moving from Arizona. Van Zante, known by her teammates as Hether Skelter, was an active member in the Arizona Derby Dames and competed in several competitions. She was a part of an All Star traveling team, where she competed and won in Oklahoma City on the track used in the movie “Whip It,” starting Ellen Page.

In an E-Mail, Van Zante described her reasons for starting the league, “I knew that area women, particularly with so many ‘at risk’ of the alcohol, substance and consumer abuses, and just plain boredom of Midwestern life, could benefit from its introduction.”

RVRG currently has 22 active skaters and three teams, The Dead Girls, The Cherry Bombs and The Riot Dolls. The league is currently in its second month of its initial six month training and evaluation period.

“We strive for safety and quality control. We are determined to put on a good production, and it takes considerable time to learn the sport and develop the necessary skills and abilities,” Van Zante said.

Like other leagues, RVRG require helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards and they suggest the use of a mouth guard.

Despite the precautions taken by leagues, derby can have some vicious injuries. Van Zante recalled seeing a girl break her leg in two places, “She didn’t even cry!”

The league will start their debut season in April 2010 with the initial games running as intra-league competitions. Van Zante did say they would be open to playing other renegade challengers.

If you would like to know more or are interested in joining the Rivervalley Rollergirls, be sure to log on to rivervalleyrollergirls.org.

Roller Derby Rules

• Like the River Valley Rollergirls, most derby leagues are independent, grassroots and all-female. A derby match consists of five players from each team: three blockers at the back of the pack (defenders), one pivot at the front (last line of defense) and one jammer (the player who scores).

• The game starts with the six total blockers and two pivots moving counter clockwise in a pack. A referee blows a whistle to signal the start of the jam formation, the six total blockers and two pivots start skating counter clockwise and must stay within 20 feet of the pack. Upon the second whistle the jammers start 20 feet behind the pack and attempt to pass the opposing team’s blockers and pivots.

• The first jammer to pass the blockers and pivots is awarded the status of lead jammer, which carries with it ability to signal the end of the jam by placing their hands on their waist. After the lead jammer title has been established, each time a jammer passes the pack a point is awarded for their team.

• The pivots and blockers slow down the jammers by using body parts above the mid thigh, not including hands, forearms, elbows or head. They also have the role of assisting their own team’s blocker through the pack. If knocked down blockers and pivots are out of play until they catch up with the pack.

With nearly a completely different roster than last year’s team that ended the season 21-2-4, the 2009 version of the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County Huskies ended this season undefeated, just like the New England Patriots in 2007, but unlike the Patriots, the Huskies completed the undefeated season with a victory in the state championship against UW-Richland in a good, hard-fought match.

“I think the team was so successful,” outside hitter Lisa Blume said. “Because every member on the team truly cared about performing to the best of their ability and many players on the team have played volleyball with each other in the past”

The Huskies, who finished the season with a record of 20-0-1, rolled through the tournament up until the final match against Richland. In a match against UW Fox Valley, the Huskies shut out Fox in a game 25-0 in a rare occurrence in volleyball. In the state tournament, UWMC only lost two games in the eight matches they played, with both games they lost coming to UW-Richland, whom they played twice in the tournament. They avenged last year’s state championship loss against UW Washington by knocking them off with ease, 25-13, 25-14, in the semi-finals.

“This team consisted of a number of players who have been playing volleyball for a long time,” Head Coach Matt Greenberg said. “So they came in not only with superior athletic ability compared to the rest of the conference, but also years of experience and training, so much more than a coach could ever teach in such a short period of time.”

Setter Klare Kalepp and Libero Jenn Timm were named to the All-Tournament team. Six women made the All-Conference Team. Kalepp and Timm made first team all-conference, while Blume and fellow outside hitter Paige Wirkus made second team all-conference. Middle hitter Kayla Powers and setter Katie Archambo made Honorable Mention. Kalepp was also voted as the WCC Player of the Year as well as the WCC Setter of the Year. And Timm was also named the WCC Defensive Specialist of the Year.

The Huskies should be strong again next season as even though they lose a few key players next year, they return a number of very good players that were on this year’s state championship team. Add in that to the new talented incoming freshman that will be coming in next year will make this team a force to be reckoned with once again.