Okay, my first vist to the WIAA state basketball tournament lasted as long as the hoopla surrounding a high school dance. It came and went without nary a minute to realize it had passed by, and in the process made a liar out of me. I was supposed to give regular updates from the boy's tournament last week, but with Regis and North both losing in the first round, I was back in Eau Claire both the first fish had dropped in the oil on Friday morning.

But, America is built upon the premise of second chances and fresh starts and thanks to Joe Doucette's Colfax girl's basketball team I'll be back down there on Thursday morning. Some may remember that I gave Mondovi the edge to make the state tournament in DIII and slighted Colfax as a byproduct but I have enough of an ego cushion to admit I was wrong. Thanks to a softer region and then excellent shooting and the ability to stay out of foul trouble in their sectional games, the Vikings are back at state for the first time since 1994.

The 2007-2008 Colfax Vikings are proof that to make a run in the playoffs, a little luck and then great play are needed. The luck came in the form of being placed in a regional that gave them a by and was one in which they were the lone team above .500%. They then proved they belonged in the sectionals with a dominated win on Thursday and a great comeback versus an Osseo-Fairchild team that was viewed to be the favorite.

So I am heading back to state and hopefully this stay is longer but that is up to Colfax. Many of the post-game comments were a little troublesome as players were quoted as saying they were "just happy to be going down to Madison" and things of that nature which is usually a foreshadow to a quick exit. However, that was right after the game and as the days go on, usually that attitude changes.