the 4th star

Here’s your daily reminder: This is happening Saturday. Winnipeg. The Forks. El Plaza.

Here’s a taste of what to expect. On Saturday. Winnipeg. At The Forks. El Plaza.

It’s not too late to buy a board. You’re already better than everyone.

Is it too early to be thinking about the National Football League? No way, Jose. The season is ready for take-off, and my tray table is in its secure and upright position. So, in the spirit of looking ahead to things that really don’t matter in a big picture sense, let’s take some time this week, away from the patio and laughing at those with green Bud Lights on their table, to consider each of the NFL divisions — what happened last year and what will (probably) shake down once the snaps are for real and the volume of the television analysis increases:

NFC WEST

2008 regular season standings:

Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
San Francisco 49ers (7-9)
Seattle Seahawks (4-12)
St. Louis Rams (2-14)

We all know the Cardinals story. Watch rivals take three steps back to get you into the post season, see the stars play well against Atlanta, Carolina, and Philadelphia and then blow a lead with three minutes left in the Super Bowl. That was exciting, eh? Should hold the Cardinal faithful for another 30 to 40 years…

Outlook for 2009:

Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
Seattle Seahawks (7-9)
San Francisco 49ers (7-9)
St. Louis Rams (6-10)

These picks are based more on just wanting to get this division preview over with than anything else. Much like the AFC West, who cares? As strange as this is to write, the Cardinals are the class of the group — though they are one Kurt Warner thumb injury away from watching the house of cards they’ve assembled fall to the sand. If Matt Leinart has to come in for extended reps, the division tightens considerably. Seattle and San Francisco are trying to figure out if they should take a step back or take a step forward. Interesting dynamic going on there. One (the Seahawks) still thinks it can be a contender, while the other (the 49ers) figures it’s ready to make the jump. Someone needs to point out that Matt Hasselbeck and Aaron Shaun Hill are the quarterbacks. San Fran head coach Mike Singletary should be worth a few headlines and St. Louis is knee-deep in a rebuild. Steve Spagnolo, the former Giants defensive coordinator, will have his hands full. Before the rebuild and rock bottoming is all said and done, he may have more kids on his roster than a manager for another (golden) arch outfit. Despite that poorly phrased joke, this division is wide open. Spin the bottle.

Between somersaulting over the handlebars of my mountain bike on — you guessed it, a mountain — and hiking up to the 10,243 foot summit of Mount Washburn (not from the bottom, of course) earlier this month, it was brought to my attention that the gender scales on the 4th Star have been tipped towards the testosterone. It seems I have been called out for recent Man Sandwich entries, as apparently I have been using that space to slip in a hot broad or two within the links.

That doesn’t sound like me, but I’m too lazy to check so I’ll play along.

In the spirit of being a good guy, to right any wrong I have done and to ensure that the site remains at its intended equal part female and male candy, Hump Day will show a little more mister than usual today. That’s Reggie Bush, running back for the New Orleans Saints. No doubt those stairs that he’s sitting on lead to a hospital bed or trainer’s table. The legs to his right (your left) go by the name of Kim.