the 4th star

Take a look at the National Hockey League standings. For those Toronto Maple Leafs fans, look all the way up from your 11 points to the top of the list. At the happy end of that 18 point difference sits the San Jose Sharks — a club that refuses to change its luck with a little suckage now and again. Les Sharks are leading he NHL in points, defending their 2008-09 President’s Cup Trophy with the pride and honour deserving of such a made-up notation. San Jose has lost just four times in regulation this season, a 20-game start which has quickly erased any doubts out there regarding the psyche of this mysterious unit.

As everyone knows the Sharks have a recent history of following up large regular seasons with rather small post seasons. Check out the numbers to really feel this point: In the last four seasons (all post lockout campaigns), San Jose has won 197 games. That’s an average of 49 wins per fridge magnet schedule. This season, those 13 victories they have translate into 52 when it’s all said and done. Look at it the other way for a second: 94 regulation losses. That’s an average of around 23 per season. They’re on pace for just 16 regulation losses. Yikes. How are those expectations treating you? Not very well, apparently. The Teal have not advanced past the second round of the playoffs in those four seasons, capped off with an epic first round flame-out versus Anaheim last spring.

The summer of 2009 was just as unkind. There were rumours of regular season scorer Joe (Tin Man) Thornton and captain Patrick Marleau being shopped. General manager Doug Wilson stated publicly that he wanted to change the make-up of the team. Marleau had his leadership duties taken away. The club searched for some needed sandpaper. They needed some guys who didn’t mind the heavy lifting, hockey experts agreed. They needed some salt. When that didn’t happen (unless you consider substituting Manny Malhotra for Mike Grier an upgrade in fourth-line positioning), the Sharks went in a different direction. Dany Heatley, the one-chance scorer with a release built for Thornton’s vision, heads down to California where no one will notice him. The move, of course, has paid off instantly. Not only is Heatley drawing some interest for a Canadian Olympic team spot, he’s elevated the games of both Marleau and Thornton. All three are among the leading scorers in the NHL again, and the Sharks are once again looking like the class of the league. Defenceman Dan Boyle is once again making his case for international stardom. And Evgeni Nabokov is once again displaying all the attributes of a world-class goaltender. The young kids they’ve brought up to plug some salary-cap holes are showing no leaks. All is well in the Shark Tank. A second President’s Trophy? Wouldn’t bet against it.

But there’s always that April storm cloud on the horizon. How would you like to be a Sharks fan? Go through all this success, get jacked up on the idea that this will be the year the club spins some regular season straw into post season gold, only to watch the disappointment of being on the losing side of the ‘Good ‘luck’ in the series-ending handshake? I’m not crying, I just have salt in my eyes. Man, that would really suck. It’s borderline cruelty. I mean, here we are in November and I’m already thinking about all the pressure (and sadness) the organization and its fanbase will go through. How do you think things are going to play out come March, when the playoffs approach? Talk about tightness then. I could care less what they do, win or lose, but even I’m nervous to what the future holds. Geesh.

Building off JK Sampson to close this out…Thank God the Jets were lousy anyway.

I’ve been listening to The Stranger most of the week. I thought you should know.

Was that one of the worst pre-season games in recent history last night or what? Wow. Jay Cutler is really struggling out there. You could see that fifth pick coming a mile away, too. It was so obvious. March the team all the way down the field in the final two minutes, and then start to force the issue. And you thought interception No. 4 was bad! Look at that line — 29-of-52, no touchdowns and five picks. And as irrelevant as the stat is, his QB rating (33.6) should be a hot topic of conversation in Chicago this week. Cutler looks like he has no friends and is about to cry. And that’s after a good series. Anyway, big win for San Fran (and for the Giants). Keeps both those teams (the 49ers and the Bears) behind the pack in the wildcard derby. It’s the little victories during the bye-week that keep things going over here. Anyway, the Sunday games I’m looking at include…

Detroit at Minnesota
Lions plus 16.5
A smart man once told me to stay away from lines like this. I wasn’t listening at the time. This is the last one, I promise. There’s no way the Leos win this game, but they certainly are better than the 16-plus the line-setters are saying. Does being a divisional rival not mean anything anymore? I was impressed with the way Detroit looked for half the game last week, so I’m betting they can keep things within a pair of majors in the Metrodome.

Dallas at Green Bay
Packers plus 3
Home dogs. Yum. The Cowboys are killing it these days, but I’m banking on the Pack righting the ship in a game they need to have if they want to be included in post season discussions. Hopefully it will be cold and wet. What’s the weather going to be like? Pleasant. Damn. Oh well, maybe Troy Aikmen can put some pressure on Romo. Throw a pick, Tony. I dare you. Troy wants to jump your shit in the worst way!

New England at Indianapolis
Patriots plus 3
Brady will throw it 50 times. Manning should approach 80 attempts. First team to 30 yards rushing wins.