Sports Illustrated jinxes the team (player) on the cover, It's true!!!

Sports Illustrated is a good magazine, don't get me wrong. But there's a problem with releasing weekly magazines for sports: sports headlines are always changing. Just look at Yahoo! Sports. Their front page changes several times each day. Why? Because sports are constantly changing. Just look at this week's cover: It's the rising sensation for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin. Lin is a great basketball story and he's been a reason for the Knicks recent success, but today against the Heat, Linsanity was hushed and held to only a sniffle as Miami ran them out of the building, 102-88. Lin was Linane as he went 1-11 shooting. Why? For many reasons: the Heat are a good team, he was probably sick, and because he made Sports Illustrated's cover for the second week in a row! This is what SI does. Since a magazine is obviously not the internet, there is no constant feed of information to change what's been done. Once a magazine is printed, those headlines have been set in stone (or ink). Here are a few jinxes from SI in recent memory.

No other sporting event has more coverage than the Super Bowl and no other team had more SI coverage than the New England Patriots. During the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots made the SI cover, twice. One with Tom Brady and one with Robert Kraft. The Patriots ended up losing by a few inches when they had a great chance to win the game. Why? As Eli Manning said: "I'm not superstitious, but I am a little-stitious."

I was surprised when the 49ers beat the Saints in the Divisional round of this year's playoffs, but I wasn't surprised when the 49ers lost to the Giants for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Why? Cause San Francisco was picked to lose to the New Orleans Saints, but they did not because they pulled off one of the more memorable playoff come-backs. The problem is, the 49ers lost that surprise factor the very next week. They were picked to go to the Super Bowl over the eventual Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants, but they lost the game in devastating fashion. The 49ers were in a position to win the game, but they let that opportunity slip through their fingers. I guess I'm just a little-stitious...

The Green Bay Packers... now they're a team that could handle all the hype about being undefeated, but wait a second they went 15-1... well they were a team that could handle the playoff pressure, but wait they lost in the first round to Eli Manning's Giants... Well they certainly did live up to the hype of an explosive regular season offense after the SI preseason NFL preview magazine that featured the Packers on the cover. They carried that hype all the way to Kansas City, where they suffered their first loss. But hey, no jinx, right? Wrong! They made the cover for the NFL playoff preview issue and ended up losing to the New York Football Giants, the eventual Super Bowl champs. I guess you can see why I'm a little-stitious, right?

You're probably starting to think one of two things: this is kinda like the Madden curse, or Eli Manning is always involved in these issues. Well, it's kinda like the Madden curse and I only wrote this post because everyone in sports is a "little-stitious". Just look at Tim Tebow. That throwing motion screams "losing!", but Timothy managed to pull off a few miracles with that south-paw sling. One miracle includes the Chicago Bears win where Tebow led the Broncos to FG range twice and won 13-10 OT after being down 10-0 late in the 4th quarter. Once the Tebow train picked up speed with this winning streak, it was slammed to a sudden halt by the Brady bunch. Pray that you don't make the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The now-evident Sports Illustrated curse differs from the Madden curse for one reason: SI covers all sports. This includes a curse for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were a victim of one of the greatest collapses in regular season sports as they choked towards the end of their season and let the Tampa Bay Rays miraculously leap-frog them in the Wild Card standings. The collapse was so dramatic that a week before, poster and bus signs were put up for the Red Sox in the post season on TBS. They lost their slipping hold on the Wild Card berth as Jonathon Papelbon, the beloved closer of the BoSox, blew a save to the lowly Baltimore Orioles on the last day of the regular season. That blown save capped off one of the greatest collapses in all of sports.

This one is my favorite. As an Arizona Wildcats fan, I was shocked to see the Bruins on the cover instead of the Wildcats. However, as the season rolled by, I saw it as a blessing in disguise: UCLA was crushed by Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State and stumbled to a 2-5 start instead of a predicted 6-1 start. Things got so bad for the Bruins that Reeves Nelson, their star player on the cover, was dismissed from the team. He always gave me the creeps cause of his tattoo sleeves (not that there's anything wrong with tattoos), but things got so bad that his mother even called him out for his bad behavior. I just hope the Cats can pull this thing out and sneak into the NCAA Tournament with as little coverage as possible...

The Rematch with the same conclusion: the New York Football Giants are once again Super Bowl champs

The New York Football Giants upset the New England Patriots in the game of the year once again, after hanging on to a 21-17 win. Super Bowl XLVI was a rematch of one of the greatest upsets in a championship game in sports history as Eli Manning willed the Giants to a last minute victory against Tom Brady and the Patriots. Four years later doesn't make much of a difference... The Patriots were once again the favorites, but not by 12 points. This time they were only favored by a 3-point margin. New England won the coin-toss and elected to differ, letting America see the Giants take the ball first in this year's Super Bowl. The Giants came out of the gates with a healthy dose of running and passing,  but their drive halted at midfield. Scott Weatherford came on to punt for the Giants and ended up pinning the Patriots deep. On the ensuing play, Tom Brady was flagged for intentional grounding as he threw the ball away just as Justin Tuck slammed him to the ground. With two-points for the Giants, they would receive the ball and capitalize on a short Victor Cruz TD catch. The first quarter came winding to a close, but in the second quarter, Tom Brady lit up Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots would put together two long drives in a short amount of time to go up 17-9 at the half. After Madonna's half-time performance, the two teams would return to the field. Brady tweaked his shoulder on a play and would never be the same as the Giants capitalized. Lawrence Tynes would kick two field goals to draw the margin to only two points. Needing only the ball and a field goal to win, New York was desperate to get a stop on defense. Just then, Wes Welker dropped a key first down pass that would have iced the game. The Giants got the ball back and would do what they did four years ago: score a TD after a miraculous catch. That is just what Mario Manningham did as he caught a 38 yard pass and tapped his toes in bounds to get the Giants at midfield. Bill Belichick would challenge the play, but ended up losing a key time out. Before you knew it, the Giants were already in field goal range and trying to eat up the clock. Belichick would let Ahmad Bradshaw score with about a minute to go and only one timeout. But even Tom Terrific can't make miracles happen as his Hail Mary fell to ground, incomplete in front of his biggest play-maker, Rob Gronkowski.

Giants top the Niners in OT for NFC Championship, 20-17

The New York football Giants are going to Super Bowl XLVI to set up a Super Bowl XLII rematch with the New England Patriots. A game that was played in such sloppy weather conditions concluded in stunning fashion. Just as the AFC Title game earlier in the day, the team heading to the Super Bowl did not win the game, but the team that lost beat themselves. The Niners scored on an early 73 yard Vernon Davis TD, but did not do much after the quick score. New York would tie and take a three point lead at the end of the first half, giving them plenty of momentum headed into the locker room. However, the second half is where the Niners showed their true colors: stout on defense, well coached, but unable to take advantage. The Niners would take back a four point lead, but the Giants would go back on top with a TD set up by a Kyle Williams' muffed punt. The Niners' David Akers would then tie up the game with about five minutes to go, setting up an almost painful slew of drives that resulted in punts and OT. New York won the toss, giving them the ball first; however, they would fail to score. San Francisco received the ball once again, but they failed to end the game. On a New York punt, Kyle Williams would receive the ball once again in good field position, but he fumbled the ball, giving the Giants a short field to work with. As you may recall, Kyle Williams is an ASU product drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Williams, a solid punt returner, cost the Sun Devils the Territorial Cup against the rival Arizona Wildcats by fumbling a punt and setting up a short field for the Wildcats. Is it a coincidence that both San Fran and ASU wear gold and red, whereas New York and Arizona wear red, white, and blue? The similarities did not end there as the Giants ended the dreams of the Niners faithful in Candlestick on a 31 yard Lawrence Tynes Field Goal that will send the Giants once again to the Super Bowl.

Giants stun the Packers, 37-20

Mr. Rodgers better Discount Double Check his game plan cause the Giants out did the reigning champs in every aspect of the game. A steady dose of Eli Manning and the running back tandem of the Giants put the underdogs on top early and often. Eli took a huge step in his QB development as he took the step from good to great by outperforming Aaron Rodgers. New York has always been a road warrior team, so the Pack should've anticipated a good fight, but they were not prepared at all. The receivers dropped several balls, putting the Pack out of sync from the start. New York must have seen tape from the KC-GB game since the Chiefs defeated the Packers by pressuring Rodgers and running the ball first, then throwing the ball. This game plan will put some pressure on Alex Smith next Sunday for the NFC Championship game.

Giants shutdown the Falcons, 24-2

Marty Ice was ice cold as he and the Falcons offense was shut down all game long. The only points for the Falcons came on an intentional grounding by Eli Manning in the End Zone. Those were the first points and the only points in the game for Atlanta. The Giants were well balanced on offense as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw steadily picked up yards and Eli was efficient enough. Green Bay better be concerned in the solid Giants defense next Sunday.

Giants win the Battle for New York, beat the Jets 29-14

The Giants were visiting their home stadium... If that makes any sense at all. But the Giants showed the Jets who owns the Meadowlands with a convincing win that forces the Jets to win their next game for a shot at the playoffs. Eli Manning and the Giants however, did not make it easy on themselves. They got to a 20-7 lead but let the Jets get back into it. The Jets got the ball back only down by six, but allowed a safety and Amhad Bradshaw punched in a TD that punches a ticket for the Giants in a key NFC East match-up against the Cowboys at Meadowlands for the division crown.

New York Giants top the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East, 37-34

Dallas vs New York always produces a thriller. An eight lead change game with a total of 71 points is nothing short of that. Eli Manning was protected all night as he passed for 400 yards while Brandon Jacobs ran crazy on the Boys. Eli Manning led the Giants to a three point lead, but Tony Romo put ten Cowbaoys at FG position. Dan Bailey must have remembered being iced by his own coach last week, but this week Tom Coughlin iced him and guess what, it worked.

Saints rip the Giants on MNF, 49-24

Drew bares looked like the Super Bowl XLIV MVP (maybe not a basketball MVP though) as he shredded the Giants defense with 5 total TDs. The Saints started hot and never relinquished their lead as they improve to 8-3 as they try to run away with the NFC South this season.

Vince Young leads the Eagles over New York, 17-10, stay alive in the playoff race

The Philadelphia Eagles pulled past the New York Giants at Metlife Stadium to stay alive in the NFC East. Vince Young looked a bit sloppy, but he orchestrated a sharp and impressive drive to give Philly a 17-10 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Manning and New York came out firing, but Eli fumbled the ball and the Eagles recovered the ball to end the game. The game showed the Eagles pulling throughout the 4th quarter; however, one win against the division leaders won't save Philly.

Super Bowl XLII Rematch: same result, Giants win

The rematch of Super Bowl XLII was almost like the actual game that took place in Glendale, AZ 2008. The Patriots were favorites, Manning was being criticized, Brady was on a hot-streak, and even the uniform colors were the same. The first three quarters had virtually no scoring but things blew open in the 4th quarter. Brady threw to Gronkowski to put the Pats up 20-17 late in the 4th, but Manning was given the ball back with little time left. Manning had a tremendous throw and catch to #85, but it wasn't Tyree it was Ballard. A few plays later, Manning threw a jump ball to the corner of the end zone to Ballard as time expired. Can you say Dejá vu? Giants won 24-20 and the Patriots lose control of the AFC East.

Cardiac Cards collapse, Manning leads comeback, 31-27

The Cardinals managed to lose again in Glendale as the Giants ousted them with 21 points in the final quarter and 2 TDs within a minute to come away with a 31-27 victory. Arizona was plagued with Red Zone inefficiency in the first half and lost due to defensive miscues in the second half. After taking a commanding 27-17 lead in the 4th quarter, Eli Manning orchestrated a long drive capped off with a Brandon Jacobs TD. On their next possession, Manning found an open Victor Cruz who stumbled and lost the ball which was recovered by the Cardinals, however the officials considered the slip and letting go of the ball "giving himself up" so the Cardinals could not challenge for a fumble. Manning threw a TD pass to Nicks on the next play as the Giants went ahead with 2:56 left in the game. Kevin Kolb would lead the Cardinals down to the Giant's 30, but Cory Webster batted down a pass for Fitzgerald on 4th down and New York won the game. Despite the Giant's luck, the Cardinals should have walked away with a win, but instead drop to 1-3.

New York Giants top St. Louis, 28-16

After an undefeated preseason, the St. Louis Rams had two weeks in a row to prove Sam Bradford had playoff hopes in the gateway city. So far, they don't look like legitimate NFC contenders as they dropped to the Giants in the Meadowlands, 28-16. Coach Steve Spagnuolo, the former defensive coordinator for New York, could never get the ball moving efficiently against his former team. The run game was non-existent, partly due to the absence of All-pro RB Stephen Jackson, who left in week 1 against the Eagles due to a strained quadricep. Jackson should return as soon as possible, because St.Louis plays Baltimore, the upstart Redskins, at Green Bay, at Dallas, New Orleans, and at Arizona; all important games for St. Louis' playoff bid this season. On the other hand, Eli Manning was his old self: passing the ball for a meager 200 yards, throwing 2 TDs, and tossing a pick just to ruin his QB rating. The G-men managed to move the ball on St. Louis relatively well. They also had better defense than last week, which gives head coach Tom Coughlin some breathing room with the New York media and fan base for the rest of the week till they play at Philadelphia.