The Sports Illustrated kiss of death

I admit it. I've been a subscriber to Sports Illustrated for many, many years. Hey, a guy has to have SOMETHING to read while on the "throne". And since Mad magazine underwent a wholesale "makeover", which has resulted in it being decidedly not interesting nor remotely humorous anymore, these are desperate times.

But one thing remains constant. The Sports Illustrated kiss of death. Their "cover jinx" has become almost legendary. If they feature an athlete on said cover, you can pretty much bet he or she is going crash and burn sometime soon.

The most recent issue is a good example. See SI plaster Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the cover, replete with such lofty praise as "might be best SEC QB ever", and "main man".

See TT and the Crimson Tide get absolutely scorched by Clemson in the national title game. 44-16 isn't exactly a close call. It was a blow-out and probably should have been even worse. See TT throwing interceptions, getting sacked on crucial plays, and finally getting yanked out of the game because he was so ineffective. Heckuva job, SI. You've done it again.

See SI talk about the "playoff bound" Minnesota Vikings. BANG. See the purple gang get smoked at home in the final regular season game and find themselves out of said playoffs. Heckuva job, SI. You've done it again.

Over the years, see SI's NFL "guru" Peter King make his fearless, and most often clueless predictions as to how the playoffs will turn out. It has become evident over the years that Mr. King couldn't "pick" his nose with a power auger, let alone be a reliable handicapper of football games. Who are the nitwits that keep referring to this guy as some sort of Nostradamus? Murphy's Law would be more like it. If there's any possible way King can get it wrong, rest assured he WILL get it wrong.

And finally on the same cover SI refers to one William Nack. I'd never heard of him before, but evidently he was quite the authority on the Kentucky Derby. His "final masterpiece" contained in the issue was quite touching and inspiring at that.

Thing is, Mr. Nack has been deceased since last April. According to my math, that means it took SI nine months to get around to publishing his story after he died.

But perhaps something good, or at least not bad, is afoot here. Considering Mr. Nack has long been dead, it would really tough for even Sports Illustrated to jinx him any further.

Here's what every sports fan should hope for.

That SI does not, repeat NOT feature their favorite player or team with an article, much less put he/she/it on the cover.

Cuz if they do, one way or the other, chances are they're going down.

Perhaps spectacularly in a ball of flames, like the above-mentioned Tua Tagovailoa. See his potential NFL draft stock go from likely first-rounder to maybe even not being on the board any longer. Unless he recovers in the next year or to at Bama, no given.

Yep, heckuva job, SI.

You've indeed done it again.