See, I Was Mostly Kidding About That SI Cover Jinx Thing

But maybe I should have thought about it a bit more closely. See, I don't really believe in curses. I think they're silly. Unless you happen to referring to the Chicago Cubs. But given that Sports Illustrated's cover jinx strikes as frequently as it does, a statistically significant percentage of the time, perhaps I should be thinking differently. I had often assumed there were inherent biases in the original study, such as the fact that teams featured on the cover are often more likely than not to be playing a major elimination game immediately afterward which they only hold a 50/50 shot at winning anyway. And when all else fails, I would always rely on the fact that after knocking off Green Bay in a thrilling 2007 NFC Championship Game at bitter Lambeau Field, Eli Manning was thrust onto the cover inviting certain doom.

But we all know what happened then.

So of course, the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory was irrefutable proof that the cover jinx was just a silly joke to bring up from time to time and not something to fear perpetually. But this year may have changed my tune. After seeing both the Jets and Bears turn in performances that left them shy of reaching the big game, I started to wonder if this year's covers, and last year's covers, might be indicative of a trend. And sure enough, if you really want to search back through the seasons there are even more examples of the eventual Championship Sunday losers getting tossed on their hides one game short of the Super Bowl.

After years of only bringing up the SI Cover Curse for purposes of mock humor, perhaps it's finally time to start taking it seriously, or at least to campaign for the Giants, Mets, Devils, Knicks or Northwestern to never ever appear on the cover again unless it is immediately following a championship victory. Fortunately, I know I'll never have to worry about that happening with Southampton FC (who happens to be facing off with Manchester United in the FA Cup this weekend) or the Geelong Cats. Probably not the Devils or Northwestern either, who have all of three cover appearances between them.

That said, with the cover now laying both individuals, teams and even whole leagues in its wake, it could finally be time to give it real credence.

Unless, of course, you're rational.

I never claimed to be that, but there are probably several decent reasons as to why the Bears and Jets lost this past weekend beyond some slips of paper. After all, the Bears were never quite as good as their record this season while the Packers, who finished a respectable 10-6, were generally thought to be not nearly as bad as theirs. It didn't take a football savant to realize that Green Bay was playing better than, well, anyone in the League heading into the NFC Championship Game, and the fact that this season the Pack were simply better than the Bears is likely what accounted for their victory Sunday.

One could just as easily have made the same arguments for the Steelers topping the Jets right afterward, but that game is a horse of a different color. For one, the teams were far more evenly matched. For another, the Jets, who cordially spotted Pittsburgh a 24-0 lead in the first half, very nearly capped a comeback for the ages and only failed to do so by shooting themselves in the foot. That is not to say the Steelers didn't play well enough to win the game -- clearly they did -- but New York, which displayed frightful ineptitude for the first 29 minutes or so played an absolutely dominant second half on both sides of the ball.

However, this game wound up resting on a very delicate precipice in the middle of the fourth quarter which saw New York make two very crucial errors. The Jets were at the tail end of what had the makings of being an absolutely legendary postseason drive. After pulling it to within 24-10, New York embarked on a massive 80-yard, 17-play drive that brought them down to the Pittsburgh goal line with four chances to punch it in and make it a one-score game with plenty of time remaining. I am of the opinion that had New York scored here and had seven minutes to work with against a Pittsburgh offense that had shown no ability to move the ball in the second half on a revitalized Jets defense and a Pittsburgh defense that had been unable to slow anything down over the previous quarter an a half, that the Jets would be in Super Bowl XLV.

But there were two crucial mistakes. One can be shouldered squarely by Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who instead of simply ramming the ball in four times -- you're bound to get one whole yard if you just keep pushing -- decided to get too cute. Now Schottenheimer can't simply be blamed without being praised. Had it not been for a gutsy deep throw on one of the Jets' early possessions in the second half, New York wouldn't have been in a position to swing the momentum so dramatically. But by calling complex, long-developing plays near the goal line instead of just ramming his running backs at the box, Schottenheimer dropped the ball.

However, the biggest mistake may have been on third down, when Schottenheimer called a quick inside slant that was immediately knocked down and nearly intercepted by Lamarr Woodley. Why that play was called to begin with I won't quite understand, but this truly is an error by quarterback Mark Sanchez, who needs to recognize that Woodley is in the likely path of the pass he needs to throw and immediately audible out of that play -- something he failed to do. The Jets not scoring here caused a fatal turning point, if for no other reason than that they were unable to get the ball back after finally making it a one-score game because there simply wasn't enough time on the clock. And that was the end of New York's second straight postseason heartbreak. Somehow, this wound up being just the second-most offensive thing to happen to New Yorkers this weekend.

That said -- and what I'm about to say is entirely facetious because of course the Jets would rather have won the game -- perhaps it's better that the Jets wound up not winning because the NFL made the absolutely bizarre decision this year to take the George S. Halas Trophy given to the NFC Champion and the Lamar Hunt Trophy, given to the AFC Champion, and turn what were two of the classiest, stateliest trophies in sports and turn them into a bizarre minimalist art exhibit.

Really. It begs the question of, uh, why was this at all necessary?

Fortunately for us, we've got the always reliable Uniwatch to break down the specific changes for us, and less importantly, how he feels about them. Still, this just wreaks of rebranding run amok. Not only was the change unnecessary and were the old trophies, at least in my opinion, incredibly stately, but the new ones kind of look chintzy, cheap and, well lame. Just take one look at how the dinky miniature of Jodie Foster's space travel machine in Contact looks in Steelers owner Art Rooney's hand and compare it with the expressions on Santanio Holmes and Mike Tomlin's faces from two years ago when the won the AFC and were rewarded with a trophy that had some heft to it. It's nearly impossible to hold the damn thing without looking like you're afraid of breaking it. I'm highly skeptical that they would, but here's hoping the NFL realizes the error of its ways.

If not, well, that'll just be par for the course. There are bigger concerns like, say, having to move home games because of a U2 concert. Who knows how the Marlins would respond to, you know, having people in the stands. Could be awkward.

In any event, what's done is done. Now we just have that eternal two-week wait for Super Bowl XLV to kick off between the Steelers and Packers before that even longer winter of our discontent -- which actually happens in summer -- until the next football season. I'll have a whole preview written for next week -- or at least a prediction. I'm not going to explicitly say who I'm picking now, but let's just say there are some outside forces that could give you some idea of where I'm going.

Why, Yes, I Will Make A Point About Picking The Jets Rather Obnoxiously

Some of you, that is to say my close friends I was watching the first round of the playoffs with, gave me a rather hard time for insisting the Seahawks would get absolutely pasted by the Saints in the first round nine days ago. My reasoning for making this bold, bold proclamation was because Seattle, based on some rather compelling empirical evidence, were terrible this year. Well, as some of you saw I ate my fair share of craw last weekend, when the Seahawks somehow toppled New Orleans, but I suppose I got a measure of vindication yesterday afternoon when Seattle revealed its true High School caliber selves after a loss to the Bears that was about 50 times worse than the score would indicate. My true vindication came about three hours later, however, when those pesky, bizarrely arrogant Jets pulled off an upset win over the dominant New England Patriots that just about no one expected.

Well, except me. Duh.

That's right, while most people had the Patriots not just advancing to this coming Sunday's AFC Championship Game, but to win the whole shabang, I stood strong, and boldly, confidently and fearlessly picked the Jets to topple their division rivals and make a second consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance. If "So yeah, let's go with the Jets, I guess. Why not?" doesn't sound like steadfast belief to you, I'm not sure what does.

Now, I have made it more than abundantly clear that I'm a Giants fan, first and foremost, but the Jets are a peculiar case for me. I wouldn't say I'm a Jets fan, obviously, but the Giants and Jets play once every four years, making a rivalry somewhat hard to maintain. Really, I have no actual distaste for the Gang Green. Frankly, I actually like to see them win and find myself rooting for them more often than not. Granted, if they lose next Sunday it won't kill me, whereas if the Giants were to make the NFC Championship Game and lose I'd be utterly devastated, but it's still nice to see the Jets succeed, which really may have accounted why I picked them as opposed to football acumen or reason. And if they should actually reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 42 years, well, it'll basically seem like one of those wild events that you just never thought you'd live to see.

I suppose my only hope at this point is that the Jets have learned from last year. In his postgame press conference, head coach Rex Ryan said the only difference between this year's AFC Championship Game and last year's is that they plan to win this time. I find that kind of statement a little odd considering they clearly planned on winning last year, too.

You have to give Rex Ryan a little bit of a breather for being unable to think clearly though. Anyone who saw his press conference could notice that his eyes were bloodshot and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he might have teared up during his speech in the locker room. This was obviously an emotional win for the Jets, who, you get the impression, actually believe it's them against the world. To them, unlike with most teams, this isn't bullshit. They really wanted to come out and prove they were better than New England's comic foil. The Jets were no Falstaff. They're the team to beat. At least in their minds. Anyone who doubts they feel that way should take a look at Bart Scott's on-field interview after the game, which left me convinced Scott would have killed a baby at that moment if it was wearing a Patriots jersey.



Of course, while it was clearly the play of the Jets, both on defense and on offense when necessary, that carried the day, I think what we saw was another case of Bill Belichick's arrogance getting the best of him. I do want to make this much clear. I am not going to criticize Belichick as a coach as far as his greatness and legacy are concerned. Winning three Super Bowls ain't easy, let alone winning three in four years. Belichick's place in NFL history as one of the game's great, innovative coaches in clear. But he does, on occasion, have a tendency to let his own high opinion of himself get in the way.

For no better example of why, simply take a look at the early fourth quarter when New England had an opportunity to hit a 52-yard field goal to tie the game, which, while never a given in this weather, is well within the range of most NFL kickers. Instead, the Pats opted to go for it on 4th and 13, and predictably the drive stalled there. Moments like that one have, on more than one occasion, been Belichick's undoing.

The one that comes most notably to mind, at least to me, was in the waning seconds of Super Bowl XLII, when the Patriots, with some 80 yards to go and a three-point deficit, simply threw deep fade routes four straight times, all of them falling incomplete, in hopes of making a quick strike to win the game with a long, low-percentage touchdown pass. What was so bizarre to me about that particular incident was that, with 29 seconds left and a full assortment of time outs, it would have been perfectly feasible for New England to drive for a game-tying field goal and take its chances in overtime. Not that I minded.

Indeed there were many similarities between this game and that one, with one obvious example being the difficulty with which Tom Brady was unable to handle New York's pass rush. Brady was knocked around and sacked five times by a relentless Jets front four. Even on the plays when the Patriots' offensive line was able to hold the fort, New York's secondary -- and Ryan's decision to drop his linebackers into coverage rather than blitz the pocket -- kept New England's receivers covered and left few openings. This defense not only put Brady on the ground, but also led to him throwing an interception on the first drive, his first in an utterly mind-boggling 340 pass attempts.

Of course, some of this also reminded me of my Giants and their frustratingly difficult loss to the Eagles in the 2008 Divisional round. Both the Giants and Patriots were top seeds, both had defeated all four of the teams that reached the conference title games during the season, and both were felled by a division rival with whom they had split the season series. On an afternoon where things just simply didn't click for those Giants or these Patriots, they made the case of a great team that chose a bad day to have a bad day.

But there are only so many explanations you can make in an attempt to soften the blow. In the end, what's happened has happened and if you're  Jets fan little can dull the excitement and if you're a Pats fan, not even today's totally awesome Sharks-Coyotes Preview can help. But that's life. as a relatively removed observer, I just can't help but be excited about what looks like a tremendous Conference Title Weekend. While the Jets and Steelers should be a great matchup, something about the Packers and Bears facing off with everything on the line and those classic uniforms on the field makes me giddy.

This week has barely started, but I'm ready for it to be over. I wish it were Sunday.

So Here's An Interesting Tid Bit

One of my most shameless attributes is that I will miss no opportunity to glorify my favorite teams. Given that I like the Mets and the Knicks, these opportunities are sometimes quite rare, but today I came across this piece of informations which, somehow, I had never realized.

The New York Giants are the only NFC team to make multiple Super Bowl appearances in the last decade.

Did anyone realize that? I, and I pay more attention to this team than is healthy, somehow had absolutely no idea. Fortunately, though, even in a brutal season like this one, I will still have this fact to fall back on. Of course, dubbing the G-Men the "Team of the 00's" is probably foolhardy. For those who remember, 2003 and 2004 were painfully brutal campaigns, and the Giants only made the postseason six of the ten years of the decade. This is a good clip, but by no means on the level of, say, the Patriots, Colts or, well, Eagles.

Given that the Eagles still haven't won an NFL Championship since 1960, however, it'd be hard to give them that title either. Unless Chuck Bednarik comes out of retirement that streak is probably sticking.

In any event, with no football games this weekend -- unless you consider the Pro Bowl a football game -- I'm glad I can dig up chestnuts like these. Some of you may be quick to remind me that the Giants got their keisters handed to them in Super Bowl XXXV, and they did, but they also won Super Bowl XLII in the greatest fucking game ever fucking played.

At least in my mind.

Given that it's currently Friday night and none of you will probably be perusing this site until Monday morning, if then, I've decided to take some time deciding what story to post next, but I promise you all, Monday morning you will have another exciting tale about my life to read.

In the meantime, entertain yourself by watching tonight's Devils-Maple Leafs game -- because hockey's awesome even if you don't want to believe it -- or by watching career highlights of Kurt Warner, who announced his retirement today. I won't go into too much detail on his career, mostly because his years with the Giants were outstandingly forgettable, but if Warner doesn't make the Hall of Fame, it will be a total joke. Besides, don't you all want to see him thank Jesus just one more time during his induction speech?