Well, I guess the SI cover jinx works even for regional covers. And if the Cubs were going to be sunk by the 1-2 punch of a jinx and a curse, I guess so were the Red Sox.

It's been one hell of a fall for the SI cover jinx, though. Working backwards from the past few weeks:
-- The Cubs and Red Sox lose in the LCS.
-- Jake Plummer loses and then gets hurt.
-- Oregon goes into the tank (and Priest Holmes was even slowed down).
-- Mia Hamm loses twice via the U.S. soccer team and then Nomar (plus Michigan falls to Oregon).
-- The Bills would win the week after they appeared on the cover, but they're 1-3 after that.
-- Ohio State struggled against San Diego State, but did win. It would take a few weeks later for the Buckeyes to lose.
-- The NFL preview had two retroactive cover jinxes as Chad Pennington and Michael Vick both had length photo sessions for the cover before being replaced by Kurt Warner, who got hurt and then lost his job.

All of this bodes well for Missouri, who faces cover darlings Oklahoma this weekend.

However, I wonder if the jinx would extend to the Web site? To think how much I power I might actually wield.