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Colburn Comments

Someone lacking any sports knowledge whatsoever would still have no difficulty differentiating the sports pages of the Marion County Record from those of the granddaddy of athletic magazines, Sports Illustrated.

The writing, the photography, the commentary — anyone would grasp right away the obvious superiority of the 'Ol Thing. Ooops — I mean Sports Illustrated. Chalk one up to wishful thinking.

But the two otherwise divergent publications may share one disturbing trait — the ability to put a jinx on an athlete or team.

The SI cover curse has become the stuff of legend. To appear on the cover of the magazine is akin to being kissed on the face Sicilian-style by gangster Michael Corleone.

Eddie Matthews, slugging third-baseman for the Milwaukee Braves, appeared on the inaugural SI cover in 1954.

Exactly one week later, Matthews became the first SI jinx victim, suffering a hand injury that forced him to miss seven games.

Over the ensuing 53 years, SI cover subjects have been followed by mishaps tragic and ridiculous.

Six months after Matthews' injury, U.S. Olympic skiing hopeful Jill Kinmont hit a tree during a practice run and severed her spinal cord, the very week she appeared on the cover.

Evel Knievel was featured on a 1974 SI cover prior to his attempt to jump his motorcycle over Snake River — he failed miserably.

Most of the jinxes over the years have been related to athletes and teams suffering through woeful performances following their SI appearances.

SI's 1993 college football preview cover featured standout Florida State kicker Scott Bentley. Over the next five games, Bentley inexplicably missed seven extra-point tries.

The Boston Red Sox made the playoffs in 1995, due in large part to Mo Vaughn, who batted .300 with 39 homers and 126 RBIs, and was the American League MVP.

Vaughn graced the SI cover as the Sox headed into the playoffs, and he failed to get a hit in 14 at-bats, as Boston was swept in three games by Cleveland.

A 2002 analysis of the jinx by SI sportswriter Alexander Wolff revealed "a demonstrable misfortune or decline in performance following a cover appearance" occurred 37.2 percent of the time.

Two instances in the few short months "Colburn Comments" has been back in print hint at the possibility the column carries a "jinxability" factor of its own.

One of my first commentaries touted the Marion High School Warrior football team as one who could make some noise at playoff time. They didn't.

Of course, some would argue this isn't a jinx at all — instead, they'd say I just didn't know anything about football. They'd most likely be close to the mark.

The second instance came immediately after the recent column in which I highlighted the rise of Wichita State basketball under Mark Turgeon.

Undefeated as my column hit the newsstands, the Shockers were shocked themselves in back-to-back losses to decided underdogs New Mexico and Southern Cal that very next weekend.

Losses to conference rivals Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois followed.

Wichita State is winless in four tries since experiencing the glare of the "Colburn Comments" spotlight.

Was it just too much pressure for the Shocks to handle? Or has the SI jinx rubbed off on "Colburn Comments?"

I suppose I'll know for certain if I start getting letters from Marion High coaches asking me to please refrain from mentioning their teams or athletes in my columns.

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