They say being on the cover of Sports Illustrated is a jinx, that one is doomed for failure as soon as their image is displayed on the nation's most popular sports magazine. It has previously happened to many athletes, and even entire teams have unreasonably dropped off the face of the earth after appearing on SI's cover. In 1987, Sports Illustrated's baseball preview touted an "Indian Rising," featuring Joe Carter and Cory Snyder of the Cleveland Indians. It said this was the year the Indians would stop being laughed at. The Indians finished with over 100 losses and dead last in the American League. Six months later SI ran the headline: "Toronto takes off" when the Blue Jays took a three-game lead over the Detroit Tigers with the regular season running out. But after that cover, the Blue Jays and company collapsed and Detroit went to the playoffs. The SI jinx is widely known. Lee Smith, the bullpen star of the St. Louis Cardinals once refused to be photographed for the cover out of fear of the jinx. It's hard to argue with him. He retired as the all-time leader in saves.
             One man, maybe not even a man, but a sort of immortal, has been on the cover numerous times. Never once has he slumped, gone on inexplicable cold streaks, fallen apart under pressure, or lost the big one. He is Michael Jordan.
             Jordan was born on Feb. 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, NY, the fourth of five children. That spring, the family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. Michael's family was never very wealthy during his childhood, and as a teenager he found himself mowing lawns for $1.90 per hour. As a high school sophomore Michael got cut from his high school's varsity team. Instead of being disappointed and dwelling on not making the team, he worked on his game as hard as he ever had and ended up becoming a high school All-American his senior year. He then went on to play for North Carolina on a basketball scholarship. He made the gam...