Jimmer Fredette's SI Cover and iPhone App

Jimmer Fredette landed on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated. Of all the weeks to take an awesome picture of Jimmer, why this week? Tonight, Brigham Young University takes on the University of Florida in a rematch of last year’s first round double-OT tournament game. The winner moves to the Elite Eight. Yes, the stakes are a little bit higher than last year’s BYU-Florida game. I can’t believe someone needed to point that out. 

I’m trying to convince myself that the jinx isn’t real. Plenty of athletes have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and went on to be successful on the playing field. I just can’t think of any off the top of my head. So I have to close my eyes and concentrate real hard and the jinx will go away. I had to wash my BYU t-shirt this morning. I’m driving home to watch tonight’s game with my brother.

Looking for a good sign? The top featured story on the cover is by Whitehall, New York’s Tim Layden. The topic? “The Joy of Upsets.” And that’s just what it would be if BYU could pull it off tonight. They’d be the top remaining seed in the Southeast bracket with a chance to play either Wisconsin or Butler for a trip to the Final Four. Insane considering the Davies suspension made it seem as though all hope was lost just a few short weeks ago.

Of course, none of that matters if Florida takes care of business tonight. They’re the higher seed and come from the superior conference. Plus the motivation to stop the top scorer in college basketball and get revenge for a first round exit last year should be more than enough to push them past the Cougars. I’m just glad I get to see one more game.

One last thing – This morning, my brother brought the iJimmer App to my attention. It features a collection of Jimmer Fredette-themed photoshops and quotes. Speaking of photoshops, Kevin Blackistone thinks the cover was photoshopped. What a fool.

[Sports Grid, Images via SI and the Jimmer App]