We’ve seen the Sports Illustrated cover and brushed off any jinx talk. Now we also have an ESPN the Magazine cover to deal with. But as Warrick Dunn points out, the potential jinxes don’t stop there. Fortunately we don’t have to worry about the Madden curse, and Herschel Walker was superhuman enough to avoid the Heisman curse.

But, as the New York Times Olympics blog discovers, there’s a new curse in town: the Curse of the Gillette Ad. Think about it:

• Thierry Henry: Getting ready to face a messy divorce after spending much of last season dealing with injuries.
• Tiger Woods: Everyone knows about the knee injury knocking him out of competition until 2009.
• And now Roger Federer gets upset by American James Blake at the Olympics. His 4+ year reign as the world’s #1 player ended with a loss in the Wimbledon finals.

There you have it – pretty compelling stuff. Think about it, sports stars. Is a close, comfortable shave really worth the risk?