GoodSports: Peyton Hillis Don't Believe in No Curses

via ESPN.comWelcome to GoodSports, Friday the 13th Edition. Up today: Peyton Hillis, Cleveland Browns running back, who yesterday told ESPN.com Page 2, "I don't even believe in curses." Good thing. He was just voted onto the cover of Madden NFL 12, the ridiculously popular video game, and there's a long line of football stars left broken after landing on the game's cover. 

Peyton doesn't care. "It's really sad how many people believe in curses," he went on. "This is football. Everyone gets hurt. If you run the ball 40 times a game, you're going to get banged around and get nicks and bruises here and there, but I don't pay too much attention to that. I'll let it take care of itself. I believe that the Lord is going to take care of me. I know His will is the only way that can judge me or put me in my place." 

You can click here to read the full interview. Hillis talks with Jon Robinson about Madden making him look too skinny in last year's game—"Before speed or anything else, you want to look good"—as well as about maybe becoming Cleveland's replacement for LeBron, and how he's faced people doubting him his whole career. 

via EA.com

Also, here's a brief history of The Curse and list of previous stars afflicted by it: 

It began in 1999. Up until then, John Madden had always been on the cover. Garrison Heart was the first, and according to our diligent research, nothing happened to him. It seems The Curse took a couple years to kick in, beginning with Eddie George on the 2001 cover.  

• 2001: Eddie George, RB, Tennessee Titans. The Titans lose in the 2001 playoffs, and George goes on to never average more than 3.3 yards per carry the rest of his career.
• 2002: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Minnesota Vikings. Throws 23 interceptions and broke the record for most fumbles in a single season. The Vikings, who went to the playoffs the year before, go 5-11. In 2005, he blows out both knees. He is never the same player as he was before appearing on the cover.
• 2003: Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams. Never gains 1,000 yards in a single season again. Per carry average drops from 5.4 over the previous three years to 4.5 in 2002 and 4.0 in '03 and '04. He retires, after needing reconstructive knee surgery, in 2005. 
• 2004: Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta Falcons. Vick breaks his leg in the preseason and misses the season's first 12 games. The Falcons go 5-11. Vick gets arrested for running a dog fighting ring. 
• 2005: Ray Lewis, MLB, Baltimore Ravens. Breaks his wrist in week 15, out for the season. Goes his first season without an interception.
• 2006: Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles. Suffers a sports hernia in the first game of the season. Tears his ACL and meniscus in his right knee later in the season. 
• 2007: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks. The defending league MVP, he hurts his foot and misses six starts. He never returns to that MVP form. 
• 2008: Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans. Nothing too catastrophic aside from a minor injury, but he's just been sort of not good. Peter King of SI recently rated him an "D-" since getting drafted third overall in 2006. 
• via kotaku.com2009: Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay Packers/New York Jets. EA Sports puts Favre on the cover in his Packers jersey, believing him to be retired. He comes out of retirement. They scramble, release an online version of the cover with Favre in his Vikings jersey. Favre goes on to lead the league in interceptions with 22. The Jets miss the playoffs by finishing 9-7 after starting the season 8-3. Favre throws 2 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in the last five games of the year, and is involved in a sexting scandal with Jenn Sterger that ultimately got him a $50,000 fine from the NFL in 2010. And people just kept spelling his name F-A-R-V-E. 
• 2010: Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizon Cardinals; and Troy Polamalu, S, Pittsburgh Steelers (and guy from those Head and Shoulders commercials). Polamalu sprains his MCL the first half of the first game of the season and misses the next four games. He returns only to hurt his PCL three games later. Fitzgerald, on the other hand—who, ironically, strongly believes in the curse—had a great season, getting 97 receptions (third-most in his NFL career), 1,092 yards (fourth-most) and a career-high 13 touchdowns. 

Some good things people have said about The Curse: 

• Chris Erb, EA Sports Director of Marketing: "I don't know that we believe in the curse. The players don't believe in the curse." 
• Shaun Alexander: "Do you want to be hurt and on the cover, or just hurt?" (via)
• LaDainian Tomlinson: "Aw hell no!" (Actually, not really, although he did decline an offer to be on the cover in 2007 after his fans, strong believes in The Curse, went so far as to create SaveLTfromMadden.com. Tomlinson said he turned it down because of contract negotiations. Yeah. And we eat Chik-Fil-A all the time because it's super healthy. [Via, Via])
• EA Sports: "And ... action!" (Sort of. They announced in December 2010 plans to develop a move based on The Curse. A comedy.) 

So what do you think? Curse or no curse?