This turkey was going to write an article about the remarkable turnaround of Sam Ficken, but thought better of it. I didn’t want to jinx the lad. What the hell is a jinx? This turkey is a scientist, not a superstitionalist. Ain’t no such thing as a jinx. Yet Artificially Sweetened and some readers cajoled me not to do it. I listened, giving superstition the benefit of the doubt.

“There was one joke, like, ‘Hey, we don’t need to worry about Ficken hanging himself. He can’t kick the chair out from under himself.'” —Sam Ficken

Now, Josh Moyer, ESPN.com’s Penn State/Big Ten reporter has done it. He wrote the feel good story I wanted to write about Sam Ficken, but didn’t, only better. Here’s a teaser:

“The skinny kicker with the hawkish nose can laugh about it all now. And he did, repeatedly, during a warm Wednesday afternoon. He spoke as if that day — maybe the worst in his life — happened 10 years ago, and almost as if it happened to someone else altogether.”

I’m proud of Ficken’s progress, but could the blocked kick in last week’s Nativeamericaniana debacle have been a portent of things to come? Could he have been receiving paranormal vibrations from Moyer’s forthcoming article? Oy vey!

Read it if you dare.