Columnist Sal DeFilippo: Y2K has players bugging out early

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Sept. 10, 1999 | 10:23 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at 259-4076 or sal@lasvegassun.com

This weekend, the NFL kicks off its final season before the year 2000 amid great uncertainty.

Players won't openly talk about it, but it's there, just before Week 17. Once the famed Times Square ball drops and the clock strikes midnight, signifying the calendar change to Jan. 1, 2000, the worst is feared.

It has nothing to do with a malfunctioning instant replay monitor, scoreboard clock, or more dangerously, a series of statistical computer glitches that would send a nation of fantasy football players into uncontrollable mayhem.

All of that stuff will be fine. But the real question is: Will there be enough people around to take the field?

The "in" thing in recent years is retiring, sometimes too soon, and the backwash otherwise known as the unretirement.

The world's most dominant athlete of the century, Michael Jordan, should be credited with starting this nonsense with that just-plain-wrong attempt to play baseball a few years ago, before returning to the basketball court.

In the NFL, the trend is more recent. Reggie White retired the day after the 1998 draft in April, only to unretire to play one more season, and then re-retire.

John Elway, as expected, retired this past offseason, beginning a new career of getting paid to drink Coors while Dan Patrick reminds us every 20 minutes about how great he was.

But as the season drew nearer, the fear of the Y2-Play bug really started to kick in. On July 28, Barry Sanders, the NFL's No. 2 all-time leading rusher, called it quits. Further proving the elusiveness that made him the only back to run for 1,000 yards in 10 consecutive years, he was able to dodge a much more formidable opponent -- the media -- by announcing his decision from London. His sudden departure forced the Lions to install a new operating system as training camp began.

Steve DeBerg stayed retired for a commendable five years before returning at age 44 last year and reaching the Super Bowl. He's again re-retired, and on his current pace, he won't play again till 2003. This guy is the NFL's answer to Minnie Minoso.

Charles Haley, the only player with enough Super Bowl rings to fill a hand, was asked to come out of retirement last season, and is back for more again this season.

Irving Fryar was given an appreciative sendoff after what was announced as and presumed to be his final season, but he's back again in 1999.

And finally, there's enigmatic Dimitrious Underwood, the first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings who retired before he actually ever started working -- try pulling that at your next job interview -- before unretiring a few weeks later to put on a Dolphins uniform.

Only this week did wide receivers Rob Moore of Arizona and Carl Pickens of Cincinnati become Y2-Play compliant, each signing one-year contract upgrades.

Regardless of what the new year brings, at least football season is up and running again.

This is my fifth season of making selections on NFL games, and as usual, I open with this disclaimer: I am not a professional handcapper, nor do I play one on TV. In fact, the way my picks have gone the past few season, perhaps I should be the one considering retiring.

Accompanying my picks will be the selections of seven combatants from varying fields, competing with a fictitious bankroll. They are:

Defending champion Alex Shelton, host of SportsLine on KSHP 1400-AM. Shelton, the only member of the field from the media, turned $20,000 into more than $28,000 last season.

Dave Cokin, a local sports analyst who can be seen on "ProLine" on the USA cable network (Cox cable channel 34) on Saturdays at 7 and 9 a.m.

Jackie Dell, a local oddsmaker for 47 years, whose betting lines appear in numerous regional publications.

Chuck Esposito, sports book manager at the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook.

Jay Kornegay, sports book manager at the Imperial Palace.

Mike Lee, a local sports analyst who writes for vegasinsider.com.

Rob Terry, sports book manager at Palace Station.

Their picks will appear weekly, along with updated bankroll totals. My Week 1 selections:

Top of the line

TAMPA BAY -5 1/2 vs. New York Giants, under 38 -- The Buccaneers got off to a slow start last year and it cost them a playoff berth. Not so this time around. Tampa Bay 26, New York Giants 7.

Other games

PHILADELPHIA +3 vs. Arizona, under 37 1/2 -- The birds flew in completely different directions a season ago, as the Cardinals ended a 50-year playoff drought while Philadelphia played just well enough to earn the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. The Eagles keep this one close throughout. Arizona 19, Philadelphia 17.

NEW YORK JETS -7 vs. New England, over 44 1/2 -- Suddenly, Paul Tagliabue's decision to force the Jets to forfeit all those draft picks to New England for stealing their coach doesn't seem as ridiculous as it did then. New York 31, New England 20.

INDIANAPOLIS +3 vs. Buffalo, over 45 -- After Peyton Manning's first-year headaches, the Colts added some extra strength Edgerin, which heals the pain quickly. Indianapolis 28, Buffalo 24.

TENNESSEE -9 over Cincinnati, over 42 -- Titans: New team. Bengals: No team. Tennessee 31, Cincinnati 14.

CHICAGO +3 1/2 vs. Kansas City, under 38 1/2 -- Unlike the singing icon of the same name, Elvis Grbac is losing supporters. His swan song isn't far away. Chicago 20, Kansas City 10.

GREEN BAY -9 vs. Oakland, under 42 1/2 -- Removing Jeff George certainly was part of the equation for solving Oakland's problems, but I don't think Rich Gannon is the right answer, either. Green Bay 31, Oakland 10.

MINNESOTA -4 1/2 at Atlanta, over 49 1/2 -- The Vikings have had a long time to think about this one. They'll score early and often. Minnesota 38, Atlanta 24.

SAN FRANCISCO +5 1/2 at Jacksonville, over 49 -- The similarities are scary: Two teams with subpar defenses and terrific offenses, each led by a left-handed quarterback who wears No. 8 and loves to scramble. Fred Taylor is what separates these two clubs. Jacksonville 34, San Francisco 30.

BALTIMORE +1 at St. Louis, under 38 1/2 -- Tough to tell which is a bigger tragedy -- the Rams losing Trent Green, or the Ravens starting Scott Mitchell. OK, maybe Mitchell will revive his career in Baltimore, but the Rams are in complete disarray. Baltimore 22, St. Louis 13.

CAROLINA +3 1/2 at New Orleans, over 38 -- Look for the Panthers to rebound somewhat after a horrid 1998. All the focus will be on Ricky Williams, but John Kasay will kick the Panthers to a victory with a late field goal. Carolina 24, New Orleans 23.

DALLAS +2 1/2 at Washington, under 42 -- The old Cowboys looked more like the Cowboys of old last season. Expect that to continue if the veterans can stay healthy. Brad Johnson could need a few weeks to get comfortable in the nation's capital. Dallas 17, Washington 13.

SEATTLE -9 1/2 vs. Detroit, under 42 -- The Lions were bad enough WITH Sanders in the backfield. He wasn't the whole team, but his big-play potential certainly will be missed. Nice soft beginning to the Mike Holmgren era in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle 24, Detroit 10.

CLEVELAND +6 1/2 vs. Pittsburgh, under 38 -- You think after a couple of years sitting on the sidelines, someone in Cleveland could have thought of something to put on those helmets. Pittsburgh 13, Cleveland 10.

MIAMI +6 at Denver, under 43 -- It's hard to catch a Griese pass without a lot of practice and Terrell Davis will have lot of teal jerseys stacked near the line of scrimmage. The two-time Super Bowl champions pull it out with a defensive score. Denver 19, Miami 14.