Columnist Sal DeFilippo: Realignment means long math to finding winners

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 9:22 a.m.

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

Grab your protractor, or nearest abacus. It's time to do some heavy calculations.

I know, I know. The NFL season is just beginning, and you're probably in no mood for a math quiz.

After the first Thursday night opener in NFL history, I can still count another 15 games in Week 1. But does this really make for a Sweet 16? Are there too many teams?

I mean, I enjoy deriving the quadratic formula from the Pythagorean theorem as much as the next guy. But this is crazy.

Sharpen your No. 2 pencil and follow along with a few computations:

With one simple addition (Houston Texans), the NFL has increased by two its number of divisions (from six to eight).

A common denominator, however, is the 12 playoff teams, though now we must subtract two variables (wild-card teams) that are replaced by the additional division champions.

The smaller divisions are already causing longtime fans some confusion (is Seattle now in the NFC North-by-Northwest because New Orleans has moved to the Southern-Mid-Central?) and will likely mean a weak division champion will receive a playoff berth while a superior team in a tougher division stays home in January.

But we can't look in the back of the textbook -- or sportsbook -- for these answers. For now, we need to keep it simple, especially the bettors who hope during the next 17 weeks to solve the pluses and minuses, and the occasional fraction.

Speaking of, accompanying this column again this season will be Sal's Celebrity Selectors, a panel of eight prestigious prognosticators.

Master Magician Lance Burton hopes to retain the Golden Nerf, the trophy awarded to the contestant who has the best season record picking three games or totals each week against the point spread.

Will realignment add up to a more exciting road to the playoffs? You do the math.

Seven years ago, I was sitting in a department head meeting when I was asked if I would interested in writing a pro football betting column in the Sun.

Not a common request for a news editor, but the boss knew I had a sports background and enjoyed writing, especially about football. I remember the sales pitch, though it really wasn't necessary.

"With you're sense of humor, I'll bet you could write a really entertaining column," she said. "Plus, you probably could get most of the games right and develop a following."

Well, she was partly right, anyway. After a few seasons of staggering -- yet consistent -- ineptitude, I think I did develop a following. People were following me from the office to my car and then to my apartment.

But I embraced writing it each season, the way she always knew I would, and the way I still do today. The boss who encouraged me to fill this space was Sandy Thompson, whose life was taken in an auto accident Aug. 9.

It was my privilege to know someone who meant so much to so many.