Columnist Sal DeFilippo: You can’t count on anything anymore

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 10:31 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4076.

My son asked me a relatively easy question while doing his first-grade math homework this week.

"Dad, how much is seven plus seven?"

I never just give him an answer to such requests, because I want him to figure things out for himself and learn. So I broke the problem down into simple terms. I told him to take one touchdown with an extra point, and then add another. Math isn't about field goals, after all.

He adds the numbers in his head. "Fourteen, right?"

A proud moment it is indeed when your offspring begins to learn the multiples of seven. But he wasn't satisfied.

"Are you sure, Dad?"

I laughed. "Yes, I'm sure. Seven plus seven is 14."

He remained skeptical. "Yeah, but you said you were sure the Red Sox wouldn't beat the Yankees or win the World Series."

I told him that I had based that claim on what I had always known to be true, and that occasionally, the unexplainable can happen.

This year, however, the exception has become the norm.

When President Bush won Tuesday's election, ending the 70-year streak in which the result of the final Redskins home game had correctly predicted the outcome of presidential races, it was just the latest in a string of oddities that has marked the sports year.

Last weekend in college football, powerhouses Miami, Florida and Florida State all lost on the same day for the first time since 1978. Two weeks ago, Iowa beat Penn State by a 6-4 score. Yep, two safeties.

In the NFL, the Packers started 0-3 at home for the first time in the history of Lambeau Field.

The 49ers were shut out for the first time in 27 years.

Jerry Rice played a game without catching a pass for the first time since 1985.

The Lions, who hadn't won a road game in three years, have won three times away from home this season.

The Dolphins, who have had one losing season in 26 years, are 1-7.

The Chargers, who were 4-12 a season ago, are 5-3 tied for the division lead.

The more I thought about how wacky the season has been, the less sure I felt about about anything. Everything I had known to be true was no longer a certainty.

I turned my attention back to my son, who was still working on a few addition problems.

"On second thought, you'd better get the calculator."

This week's picks: The Vikings chose to go for a two-point conversion after a late touchdown last week -- they trailed 34-13 with a couple of minutes left -- and missed it, leaving me 1 point short of the total and with a 1-2 week. The season mark sits at 12-11-1 heading into this weekend. I'll take the Giants minus 9 over the Bears, the Chargers-Saints over 48 1/2 and the Redskins plus 3 1/2 over the Lions.