Celebrity/media NFL picks: Super Bowl XLV

By Sal DeFilippo

Published Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 | 9:07 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 | 9:07 p.m.

When Lance Burton closed the curtain on his show at the Monte Carlo, capping 30 illustrious years of performing magic on the Las Vegas Strip, many people wondered whether he just felt like it was time to retire, or at least take a lengthy break.

Not me. I knew exactly why Lance was giving up the showroom. All I needed to do was look at the calendar. His final show was the first week of September, and it was no coincidence that the NFL season started the following week.

“I needed to focus on defending the Golden Nerf,” admitted Burton, speaking of the coveted trophy given to the winner of my annual celebrity football picks contest. “I wanted to devote every spare moment to analyze the football games.”

Burton won the inaugural trophy in 2001 and became a two-time champ last season, but had his sights set on doing something nobody had done in the competition’s storied history – repeat as champ. The Golden Nerf is not something to be taken lightly.

“It is probably the most important award in all … of the world. Let alone sports or entertainment – the whole world. It’s the most prestigious award ever,” Burton said.

The master magician-turned-premier prognosticator gave up show biz to hunker down and study like never before. How much time each week did he spend working to retain the title?

“Almost all of my time. I did stop to eat a couple of times a day,” he said.

For the second straight year, Burton posted a 30-21 record to top the field of a dozen local celebrities and media personalities. He was presented with the trophy at his place, where we watched some playoff action and I tried in vain to find out his secret to picking winners. I got the kind of answer you’d expect when asking a magician to cough up his secrets.

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Our methods … well, we don’t discuss tactics or strategies,” he said. “If this information got out, it would bring Las Vegas to its knees. Sports books would crumble. The losses would be so great in the casinos, Las Vegas would be a wasteland within six months.”

So now that he’s done all there is to do in the world of celebrity football picks, what’s next? Three-peat?

“I should retire from the football picks. I’ll have to go onto another project. I think I’m gonna have to give it up now, and find something else to retire from. I’m just going to make a career out of retiring.”

I mentioned that by doing so he’d be following in the footsteps of his beloved favorite player, Brett Favre. Nobody does retiring like Favre.

“That’s right. But I’m doing it slightly different. I’m retiring from a different profession each time. The magic thing – 30 years … retire. Football picks have kinda been my thing for the last few years, now I’m retiring from that. I have to find a new hobby,” he said.

Any ideas? What’s left to conquer?

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe, uh, theoretical physics. I might think about entering the Olympics.”

In what event?

“Well, I’ve got to decide what sport I want to enter in. Maybe I’ll enter all of them. You’re bound to win the gold medal in something if you enter every event, don’t you think?”

Before Lance started tossing javelins around (which, by the way, there was probably enough room for in his house), I figured I’d get his thoughts on Super Bowl XLV.

Lance’s pick: Lance is 6-4 against the spread during the playoffs, but now, it’s time to pick the only game that matters.

“I like the Packers. I think they have a better overall team, but mostly, I’m picking them because I have a Packers jersey.”

Sal’s pick:I’m 7-3 in the postseason, and just to make it interesting, I’ll take the Steelers plus the points. And not because of jersey ownership. I have much more sound reasoning – my wife is from Pittsburgh, and, well … do I need to say more?