Photo: Juan DeLeon/Contributor

When XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck told me a few weeks ago that the XFL wants to re-imagine football, I could already see the steam that is to come from the ears of traditionalists who are reluctant to accept change.

It is even more sickening to them when said change comes from "strange" places. You, know, weird leagues like the AFL and ABA.

Before you turn your nose up at any rules changes or innovations the XFL might introduce, remember, a lot of what is good about sports originated from leagues that were considered radicals in their day.

There is a thin line, a 3-point line if you will, between innovative and gimmicky.

While NBA executives trashed the ABA as an undisciplined, renegade league that didn't play basketball the way it was supposed to be played, it introduced great entertaining elements.

Yet, a couple generations removed from the ABA's heyday and think of how much joy we have gotten from the 3-point line and slam dunk competitions. (And for some of you, the dancers.)

Luck says the XFL will do its best to avoid the latter.

That'll be a challenge, but some of their early ideas sound like fun.

Tops on the list is the proposed changes in extra-point attempts.

Under the XFL rules, a touchdown would be worth six points. Then the fun starts.

There will not be any extra-point kicks. Instead, a team can go for one, two or three extra points.

A one-point try would be a play from scrimmage from the 2-yard line. A two-point try would be run from the 5.

And, if you're greedy or behind by enough, you could earn an extra three points by converting from the 10.

This is pure genius.

It could turn out some wild fourth quarters, with spectacular comebacks. As a bonus, it eliminates the most boring play in football.

Now, I admit, their second-most talked about idea is indeed gimmicky, but I'm all for it.

Overtime would be a wild two-point shootout, a combination of the college overtime rules and soccer free kicks.

The crazy part would be teams would have their defense on one end and the offense on the other for these two-point tries. The defense gets a point when it forces a turnover.

Back-and-forth they will go to see who wins after five tries.

The tension and excitement of this would have me rooting for overtime every time.

Can the XFL last? That's a billion-dollar question.

Can a couple of its innovations make it into the NFL?

Let's hope so.