#!/usr/bin/env perl use DBI; use POSIX 'strftime'; use strict; use Data::Dumper; my $line; my @teams; while ( $line = ) { chomp $line; if ($line =~ /^#/ || $line =~ /^\s*$/) { next; } $line =~ s/^[^=]*\=//; @teams = map { [ split /,/, $_, 3 ] } $line; } print Dumper \@teams; __DATA__ Teams=PATRIOTS,BILLS,DOLPHINS,JETS,COWBOYS,GIANTS,EAGLES,REDSKINS,BENGALS,OILERS,STEELERS,BROWNS,SEAHAWKS,RAMS,49ERS,RAIDERS