Self-Distraction

Okay, I really can’t think any more about how awful the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is. There’s big things afoot at the office and I need to prepare myself to respond accordingly. There’s big activity in several of my cases and I need to deal with them. I’m not getting enough sleep at night again and one of the reasons I’ve been willing to take a subordinate position at a firm here in Tennessee after having founded my own back in California was so that I could have less stress, not more. I’m still not happy with the prospect of spending the rest of my professional life doing medical malpractice and auto torts (*yawn*) and less happy about what appears to be the inevitable prospect of moving to an eat-what-you-kill compensation scheme. I no longer have the taste for that kind of personal financial risk.

So that means I’m going to give some thought to football. In the last preseason game of this season, my team played for a very flat, uninspiring victory against the Flaming Thumbtacks of Nashville. Granted, # 4 (all hail) is more than a little bit distracted by the fact that his permanent home, as well as those of much of his immediate family, have been severely damaged (Kiln, Mississippi is not far from Gulfport, and would have been badly hit Monday night). But the Thumbtacks’ starting quarterback is from southern Mississippi too, and both men found a way to function in their respective series. (Serieses?)

No, the problem is that the receivers aren’t in sync with the rest of the offense, the offensive line is once again questionable, and after two months of training and a month of pre-season games to get in shape, the head coach is still suggesting that the defense needs more training, practice, and development. Yikes. Defense wins championships — just ask the Patriots, Ravens, and Buccaneers.

At some point this weekend I’ll have to sit down and think pretty hard about what I’d like my fantasy team to look like. We’ll be drafting on Thursday night, right before (and possibly during) the Oakland game.

But probably not on Saturday. Happy Bachelor Lawyer and I are planning on going to the UAB game Saturday. I’ve been to college football games several times before, and they are big fun. In many ways, more fun than the NFL games I’ve been to. The local heroes are nationally-ranked at #3, and what should be the two toughest games will be behind the team by October (and I ain’t talkin’ ’bout no dragons). So it ought to be an exciting season for college ball, too.