Public apologies to Brian of In the Bleachers and public gratitude to Spencer for filling in for me last night on the SEC Preview episode of the In the Bleachers Live podcast. Explanation: headaches have been a thorn in my side for 30 years. I've been everywhere and tried just about everything, but every time I go to a new doctor, he wants his stab at curing me despite the fact that I'm just resigned to having to manage them.

Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease, and that appears to be the case with the latest and greatest, Effexor, which is an anti-depression drug used off-label to keep headaches away. Side effects, according to WebMD:

Headache, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, weakness, dry mouth, constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss, blurred vision, tiredness, nervousness, trouble sleeping, sweating, or yawning may occur.

That first one is nice and ironic, don't you think? Anyway, I have the drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness, yawning, and a touch of the nausea, all of which I'd gladly trade for the weight loss, but alas, it is not to be. The stuff has me practically falling asleep at my desk at work, yawning at extremely inappropriate times with clients, and saying stupid things at a rate only Les Miles could keep up with. Fortunately, I am a lawyer by trade and those things largely go by unnoticed. If only I could practice in Alabama.

Anyway, I went to bed at 5:45 last night -- a new record! -- and just now woke up. Like I said, I've learned to live with these things, and I try not to complain about them, but I hate it when it inconveniences other people. So apologies once again to Brian and Spencer. (I did manage to tell both of them beforehand, though, so there's that.)

I'll be listening to the show on my way to work this morning, and I suggest you do the same.

Enough about me. Let's get back to football. Hooper's final post in the excellent single wing series is going live at 7:00, and practice starts tomorrow. I'm hoping to have the countdown clock fired up on Monday.