From the Times-Picayune [hat-tip to the Journal edit page] on how NFL players are dealing with the league lockout:

“It’s really tough, because there is a sense of urgency, and guys are ready to get back out there on the field,” Lewis said. “Guys don’t know what’s going on, what’s going through the owners’ heads or when a deal is going to get done. So there is just a lot of he-say, he-say stuff going on. But I’m just ready to get back to football and what I love to do.
“We are just sitting back hoping things get better. Football is important in this country. It makes us a lot of money. It’s how we pay bills, so I just hope they get something done.”
Others hope an agreement can be reached soon, so they won’t become a burden on their parents. After being drafted in the third round, Keenan Lewis and [Bears safety Craig] Steltz figured their days of leaning on their parents for support were over.
However, the lockout also ended the players’ medical benefits.
Under the federal law known as COBRA, players can continue existing medical coverage for themselves and their families for up to 18 months, but it’s expensive. A new federal health care law allows those who are 26 years old and younger to return to their parents’ health insurance.
“I’m 24, so I got lucky,” Steltz said. “All this health insurance stuff came around, and I was scrambling about what to do. They sent us COBRA. And out of the blue, someone reminded me that ‘Man, you are 24; you can get on your parents’ insurance.’
“I said, ‘Man, this is awesome. I’m a professional athlete and I am getting on my parent’s insurance.’ I got lucky on that, but some of the guys have families and children, and they are having to pay for their own health insurance now. It’s just the little small things that you are having to pick up now in this uncertainty that you wouldn’t have had to worry about before.”
Added Keenan Lewis . . . “It’s scary not to have insurance.”