Publisher's Notebook

The NFL season opened this past weekend, and hope is everywhere. From Miami to Seattle to Houston to … Washington?

In honor of Week 1, here’s a Lawyer Could-Have-Been – Cris Collinsworth, the one-time Cincinnati Bengal who took over John Madden’s seat on NBC’s Sunday Night Football this season.

Collinsworth went to the University of Florida, where he played football and earned a degree in accounting in 1981. Tall (6’5”) and fast, he was drafted by the Bengals in the second round and played eight seasons, appearing in Cincy’s two Super Bowls, both of which ended in San Francisco victories. The 1989 SB, Collinsworth’s last game, was one of the more interesting title games, featuring a last-minute touchdown drive led by 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.

Collinsworth moved into broadcasting, taking a reporter’s job at HBO. But he was hedging his bets. He started law school part-time at the University of Cincinnati law school in his next-to-last season with the Bengals and earned his law degree from UC in 1991. But his TV career went well and he has yet to take a bar exam anywhere.

By the way, one of Collinsworth’s sons plays football for Notre Dame, where he is a teammate of Nate Montana, son of Joe.

(Photo by Mitchell Haaseth / © NBC Universal, Inc.)

Robert Louis Stevenson (right) penned one of the greatest adventure tales published in the 19th century, “Treasure Island.” He produced a dark story of duality, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” as well as poetry for children – “A Child’s Garden of Verses.” He delved into Scottish history in another adventure, “Kidnapped.”

But his family wanted him to be a lawyer. Well, first they wanted him to be an engineer. His father and other family members were engineers and they expected Robert to follow suit when he entered the University of Edinburgh in 1867. He had no interest in same, and he announced he wanted to pursue a life of letters. Okay, fine, his father said, you can be a lawyer.

Stevenson studied law at the university, and he even qualified for the Scottish bar in 1875. His ever-hopeful father put a plate outside the family residence, “R.L. Stevenson, Advocate.” But he never practiced.

Instead, Stevenson traveled widely and made good on his determination to be a writer. During the 1880s, he published the four books named above and a variety of other works. He sailed all over the world. But his health, never good, was failing.

Looking for a warmer climate, he ended up in the Pacific, settling on one of the Samoan islands. He died there at the age of 44 in 1894.

Midnight Oil is one of Australia’s best-known rock bands, putting out music for more than three decades.

For 25 years, the front man and lead singer was a 6-foot-6 bald guy named Peter Garrett (right). Watch one of their videos on YouTube and you can’t miss him.

Garrett joined the band in 1976, after responding to an advertisement the others had placed for a lead singer. At the time, he was a law student at the University of New South Wales. He left school to join the band on tour, returning and completing his degree a few years later.

The Oils, as the band is known to its diehard fans, always have displayed a keen political sensibility. Their hit, “Beds Are Burning,” addressed Aboriginal rights; “Blue Sky Mine” spoke of lack of payment for asbestos exposure. “River Run Red” blasted pollution.

So it’s no surprise that Garrett’s career path went toward politics instead of law practice. He left Midnight Oil in 2002 to concentrate on his political career, rejoining his old mates for several benefit performances in the 2000s.

He was elected as member of the House of Representatives in 2004; when the Australian Labor Party won the national election three years later, the new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, named Garrett as Minister of the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. A number of problems, including a troubled program to provide free insulation to homes, prompted Rudd to demote Garrett. He remained in Rudd’s cabinet but was stripped of responsibility for energy efficiency.

And if Labor loses the election this fall, Garrett always has the band the fall back on…

The latest Lawyer Could-Have-Been is studly Scottish actor Gerard Butler.

Butler earned a law degree from the University of Glasgow, and he worked briefly at a law firm in Edinburgh until the acting bug bit.

Butler starred as King Leonidas in “300” and was the Phantom in the 2004 film version of “Phantom of the Opera.” Other starring vehicles include “P.S. I Love You” and “Law Abiding Citizen.”

A regular in the tabloids, Butler has been linked to a string of actresses/celebrities, including Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, and most recently, Lindsay Lohan.

It’s a fair bet that he wouldn’t have dated any of those women if he’d stayed at the law firm in Edinburgh…

Here’s another entry for the list of  Lawyer Could-Have-Beens, that is, people who earned a law degree but decided to pursue some other career. 

It’s one you wouldn’t expect.

Julio Iglesias.

That’s right – the handsome Latin international singing star (left) who did “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” The guy who has sold over 300 million records worldwide. The guy with a Web site, www.julioiglesias.com, that you can view in 21 different languages.

Julio was a soccer player and law student at Universidad Complutense Madrid in the early 1960s. He was in a bad car wreck in 1963; it took him three years to recover fully. During that time, he learned to play the guitar and soon was writing songs.

He attended music festivals throughout Europe and won a recording contract. His wealthy family in Spain, however, didn’t totally approve of his new musical career. So to make them happy, he completed his law degree in 1972.

His family might still say it’s important to have a fall-back. But Julio, who turns 66 tomorrow, clearly has had the last laugh. In 21 different languages.