  We reconsider the derivation of the Michael lattice sum rules, which relate
the energy and action stored in a flux tube of a quark-antiquark pair to the
static interquark potential, and show that they require essential corrections.
We then find, using the coupling constant sum rule of Karsch, that the total
Minkowski field energy does not match the interquark potential, if one follows
conventional notions. The implications of this result are discussed.
