I’ve had a deep interest in the blues for many years. Over time, I’ve become a student of this form of indigenous American music, poring through the history, the musical “family tree”, the psychosocial and geographical aspects. Back in 1992, I even went so far as to take a road trip through the Mississippi Delta, just to see what the region was like. It’s hard to visualize what the old bluesmen experienced in the jukes throughout the south, and even more difficult to fathom the economic status of the region in the thirties and forties.

Be that as it may, I can’t say that I have ever been to a true, Mississippi delta juke joint. Legend has it that the bluesmen of the era would play them for money, for drinks, and for women. You had to work hard to work the crowd, and being a great performer was probably just as important as being a good musician. If you could get the joint jumpin’, then you would probably be a success. It was a measure of your status (and legacy) as a blues man.

I have been fortunate to see a few performers over the years that would fit this description of “bluesman”. Robert Randolph is just such a performer, and his performance at Antone’s on Friday night (2/4/11), with his Family Band, spoke strongly to the roots of the blues, and to the roots of his musicianship. But perhaps most importantly, it spoke to the sheer emotion and bravado of being a true performer in the purest sense of the word.

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Life. Death. There is a strange irony here, a paradox of sorts. Death defines life. Full stop, carriage-return-line-feed. If it wasn’t for the experience of death, we would not have boundaries to define the exquisite nature and beauty of life itself.

Death is a reality that we all must face sometime in our lives. It will take place around us, in friends and loved ones and acquaintances and family. We will watch it happen to our icons and our trusted role models and our enemies if we have them. It is something that, if you live on the planet long enough, will enter your world. As the saying goes, there are two things that you can guarantee in life – taxes and death. Death knows no boundaries, Democrat or Republic, Christian or Muslim.

Sadly, it can take a death for many of us to fully realize the beauty that is our own life. It brings a focus on the power of love for those around us, something that can be lost at times in the reality and distractions of our day.

Once again, I was reminded of the fragility of our world and our tenuous hold on that which we call life. In its sadness, and in the memories that are surely stirred up within, I was reminded of the importance of – now.

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The end of football season is almost upon us. In a week’s time, the Green Bay Packers will face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl Wow-That-Is-A-Lot-Of-Roman-Numerals. I have to go back to high school math to remember what Super Bowl number we are up to anymore. Not that it typically matters, because I can count more lousy Super Bowl games than I can count good ones – roman numerals or otherwise.

Today’s Rhubarb has a football slant to it. It’s a deep slant, just like a good post pattern – all puns fully intended, of course.

1. This year’s AFC and NFC conference championships featured games that were completely “old school”. You had some of the classic NFL teams of a bygone era – Green Bay, Pittsburgh, New York, and Chicago. With that goes some legendary rivalries. But best of all, you had games played outdoors without the perfect conditions that dome stadiums bring with them. You had game-time conditions that conference finals should be played in – snow, wind, and cold. Ah “the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field”, as NFL Films calls it. Get muddy, get dirty, let the strong survive. Now THAT is football.

2. In the “focus required” category, there is the inimitable Bud Adams. Remember, he’s the owner that moved the Houston Oilers to Tennessee. That was a decision that I could never understand, but I also don’t have millions of dollars to throw at football, either. They drafted Vince Young as the savior of their team – and rightfully so when he was, without a doubt, the greatest college football player of all time. He is a natural winner. Somehow, that was hampered by his “relationship” with Coach Jeff Fisher. One spat turned into another, and head games seemed to be the norm. Young was never given an environment in which he could excel. Fisher never did really build an offense around this franchise player on whom Adams was spending a lot of cash.

So then Bud Adams decides to let Young go. How a team could ever get rid of Vince Young, I’ll never know. But wait, the story  gets better.

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What a difference a year can make. Case in point: the University of Texas men’s basketball team.

I, for one, really didn’t expect much from the Horns this season. After last season’s 17 – 0 start and 7 – 10 flame out, and a few key starters graduating, I really didn’t think that they would have much to work with this season. Sure, they had some highly-regarded recruits – which then became two freshman starters – and in many circles, that could be considered a recipe for disaster. Of course, that would never compare to the disaster that was last season.

Wow. Was I wrong. And I stand corrected now. This team is good. And deep. And, frankly, these kids can play.

But even with that said, it has been a pretty simple equation for the UT men against Kansas. Zero wins, nine losses. There have been some heartbreaking results over the years, and I have sat through all of them. There have been some games in which Texas was blown out, and others when they took Kansas to the final buzzer, only to register a loss in the end.

Now, it has all changed. The Phog that covered Texas has disappeared, once and for all. They have finally put up a win against the Jayhawks.

It was the way that it happened that was most stunning.

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If you bring up the topic of government, or legislation, or Tea Party for that matter, I would bet you will have your fair share of debate and some “eye rolling” as well. Lo and behold, both the federal and state legislators are once again “hard at work” (and I use that term loosely) and before you can blink that rolling eye, there is already plenty of insanity with which to contend. Be it Washington or Austin, the fun just never stops.

When in doubt, always follow the money trail to find the Rhubarb. Trust me on this one. I am sure it will lead you to plenty of tasty treats over which legislators (and lobbyists) will wage battles that will, in the end, rarely accomplish much of anything for the benefit of their constituents. On the top of that list of battles these days is health care reform. Yes we can? No we can’t? Maybe we will? Do our legislators have any clue?

In this episode, let’s take a quick and annoying peek at what our reps are up to on the state and national levels. Between health care reform nationally and super-sized budget deficits in the state of Texas, we have plenty of hypocrisy to roll our eyes over.

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There is a new conspiracy brewing on the Forty Acres. Woodward and Bernstein may need to start doing some research on this one.

The University of Texas Longhorns have a new two-headed offensive coordinator – Major Applewhite and Bryan Harsin. Look closely at their promotional photos. You’d think they were one and the same at first glance. Applewhite is 32, Harsin is 34. Smoke and mirrors?

Conspiracy, I tell you. Opie-Gate has arrived in Austin. Let’s see if we ever see both of them in the same place at the same time.

The Longhorn Youth Movement also adds new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, the “old man” of the group who is a whopping 36 years old.

The current evidence would indicate that this conspiracy does not involve bubble screens or zone reads. And it might actually involve a blitz or three. And it could actually prove to be a lot of … fun.

This is a movement I can support – and for a lot of reasons.

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Go ahead, NCAA, I dare you: crown a national champion based on an on-field playoff, not political wrangling. It is a pretty straightforward concept that has found a home in virtually all college team sports, including college baseball and basketball.

But, you say, this year’s National Championship game will pit two undefeated teams (Auburn and Oregon) like it is supposed to do. Unless, of course, you have three undefeated teams. Then we have a problem.

I would suggest you might want to ask TCU – the third undefeated team at 13 - 0 – what they think of the affair. Or ask the players what they would prefer to do – to win it on the field, winner take all, or to do it in the polls. I think we all know the answer. In that regard, college football players are not much different than those college baseball or basketball players.

Sadly, what this comes down to isn’t what is right for the student-athlete. It is a simple issue of the haves and the have-nots of college football. Or, as Ohio State University president E. Gordon Gee stated, “very fine schools” (presumably Ohio State is in that category) versus “the little sisters of the poor” (TCU and Boise State as but two examples).

Yes, those are Gee’s words. They epitomize a mentality that is at the very heart of the idiotic Bowl Championship Series. And that is only scratching the surface. Look no further than Gee and his employer – the Ohio State University – to find an example of the hypocrisy behind the BCS.

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