There was another notch in the belt of football gouged in over the weekend and I it was great to see football back, even though the magic wasn’t quite there. The 810 Zone on the Plaza was where we kicked off another year of the greatest tournament ever. Upsets happened, big plays zapped across the screens, and wings were eaten.
Walking in, I reminded myself that this used to be the Canyon Cafe. I remembered it’s open air, multi floored wackiness and the 810 Zone (founded by Sports Radio 810 AM, KCHopps LTD, and some other peeps) kept the same motif. They kept some things from the Leawood location but added a few more. The TV screens alone is worth the trip. They were sprinkled all over the place, including 2 big screens that everyone could see.
After some exploring, I figured out that the game room was completely sectioned off from the main area. We should really call it a game bar. There was pop a shot, Golden Tee, Silver Strike Bowling, and even Pac Man hanging out back there. I also had a gander at the Golf Simulator and it played like a real golf round. It took all of my will power not to spend the rest of the day there.
Instead, my rump was planted firmly in my chair while I eyeballed the games on the screens. The waitress was nice and pretty cute, plus the wings I had were spicy and tasty (even though it was Plaza pricey). I stuck around long enough to get tossed another waitress and after about an hour of her I was ready for the other one to come back. Seriously, I was super thirsty and you avoided me like I just farted.
What really blew my mind was the the booth screen. It sported a combination TV, Games, and Kids Stuff type interface which shall be called the TV-a-tron from now on. The Kids Stuff I avoided like the vegetables on my wings plate. The TV part let me choose any cable channel they had, including Cartoon Network! My arm gave out after rocking the Heavy Weapon point and shoot tank game. But it had just enough strength to land me on the ESPN for Va Tech vs Eastern Carolina.
The beginning of the day of football always features the Big 10 and the various blowouts available but I lucked out and landed on the Virginia Tech versus Eastern Carolina upset. The big play from that game was the blocked punt from under 2 minutes to go that sealed it for ECU. Upsets were in the air that day as Bowling Green beat up on Pittsburgh as well. Unfortunately Appalachian couldn’t hold in the upset toke and choked out 41 points to LSU in a losing effort.
The afternoon perked up with a good looking Michigan versus Utah clash that sall the same style of offense going up against each other. The more mature style Utah employed prevailed as they narrowly averted a comeback from the freshly installed but kinda stinky Rich Rodriguez version of the spread offense. I’m thankful that the Wolverines made it watchable by cleaving a comeback at the end, and I’m even more thankful that Utah held them off and chopped off a victory at the Big House.
Winning ways found itself a nuzzled bosom in the teats of the Big 12 conference over the weekend. Well, except for Baylor and Texas A&M. Wait. A&M?!?! Yup, the lost to the venerable Arkansas State I-forgot-their-team-name-because-they-don’t-matters. Just a little embarrassing. KU rolled like everyone expected. KSU did not pull a Mangino and pulled up at the end of their offensive outpouring and beat North Texas handily. I was able to see Oklahoma State look impressive against Washington State, but I’m still not sold on the Pokes being competitive in the conference this year.
The real competition lies in Columbia, Missouri and apparently in St. Louis too. Missouri beat Illinois in what seemed like a carbon copy of last year’s game. Mizzou went up big in the first half, then turned the ball over, and Illinois came back only to come up short. Jeremy Maclin is the Heisman candidate on this team, not Chase. He had a kickoff return for a touch as well as piling yards on from any offensive perspective. This guy does it all. Except not get injured. The Juice from Illinois proved himself worthy in the 2nd half, but all of the crazy plays in this game culminated in the form of a stolen ball and run back for the game sealer by Missouri. What I’m taking from this game is that Mizzou will be tough but their secondary is suspect.
It feels great to rundown the games and talk about the best sport this side of the hemisphere. The 810 Zone is worth watching and playing some games in the snob heaven that is the Plaza. Just be careful about the service and the oh so trendy price tag of food. The football as always was spectacular, but the magic from last year was missing. At least there were some small upsets to help fill the void. Oh, and it’s 10 wings down that helped fill my belly void.