My lips are still on fire.  I thought I would be the tough guy Saturday night and try the hottest wings that Pluckers had to offer.  They almost burned them right off.  Alot of other things burned me as well Saturday night.  But that’s alright. Pluckers not only provided the fire but they also helped me washed down my pain, both the physical and emotional kind.

We had the glorious opportunity to follow Texas again in terms of scheduling down here in Austin.  Walking into Pluckers, the noise was at full blast.  The televisions and the crowd were loud and rowdy.  It actually took us some time to get our bearings and figure out what to do.  The placard up front said that we should tell them what game we were watching and that they would seat us accordingly.  The problem was the host didn’t know where Kansas State was on.  We were directed to a table but ended up at the bar instead.

Pluckers itself is a fine destination for a sports watching experience.  They have HD televisions all over, complete with cable and satellite packages.  A small problem, however, is the fixed showings of games during the night.  At some point there’s a blowout but they will not change the channels because of their strict schedule.  Welp, if there are blowouts, you can relax out on the patio or play some games.  It’s always nice to rock the Pop-A-Shot and you can get your video game on with either Buck Hunter Safari or Golden.  If that’s doesn’t float your boat, then you can surf online with their free wireless internet.

The service was not the best in the world.  I talked about the host up front so no need to go into that.  We got the bartender and I have to say he was okay.  He was kind of a Bluto looking fellow and had that same kind of blunt approach you would see in the Popeye cartoons.  I found it appealing but it doesn’t mean it was the best service.  The waitresses are really average for a college town. Some of them were cute, maybe one was hot, but the rest were not that great.  That’s okay, though, I got my beer and my food fast.

Speaking of food and beer, the pairing I had was the Live Oak HefeWeizen and their 15 wing with a side combo platter.  The biggest mug in the bar was on tap for the trifecta of different flavors going down my gullet and the HefeWeizen was versatile enough to handle the sauce levels.  The Honey BBQ is a classic in wing flavors and provided a great base to work off of.  Next up was the Baker’s Gold.  I couldn’t peg down the taste distinctly but it was a medium like spice.  Lastly I had the Fine In The Hole, their hottest wing sauce.  It came and it delivered.  I handled Buffalo Wild Wings hottest flavor with ease but ended have to layer the wing in Ranch sauce to create a cooling layer around its flaming hot taste.  A combo of onion rings and oddly shaped fried mac n cheese logs also rounded out my belly.

Now on to the games, but first I need to talk about the situation last Saturday.  There was football to be had, but Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers were facing off in a playoff game.  The crowd was all there for baseball.  It’s an unusual experience for me, needless to say.  Maybe it’s because I came from Kansas City.  The Royals have been terrible for a very long time.  It’s kind of cool to see people excited about baseball in October.  Then again, it’s still baseball.

I really didn’t get a chance to watch any other football than the Big 12.  I worked out in the gym on Saturday morning like every other week and got the opportunity to watch Michigan start out against Michigan State.  I got done doing the elliptical and popped it on my new found love of online football game watching.  Not only for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, but also for South Carolina’s game and the Baylor game.  More on Baylor later.  What I want to point out is, with the advent of the internet and worldwide audiences, I can now watch any game on more that three screens at home. One of the main points of the blog was trying to find the best place to watch multiple games.  It may soon switch to me at my home office desk but until then it’s all bar food and great games.

Now on to the Big 12.  I mentioned Baylor and Texas A&M.  I was pulling for Baylor, but the real deal showed up at the end.  Texas A&M is a good team and Baylor is still struggling with coming out on top as a victor.  The other matchups I saw in the conference included Oklahoma State vs Texas as well as Oklahoma vs Kansas.  It was all for good for the state of Oklahoma, but with the opposite teams showing some life.  First off, Texas still has the statewide fight, even though they were out matched on defense.  I swear Texas would’ve won if they didn’t cough up the ball so much.  Meanwhile, in Lawrence, a whole week of discussion revolving around running up the scores pissed off the Jayhawks so much that they ended up playing a solid game in the loss.

The game of the night for me, obviously, was the Kansas State vs Texas Tech game.  It was in Lubbock and fortunately for my Wildcats, there was no poo left on the team bus.  There was poo to be had on the field though, as Texas Tech had every opportunity to win the game but crapped out a turnover or weak special teams play to keep the Wildcats in it.  That’s when Bill Snyder’s Wildcats took advantage.  The consistent play resulted in another close win in the Big 12 but this time was on the road.  Kansas State’s magical run continues and it looks like the first real test will be in Manhattan against Oklahoma in two weeks.

Pluckers was a fantastic place to watch sports, provided your team was on the list of television screens.  I didn’t like that you had to wait to be seated and then had to declare your team so you could watch it wherever they decided you should watch.  We got a seat at the table but went to the bar because of the crappy placement.  But don’t let that shy you away from actually having a good time.  The wings are for real and they have enough local brews to keep the street cred.  Televisions are a plenty and you will get lucky and see your team while you are out there.  So pluck yourself down at Pluckers and try to flame away the wing sting.