wes (Westt Village, region Soho, Chelsea, Wogie’s 39 Greenwich Ave., nr. Charles St.; 212-229-2171 The Horsebox 218 Ave. A, nr. 14th St.; 646-370-1791 wogie’s Its opponent Standings A chalkboard is Tribeca) A Philly-themed neighborhood spot that pays attention Comfortable but fairly uninspired, with same ol’ , essentially disqualifies itself painstakingly updated with to -food details rather than just dousing everything haphazard TV placement, and an obligatory dartboard. by offering only prix fixe standings for the major D1 in grease: Get your cheesesteak with chopped-pickle salsa. t region dinners (à la carte is coming college-hoops conferences. eas soon, it says). Wogie’s Total domination. Standings 43 E. 7th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-420-0671 (East Village, Village Lobster & Crabhouse 225 Varick St., Lower East Side, Mellow and Standings Nerd-quality craft beers, plenty of TVs, and charmingly Murray Hill, nr. Clarkson St.; 646-861-2985 The many flat-screen Queens) convivial Standings and esoteric memorabilia (a Brady-Moss ’08 lawn sign, a Johan TVs are always tuned to sports, but the place is trumps fun but its geek-fan Santana bottle) keep the small bar packed. often empty and the food doesn’t justify its high prices. impersonal. Plus: madness carry garlic-rubbed the day. The 13th Step 149 Second Ave., nr. 9th St.; 212-228-8020 chicken wings. The 13th Step Excellent Bleecker Heights 296 Bleecker St., nr. Seventh Barrow Street Excellent sight lines, 360 degrees of high-def, and a solid daily specials (half-price Ave., second fl.; 212-675-6157 Tucked above a Five Guys Ale House Wogie’s The food Standings selection of seasonal drafts (try the Sweaty Betty Blonde) on Sunday) help it muscle burger joint, it could do more with its quirky-cozy space. Wins for its livelier is just too good and Though it’s make up for some gruesomely bony Buffalo wings. out its pseudo-Prohibition atmosphere too cheap—$7.75 painful to reward competition. Barrow Street Ale House 15 Barrow St., nr. W. 4th St.; and plethora of for one of the better a bar overrun by The Draft Bar 157 Ludlow St., nr. Stanton St.; 212-777- 212-691-6127 A straight-down-the-middle sports den, beer options. cheesesteaks in the Boston partisans, 7708 Exposed brick, a D.J. booth, and floral (!) wallpaper with standard but satisfying nachos and a great, dingy city—to recommend Standings is just too make this LES freshman feel more like a speakeasy. man-cave basement with a pool table and two TVs. anywhere else. consistently strong. Third and Long A dead- even matchup of reluctant sports hubs. Third and Long Blackbird’s The Ainsworth Tons of space, 41-19 30th Ave., at 42nd St., Astoria; 718- The Ainsworth 122 W. 26th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; gets the edge for superior good TV sight lines, and fresh- 943-6899 Can’t fault the cut-above grub, but deduct 212-741-0645 A well-mannered Flatiron lounge with high game-viewing and a more squeezed lime for the nachos points for serving beers in hipster-pandering Mason jars. ceilings and a creative but unpretentious menu: Try the Strawberry’s creative tap. corn on the cob with chipotle aïoli and goat cheese. are a tough-to-beat trifecta. Sports Grill The Ainsworth Standings Third and Long 523 Third Ave., at 35th St.; 212-447-5711 Did we mention Nine TVs lets it qualify as a sports bar, though it feels Jake’s Saloon 206 W. 23rd St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212- Snap gets dinged Wogie’s may have great grub, Darryl’s Shea (in a good way) more like a mellow Irish pub, especially 337-3100 A classic Irish pub with amiable, be-paunched for being a little but that’s no match for the Stadium locker SNAP in contrast to its Jäger-bombing Murray Hill neighbors. and team-logo drawings in the windows. Defeats a worthy, too theme-y with superior beer, game-viewing, takes up one of the classy opponent on the the décor (sports and, most important, die-hard corners of the bar? Strawberry’s Sports Grill strength of amazingly wallpaper, really?). authenticity of Standings. Bar XII sometimes serves beer Strawberry’s Sports Grill 42-15 235th St., nr. 43rd Ave., Warren 77 77 Warren St., nr. W. Broadway; 212-227-8994 good cheeseburger sliders in plastic pints. Strawberry’s Douglaston; 718-517-8787 Ex-slugger Darryl Strawberry’s bar One of the few entrants that could double as a date bar, (not the lump-in-a-bun always pours them into frosty in deepest Queens not only serves a knockout lamb burger, it’s it’s got six flat-screens, solid food, and dark lighting. stuff you get elsewhere). glasses. Not even close. got Chuck Knoblauch’s 1998 Yankees World Series trophy. SNAP 248 W. 14th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 646-350-0539 Winner! Potentially irritating meatpacking-district affectations Bar XII 206 E. 34th St., nr. Third Ave.; 212-545-9912 Standings Sou (roped-off VIP banquette, D.J. booth) belie its friendliness. A wannabe nightclub that has settled for life as a sports bar, th Region It’ll probably feel like a (Brooklyn, with pink track lighting, bottle service, and burnt nachos. cattle car if you go there Lower Manhattan) for the Final Four (again, Red Star Solid it’s tiny), but talent like this Pipin’s Pub 9701 Third Ave., at 97th St., Bay Ridge; 718-833- fundamentals—great beer can’t be denied. It is, quite Stadium Grill 222 W. 44th St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212- 1183 With nine scattered TVs and a standard menu, Pipin is more selection, TVs where you simply, the Platonic ideal of 680-0252 A digital sports ticker and cases filled with middling neighborhood restaurant than rip-roaring sports bar. a sports bar. north region want them, awesomely plump autographed Eli jerseys and Jeter cleats turn a bar inside Stadium Grill Major points (Midtown, Upper chicken wings, hip crowd— Red Star Where a Bowlmor in Times Square into a serious contender. West Side, Red Star awarded to the David Burke– 37 Greenpoint Ave., at West St., Greenpoint; 718- will win every time. 200 Fifth falters Upper East Side) 349-0162 The pride of Greenpoint has above-average food, designed menu, especially the (cartoonishly Stadium Grill Traffic 986 Second Ave., nr. 52nd St.; 212-813-1595 The fourteen craft beers on tap (one made exclusively for the bar by Chinese chicken wings. macho regulars, Red Star Again, the bi-level midtown spot brings in plenty of, yes, traffic despite Brooklyn Brewery), a knowledgeable crowd, and a smart layout. ability to hear Stadium Grill is as well food wins out; the uninspired beer selection (just four on tap, six by bottle). 200 Fifth oneself think), appointed (and sterile) as an Ommegang and Park Slope’s bruiser Red Star excels. MSG luxury suite. Red Star may Sixpoint on draft 200 Fifth 200 Fifth Ave., nr. Union St., Park Slope; 718-638- easily defeats Peck not match its creature comforts, don’t hurt either. Stout 133 W. 33rd St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212-629-6191 Avoid 2925 The big, blaring bully of Brooklyn sports bars is divisive: Slip’s Cinderella. The but it’s much closer to actually this pumped-up three-floor Irish pub before or after MSG Some love the sensory overload of 80 seizure-inducing barrage of TVs is simply being in the stands. events, the better to enjoy the sizable beer menu. TVs and a deafening sound system; others can’t stand it. too much of a size Blondies A cozier dining advantage. room and a high density of flat-screens barely bests Keg No. 229 229 Front St., nr. Peck Slip; 212-566-2337 Red Star Wins Stadium Grill Blondies 212 W. 79th St., nr. Broadway; 212-362-4360 Stout’s sheer size. Four pour-your-own beer stations make a fun gimmick, but out based on the The winning tip-in Excellent TV placement gives views of multiple games from three measly TVs and an overly touristy crowd set it back. strength of its bar list at the buzzer: four any seat in the house; most will be taken up by alumni of five Rock Shop Both have some (Red Star Dark Lager tiers of stadium- NCAA tourney schools that call this their home bar. indie street cred, but in the all the way) and its style seating facing Mulholland’s 312 Grand St., at Havemeyer St., Williamsburg; end, Rock Shop is a sports overall panache. a 50-foot wall of Rock Shop Three Monkeys 236 W. 54th St., nr. Broadway; 212-586- 718-486-3473 A decent setup diminished by a minority of bar you venture to, while A true sports-bar high-def televisions Manny’s on Second Despite 2080 The good: huge beer menu, great beer-brined wings. locals who seemingly couldn’t care less about the game. Mulholland’s feels like one Atmosphere and lover’s sports bar. above the bar. a better menu, Three Monkeys The bad: Sit at a table downstairs and you’re craning your neck. you settle for. amenities make up can’t overcome its subpar TV for TV differential. placement. And, hey, Pac-Man! Rock Shop 249 Fourth Ave., nr. Carroll St., Park Slope; 718- Bounce During Though that could 230-5740 Perhaps the city’s first indie-rock sports bar, with a tourney time, Manny’s on Second 1770 Second Ave., nr. 92nd St.; 212-410- small concert venue downstairs and a spacious roof deck, ten Pub One new york change once 3300 Laser-focused fans seeking a distraction-free sports shrine Pub One gets its you don’t flat-screens, a pool table, and a quick-and-dirty kitchen above. The Dumbo newbie may look askance at those here to play the Pac-Man machine. backyard. need Manny’s holds off Woodwork’s diversions. truffle-macaroni You do need Woodwork 583 Vanderbilt Ave., at Dean St., Prospect Bounce and pickleback attack. a comfortable 1403 Second Ave., at 73rd St.; 212-535-2183 Decent Heights; 718-857-5777 It’s better known as an English soccer Bounce A good mix of Ten screens simply place to park it for food (served, incidentally, by easy-on-the-eyes waitresses) and bar, though bartenders usually give priority to big U.S. events. seating options helps chill the outplay three. several hours. fifteen well-situated TVs let you forgive the yawner of a beer menu. vibe, especially in contrast with too-loud Pourhouse. Pub One New York 5 Front St., at Old Fulton St., Dumbo; 347- mark nerys by . illustrations Village Pourhouse 982 Amsterdam Ave., nr. 109th St.; 212- 844-9149 Views of the Brooklyn Bridge, terrific burgers, ten well- 979-2337 The mini-chain’s Columbia branch may be frattier placed TVs, and soon-to-open back patio? Fist-pump-worthy. than its NYU one. Suggested beer pairings are a nice touch. z ine maga kim / new york danny by photograph