best places to view march madness (a to z)

11 Things: Best places to view March Madness (A to Z)

Thursday, March 9, 2006

1. The Arena. The good: The 19,000-plus seat Arena is hosting West Regional games on March 23 and 25. The bad: Games are already sold out. The asterisk: Tickets online can still be found in the $100-$500 range. 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 569-2121.

2. Connecticut Yankee. The good: More New England than New England itself. The bad: New Yorkers may not like that fact. The asterisk: Awesome memorabilia. 100 Connecticut St. (415) 552-4440; www.theyankee.com.

3. Elixir. The good: Will have every round of March Madness. The bad: Gets crowded quickly. The asterisk: Been around since the mid-1890s. 3200 16th St. (415) 552-1633; www.elixirsf.com.

4. Fourth Street Sports Bar & Deli. The good: Feels like a TV Hall of Mirrors. The bad: Mainly out-of-towners. The asterisk: You may actually bump into a Chron sportswriter. 55 Fourth St. (415) 442-6734.

5. Greens Sports Bar. The good: Stereotypical sports bar. The bad: Stereotypical sports bar. The asterisk: No asterisk. It's a stereotypical sports bar! 2239 Polk St. (415) 775-4287.

6. Kezar Pub. The good: Friendly bartenders. Great neighborhood bar. The bad: Having to sometimes watch games in a dimly lit back room. The asterisk: Hockey fans. 770 Stanyan St. (415) 386-9292.

7. Mad Dog in the Fog. The good: Really good beer selection. Toronado's nearby. The bad: Gets quite noisy. The asterisk: Filthy bathroom, but in a semi-endearing way. 530 Haight St. (415) 626-7279.

8. Ricky's Sports Theatre and Grill. The good: 75 TVs, walking distance from BART. The bad: Careful what you say about the Raiders. The asterisk: Sports Illustrated's No. 2 sports bar in America in 2005. 15028 Hesperian Blvd., San Leandro. (510) 352-0200; www.rickys.com/index.cfm.

9. Union Square Sports Bar. The good: Convenience! The bad: Shoppers and tourists. The asterisk: Happy hour from 4-7 p.m. 232 O'Farrell St. (415) 398-5665.

10. Zeke's. The good: Decent sports crowd. The bad: A wee bit too small. The asterisk: More of a baseball bar. 600 Third St. (415) 392-5311; www.zekesbar.com.

11. Home. The good: Comfy sofa, fully-stocked fridge. The bad: Your housemates want to watch something else. The asterisk: The cat's clearly insane.

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