Drink Yourself Into Madness

March Madness has descended, here's where to watch it all go down

By JESSICA SICK

Updated 1:00 PM EST, Tue, Mar 17, 2009

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Tragedy has struck: the cable guy finally caught on to your illegal activities… at the worst possible time. Obviously Ernesto doesn’t realize it’s March Madness. No time to cry over screen snow, you need a bar with flatscreens (lots of them). Fast. Here are the ones that made our winners bracket.

Duffy’s
2108 SW 57th Ave; 305-264-6580
Unofficially the place to go watch the UM away games, this classic pub is where to catch the Canes’ NIT action as well as all the NCAA tournies. An impressive number of beers on tap (about 20), great onion rings and an old-school Pac Man video game for half-time enjoyment. Note: bring cash, credit cards not accepted.

Mike’s at the Venetia
555 NE 15th St 9th Fl; 305-374-5731
You’ll most likely run into a few Miami Herald staffers (the few that are left) here, as this 9th floor bar is right across the street from One Herald Plaza. The beer is cheap, the view from the patio is stunning and there’s a pool for a refreshing half-time dip.

Quarterdeck
1430 Alton Rd., Miami Beach; 305-531-2441
Believe it or not, there are actually people on SoBe who are more interested in the game than the scene. Quarterdeck will make you forget you’re even on the island of flash-n-cash, as, well, it’s just a normal sports bar with normal folks enjoying normal pitchers of beer and whoever’s playing on their many flatscreens.

Lucky Strike
1691 Michigan Ave., Miami Beach; 305-532-0307
And if you do like your sports with a side of flash-n-cash, this chi-chi bowling alley delivers. Sure, you’ll pay a little more for the fancy finger food and libations, but that also means state-of-the art flatscreens and, well, it’s a lot cleaner and prettier than your average sports bar. Waitresses in Catholic schoolgirl miniskirts can’t hurt, either.

The Ale Houses
Several locations
Mark our word, you will never see a recommendation for Applebee’s on this site. But the Ale Houses are an exception to our no-chain rule. Locations range from Doral to Hollywood, and these joints do broadcast sporting events right. High fives all around for that.