The Sports Pub is the kind of place I tend to find myself at when I get overruled by my friends on the east side.  I don't know the east side of town all that well but I do know that I like the Ale Asylum A LOT.  I seem to be successful in getting everyone to go there about 25% of the time; otherwise we end up at the Sports Pub.  I've spent quite a few nights here and I can't really say I've ever had a good time.  If I could I'd rate this 2.5 stars, because really this place isn't that bad.  It's just that there are so many places with better beer, nicer bartenders, friendlier crowds and better food.  Every time I've gone to the Sports Pub there have been good aspects of my experience, but something always goes wrong and I leave with a bad impression of the place.  \n\nThe first time, several years back, I remember having a really tasty burger, but the pitcher of Capital had little bits of gunk floating in it and the bartender tried to blame that on me.  That was enough for me to cross it off my list, but my friend really likes the place and I've been back multiple times since.  Last weekend, for example, we went for the second half of the Badger game.  It was crowded to be sure, but the service was good and my sandwich was pretty decent.  Unfortunately this was marred by the fact that we could not see a television from where the table was positioned, which kind of defeated the purpose of going to a sports bar.  I also got into a ridiculous argument with some drunk at the bar over something trivial, and I spent the rest of the afternoon hearing him loudly talk about me from across the bar.  Again, that's not really the fault of the Sports Pub but I just can't seem to have a nice time at this place.\n\nThe menu is actually pretty broad, with traditional bar food done up right.  The appetizers are the standard fare, and the spicy curly fries are really tasty.  The tap selection is on the low side of OK.  There's usually a Capital and Spotted, and aside from the aforementioned incident I haven't had a major problem with quality.  There's a foosball table near the door where I once schooled a plastered townie five games in a row before hubris got the better of me and I was resounding beaten by his girlfriend.  There are outdoor volleyball courts and leagues during the summer.  I'm sure that if I lived near this place I'd probably find it a nice local hangout.  But I don't, and every time I've made the trip over from Middleton I end up regretting the experience.  I just can't recommend the place, though I'm pretty sure that I'll find myself back there in the not so distant future.  Maybe then it won't be so bad, but I'm not holding my breath.