I haven’t properly sat down for a sports match since my years on the Maple Leafs/Blue Jays bandwagon… so the mere idea of me sitting in a sports bar now seems a bit out of the ordinary. Thankfully, Hoops (458 Yonge Street) was surprisingly not offensive.

There’s no ignoring the fact that you’re in a sports bar here: if the name alone doesn’t get you, the mandatory dare-to-ignore-me television screens and the basketball-shaped menu will. This place is all about the he-shoots-and-he-scores, and you’re gonna like it.

This location on Yonge is chilled out and completely pretentious free (and at the time of my visit, completely beefhead-free, too). The food was delivered quickly by a no-nonsense server who remembered everyone’s orders in a blink of an eye, sans notepad. Impressive.

Anyway, sitting alongside the nicotine-stained regulars and after-work pub regulars, I felt pretty comfortable here. I even got into watching tennis and the golf without feeling like I’d wasted my time.

Okay, okay, so the pitcher of Keith’s and Thursday night half-price wings may have played a part, too. But really, this non-sports fan couldn’t ask for anything more. Thanks, Hoops.