Back when the Mariners played in the Kingdome, Sluggers—then called Sneakers—was primarily a baseball bar. In fact, it was such a baseball bar that many Mariners ducked in after their postgame showers for a few pops. This didn’t do much to increase attendance, because the Mariners drew such shitty crowds that any uptick in nearby bars’ business was negligible (the nearby bars of today can relate, unfortunately). But Sluggers has shrewdly positioned itself as a prime Sounders hangout while not abandoning its roots as a bar for fans of America’s Pastime. Sluggers’ key attribute: an assload of television sets, enough to accommodate a bull-riding fan when every other major sport has an event of interest humming on another tube. This also makes Sluggers a fine place to take in early March Madness rounds. MIKE SEELY 538 First Ave. S., 654-8070