SPORTSMAN CLUB

While the Vermillion and Cobbleheads vie for the title of Brownsville's favorite watering hole with both proprietors enviously asserting after too much alcohol that their hamburgers are the best (Neither compare in quality and cost to Rutledge's down-home patties), the argument that receives less publicity than it deserves regards the crown of number-one cantina.

"The Palm Lounge has held that premier position in the minds of most locals," said Maclovio O'Malley who does his drinking downtown and on 14th St. "But there are those who passionately advocate for the Sportsman. I patronize both. Mostly, it depends on my appetite.

"The Palm has food, the Sportsman doesn't. They both have dollar beers and excellent juke boxes. The Palm is much bigger with a pool table at the back while the Sportsman is smaller and more intimate. In my opinion, it's a toss-up for the most part. But if it's the middle of the summer and I'm weighing pros and cons, I'll elect the Sportsman. The air-conditioner purrs at full-blast. I feel like I've exited hell and I'm passing into heaven when I enter the Sportsman."

Ernesto Avalos, a cantinero from way back, bought the Sportsman several years ago. He has owned and operated Xochitl's near Four Corners for decades. He invested in Sportsman for its reputation as a money maker.

"We open early and close late," said Avalos whose letters-to-the-editor in The Brownsville Herald have won him respect among the cognoscenti as a man of superior intellect with a flair for prose. "We serve bottle beer for $1.50 and drafts for a dollar. We don't serve soft drinks although we're not opposed to brewing a fresh pot of coffee for our regular patrons. This is a bar in the strictest sense of the definition. We don't tolerate assholes. I'm sure the BPD will attest to the laid-back atmosphere of our joint."

Carlos Hoyos is both manager and bartender. He is a no-nonsense guy with his eye-peeled for potential trouble makers. He has the large body of a beat cop who possesses the strength that comes with girth. Nobody messes with Carlos.

"There is no credit here," he says with the straight talk of a police officer reading an individual his rights. "I don't care if you're the mayor or from La Parra. You order a beer, you pay for the beer. I don't have time to keep track of tabs or chase a flake who wants to sneak out the door. If you can't afford our prices, then you're a real loser.

Luis Gonzalez, a product of both St. Joseph Academy and Texas A&M educations, calls the Sportsman his second home.

"I was raised in Matamoros but educated here," he said between puffs on a cigarette. "I enjoy the northside bars as much as the next fellow, but I can let my hair down here. Dollar beers, great air-conditioning and an incredible juke box that plays everything from Led Zeppelin to Los Dos Gilbertos. I can't think of a better place to wile away an afternoon."