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Is there anything more American than a cold beer and a ball game? Settle down, that was rhetorical. But if you would like to indulge in our country’s fine tradition of brews and balls, this weekend, you’re in luck: Champps Restaurant and Bar at the Irvine Spectrum is the place to watch your favorite team battle their bitter cross-town rival as the Dodgers cruise down the I-5 to Angel Stadium for a three-game series.

Dodger fans, gear up: the boys in blue are back and in the hunt for a pennant with a first-place record of 40-36. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are six games under .500, and the season is slipping away. Perhaps that awkward, wordy new name is to blame. But a good showing against the Dodgers could just catapult them right back into the mix. Regardless, these teams don’t need any motivation to get psyched when they face off—and neither should you. You’re an American, right? You LOVE baseball.

So get out your halo or throw on your Dodger blue and swing (pun most definitely intended) by Champps. Not quite American enough for you yet? Well, then dig on this, Uncle Sam. The place has 17 screens, including seven high-def plasmas, a 9-by-9-foot big screen and a 6-by-4-footer (which we have on good authority is approximately 17 more screens than the local sports bar in Havana has)—not to mention sound during all the games, a DJ for commercial breaks, and probably the best locally manufactured nachos this side of the border. And if you show up a little early on Friday, you can also hit up happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m., where you will be tempted with half-priced appetizers and $1 off all drinks. And what’s more American than half-priced appetizers? No, no, no! Still rhetorical. So, even though it’s called the “freeway series”, at Champps, you won’t have to deal with endless traffic, the broken air conditioner, or that jerk slamming on his brakes every two seconds all the way from South County to Anaheim.

Watch the Angels play the Dodgers at Champps Restaurant and Bar, 51 Fortune Dr., Irvine, (949) 453–9333; www.champps.com. Fri., 7:05 p.m; Sat., 1:10 p.m; Sun., 12:35 p.m.