Sports Getaways for Aug. 31-Sept. 4
Sports Getaways for Thurs.-Mon., August 31-September 4
MAIN EVENTS
BASKETBALL: FIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - MEDAL ROUND, SAITAMA SUPER ARENA, SAITAMA CITY, JAPAN
Every four years, basketball has its own Olympics. This year, Japan hosts the 24 national teams that qualified for the world championship. Coach K leads Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and the rest of the U.S. team in its quest to get its mojo back.
Web site: http://www.fiba2006.com/
Tickets: Sold out. Consult your friendly ticket broker.
Do: See Japanese baseball. The Pacific League's Seibu Lions face the Nippon Ham Fighters, Sat., Sept. 2, at the Invoice Seibu Dome in nearby Tokorozama City, outside of Tokyo. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Seibu's top pitcher and MVP of last spring's World Baseball Classic, may be the next Japanese star to jump to the big leagues (For tickets, call Ticket Pia: 011-03-5237-9999)
Stay: Stay in Tokyo. Try the Sofitel Tokyo (2-1-48 Ikenohata, in downtown Tokyo), which has rooms starting at $159 U.S.
Eat: Dine on Kobe beef, cut to order, at Sazanka, in Tokyo's Hotel Okura (2-10-4 Toranomon). Don't forget your credit card. You'll give it a workout (Web site).
NCAA FOOTBALL: MIAMI VS. FLORIDA STATE,
ORANGE BOWL, MIAMI
Are you ready for some college football? Opening weekend of the 2006 season culminates with one of the sport's great rivalries. Both teams are near the top of the preseason rankings. A win could help catapult one of them to a BCS berth. Florida State QB Drew Weatherford is a budding star.
Web site: http://hurricanesports.cstv.com
Tickets: http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/tickets/tickets-m-footbl.html
Do: Doubleheader! Miami vs. Florida State is a night game. See the Marlins play the Diamondbacks that afternoon at Dolphin Stadium (2267 Dan Marino Blvd., Tickets).
Stay: Stay downtown at the Fortune House (185 SE 14th Terrace), where rooms start at $110, or at the Radisson Hotel Miami Downtown (1601 Biscayne Blvd.), with rooms from $134.
Eat: Make it an all-sports day. Dine on prime beef at Shula's Steak House (5225 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, in the Alexander Hotel). Order the 49-ounce porterhouse -- if you're man enough (Web site).
UNDERCARD
SONY HD 500, CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, FONTANA, CALIF.
The track is two miles long, shaped like a "D" and unusally wide, resulting in few cautions. Meaning, it's built for speed.
Web site:http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/cal
Tickets: http://www.californiaspeedway.com
Do: The track is located an hour east of Los Angeles. Our advice: Stay in L.A. Arrive a day early and catch the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium (1000 Elysian Park Ave.), where they host the Rockies in a battle for the N.L. wild card (Tickets).
Or see No. 2 heavyweight contender James Toney and No. 3 contender Samuel Peter duke it out Sat., Sept. 2, at the Staples Center (1111 S. Figueroa St.) in a WBC title eliminator bout. The undercard is Robert Guerrero vs. Eric Aiken for the IBF Flyweight title (Tickets).
Stay: This is your lucky week. You can stay downtown at the 4-star Wilshire Grand Hotel (930 Wilshire Blvd.) for as little as $108. Or try the 4-star downtown Millenium Biltmore Hotel (506 S. Grand Ave.) or the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel (711 S. Hope St.).
Eat: The Palm (9001 Santa Monica Blvd. or 1100 S. Flower St.) is perhaps the quintessential L.A. steakhouse. Caricatures of celebs who've dined there adorn the walls and the beef will melt in your mouth (Web site).
PGA: DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC AT BOSTON, NORTON, MASS.
Tiger will be there. 'Nuf said. New England's premier PGA event offers a first prize of $900,000. This private course, designed by Arnold Palmer (400 Arnold Palmer Blvd., Norton), is one of the loveliest you'll walk.
Web site: http://www.deutschebankchampionship.com/
Tickets: http://www.deutschebankchampionship.com/tickets
Do: The golf course is located 40 miles from Boston. No matter. Stay in Boston. And while you're there, take a day off from golf to visit Fenway Park (4 Yawkey Way) to catch the Red Sox play the Blue Jays (Fri.-Sun., Sept. 1-3).
Stay: Try the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers (64 Arlington St.), where rooms start at $169, or the Holiday Inn Select Boston-Government Center (5 Blossom St.), with rooms from $170.
Eat: The city's grand old steakhouse is Grill 23 & Bar (161 Berkeley St.). Succulent chops, a massive wine list, a warm and chummy bar. It beats the chain steakhouses any day (Web site).
DEALS
TORONTO
Various airlines are offering deals for last-minute travel to Toronto. Tickets are limited, so hurry: Orbitz: Canada Flight Deals.
Fly in Mon., Sept. 4 -- it's Labor, er, Labour Day there, too -- and head to the Rogers Centre (1 Blue Jays Way) to see the Blue Jays take on the Indians (Tickets).
LAS VEGAS
Major U.S. Airlines are offering similar last-minute flight deals to Las Vegas. Again, tickets are limited, so hurry: Orbitz: Las Vegas Flight Deals.
Arrive at Cashman Field (850 Las Vegas Blvd. N.) Fri.-Mon., Sept. 1-4 to see the Las Vegas 51s, the Dodgers' Class AAA affiliate, play the Fresno Grizzlies in their final games of the season (Tickets).
SCHEDULE WATCH
Or make your way to Atlanta's Bobby Dodd Stadium (150 Bobby Dodd Way NW), where Georgia Tech hosts Notre Dame, Sat., Sept. 2, on college football's kickoff weekend. Or head to Indianapolis's RCA Dome (100 S. Capitol Ave.) to see the Colts and Peyton Manning play the Bengals, Fri., Sept. 1, in preseason action. Tickets are sold out at both venues but can surely be had through a ticket broker.
San Diego Links: 
Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
SPORTS PLUS
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM, CLEVELAND, OHIO
The best place to visit in Cleveland is Cleveland Browns Stadium (1085 W. 3rd. St.). Go there Thurs., Aug. 31, to see the Browns play the Bears in preseason action (Tickets).
The second-best place to visit is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (751 Erieside Ave., Web site). Catch the comprehensive, eye-opening, two-floor Bob Dylan exhibit -- more than 150 artifacts, including handwritten song lyrics, rare performance footage and a revealing filmed interview (Tickets).
INTERNATIONAL PICK
TRIATHLON: LAUSANNE ITU TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
Not all major triathlons take place in Hawaii. Head to Lausanne, Switzerland, about 25 miles from Geneva, to see the Lausanne ITU World Championships (Sun., Sept. 3, Web site). Afterward, visit the Olympic Museum Lausanne (1, Quai d'Ouchy, Lausanne), a wonderful museum dedicated to the history, culture and art of the Olympics. There are hundreds of artifacts from the Summer and Winter Games (Web site).
