NFL/MLB PLAYOFFS DOUBLEHEADER?
Philadelphia

A lot of variables exist between here and a mega-day of sports in Philadelphia next Sunday, but one marquee event is certain: the Cowboys will visit Lincoln Financial Field (1 Lincoln Financial Field Way) to play the Eagles in one of the NFL's fiercest rivalries. At this point, who knows if T.O. will be making his return to Philly to dial up the intensity about 1000 notches further.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on the baseball standings because, if the Phillies qualify as the NL wild card, they would be hosting a possible Game 4 on Sunday (Game 3 would be on Saturday) close by at Citizens Bank Park (1 Citizens Bank Way, MLB Standings, Division Series dates).

Web site: Eagles | Phillies

Do: Acclaimed indie rockers Built to Spill (1003 Arch St.) are in town for two shows (Saturday and Sunday) at the Trocadero Theater (Web site), a unique space that has previously been both a Victorian theater and a burlesque house.

Stay: Hotel rooms are tight for this fall weekend in Philly. You can stay at the 3-star Hampton Inn (8600 Bartram Ave.) at the airport for $115, or at the Hilton Garden Inn in Center City (1100 Arch St. -- just across the street from the concert venue above) for $229.

Eat: It could be a doubleheader of great sports in Philly, so you know what that means: make it a doubleheader of great steaks, too. Head to the corner in South Philly where 9th St. meets Passyunk and try the two most famous cheesesteaks in town -- Pat's (Web site) and Geno's (Web site).

Philadelphia Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA
Cotton Bowl, Dallas

One hundred six years. That's how long the Red River Shootout, the annual game between Texas and Oklahoma, has been played. The rivalry -- one of sport's greatest -- began in 1900, when Oklahoma was still a territory. The Red River forms part of the Texas-Oklahoma border. The neutral game site, Dallas's Cotton Bowl (Fair Park, Dallas), is roughly midway between Austin, UT's home, and Norman, Okla., where OU is located. Texas leads the series, 56-39-5. Last year, Texas won, 45-12. This year, both teams are ranked in the top 25 -- Texas is No. 7, Oklahoma is No. 17. As Keith Jackson would say, "Whoa, Nellie!"

Web sites: Oklahoma | Texas

Do: Football in the rest of the world means soccer. See FC Dallas take on the Los Angeles Galaxy at Pizza Hut Park (6000 Main St., Frisco, Tickets)

Stay: Rates at downtown, 3-star hotels are surprisingly reasonable. Stay at the Bradford Homesuites-Downtown Dallas (2914 Harry Hines Blvd.), where rooms start at $169, the Hilton Garden Inn Market Center (2325 N. Stemmons Freeway), with rooms from $169 or the Belmont Hotel at Dilbeck Court (901 Ft. Worth Ave.), where rooms start at $179.

Eat: Dallas is a serious beef town, and the best in class is Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House (5251 Spring Valley Rd., Web site). Go for the 26-ounce, bone-in Double Eagle strip steak or the 24-ounce prime porterhouse. The wine list is deep -- and will cause you to dig deep in your pocket.

Dallas Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

NFL: PITTSBURGH AT SAN DIEGO
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego

San Diego came thisclose to pitching back-to-back shutouts to open their season. With LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and a ferocious, opportunistic defense, the Chargers are for real. The question is: Are the Steelers? Ben Roethlisberger needs to step up big on this Sunday at Qualcomm (9449 Friars Rd.).

Web site:http://www.chargers.com/

Do: Will the Padres make the playoffs? If they do, head to PETCO Park (19 Tony Gwynn Way) to see them in the NL Division Series (Division Series dates). If not, maybe we could interest you in a round of golf? Check out our Golf Course Viewer to find a course. Torrey Pines is a public course which will host the 2008 U.S. Open -- tee times can be reserved seven days in advance.

Stay: You can find a good deal here downtown. The 3-star Quality Inn & Suites Harborview (1430 7th Ave.) has rooms starting at $146. Or try the 2-star Comfort Inn Downtown (719 Ash St.), where rooms start at $113.

Eat: Looking for a classic steakhouse with a men's club atmosphere -- and beef fit for a king? Donovan's Steak & Chop House (4340 La Jolla Village Dr., La Jolla, Web site) is the place. Try the prime peppercorn filet or the prime porterhouse.

San Diego Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

NASCAR: UAW-FORD 500
Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.

Dale Earnhardt won ten times at this super-fast track (3366 Speedway Blvd, Tickets), where Bill Elliott set a world stock-car record of 212.809 mph in 1987 (that year's race ushered in the restrictor-plate era). Expect the top racers to fly around the 2.66-mile tri-oval track in this, the fourth segment of The Chase.

Web site: http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/

Do: Definitely stop by the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum (Web site), right next to the superspeedway. Exhibits include the Budweiser Rocket Car, the first car to break the sound barrier on land, and Bill Elliott's Ford Thunderbird, which set a record for the fastest 500-mile race at the 1985 Winston 500.

Stay: Stay in Birmingham, 47 miles west of the Superspeedway. Try the 2-star Medical Center Inn (800 11th St. S.), where rooms start at $125, or the 3-star Alta Vista Hotel and Conference Center (260 Goodwin Crest Dr.), where rooms start at $134.

Eat: You're in the South. Go native. Head to the Irondale Café (1906 1st Ave. N, Web site), in suburban Irondale, about nine miles east of Birmingham (right off I-20 on the way back from Talladega) the capital of southern cooking and inspiration for the film, Fried Green Tomatoes. Order the signature fried green tomatoes. But don't leave without having the country-fried steak, sweet potato soufflé, Mary's turnip greens, fried catfish and cornbread dressing with giblet gravy.

Birmingham Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

HONOLULU

Various airlines and hotels have teamed up to offer four-night package deals to Honolulu. Tickets are limited, so hurry: Orbitz.

Head to University of Hawaii's Aloha Stadium (99-500 Salt Lake Blvd., Honolulu) Sat., Oct. 7, to see the Warriors host Nevada (Tickets). Then head to Waikiki Beach (Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu) to watch surfers hang ten on some of the world's most famous waves.

Honolulu Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

LAS VEGAS

Various airlines are also offering flight deals to Las Vegas. Again, tickets are limited, so hurry: Orbitz deals: Vegas

The world capital of gambling is also the world capital of boxing. Head to Mandalay Bay (3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Web site), Sat., Oct. 7, to watch Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor duke it out for Corrales's WBC lightweight title. The undercard is Vic Darchinyan vs. Glenn Donaire, for Darchinyan's IBF flyweight title (Tickets). Then head to the tables, the restaurants, the sports book, the golf courses.

Las Vegas Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

October is one of the best times of the year to visit the Bay Area, and this should be a perfect weekend for sports as well as weather. On Saturday, the No. 21 Cal Golden Bears face No. 13 Oregon at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley (Tickets). Also on Saturday, the A's will be hosting Game 3 of the AL Division Series at McAfee Coliseum (7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, Tickets, Division Series dates) at a time TBD, and then they'll host Game 4 on Sunday if necessary. If that's not enough, on Sunday the Raiders and the 49ers will meet across the bay at Monster Park (516 Jamestown Ave., San Francisco, Tickets) to play for Bay Area bragging rights -- and that's about all those teams have to play for this season!

San Francisco Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

Oakland Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL, NEW YORKER FESTIVAL
various locations, New York

In a city whose soul is the arts, this is Christmas and New Year's rolled into one. Both the New York Film Festival -- arguably the nation's most prestigious -- and the annual New Yorker Festival take place this long weekend. Among the featured new films at the Film Festival (Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza) are Michael Apted's 49 Up (Thu., Oct. 5), Alain Resnais's Private Fears in Public Places (Fri.-Sat., Oct. 6-7) and David Lynch's Inland Empire (Sun., Oct. 8).

The New Yorker Festival (Fri.-Sun., Oct. 6-8) is an eclectic series in which artists, authors, entertainers, politicians and architects talk about their art. Some of the highlights: A panel discussion on TV, Movies and the Mob, featuring Lorraine Bracco and Frank Vincent of The Sopranos; Paul Haggis, who wrote and directed Crash and wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby; and Harold Ramis, who directed Analyze This, as well as Caddyshack and Groundhog Day. (Sat., Oct. 7; Florence Gould Hall, French Institute Alliance Francaise, 22 E. 60th St.). Jon Stewart discusses humor, politics and his world view with New Yorker editor David Remnick (Sun., Oct. 8; Directors Guild of America, 110 W. 57th St.) Many of the films and programs are sold out, so you'll have to get scrappy.

Complete festival lineups can be found here:
New York Film Festival | New Yorker Festival

While the Yankees and Mets are both the playoffs, they will be on the road next weekend. The Giants, however, are home to play the Redskins on Sunday at 1 p.m.

New York Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight

FORMULA 1 RACING: JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
Suzuka Circuit, Nagoya, Japan

This is the penultimate Formula 1 race of 2006, and promises to be one of the most exciting. Racing legend Michael Schumacher -- about to retire -- has won a record six races on this track (7992 Inao-cho, Suzuka City, Web site), and enters the race in second place in Formula 1 standings, two points behind the leader, Fernando Alonso. The Suzuka Circuit, one of the oldest and most prestigious racetracks in Japan, is 3.608 miles long, and is one of the few shaped in a figure eight. (It winds over itself by means of an overpass.) It's an unusual test of driver skill, and it just may decide the championship.

The track is located 40 miles south of Nagoya, Japan's third-largest city and home of Japanese baseball's Chunichi Dragons. The Dragons are in first place in the Central League, and seem bound for the Japan Series. Head to the Nagoya Dome (1-1-1 Daikocho-minami, Higashi-ku, Nagoya) to see the Dragons host the Hiroshima Carp in the final game of the regular season (Thu., Oct. 5). Tickets are available at the stadium box office the day of the game. The best way to buy in advance is through JapanBall.com. Stay at the 4-star Tokyu (4-6-8 Sakae, Nagoya), where rooms start at $277 U.S., or at the 3-star Marriott Nagoya (1-1-4 Meieki, Nagoya), where rooms start at $312 U.S.

Nagoya Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight