Sports Getaways for Oct. 28-31
MAIN EVENTS
NBA: CHICAGO AT MIAMI
American Airlines Arena, Miami
Opening night of the 2006-07 NBA season. Great matchup: Dwyane Wade, Shaq and the defending champion Heat take on Ben Wallace and the up-and-coming Bulls, at American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami). Yes, the game is on a Tuesday. But it's the end of October. It has already snowed in Chicago and Detroit. Do you really need a reason to extend your weekend in Miami?
Web site: http://www.nba.com/heat/
Do: Board the 85-foot schooner, Heritage of Miami, for the City Lights Tour -- an hour-long evening cruise along Miami's spectacularly lit skyline (Web site). Then head to South Beach and party like it's 2006 (Web site).
Stay: Stay in Fun City -- Miami Beach's South Beach. Try the 3-star Ocean Five Hotel (436 Ocean Dr.), where rooms start at $107, or the 3-star Park Central Hotel (640 Ocean Dr.), where rooms start at $127.
Eat: Dine at Prime One Twelve (112 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach, Web site), where the bar scene (and scenery) are as good as the steaks. Order the 16-ounce bone-in filet mignon or the 20-ounce New York strip steak.
Miami Beach Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
NFL: INDIANAPOLIS AT DENVER
Invesco Field, Denver
This is a big one. Peyton Manning , Marvin Harrison and the Indianapolis Colts go helmet-to-helmet with Jake Plummer, Javon Walker and the Denver Broncos (1701 Bryant St.). This could be a preview of the AFC Championship game.
Web site: http://www.denverbroncos.com/
Do: Stroll through Lower Downtown (LoDo)/Larimer Square (Web site). The center of the city's original settlement is now a beautifully restored historic district. Its red-brick buildings house restaurants, galleries, taverns, specialty shops -- and Coors Field. This is the place to be at night.
Stay: Bunk downtown, where prices are quite reasonable. Stay at the 4-star Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center (650 15th St.), where rooms start at $149, or at the 4-star Hotel Monaco Denver (1717 Champa St.), with rooms from $168.
Eat: Dine at The Capital Grille (1450 Larimer St., Web site), the city's finest steakhouse. Order the dry-aged sirloin steak or the dry-aged porterhouse.
Denver Links: 
Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
UNDERCARD
NCAA FOOTBALL: GEORGIA AT FLORIDA
Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.
The World's Largest Cocktail Party. A fitting name for the annual Florida-Georgia game, one of college football's great rivalries. As always, the game is played in neutral territory, at Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium (1 Alltel Stadium Pl.). This year, Florida is the home team, and it's a great matchup. Will Gators QB Chris Leak burnish his Heisman creds, or will the Bulldogs' stingy D rule the day?
Web site: http://www.gatorzone.com/football/
Do: Before getting too carried away, head to the World Golf Hall of Fame (1 World Golf Pl., St. Augustine; Web site), about 30 miles south. Wander among the museum's more than 1,000 artifacts, then play the Hall's 18-hole, natural-grass putting course. Finish by teeing off on the 132-yard Challenge Hole -- modeled after the famed island-green 17th hole at TPC at Sawgrass.
Stay: Book a room in historic St. Augustine, near the World Golf Hall of Fame. Rates are surprisingly reasonable. The 3-star Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites St. Augustine-Historic District (1302 Ponce de Leon Blvd.) has rooms starting at $143. Or try the 3-star Comfort Suites at The World Golf Village (475 Commerce Lake Dr.), where rooms start at $131.
Eat: Head to Jacksonville, to Morton's the Steakhouse (1510 Riverplace Blvd., Web site), the best of the high-end, franchise beef palaces. Try the Chicago-style bone-in rib steak -- or go for it all and order the double porterhouse.
NASCAR: BASS PRO SHOPS 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
Chapter seven of The Chase takes place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway (1500 Tara Pl., Hampton), 25 miles south of Atlanta. The 1.54-mile quad oval is NASCAR's fastest track -- no track has topped its qualifying times in the last 86 Nextel Cup races. The record, held by Geoffrey Bodine, is 197.478 mph. This is Bill Elliott's home track; Sunday's race will be the Georgia native's 58th here over the last 30 years.
Web site: http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/
Do: It's Homecoming Day at Georgia Tech. See the 13th-ranked Yellow Jackets take on always-tough Miami Sat., Oct. 28, at Atlanta's Bobby Dodd Stadium (155 North Ave. NW, Tickets), a.k.a. "The Flats." Tech's tough defense, led by LB KaMichael Hall, will have its hands full with Miami QB Kyle Wright, the latest in a long line of superior Hurricanes passers.
Stay: Stay in downtown Atlanta. Try the 4-star Hyatt Regency Atlanta (265 Peachtree St. NE), where rooms start at $139, or the 4-star The Glenn Hotel (110 Marietta St. NW), with rooms from $148.
Eat: The best steakhouse in Atlanta is Bone's Restaurant (3130 Piedmont Rd., Web site), where the city's powerbrokers meet. Go for the rib-eye or the filet mignon. Take full advantage of the excellent wine list.
DEALS
LOS ANGELES
Various airlines are offering flight deals to Los Angeles. Tickets must be purchased seven days in advance. Tickets are limited, so hurry: Orbitz deals
The Rose Bowl. Pretty hard for any football head to resist. Travel to UCLA's hallowed home field (1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena, Tickets) Sat., Oct. 28, to watch TB Chris Mackey and the Bruins take on QB Alex Brink and Washington State. Then head to Sunset Strip (Web site), the cradle of the entertainment industry. The music and comedy clubs feature top talents and the top up-and-comers. Who know, you may even spot a Hollywood star -- or be discovered, yourself.
MILWAUKEE
Are you ready for some bowling? Roughly 500 of America's top pros will compete in pro bowling's first major of the 2006-07 season, the USBC Masters. The final match takes place Sun., Oct. 29, at West Allis, Wis.'s Wisconsin Exposition Center (Wisconsin State Fair Park, Tickets). Can top-ranked Norm Duke, who finished second last year to Mike Scroggins, triumph? Arrive a day early, rent a car and see the fall colors of Southern Wisconsin. Head west or north of Milwaukee, and you won't go wrong (Fall color report).
SCHEDULE WATCH
There may be the World Series to watch, as well -- although the way the Tigers are playing, the Series may not last to the final weekend. If it does, though, head to Detroit's Comerica Park (2100 Woodward Ave.) Sat.-Sun., Oct. 28-29 to catch Games 6 and 7. If you're especially fit, note that the Detroit-Windsor Marathon will be held on that Sunday.
New Orleans Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
San Diego Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
Philadelphia Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
Detroit Links: Plan Trip | Hotel | Flight
SPORTS PLUS
NEW YORK'S VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE
Greenwich Village, New York
You haven't experienced Halloween until you've been to the Village Halloween Parade (6th Ave., north from Spring St. to 23rd St., Web site). A conga line of thousands of the most outrageously dressed people, marching goofily through the city's wildest district, past more than 100,000 cheering revelers. Get your sports fix by traveling to Giants Stadium (50 State Hwy. 120, East Rutherford, N.J.) to see the Eli Manning, Tiki Barber, Amani Toomer and the New York Giants take on Simeon Rice and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
INTERNATIONAL PICK
TENNIS: GRAND PRIX DE TENNIS DE LYON
Palais Des Sports, Lyon, France
Andy Roddick won this championship last year, and he's back to defend his title. He faces stiff competition -- No. 3-ranked Ivan Ljubicic, No. 9-ranked Marcos Baghdatis and Marat Safin, among others. The final, at the Palais des Sports (350 av Jean Jaures, Tickets), is Sun., Oct. 29. Afterward, stroll through Old Lyon (Vieux Lyon, Web site). Once a slum, its medieval and Renaissance buildings are now the heart of a fashionable district of artisans, antique dealers, painters, weavers and sculptors.
