THU 3/24
Grapefruit League Spring Training is in full swing in this, the third full week of exhibition baseball. No more one-and-done games for the stars, in which they get a single at-bat cameo and a couple of measly innings in the field. There are fewer split-squad games splicing teams in half, as less time will be distributed to minor league prospects now that the rosters are getting trimmed. All of this means the games more closely resemble the regular season. This week, you've got a few chances to take in a great game. Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, and the rest of the World Champion Boston Red Sox visit Fort Lauderdale Stadium (5301 NW 12th Ave., Fort Lauderdale) to face Lee Mazzili's Baltimore Orioles, who include new face Sammy Sosa, for a 1:05 p.m. game Thursday. Tickets range from $8 to $18. Call 954-776-1921. Sunday, Jack McKeon's Florida Marlins, including newcomers Al Leiter and Carlos Delgado, face the defending National League Champion Saint Louis Cardinals at 1:05 p.m. at Roger Dean Stadium (4751 Main St., Jupiter). And on Monday night under the lights, Willie Randolph's new-look New York Mets, with $120 million-man Carlos Beltran in center field, visit Jupiter to play the Marlins. Tickets range from $5 to $21 for all games at Roger Dean Stadium. Call 561-966-3309. -- Russ Evans
Get Your Dogma
Out of my Palooza!
SAT 3/26
We have come to a day and (new) age when people feel free to slap the suffix palooza onto anything. So why not Karmapalooza, a "festival of giving through yoga"? Nothing says Big Effing Party like a bunch of overly pliable people participating in events like "The Second Annual South Florida Sun Salutation-a-Thon" (where yogis will raise funds by performing up to 108 cycles of sun salutations). Saturday, at the Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort (18001 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach), you can rock out at the "Mantric Jam Session" with world-renowned spiritual seeker Bhagavan Das, make eyes with a hot, bendy young thing at the "Meditation Station," or work your mad pickup skills at the "One Stop Yoga Prop Shop." Visit www.karmapalooza.com. -- Jamie Laughlin
