Game Plan

What smart fans should do this week

• WATCH
The Boston Marathon
It's been a while since an American won—1983 for the men, '85 for the women. Does the drought end on Monday? Ryan Hall, 26, who ran the second-fastest marathon ever by an American last April in London, will be in Boston for the first time (live on Versus). Kara Goucher, 30, who in her marathon debut finished third in New York in '08, is the top U.S. female entered.

• ENJOY
A baseball brunch
On Monday the Red Sox host the only morning game on the MLB calendar, their annual 11 a.m. Patriots Day start. (Follow the game on MLB.TV. For those at Fenway, the marathon leaders should approach the finish line around the third inning.) The Orioles are this year's opponent. Will the early Birds get the worm? Probably not: Boston is 65--48 all time on Patriots Day.

• WATCH
NBA playoffs
The long march begins this Saturday (ABC, ESPN). First-round matchups were still up in the air on Monday, but at least the Cavs, the top seed in the East, knew they weren't playing the Wizards for the fourth straight year; LeBron & Co. will draw the Bulls or Pistons. The Lakers, the best in the West, got even better last week with center Andrew Bynum's return from a knee injury.

• BID
On Madoff's Mets seats
Last week the trustees overseeing the liquidation of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff's investment firm sold his two tickets for the Citi Field opener—eighth row, face value $525—on eBay for $7,500. This week a bankruptcy court was to rule on a request to auction the rest of Madoff's season tickets, with proceeds used to reimburse his victims.

• READ
Age Is Just a Number
In this breezy memoir, Olympian Dara Torres, with the help of cowriter Elizabeth Weil, opens up about what motivates her to continue competing against swimmers half her age. She describes herself as "the kooky old lady who thought she could still swim." Well, after winning three silver medals in her fifth Olympics, last summer in Beijing at age 41, she still can.

The Pop Culture Grid

Trap Muzik before anybody was really on it," said Perkins. "I love the way he carries himself." (Perhaps Perkins missed the news last month that the Grammy-winning rapper, above, was sentenced to a year in prison on weapons charges.) Goldthwaite sarcastically singled out two firms that received bailout money, saying, "I'd send those guys a little something to show them my appreciation."

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TOM GIGLIO (RUNNER)

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FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHY GUILD/CORBIS, ILLUSTRATION BY SI IMAGING (REVERE)

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DAVID N. BERKWITZ (HAT)

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GREG NELSON (BYNUM)

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JENNIFER R. GRAD (TICKETS)

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JENNIFER R. GRAD (GUSHERS)

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MICHAEL LOCCISANO/FILMMAGIC/GETTY IMAGES (FERRELL)

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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (PERKINS)

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JOHN IACONO (CANTU)

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AL TIELEMANS (BOURN)

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JORDAN STRAUSS/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES (MURPHY)

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NORMAN (KOOL-AID)

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ROBERT GIROUX/GETTY IMAGES (GOLDTHWAITE)

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SHEA WALSH/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES (T.I.)