Gameplan

• CHECK OUT
Manny being minor
With his 50-game ban ending on July 3, Manny Ramirez gets into shape this weekend with the Inland Empire 66ers, the Dodgers' Class A affiliate. Is his jewelry secure? The last time he played in the minors, with Triple A Pawtucket in '02, Manny lost a diamond earring while sliding and held up the game so he could search for it.

• WATCH
Beach volleyball worlds
Ah, volleyball hotbeds: L.A., Sydney ... Stavanger? The Norwegian port hosts the world championships June 26--July 5 on sandy courts laid on town docks. (Watch on Universal Sports.) There will be a new women's champ: The U.S.'s Misty May-Treanor (Achilles injury) and Kerri Walsh (motherhood) won't be there.

• OBSERVE
A sabermetric mismatch
How weak is the majors' lowest-scoring team, the Mariners? Their on-base percentage was .311 through Sunday; since 2003 only one AL team has gotten on base less often. (Detroit's OBP was .300 in '03.) This weekend the M's play the Dodgers, who had held foes to the fourth-lowest OBP (.323).

• READ
Kid lit from Michael Phelps
The Olympic champion has a beach read for the kiddie-pool set: How to Train with a T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals. The title doesn't roll off the tongue, but the story, which describes Phelps's training regimen, is endearing. He swam enough before the Olympics to go from Baltimore to the North Pole and back!

• MONITOR
NFL Rookie Symposium
Draftees gather in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Sunday for four days of advice on financial and social issues. Lesson No. 1: Don't do what Aqib Talib and Cory Boyd did last year. The ex-Buccaneers mates fought during a budget and finances talk. Some people have very strong opinions on stocks versus bonds.

The Pop Culture Grid
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