Camden Yards

Burgers, fries, nachos, pizza. Camden Yards is still offering lots of tasty - but high calorie and fatty -- foods to please visitors, according to Alison Massey, a dietitian at Mercy Medical Center , who took stock on Opening Day. But she said careful eaters can get away without doing too much damage. “I had a turkey burger, which is probably the best among the meat choices,” she said. “I saw sunflower seeds and peanuts, and they're good too because they contain protein.

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it And you really want to show it If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. Can someone please tell me how this inane little ditty that appeals to four year-olds is supposed to fire up a major league baseball team and its fans? I'll bet the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, and so on, shudder in horror, quaking in their collective spikes whenever they hear our "fight song" as they set foot on the turf of our beloved baseball cathedral.

To mark the 20th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards , Pabst Brewing Company is releasing commemorative National Bohemian cans.  For a limited time, your regular 16-ounce Natty Bohs will feature new packaging that has a brawny Mr. Boh swinging a bat and the Baltimore skyline in the background. His head is roughly as big as the Natty Boh logo on the can. The cans have been released to wholesellers already and should be making their way to any bar or liquor store that already carries Boh, said a spokeswoman for Pabst.

At Camden Yards on Friday, baseballs, the scent of sizzling hot dogs and a beautiful blue sky were in the air as the Orioles played the Minnesota Twins in their home opener. The smell of cigarette smoke was not, though, as the Maryland Stadium Authority began the enforcement of a smoking ban at the Camden Yards Sports and Entertainment Complex, which includes Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. Friday's game was the first since the smoking ban was put into effect. It prohibits smoking or carrying lit tobacco products - including cigarettes, cigars and pipes - within 25 feet of the stadium and the Warehouse, as well as in the outdoor space along Eutaw Street between gates A and H. Camden Yards was one of 10 Major League Baseball ballparks that had designated smoking areas within the ballpark last season, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.

When the Orioles open their season Friday, it's a safe bet that while many in attendance will be rooting for the home team (and some for the visitors, alas), all will appreciate the venue. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has remained one of the great showplaces of Major League Baseball even 20 years after its first opening day game. Yet even today, some naysayers still question whether the public investment in Camden Yards was worthwhile. Economists point out that the direct financial return on stadiums is not particularly good - a criticism heard two decades ago, as well, by the way - and that some alternative public investment of $110 million might have served downtown better.

Aramark is warning state regulators that it will lay off 613 employees next month if its contract to sell food and merchandise at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is not renewed. The company, which provides services at a dozen ballparks in North America, issued a similar warning last October before its contract in Baltimore was extended for another year. It gave Oct. 13 as the potential layoff date this year, the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Tuesday.

The Orioles are in Texas, but you can watch them play at Camden Yards. Open year round at Oriole Park, Dempsey's Brew Pub & Restaurant is running happy hour food and drink specials for all Orioles postseason road games (e.g.,  Friday night, and next Wednesday's ALDS against the Yankees): $2 Dempsey's drafts, $3 domestic beers, $2 hot dogs, $5 Dempsey's nachos and $5 burgers. There will be merchandise giveaways, too. Dempsey's is easy to reach by Light Rail (but it stops running at midnight)

The recent article ("Beyond the Preakness," April 9) outlining the current reality of the Pimlico race track and its future highlights the need for broader and bolder thinking in order to advance a sustainable solution to make horse racing in Baltimore a thriving industry once again. As reported, the Jockey Club wants to attract better trainers and horses by investing 15 percent of projected earnings to renovate the stables. Yet this approach will do little to improve the fan experience.

On April 8, 1992, in the first inning of the second game at Camden Yards, Cleveland Indians first baseman Paul Sorrento hit the first home run in the history of the ballpark. It was a three-run shot hit off Orioles pitcher Bob Milacki to left-center field on a 1-2 pitch. That and other details are easily accessible in The Baltimore Sun's home runs database , which enables users to search for every longball hit in an Orioles game since Camden Yards opened 20 years ago. It includes all home runs hit at the ballpark, as well as those hit on the road during that time period.

I'm currently on the Amtrak heading home from New York. I've slept in my own bed for just two nights since Feb. 10, so heading back to Baltimore for the Orioles' nine-game homestand will be a welcome change. The Orioles played nine of their first 12 games on the road, opening the season in Tampa Bay before this week's road trip to Boston and New York. So they've only been home for three games since the beginning of spring training. During the opening two weeks of the season, the Orioles have also played games at five different start times and played in three Opening Day games, which has prevented them from setting up any sense of routine after a spring training full of early afternoon games.