Canada Summer 2013: Montreal Impact Game at Saputo Stadium

August 17, 2013 -- After spending the day in Ottawa, I took the train back to Montreal, the subway back to the hostel I was staying at, changed clothes and headed to Saputo Stadium in Olympic Park -- the home of the Montreal Impact Major League Soccer club -- for an evening game against my hometown D.C. United.

Why I Ditched the D.C. Football Team and Became a Ravens Fan

When Washington football team owner Daniel Snyder was quoted in USA Today as saying he would NEVER change the name of the franchise that is a dictionary-defined racial slur, I posted on my Facebook page that I would NEVER root for my hometown team until the racist name changes and that until then I would become a Baltimore Ravens fan.

Canada Summer 2013: Montreal Olympic Park

August 10, 2013 -- Montreal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics and many of the original venues are located in Olympic Park, which is easily accessible via the Montreal Metro. Just get off at either Pie-IX or Viau and it is a short walk to Olympic Stadium, Montreal Tower, Biodome, Planetarium, Saputo Stadium and other attractions.

Canada Summer 2013: Bell Centre, Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame and Old Forum

August 9-10, 2013 -- When I was a teenager I visited the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and it left a lasting impression on me. For the first time in my young life, I understood how hockey is not just another sport in Canada, but is actually deeply ingrained into the fabric of Canadian society, so much so that there is a mystical or religious quality regarding the reverence for hockey here that is hard to explain. For example, the Hockey Hall of Fame is housed in a former Bank of Montreal branch building, but with the stained glass windows you feel like you are in church. When you spend time in the Great White North, you realize why people say that hockey is a religion in Canada.