Stade Olympique in Montreal, Quebec

Don't know about the stadium, but my couple of friends that have traveled to Montreal say it is a fun town.

I saw a pretty good one there last year, Javier Vasquez gave Dontrelle Willis his first loss. I couldn't believe the dayglo carpet, but it looks like they've switched to that more natural-looking field turf this season...? Not sure, it could be a tv trick. Like a lot of people, I was thinking "jeez, this Willis guy is pretty good" but Vasquez was pretty even gooder that night. The subway goes straight to the stade, take the green line towards Honoré-Beaugrand and get off at Pie-IX. In town, whatever you want to eat, it's on Rue Saint-Denis. L'Ile Noire, a pub that specializes in rare single malts, was a bit disappointing — several whiskies on their menu were unavailable. I only had two evenings there, so I'd love to go back for a month or two.

montreal's pretty cool, but a faux euro vibe permeates...that is to say: you know you're not in europe, but THEY don't seem to know it. i can't really explain.

But since the Catholic conquistadores came through there, how "faux" is it?

I'm reading that the smoked meat (pastrami, more or less) is savory, and a friend tells me I should have many more opportunities for mansex than I did in Cincinnati.

I've only been to the MTL once on business about 8 years... I had decent sushi at a place close to the water's edge, and an excellent 5 star meal at a place called "la queue du cheval" (courtesy of a client of mine). Shopping is good if the dollar is strong (I bought a couple watches). There is no lack of night life, although I do remember it being pretty seedy, at least in the neighborhoods we were going out in.

montreal is grebt. the big o is a weird place to see a game, though. does the roof work these days? i can't even remember.

what do you mean, does it still "work"¿ it was still in one piece last time i was there.
all i can recall about being inside the stadium is that is seemed very cramped, i guess.

as far as the city goes - it's one of my (if not the) favourite cities i've been to. great variety of food (smoked meat is especially good there) lots of great bars. gorgeous girls everywhere. the only thing i found seedy was the strip clubs (they will do anything).

i meant seedy in that open proposotions for sex at nightclubs and bars was pretty commonplace. i do remember there were strip clubs everywhere.

okay. i though you meant "seedy" in a bad way.

Like NYC if Giuliani never happened?

at some point in the early nineties the stade olympique roof was stuck off/open, and later i think it was briefly stuck on/closed. so i was wondering if it operated as a retractable roof these days or not is all.

wow¡ i never even knew the roof was ever retractable. you learn something new everyday:

"Built for the 1976 Olympic Games, Montreal's Olympic Stadium was one of the first sports stadiums to be capped with a plastic dome roof. But it wasn't an immediate success. In fact, the stadium was only partially completed before Montreal hosted the Olympic Summer Games. After the Olympics, the Quebec government attempted to finish the structure, but cost overruns and unsolved engineering problems stopped the project in its tracks.

Most of the problems stemmed from the retractable roof system and its mast, a 556-foot leaning tower adjacent to the structure. In 1986, engineers were forced to change its structural system from concrete to steel after a study showed that the tower would be too heavy if completed in concrete. In 1987, engineers finally capped the stadium with 60,696 square feet of orange and silver Kevlar fabric, a synthetic fiber used in some bulletproof vests. Hoisted by 26 steel cables, the enormous fabric roof was supposed to fold into the adjacent leaning tower, much like a giant umbrella -- but it didn't. From mechanical failure to rips and tears, the Kevlar membrane roof cost $700,000 in annual upkeep.

The roof of Montreal's Olympic Stadium remained permanently closed for several seasons. Finally, by the spring of 1998, the problematic orange Kevlar roof was replaced with a $26 million nonretractable, opaque blue Teflon-coated Fiberglas fabric. All told, Montreal's Olympic Stadium cost more than a whopping $1 billion to build."

i used to go to montreal all the time before i turned 21. we'd usually go see whatever sporting event was in town, i saw the lightning play the habs at the old forum and saw the cubs play the 'spos at le stade. it was weirder than any dome i've ever been in. i'm not sure how to explain it, it just seemed airless. usually domes are louder than hell or at least there's always a dull roar in the background but in montreal there was almost no sound. it was freaky. what i remember most about that game was when we finally found our seats we were walking up the ramp from the concourse to our section when a foul ball almost knocked my friend steve over. it bounced right in front of him and into his belly.

montreal is a wonderful town. rue ste. catherine. old montreal. peel's pub. crescent street. all wonderful.

i watched game seven of the 1991 world series at a peel pub. i don't think they exist anymore, though.

that would be a shame. one tradition we had was going to peel's for a breakfast of potato pancakes and molson golden for breakfast after the first night out. it's amazing the kind of abuse a young body can withstand.

such a tradition i needed to use the word breakfast twice.

Sounds like smoked meat and a photo with Youppi are a must:

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/ballparks/olympic.html

ranking #19 is offensively incorrect. unless he means places in the immediate area of the stadium. then he would have a point.

Saw Glavine and the Mets beat "Nos Amours" 4-2 on Thursday, overcoming a pair of Wilkerson (he and Batista are the first Montreal pair to each hit 30 in a season). I sat in the fifth row behind the Mets dugout... the attendance was a startling 11,000 thanks to Dollar Hot Dog night (I had the smoked meat, which was no big deal). Al Leiter and Rick Peterson had a studious throwing session before the game; I was close enough to hear their voices but only caught RP gesturing and saying "That's a high strike."

If I'd packed the glove -- or just stood at the end of a runway to snag caroms -- I'd have had an excellent shot at a BP homer, where all the pikers line up along the bleacher rail, the best ratio of balls to fans I've seen in the majors. The Quebecois teens shout "Trow de ball 'ere, pleez! Azzhole!"

That turf looks like terrycloth. The fans' habit of slamming the seats next to them (and there are plenty to choose from) during rallies is annoying.

There are tons of Peel Pubs, and I wouldn't go in even if I was 22. Picked up the new Hidden Cameras and Arcade Fire and saw the AF do their SalvArmy show... they've got something good, but are frequently a shade too "emo."

The "Main," ie Blvd St-Laurent, is the most annoyingly packed Saturday night strip I've ever seen. 20something chaos at its metropolitan worst.

Was Youppi put down?

I will be at the Expos' "away" finale / Art Howe finale / John Franco finale (fingers crossed) this Sunday at Shea, followed by a dash home to watch A's-Angels I guess.

What happens to Youppi if the move is declared official?
Who knows? Maybe he'll come with the territory. Maybe not. One of the most distinctive mascots in Major League Baseball probably would have to change its name, though. "Youppi" is "Yippee!" or "Hooray!" in French. For the record, Youppi was the first mascot to be thrown out of a Major league game. On Aug. 23, 1989 -- 10 years after the mascot arrived in Montreal -- the orange, hairy giant was ejected in the 11th inning after Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda complained to the umpires about Youppi danced atop of the visitors' dugout.

from http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20040929&content_id=875193&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp

the o's-yankees game i attended a few weeks ago was delayed for a few minutes because the oriole bird mascot was dancing around/hanging on to the left-field foul pole. umpires and fans were unable to get its attention and the pa announcer had to yell at it.