Postcard from Toronto

TORONTO -- Welcome to the Great White North. Toronto used to be known as Canada's second city because while it was a vibrant center of commerce and industry it was not nearly as large or sophisticated as Montreal. Those days are long past. Toronto is Canada's New York City: sprawling, bustling and still growing by leaps and bounds.

The Lakers' fourth stop on their six-city trip is home to basketball's Raptors, hockey's Maple Leafs, baseball's Blue Jays and the Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Toronto also is home to the CN Tower, the tallest structure in North America. The Stanley Cup is housed in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hockey is more than the national sport in Canada it is a national obsession. It unites the country like nothing else.