Saturday night, pull out on the boulevard in your big block Chevy and cruise with the top down, see some friends and have a good time. How many songs have been written about this favourite pastime?

North Americans' love of the automobile is once again under fire as gas prices rise and environmental concerns make our dependence on non-renewable energy unreasonable. Our recent obsession with SUVs and newly redesigned muscle cars, while never economical, has acquired a ugly, irresponsible stigma resulting in plummeting sales for the big three automakers.

For some, however, it's not about the price of gas, it's always been simply a love affair with the thing itself: the automobile, and streetclassics.ca have been bringing the love to a Canadian Tire parking lot on the Queensway, every Saturday night during the summer.

Despite Toronto's lack of winning sports teams, there still seems to be a thirst for high profile sporting events in this city, but at what expense? The upcoming Major League of Soccer (MLS) All-Star Game this evening may prove to be a healing factor for the boisterous fans who recently watched the Toronto FC get eliminated from a spot in the Champions League tourney.

The biggest names of the MLS will face off against West Ham United at 7pm down at BMO field. This is only the fifth such meeting of these international sports heroes, so we should feel privileged to have this opportunity. But with tickets in the hundred dollar plus price range, it's most likely only the financially privileged who will be in attendance. Apparently there's a new section of tickets available starting at $42.00 if you don't mind sitting up with the pigeons.

This was the first TFC match for any of us, so naturally we were pretty excited. And as much as I prefer using transit, it made the most sense for us to drive and park. Despite being on Lakeshore, east of Jameson, with 45 minutes to start time, we didn't get to our seats until 35 minutes into the first half.

And they forced us to check our decidedly non-professional camera, due to the non-professional lens.

For over a season and a half of ups and downs but generally mediocre baseball, Drunk Jays Fans writers, Andrew Stoeten, Dustin Parkes and Justin Bergkamp, have maintained a steady flow of posts each week after heart-breaking week following the Toronto Blue Jays. Irreverent and intelligent, Drunk Jays Fans doesn't shy away from comment or criticism on everything from baseball broadcasters and writers to players and fans. The site's combination of laugh out loud crudeness and impassioned observations make it both entertaining and insightful.

On the eve of the NBA Draft, our hometown Toronto Raptors have made a huge change to the organization by acquiring all-star centre Jermaine O'Neal from the Indiana Pacers. In the deal, the Raptors give up TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and their 2008 17th pick (all pending physicals).

It's obvious why Brian Colangelo traded Ford, Nesterovic, and the 17th Pick. Ford was expendable after Jose Calderon proved he could play as an all-start caliber point guard in the NBA by putting up 11.2Pts, 2.9Rebs, and 8.3Asts all in 30mins:18secs a game. Add on the three years left on his contract ($25.5million for the next three seasons), it was obvious throughout the NBA that Colangelo was going to deal one of the two starting point guards, turns out it was Ford. Rasho Nesterovic and his $8.4 million contract, which ends in 2008, was simply a salary dump. With respect to the 17th pick in the draft, the pick could turn out to be between a number of players. But in my opinion, this trade was to win now and with all due respect to Rasho, he isn't the type of player to bring us a championship.

Now that Colangelo has made yet another great trade for the Raptors, on paper, it seems like the Raptors have a great chance to compete with the newly crowned champions, the Boston Celtics, and even match-up against some of the best teams in the West. With this trade comes a new style of basketball for the Raptors. Instead of spreading the floor, using fast breaks, and trying to score with ball movement, the Raptors will turn into a half-court style offense. The front line of O'Neal, Bosh, and Bargnani, who are 6'11, 6'10, and 6'10 respectively, will bring Toronto the size it has always wanted but could never find.

Fortunately I've experienced the other side of soccer in this city. Although I am not much a fan of the sport in and of itself, I am a fan of the fans of the sport. Sitting in a bar with even just a dozen of any exuberant fans is contagious, and I suddenly feel compelled to care. It really is one sign of the greatness of our city.

This is no joke folks, although I have to say I doubled checked whether it was April 1st when I saw this news cross the wire.

One of my favourite things about living in Toronto is the way this city's ethnic neighbourhoods come to life when international sporting events happen around the world. Futbol tournaments tend to stand out in particular, since it's the most worldly of sports.

As a relative newcomer to Toronto, I didn't have the opportunity to grow up with Hockey Night in Canada. To me, the only national anthem has been O Canada. But I knew for many (millions of?) Canadians, a different song symbolized their country. And once I became a resident, and certainly as recently as the latest playoff cycle, I found myself feeling a little bit better when that catchy beat came on the air.

Listen to the iconic tune after the jump.

But isn't going barefoot the "natural way"? That is the part of the case made by Barefoot in Toronto, a local chapter of a national advocacy group for ditching footwear. Mauricio Morales, known as "Barefoot Moe", runs the Toronto chapter's website which contains some convincing arguments for not being shy of going barefoot in public.

Included are some bicycle art showings featuring historical, stenciled, and otherwise just really cool images. And in the theater, the best gems from their vast archives of bicycle related films can be seen. Event details can be found on their website.

The idea for the union is to be an advocacy organization that provides a unified voice to advance biking as a viable mode of transportation in Toronto. "We will work together with citizens, community groups, bike shops and the City towards the common goals of ensuring that cycling is a legitimate, accessible, and safe means of transportation."

It's no question that Swirsky will be missed. Whether you liked his style or not, he was definitely one of the most colorful commentators in the NBA, and has earned several accolades for his excitable play-by-play. The video below demonstrates some of his play-calling skills: