Coffee, beer, plenty of mud, polka music, and some spectacular wipeouts kept both spectators and participants in the thick of the action.

blogTO reader Frank Lemire was there to catch all the fun and excitement in both still photos and video.

So many great shots of the event are appearing on Flickr that I just had to share in a slideshow (below). I just have to make sure my boss doesn't catch me with my feet up on my desk and zombies on my monitor.

"I practiced for three hours every day after school in preparation for this," said Pena after beating out Vancouver native Pablo Villalta in the final match.

Kneegrab, Shin Spin and Around the World were among the tricks performed by 16 finalists, culled from regional battles in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.

Kids as young as 13 wowed the crowd with their freestyling soccer ball skills, balancing the ball on their faces and doing acrobatic tricks with the ball that at times appeared to defy gravity.

Each round featured three minutes, two players and one ball. Possession of the ball had to alternate between players every 20 seconds. Pretty much anything is fair game, aside from using your hands and arms.

"The passion that unites us all" (LOL) is written across the back of the car, and "Go Leafs Go" graces the front roof spoiler. But the bobbleheads and babies hoisting the Stanley Cup that sit on the dashboard take the cake.

Some Toronto area bands who have entered include God Made Me Funky (GMMF) and The Shuffle Demons, who broke the Guiness World Record on May 30, 2004, for greatest number of sax players playing one song, when they gathered 930 saxophonists to simultaneously play the Hockey Night in Canada theme.

Ontario has 5661 submissions out of nearly 15,000 total entries. That's well above any other province, so there's a better-than-average chance of the winning submission coming from Toronto if there's any quality among the quantity of entries.

Among the more amusing entries is Hockey Scores (video above) by Logan Aube of Aurora, Ont. Currently with over 140,000 views and 94 pages of comments, it appears to be top contender.

On Saturday there will also be a live auction (starts 11:30am, more info) of over 150 pinball machines, air hockey tables, arcade games, pool tables, foosball tables, dome hockey games, jukeboxes and more. Most of these games were purchased from Funland Amusement Arcade on Yonge after it closed, a place I spent many hours of my youth. If I had saved all the quarters I put into Mortal Combat and Street Fighter in high school, I'd probably be able to buy the machines now. These machines will go for bargain prices, if you have ever wanted to start your own basement arcade, don't miss this auction.

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.