Ken Block is the owner of the DC Shoes brand but you may also know him as one of the great rally car driver. In this video filmed for a DC commercial you can see drifting like you never did before.

This is breaking news. Michael Jackson past away today Jun 25th 2009 at 2:26 PM. The cause is said to be an heart failure but there are some speculation that there might be drugs related to this tragic event. The music legend was 50 years young.

When drunk Russian and bicycles come together some funny things can happen. Check this out.

From The Bachelor Guy: Remember that level in Street Fighter where you had to smash up a car for bonus points? Well, this guy sure did. Dressed in full Ryu garb, he demolishes a sedan, then Yoga Flame’s the wreckage for good measure.

A sexy behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood’s new favorite temptress.

Now whether you’re an avid hockey fan or just someone who watches a game every now and then, you still have to appreciate the fact that with all the great battles that have gone on in this year’s playoff, this game 7 is going to be an epic finally to one great series. Who’s going to win? That we can’t be sure. Story-lines have been set however, so that both teams deserve it.

Firstly you have the classic battle of experience versus youth.

Proven winners in Nik Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Brian Rafalski, Kris Draper, Tomas Holmstrom and many others. Most of the core players on the Detroit Red Wings roster have been playing for the team since they were drafted or at least since their early years in the NHL. You just cant force chemistry, but this team has had it from the start and has only continued growing together into what is now considered the powerhouse team or the “class” of the league. Few are contenders, even fewer are winners, and the Red Wings are winners.

Then we have a bold young team in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby and Malkin are possibly the best 2 players in the league and they are playing on the same team! Not a lot of teams can hold down that 1-2 punch, let alone the rest of a very solid roster. Many young faces here will only get better, imagine what Tyler Kennedy, Maxime Talbot, Chris Kunitz and co. can do now… Then imagine them in 5 years time… I can just see the cup rings pop into the picture, can you? That is of course, if Pittsburgh can afford it and if they choose to keep that lineup together. Then the Penguins went and added a few veterans to the team in Miroslav Satan and Bill Guerin. To me this squad is more complete and well rounded. Their defense is also becoming solid with Mr. Gonchar doing the offense and Mr. Scuderi and Mr. Gill helping a streaking Marc-André Fleury hold down the fort.
This team went to the cup finals last year and lost to… the Detroit Red Wings. Which brings me to my next point…

Redemption

Although it’s been quietly laid down as this series has gone on, you know the Penguins are looking for payback. What happened last year only adds to their fire and passion as youngsters, but now, that finals defeat of the past may be just the thing to help them beat Detroit this time around… Experience! Only 1 year has past since that immense heartbreak that I’m sure a player like Crosby remembers, for a while it seemed all the media wanted to do is show a picture of him sulking after losing the series. Now the odds have evened up it seems and the Penguins have gotten this series to 7. Can redemption be enough to push the Penguins to break through and win the Stanley Cup? We can only wonder until 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight.

If you look at how the games have gone down so far, consistency will tell you Detroit takes the series because so far every game has been won at home, but can there be another factor that would make Detroit just that much better than the Pens? Just another reason to win, another great storyline… Marian Hossa. Yes, I said it, I think Marian Hossa could decide this series.

Why would I say that about this player… well. Firstly he was part of that Pittsburgh team that lost the final… to the Red Wings of course. Hossa was already basically rented out to win a cup, playing only 12 regular season games with the Pens before the playoffs. I’m guessing some veteran player must have told him “If you get a chance to win a cup, win it, because you never know how long it can be before you get back there, deep in the playoffs”. In any case, after the season was done Hossa was headed to a winner, in Detroit. A good choice, mind you nothing is a sure bet in the NHL, just ask Jim Ballsilie. And now the very talented Marian Hossa is playing against his old team in a cup final. We know Hossa’s talented, but like most talented players they can at some point, or consistently, lack heart. I’m afraid this playoff, 7.5 million dollar-a-year-worth Marian Hossa is falling a little shy of expectations. He has been neither a game breaker, neither a great defensive presence, neither a great role player, he has just played, skated around, passed the puck a bit, and let his talent carry him. I will say that if Hossa turns it on in game 7 a goal and an assist will win it for Detroit. If Hossa, a man who should have so much to prove to the Pens, and who really really wants a cup (or money), fails to register a point, the Pens will take it in 7. And if that happens, I believe that the Red Wings are still a dynasty, the Pens are still a young team, Crosby stops whining…ok maybe not (just kidding), and we will have proof (along with Mats Sundin’s situation) that you cannot buy a team, and that heart will win the Stanley Cup after all, and in that case, everybody wins.

Photo: Hossa

Distraktion Magazine went to Local Palooza in Ottawa on June 6. The event was a blast. 3 beach volley-ball court, a bunch of music bands including Mobile from Montreal.

The best part of the day was the bikini contest. You can have a look for yourself in the video.

Last week we counted down our top 10 most anticipated games of E3, if you missed it (and judging by the number of hits most of you did, shame,) check it out here.

The odd thing about E3 is that while we may be sad to see it go back into slumber for another year we’re thrilled that soon we will get to play all those shiny new games. Now as with most things in life, there are winners and losers and let’s face it, some games shown at E3 were real stinkers (cough, Style Savvy, cough) but we’re not here to talk about fashion sims, we’re here to talk about the absolute best of E3 2009. Now this list was hard to put together, mostly due to the amazing amount of quality games shown last week in L.A. so it’s very possible your favorite didn’t make the list.

With that out of the way we bring you the top 10 games of E3 2009.

10 - The Legend Of Zelda (Wii)

• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Developer: Nintendo
• To Be Released In: 2010

Just to show how big the announcement of a new Zelda game is let’s look at the facts. The game was not shown (or mentioned at the Nintendo press conference), it was not on the show floor, neither in trailer or demo form, hell it doesn’t even have an official title yet, but when Shigeru Myamoto shows off one piece of concept art the internet goes crazy! The next title in the acclaimed Zelda series promises to be darker and more mature then ever and we can’t wait to get our hands on Link’s next adventure.

9  - Scribblenauts

• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Developer: 5th Cell
• To Be Released In: Fall 2009

Here’s a game that got lost in the craziness that is E3, and it’s a real shame because Scribblenauts might be the most ambitious and creative game ever to appear on the Nintendo DS and maybe even all time. The game mechanics of Scribblenauts are simple, you have to reach a star piece to advance to the next level, naturally their is an obstacle in the way, so how do you get past? With your imagination of course! Have a shark infested lake to past? Simply write ‘toaster’ and drop it into the lake to electrocute the shark. Want to witness an epic battle? Write ‘Kraken’ instead and answer the age old question of who would win a fight between a Kraken and a shark. With thousands if not millions of possibilities Scribblenauts could possibly the greatest game that no one has heard of.

8  - Alan Wake

• Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360 / Windows PC
• Developer: Remedy Entertainment
• To Be Released In: Spring 2010

E3 2009 was the big coming out party for the long awaited ‘psychological action thriller’ Alan Wake. Sporting amazing graphics and a dark and disturbing story the game promises to re-define the action and horror genres. Playing a little like Luigi’s Mansion players will need to use light as their weapon on their quest to find Alan’s missing wife from the haunted forest of Bright Falls. As you advance through the game the narrative is spoken in a sort of 3rd person speak giving the impression that player is playing a virtual book.

7  - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

• Platform: Sony PSP
• Developer: Kojima Productions
• To Be Released In: 2010

You thought Metal Gear: Rising was it for Hideo Kojima and his team over at Kojima Productions? Pfft. The creator of Metal Gear is hard at work on not one but two new entries into the storied franchise (not counting  the new Castlevania game as well) and the one that caught our attention was Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP. The game is a sequel to the PS2’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and will deal with Big Boss and his team sent to Costa Rica to stop a military takeover. Sporting some of the best visuals ever seen on the PSP, Peace Walker quickly became our most anticipated game for Sony’s handheld, which makes 2010 look like a great year for gaming on all systems.

6  - Super Mario Galaxy 2

• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• To Be Released In: 2010

Nintendo’s E3 press conference was full of surprises, and one of the biggest ones was that Super Mario Galaxy, one of the highest rated games of this generation is getting a sequel. The game will use the same graphics engine with a few extra tweaks here and there, but don’t think for one second that this will just be the original all over again. Featuring  a more difficult single player mode and all new game mechanics like the ability to control Yoshi, all mixed together with that classic Mario charm and you have a sure candidate for game of the year 2010 with Super Mario Galaxy 2.

5  - God Of War III

• Platform: Sony Playstation 3
• Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica
• To Be Released In: March 2010

We knew it was going to be big, we knew it was going to blow us away, we knew we would love it, but nothing could prepare us for God Of War III’s amazing gameplay demonstration during the Sony press conference. All the brutal action and mature attitude we remembered from God Of War one and two is  back in beautiful (yet grotesque) high definition and you can be sure that Kratos’ wrath and the blood will flow like wine when the final chapter in the God Of War trilogy is released next March.

4  - Project ‘Natal’

• Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360
• Developer: Microsoft R&D
• To Be Released In: 2010

While not technically a game it was the project ‘Natal’ demo that left me picking my jaw up off the floor. Using your full body as the control method has had in the past both it’s success’ and failures (hello Sega Activator) but ‘Natal’ is taking it to a whole new level of interactivity. Whether it’s breaking blocks, balls or throwing paint at the screen or just chatting with creepy British children, ‘Natal’ seems like a window into the future of gaming an we can’t wait to ‘jump in’.

3  - Modern Warfare 2

• Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360 / Sony Playstation 3 / Windows PC
• Developer: Infinity Ward
• To Be Released On: November 10th 2009

Last week we named Modern Warfare 2 our most anticipated game of E3 (guess that sorta gives away the ending eh?) and it did not disappoint. Everything about Modern Warfare 2 seems to out do the original which was one of the best games of 2007, all new environments like under water stages, intense action with snow mobile chases and the obvious refinements to the multiplayer modes will surely make Modern Warfare 2 one of the best games of 2009, just like it’s big brother did two years earlier.

2  - Metroid: Other M

• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Developer: Team Ninja / Nintendo
• To Be Released In: 2010

After last year’s E3 Nintendo fans were feeling pretty down. Unless you loved collecting useless crap in Animal Crossing (I know I do) or pretending to play an instrument in Wii Music you probably fell in the disappointed category. So what would Nintendo do to redeem themselves at 2009’s event? Sure Super Mario Galaxy looks amazing but the hardcore want a game of their own, and that game is Metroid: Other M. With Team Ninja’s experience in designing brutal action games and Nintendo’s reputation for quality hopes are high for this game that has since become my personal most anticipated game.

1  - Assassin’s Creed II

• Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360 / Sony Playstation 3 / Windows PC
• Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
• To Be Released On: November 17th 2009

Of all the games, of all the companies, of all the trailers, of all the demos, it was Assassin’s Creed II that stole our hearts. Taking everything that made the original game great and multiplying it ten times over, this is the game that will finally really make you feel like an old world assassin. Everything from the perfectly recreated 15th century Venice to the Da Vinci flying machines to the way you sneak around has been painstakingly done to give an air of realism to the game. Thankfully Assassin’s Creed II is only a few months away and you can bet that I will be one of the first in line for my ticket to Venice.

This concludes our look at this year’s E3. But stay tuned to 360blog.org as we continue to look at all things gaming. Here’s a hint at next week’s top 10: What’s worst then cigarettes, drugs and beer put together? Find out next week, only at 360blog.org.

  Finally an action/adventure Castlevania hits the consoles, with amazing graphics and the most generic name ever. Oh and it’s being co-developed by Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame.

  The last press conference of the big 3 belonged to Sony and they had some shockers in store for us. Check out what’s coming to a Playstation near you only on 360blog.org.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves