Mister Cartoon, Livestrong, and Nike have teamed up to release a special Air Force 1.

Mister Cartoon designed a limited edition tee that will accompany the new shoe and will be on hand for an autograph signing for the release event.

The release is at 11:59 PM on Thursday at the Last Laugh in Los Angeles.

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson

From TMZ

We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Jackson had 13 number one hits during his solo career.

If you want to listen to dope MJ mix download DJ Ayres mix

For Immediate Release

June 25, 2009

Formula DRIFT Announces Schedule Change for 2009 Season;
Round 6: Locked and Loaded to be Added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 21-22, 2009

Long Beach, Calif. – June 25, 2009 – Formula DRIFT has announced a schedule change for the 2009 season. Round 6: Locked and Loaded at Infineon Raceway will be re-scheduled from September 12 to August 21-22. Formula DRIFT has been added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma race weekend.

“Formula DRIFT continues to bring drifting to the big leagues with the addition of our event to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Motorsports fans will be able to experience the 110+ mph average speeds of open wheel racing and all the sideways action of Formula DRIFT in one weekend.”

Formula DRIFT drivers will be amongst the biggest stars in IndyCar racing, including Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, and more. Fans will be treated to both drifting and IndyCar Series racing during the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend. Tickets may be purchased on the Formula DRIFT website, 2-day Friday/Saturday pass will run $35. Special ticket discounts will be available through various Formula DRIFT media and promotional partners.

The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be held on the weekend of Aug. 21-22 at Infineon Raceway. The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Round 6: Locked and Loaded is scheduled for August 21 and 22. The change in the schedule will open up a longer break heading into the Finals in Irwindale on October 16-17 leaving time for teams to prepare and for Formula DRIFT to organize promotional activities leading into the Finals.

The remaining 2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Schedule (as of June 25, 2009)

Round 4: All In – Las Vegas Motor Speedway – July 10-11
Round 5: Breaking Point – Evergreen Speedway – August 7-8
Round 6: Locked and Loaded – Infineon Raceway – August 21-22
Round 7: Judgment Day – Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – October 16-17

Here’s a teaser of the RD6 Flyer draft version…more news to come and possible FD X Fatlace collab 2!

Last night I attended the XBOX 360 Event for “Fight Night Round 4″ at the House of Blues in Hollywood.  The “Showdown at Sunset” as the event was titled had hundred of fans line up for a chance to see celebrities go one-on-one in the ring against each other on the latest edition of the Fight Night franchise from EA Sports.

The highlight of the evening was watching Snoop Dogg and Mike Tyson battle it out on “Fight Night Round 4”. After Tyson lost the game to Snoop Dogg in four-round head-to-head match, he presented Snoop Dogg’s Youth Football League with a $5,000 check. Tyson played himself (of course) and Snoop had a custom character (Malice) which looked pretty much like himself. Snoop was able to knock out Tyson in the 4th round, incidentally the perfect round to promote the Round 4 game title.

“Sugar” Shane Mosely battled it out against Sergio Mora with each boxer playing themself. Mosely took the win in both battles. A slew of celebrities, athletes, and more attended the event and if you were lucky enough to receive a all-access wristband you were treated to free drinks, food, and even back stage entrance.

I had a chance to play “Fight Night Round 4″ and must say that the graphics are unbelievable. The control as well is very detailed and even each boxer is given a signature punch. The game seems to have all the top fighters of past and present including Ali, Frazier, Tyson, and even Manny Pacquiao. Overall, the game is plain fun and great for head to head battles. I’m too busy to really put time into gaming, but this game seems easy enough to step in and fight a few bouts and then step away versus other games that you must dedicate hours upon hours on playing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a copy of the game and hopefully will receive one soon.

Tyson attended the event with his youngest daughter and new wife, and Snoop’s son was also in attendance. Onlookers for the virtual match-up also included Jerry Ferrara from “Entourage” Larenz Tate from “Rescue Me” and Wood Harris from “The Wire.” Attendees also had a chance to experience “Fight Night Round 4,” which players can enjoy at home or with friends on XBOX LIVE. The game launches June 25.

As you may have read already on Emily’s blog or Jarod’s blog Famous Stars and Straps and Rebel 8 got together to throw the “There goes the neighborhood” event at the Fast Life in Los Angeles. Crowds lined up all day (literally) for a chance to get some limited edition gear, meet Travis Barker, see Mike Giant in action, and listen to some tunes by The Alchemist. They were also treated to a line-up of classic cars and lowriders on display. To top it off some celebs showed up including Simon Rex (aka Dirt Nasty), Andre Legacy, Estevan Oriol, Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy), and wife Ashlee Simpson.

Check out the awesome photos from Mo and Karen…

After Formula DRIFT Round 3 at Wall, New Jersey I headed into the city with a few friends and as always Jose was our official tour guide. He really does have a camera on him at ALL times. And I was able to borrow one to capture some of the trip. Much of the trip had us roaming the city and checking out stores, places to eat, and all that fun stuff.

The eye of NY…JMartinez

One of my favorite things to do is check out all the furniture stores in SoHo from DWR to Bo Concept and Knoll. My goal is to eventually purchase a Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (that’s when I know that I’ve made it) but for now this picture will do.

We also were able to test ride the new A2B electric bike at the Vespa shop. This thing was pretty cool to ride around, but for the $2500 price tag it’s a bit much. Although the 20 mph and 20 miles of travel with one charge sounds very tempting especially for the city and with the convenience of easy storage…maybe Jose will be trading in his fixed gear.

The rest of the trip was great for the 2 days that I was there. Witnessed the Lakers beat the Magic in game 4 at ESPN Zone. Had a great dinner at Room Service (if you like Thai check it out.) And even saw a couple random celebs after the Tony Awards…but missing in action was N.P.H.

New York is always a good and there’s never enough time to check everything out. I could see myself living there for maybe 2-3 months out of the year…

Game over? FOTA announces formation of breakaway “Formula One” Championship

In a stunning development Thursday night to the ongoing dispute between the FIA and the Formula One Teams Association, FOTA announced via a statement that it plans to leave the official Formula One World Championship in favor of establishing its own breakaway series beginning next year.

The established F1 teams have been waging a well-documented battle with the sport’s governing body over future technical regulations and the FIA’s push to introduce a budget cap beginning in 2010. After meeting Thursday at Renault F1’s factory in Britain, FOTA’s eight members–Ferrari, BMW-Sauber, Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, Brawn GP, Toyota, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso–determined that they have had enough of FIA president Max Mosley and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.

The announcement comes ahead of the Friday deadline set by Mosley for the established teams to agree to unconditional entries for next year’s championship; FOTA teams entered the championship last week, but on a conditional basis. They had asked that the 2009 rules remain in place and that a new Concorde Agreement–the sport’s governing document–be signed to guarantee their participation. Mosley wrote to the teams on Wednesday and made an overture toward a compromise agreement that would have seen the budget cap remain in place, though he asked the teams to enter F1 in 2010 with an eye toward drafting a new set of regulations moving forward. Thursday’s news appears, on the surface, to be a metaphorical middle finger wagged at the sport’s honchos.

Of course, things are seldom straightforward in the rarified F1 world, and it might turn out that this move by FOTA eventually goes down as nothing more than an exercise of leverage by a united manufacturer front. Either way, this weekend’s British Grand Prix is set to become nothing more than a backdrop to what could be the most colossal upheaval in F1–and perhaps racing–history.

FOTA’S FULL STATEMENT

Since the formation of FOTA last September, the teams have worked together and sought to engage the FIA and commercial rights holder, to develop and improve the sport.

Unprecedented worldwide financial turmoil has inevitably placed great challenges before the F1 community. FOTA is proud that it has achieved the most substantial measures to reduce costs in the history of our sport.

In particular, the manufacturer teams have provided assistance to the independent teams, a number of which would probably not be in the sport today without the FOTA initiatives. The FOTA teams have further agreed upon a substantial voluntary cost reduction that provides a sustainable model for the future.

Following these efforts, all the teams have confirmed to the FIA and the commercial rights holder that they are willing to commit until the end of 2012.

The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA.

The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.

It has become clear however, that the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.

These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.

Note: Statement issued by FOTA on behalf of BMW-Sauber, Brawn GP, Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Toyota.

For more F1 racing news and reports, click here.

Microsoft and Audi have entered into a partnership that includes having the amazing Audi R8 V10 be the new cover car for the Forza Motorsport 3 game. Audi has also been a multiple winner at the historic 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. To celebrate their rich heritage at Le Mans and the launch of the new Forza Motorpsort 3 game they decided to team up to host a 24 hour video game endurance challenge.

This special event was named the AXF-24 challenge and was held at Audi’s Forum located on Park Avenue in Manhattan. The event started at 9am EST on Saturday the 13th of June and concluded the following morning at 9am; these are the exact times of the 24 hours of Le Mans race being held in France. 3 teams were entered in the challenge; the teams consisted of 3 players each. These teams beat thousands of other Forza Motorsport gamers from around the country and were flown to NYC for the event. All three teams raced the Audi R8 V10 in the new game on the virtual Le Mans track; this was the first time that these gamers had ever played Forza Motorsport 3. The winning team received an all expense paid trip to the 2010 24 hours of Le Mans race and will be hosted by our friends at Audi Motorsport.

After 24 hours of grueling race action, all three teams managed to finish the 24 hours race and most of them said the challenge was much more difficult than they expected. The teams were given breaks every hour and allowed to switch drivers. During the 24 hour challenge, there were many distractions as visitors to the Audi forum enjoyed drinks, food, live DJ’s, screenings of Audi’s motorsport documentary “The Truth in 24” and live pitstops on a championship winning Audi R10 race car.

The first time event was a success and Audi and Forza Motorsport 3 were able to showcase their brands to racing enthusiasts and gamers alike.