Today's Tune: "Rocket Man" By Elton John

Phoenix Mars Lander launched August 4, 2007 via Delta II Rocket.
Photo found at LaunchPhotography.com .

I chose "Rocket Man" for today's installment for two very good reasons. On August 4, 1921 Canadian hockey player Maurice "Rocket" Richard was born. Richard was so prolific at scoring goals, the annual award that goes to the highest goal scorer of the season in the NHL, is named after him. My second reason is that NASA launched the Phoenix Mars Lander robotic spacecraft on the 4th of August in 2007. Phoenix was sent on it's way to the planet Mars via a Delta II (Model 7925) rocket. The mission of the Phoenix lander, which was equipped with a robotic digging arm, cameras and various types of analyzers, included searching for evidence of water and microbial life.

August 4th was also the birthday of: 1900 - "The Queen Mother" Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Queen Consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions), 1901 - American Jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong, 1944 - American comedian and actor Richard Belzer (Saturday Night Live, Homicide, Law And Order) and 1961 - current US President Barack Obama.

Elton John - "Rocket Man" Live at MSG in 2007.
This was a celebration for Elton's 60th birthday.

NHL Trophies & Recognition For Ovechkin & Green

Alex Ovechkin with Pearson, Hart and Richard Trophies on June 18, 2009.
Photo by Ryan Remiorz - AP Photo / The Canadian Press

The NHL handed out it's annual awards last night in Las Vegas, NV. Among this year's winners, both Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green of the Washington Capitals received recognition for their efforts during the 2008-2009 season. As expected, Ovechkin was the big winner of the evening.

Green and Ovechkin were named to the NHL's First All-Star Team. It is the fourth time for Alex and the first time in the Capitals' history that they had two players named to the team for the same season. Ovechkin also collected a few trophies during the event.

For the second year in a row, Alex Ovechkin won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's top goal (56) scorer. He also repeated in the voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy (Professional Hockey Writers Assoc. MVP choice) and Lester B. Pearson Award (Player's MVP choice). Ovie is the first player to win the Hart two years straight since Dominik Hasek won in both 1997 and 1998.

The choice of presenters for a couple of the awards that Ovechkin won were pretty cool. The Pearson Award was announced by retired Russians Vladimir Konstantinov and Igor Larionov. The Hart Trophy was presented to Ovechkin by none other than previous (1994) winner, teammate and fellow Russian Sergei Fedorov.

For the fourth consecutive year, Russian NHL players voted to award Alex Ovechkin the Kharlamov Trophy for being the best Russian player in the NHL. He received the award at a separate ceremony held June 9th.

Capitals Earn Respect With 2008 Awards

Photo - Al Bello / Getty Images

The Washington Capitals now command a lot of respect, after an award winning 2007-2008 season and 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs berth. The NHL, NHLPA, even the sports news media and local government have spoken. They have made it clear that they admire Alex Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Nicklas Backstrom and the Capitals organization. Washington will no longer be referred to as the lowly Cap's. They now have plenty of hardware that says otherwise.

Capitals fans watched the 2008 NHL Awards Show from home and Verizon Center with joyful anticipation as Ovechkin was rightfully awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award (Player Of The Year) and the Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player). It eased the nerves of some when the Pearson was presented to Alex at the start of the show. We already knew he was getting the Hart. Backstrom did not receive the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie Of The Year), but second place is obviously still very respectable. Coach Boudreau was presented the Jack Adams Award (Coach Of The Year), after inspiring a last place team enough to get them to the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin had already received a few other awards. As the league's highest goal scorer (65) he earned the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. Having also led in points (112), Ovechkin won the Art Ross Trophy. For the third straight year, Alex won the Kharlamov Trophy after being voted the best Russian player in the NHL by other Russian players.

Capitals teammates Alex Ovechkin, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin helped lead Team Russia to their first world championship in 15 years at the 2008 IIHF World Championship, held in Halifax and Quebec City, Canada between May 2nd and May 18th. Next year they may be busy going into later rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs instead.

Photo - Mitchell Layton / Getty Images

What all these accolades bring to the Washington Capitals as a team is much the same as it brings to the individuals themselves. It brings a feeling of pride and satisfaction. They know for sure that they can play at an elite level. It makes Washington a desirable organization to belong to. From pee wee league youngsters to NHL superstars, the Capitals are a team most would love to play for. They've earned some serius respect.

2007-2008 Art Ross And "Rocket" Richard

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Per the Washington Capitals web site:

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ARLINGTON, Va. – Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin led the NHL in points and goals in the 2007-08 regular season, which completed tonight, earning him the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.

Ovechkin is the first Capitals player to win the Art Ross Trophy, presented annually to the league’s leading scorer. The 22-year-old native of Moscow is also the first Russian-born player to win the Art Ross. Ovechkin finished the season with 112 points (65 goals, 47 assists) while playing all 82 games, leading the Capitals to their first playoff appearance since 2003.

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See the full news article for more details.