Ovechkin, who led the Capitals to the playoffs for the first time since 2003, appeared in his second NHL AllStar Game in January. He was the NHL First Star for the months of January and March and was a fivetime selection as one of the Three Stars of the week. Ovechkin was named the MVP and the league best player by The Hockey News, the of the Year by TSN Pierre McGuire, the Clutch Scorer and a unanimous choice for MVP by USA Today panel and the Award winner as the league MVP by Phil Esposito of XM Radio NHL Home Ice.One official was ousted just a few hours before from refereeing a New Orleans Saints game after it became known that he was a Saints fan. Eagles running back LeSean McCoy noted on Philadelphia's 94WIP radio station that the replacement refs are "like fans. One of the refs was talking about his fantasy team, like, 'McCoy, come on, I need you for my fantasy.' Uhh, what?".

On July 11, 2008, at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, Roethlisberger allegedly called hotel em