Happy Luke Richardson Day!

I hope everyone is celebrating Luke Richardson Day in Ottawa by punching Brandon Dubinsky in the face, or something in his honour. Because today, March 23, 2009, will forever go down in history as Luke Richardson Day.

Luke Richardson

#2 / Ottawa Senators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 208

Born: Mar 26, 1969

The reason for Mayor Larry O'Brien's declaration, aside from a great photo op for a mayor who needs some good public relations? Why, it's because the EOJBHL's Ottawa West Junior Knights are putting Richardson's name and number (21) up into the rafters at their playoff game tonight, of course!

Richardson played 1417 NHL games over 21 seasons, spending time with six teams: the Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers. He was captain of the Blue Jackets in his time there.

After playing a couple games for Ottawa earlier this season, Richardson retired from the NHL and transitioned into an assistant coaching position with the Ottawa Senators. So let's all celebrate Luke Richardson Day by bodychecking someone on the street, or havign our noses broken in a fight.

Other fun things that happened on March 23:

• 1775: Patrick Henry delivers his famous "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech.
• 1903: The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes.
• 1935: Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
• 2001: The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.