They're So Cute When They're Jealous

It was mentioned on the Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic broadcast last night and in a blurb in the (Com)Post today that A.O.'s mirrored visor has been nixed by the NHL's GMs. The vote was 29-1 (I'll give you three guesses as to who the one was and the first two won't count...) but the NHLPA (who are frying bigger fish right now) have to sign off on it before it becomes official. Tarik El-Bashir has more on this "controversy."

I would be more willing to buy this if it had been framed as a safety issue. About ten years ago The National Federation of High Schools banned tinted visors for high school football players on the grounds that medical personnel needed to see a player's eyes in order to diagnose a possible spinal injury. The tinted visors made that impossible. Nobody ever complained about a "competitive advantage" that a player got from using what we called "Darth Vader Masks." Whining about a "competitive advantage" only makes you look like a baby and of course will only get you mocked mercilessly. (As if I needed anything else on this guy. Did she call you about me before last night's game????????) CW says that a "RoboCop visor" would make it easier for you to identify a player on the ice. (That is of course, if your cell phone isn't ringing...)

As for the marketing gurus, well folks, that's why the NHL is where it is. If they can't market A.O. because he wears a tinted visor, then they can't market Santa Claus to a Kindergarten class.

Finally, I haven't checked over in Darwin's Waiting Room, but I am certain that Cap fans are having seizures over this "controversy." I would like to take the time to point out that A.O. started off last year without his "RoboCop visor." He did pretty well last year without it, I don't think this is going to be a big deal.