Ever heard someone deny that there's a stigma in the NHL about visors being the signature of sissies? If so, did you swallow that line, or recognize it for the bunk that is?

Anaheim enforcer Todd Fedoruk has joined Sean "The NHL Is Out To Get Me" Avery on the front lines of the anti-visor battalion of morons. After Coyote Denis Gauthier doled out two high hits to Ducks Joffrey Lupul and Todd Marchant in a game Tuesday night, Fedoruk landed a cheap one of his own on Petr Nedved. Fedoruk even told the media afterwards that it was retaliatory (see his new comprehensive guide, "How To Get Suspended," soon to appear in bookstores everywhere), and followed up by stating that Gauthier is "out there with a visor on running around like he's King Kong. He's not going to back it up."

It's questionable whether guys like Fedoruk and Avery are against visors because they prefer the "good old days" of less protection, because they're insecure in their masculinity and have to point out that, as manly men, they don't need to protect themselves, or because they're actually just morons. It should certainly be noted however, by players and fans alike, that the guys making these comments are not quality players by any stretch of the imagination - essentially, they're big mouths with fists attached.

Meanwhile, more and more players around the league have experimented with visors; some like the change, some don't, but they've stopped listening to the NHL's Foundation for Finding Work For Ocular Surgeons and tried their luck. Tie Domi, in particular, attempted playing with a visor for a couple games in the 2003-04 season at the behest of his children - he even fought in one game, removing his helmet beforehand - and although he found the adjustment too difficult, the point that Avery and Fedoruk's posse should notice is that he tried it, and his testicles didn't fall off.

Let's try to list, though, just a few of the players who are incapable of "backing things up":

-Jarome Iginla
-Dany Heatley
-Dion Phaneuf
-Mike Richards
-Rick Nash
-Owen Nolan

Get the idea?

Toss in some more of the less-physical, but squeaky-clean elite players in the NHL who wear visors - Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, and Steve Yzerman come to mind - and it becomes even more clear that those anti-visor airheads are very wrong to paint everyone with the same brush.

Maybe the issue of making visors mandatory isn't just about protection anymore; it would certainly solve this problem quickly...or else they'd just have to find a new way to decide who's a wimp or not.

"Hey! His jersey's tucked in on the right side! What a sissy!"