It’s hard to believe that helmets, face masks, and pads are relatively new requirements for professional athletes. I somewhat long for the days when hockey players wore modified bike helmets without face masks. Okay, so maybe they were “too dangerous” (as 70’s goalie Jacques Plante said in a fabulously thick French accent, “my mask saved my life”) but the lack of adequate protection certainly made the fist fights more interesting. It really grinds my gears when hockey players go through all the trouble of starting a fist fight, but stand on the ice punching each other in the helmet… while wearing padded gloves. Most times, none of the other players get involved. Bench-clearing brawls are becoming few and far between. I’m just saying, if hockey players fought more, maybe there would be more hockey fans, and the NHL wouldn’t have to cancel seasons…but I’m just saying…

In other sports-related news…

As of 5/2/08 the Yankees are 3 games behind the Red Sox. Yay.

… I suppose this picture is kind of old now, but that doesn’t make it any less satisfying.