Larry Brown Sports

Many years ago — actually it might have been last week — I was given a piece of sage advice from my parents: Two issues you never bring up in the company of strangers are religion and politics. Seeing as how I have never really been big on creeds or listening to my folks, for that matter, and that I’ve already discussed the former, it’s only naturally that I now write a missive on the latter.

For what it’s worth, I’m not officially announcing my candidacy for public office. Really, though, the only thing that qualifies me for the office of President is the fact that I was born in the US, and even then it’s a stretch. Furthermore, I don’t think any political strategist who attempted to dig up my past would probably be traumatized by what they would find let alone trying to use it against me — tax sheltering and open marriages would be the least of my problems. Which reminds me, I should probably find and destroy that video of me singing Milli Vanilli songs into a shampoo bottle before it’s too late.

Nah, I’m about as cut out to run for President as the boar hog Pigasus that was nominated as a candidate in 1968. Would this now be a bad time to make a joke about pork barrel legislation? (Yeah, too soon.) Certainly, Pigasus would not have been the first candidate to ham it up before a national audience. As entertaining as it may seem to write poorly-conceived puns about swine, I run the risk of getting censured by my Jewish family if I continue without getting to the point.

One thing, though, that I’ve always found an interesting phenomenon about sports and teams that are triumphant on the grandest stage of competition is the reward for reaching the pinnacle. Sure, millions of dollars, adoration from a worldwide fan base, and something called ‘bling’ all have their place. (This is unverified by me since I’ve calculated that anything less than combining one-thousand lifetimes will be deficient in allowing me to experience this.) But, chief among the spoils of victory is getting to meet the President of the United States.

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The Boston Bruins have been celebrated for their Stanley Cup win over the Vancouver Canucks. They ran up a $156K bar tab at a club, most of which was on the house. Each of the players have had their day with the Stanley Cup (although Nathan Horton’s was cut short). But this may be the best tribute of all.

As Puck Daddy shares with us, the Sherman Farm corn maze in East Conway, New Hampshire carved that image of Bruins goalie Tim Thomas hoisting the Stanley Cup into the field. Beginning on September 17th, visitors can explore the maze for $9. There’s little doubt it took tons of time to make that creation. It probably didn’t take a whole summer like the Angel Stadium model, but plenty of detail went into it and it was worthwhile. I wouldn’t fly out to the East Coast to check it out, but if I were in the area I’d definitely take a look.

Picture Credit: Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce

Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas shutout the Vancouver Canucks for the second time in the Stanley Cup Finals, helping the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup since 1972. Thomas stopped 238 of the 246 shots he faced over the seven-game series, giving him an absurdly high .967 save percentage. His performance throughout the postseason earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy which is awarded to the winning team’s most valuable playoff performer. The award isn’t too surprising for anyone who’s watched Thomas play the last four years for Boston, and it sure is sweet revenge for him against Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.

After Vancouver won Game 5 of the series 1-0, Luongo boasted that he would have made the save on the lone goal let up by Thomas. Though Thomas was bothered by the comment, he chose not to respond and instead went out and won the next two games. When the two goalies met up to shake hands at the end of the series, Thomas praised Luongo.

“I know I told him that he’s a great goalie,” Thomas recounted his exchange with Luongo to NBC after winning the series. “Somehow he must have took offense. I hadn’t said anything really positive but I hadn’t said anything negative either. Part of that was tactics.”

Luongo didn’t seem to react negatively during their lineup, but apparently he did. Maybe he thought Thomas was being sarcastic considering he had just lost two games in a row after opening his mouth. The reality is both men are excellent goaltenders and maybe Luongo has learned to keep quiet next time so as not to inspire his opponent. After all, he’s the one who looks poorly in the end.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett

Really? This guy’s serious right? I mean he kept a serious face on, so he’s either a great actor or Roberto Luongo really did take a shot at Tim Thomas after Game 5 and meant it. The Bruins lost Game 5 in Vancouver by a score of 1-0, and the only goal in the game certainly could have been stopped by Thomas. However, I’m not sure a goalie who let up 12 goals in two games is in any position to be critiquing the performance of his counterpart.  The Bruins will have to win a game in Vancouver if they want to win the Stanley Cup, but the Canucks would probably be wise to refrain from providing Boston with bulletin board material along the way.  H/T to Barstool for the video.

Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas guaranteed his team would beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals. I’m not sure if he part of his prediction included making the save of the playoffs, but that’s exactly what Thomas did to help the Bruins hold onto their lead. Check out this video of Tim Thomas’ amazing save on Steve Downie courtesy of Greg Wyshinski at Puck Daddy:

For the record, Downie does not have a point in the entire series. That could have made it 2-2, but instead Boston got an empty-net goal to win 3-1. Try harder next time, Tampa Bay. Maybe a few more human lightning bolts will do the trick.

Tim Thomas, a guy who has been the underdog his entire career and as a result comes across as extremely humble, went out on a bit of a limb after the Bruins epic Game 4 meltdown against the Lightning. The same guy who created a bit of a buzz last week after Boston lost game one when he called hockey “just a game” feels strongly about his team’s chances of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals.  In fact, the Bruins goalie has guaranteed a series victory.

“We’re going to win,” Thomas boldly stated after Game 4 according the The Tampa Tribune.

More often than not, nothing good can ever come of guaranteeing victories.  Antics like that are normally reserved for loud mouths like Rex Ryan, but I really have no problem with a statement like that coming from the Bruins goalie.  If anyone should be confident, it’s a goal keeper.  You have to be a pretty confident person to begin with to stand in front of pucks traveling 100 mph, so it shouldn’t really be a surprise.  The fact that Lightning coach Guy Boucher disagrees with Thomas is also not surprising.

“I guess we should have stayed home,” Boucher said of the guarantee. “You know, their people are allowed to think what they think and we’re not going to pay attention to that. Hopefully our players are staying focused and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Gotta love playoff hockey.

It worked for Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox, right? We all remember Manny’s infamous “there’s always next year” rant in 2004 when Boston found itself trailing the Yankees 0-3 in the ALCS. Some would argue those comments helped take the pressure off the Sox and sparked the most historic comeback in baseball history. Others take it for what it was: useless banter from a bonehead player.

The Bruins find themselves trailing the Lightning 0-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals after an ugly Game 1 loss.  When asked about his anxiety level heading into Game 2, Boston goalie Tim Thomas made some comments that would likely enrage Jack Edwards (see his royalty rant).

“I think you should get mentally prepared,” Thomas said according to WEEI.com. “It can get all-consuming but I don’t think that’s really the right way to go. These hockey games are important, they’re important to us, they’re important to the city, but to be realistic, it is just a game. You look around at what’s going on in the world right now, Israel was attacked on numerous fronts yesterday. It can really make you put it in perspective.”

Thomas’ point makes sense, but I would guess — and this is nothing more than a hunch from a guy who has lived in the Boston area his entire life — that Boston fans would rather not hear their goalie talking about the problems in the Middle East before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  Hockey is indeed just a game, but it is also a career and guys like Claude Julien are happy they won’t be looking for a new one after this season.  Unless Thomas can personally do something to help the situation in Israel before Tuesday night, it might be in his best interest to allow the “all-consuming” thing to happen.