Tim Thomas Snubs President; JoPa Dies; Carter Fights For His Life

The Stanley Cup is not only the oldest and most storied trophy in North American pro sports but it's also by far the hardest one to win. In fact, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and claim it has had a greater history of interesting stories around the world than the World Cup of soccer. It has become an iconic piece of sports relic that transcends the sport itself.

It shouldn't surprise anyone then, including Americans, it finds its way to the White House. I think the tradition of the President welcoming the champions is a fairly recent event. I could be wrong it may have started with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the early 1990s and has become part of hockey folklore ever since. You can watch the video here.

However, Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (probably the best goalie in the NHL and the team's only U.S. born player) chose to not attend the ceremony with President Obama stating on his Facebook page:

"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"

Personally, as a person who harps about personal choice and freedom, I don't have much of a problem with his decision. I do understand the other perspective in terms of respecting the office and that it puts his employer the Boston Bruins in a bit of an embarrassing bind. As far as I know, Thomas is the only athlete to have done so.

Not that it's a major issue in the larger scheme of things but curious to know what you 'Mericans think of this.

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The other thing I heard brought up is whether this points to how divisive the United States has become. Depending what point of historical reference you choose, I guess you can play with the "divisive" (anyone who reads 19th century American politics aren't so quick to say so) margins quite a bit. Whatever it is, American politics has usually tended to be "divisive" since its existence is fundamentally rooted in revolution and is in constant evolution pitting the rights of the sovereign individual against the expansion of the Federal government and this is exactly where Thomas placed himself.

Which of course may demand the question: Do the (natural) rights of man flow from the state or from God (as the majority - if not all - the Founding Fathers believed)  or from another source?

It's an interesting turn of events.

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Lord, such a fall from grace for the iconic football coach Joe Paterno. I used to follow American college football closely back in the 1980s and lemme tell you, Paterno is one name that always stood out. From what I understand, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post has been following the Paterno affair as close as anyone.

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Sad, sad, sad. It doesn't look good for The Kid Gary Carter. The Hall of Fame catcher with the broad smile fights for his life these days. In my mind, and this is just my impression and could certainly be wrong, Carter means much more to Montreal sports fans than he does New York baseball fans.