Tim Thomas: Annoying Friend/Relative That Makes You Hide What They Say On Facebook

There's a reason in this day and age why we don't want our favorite professional athletes to talk about anything outside of sports, particularly when it comes to the biggest booby-trapped fault lines: religion and politics. For every Grant Hill, there are 20 ill-informed and small-minded players with insane viewpoints in clubhouses, locker rooms, dressing rooms and on planes all around the United States.

Look no further than Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas as a perfect example for what happens when they choose to delve into those topics (completely unprovoked I may add). After rumors last week that he was going to take the 2012-13 season off and Bruins GM Peter Chirelli saying that the team was moving forward like that was the truth, today brought the surreal news first-hand: Thomas took to his trusty Facebook page to let everyone know that he wants to focus on "friends, family and faith." Apparently Tim is the only non-tween that makes all his biggest life decisions immediately public on Facebook.

I'm not going to make fun of the guy for his beliefs but honestly, if he's takes next season off (and this isn't just a ploy for a contract) I don't think it will be the worst thing for the Black and Gold. Yes, he's still one of the top goaltenders in the NHL but you can't dispute the fact that there has to be a chasm between him and teammates quickly building since he decided to skip out on the team's appearance at the White House this past winter. From then on, he painted himself into a corner and made it all about him (by design or not). The other guys are good teammates so they never trashed him but you know that behind closed doors, they had to be asking what the hell Thomas was doing.

I would have different feelings if Tuukka Rask wasn't the backup goaltender for the B's but this would make any pending goaltender controversy between Thomas and Rask a moot point. There's no way Rask wanted to be a backup for much longer and he's much younger (Thomas is 38), cheaper and far less dramatic than Thomas. Goaltenders are always quirky and weird but Rask seems like much more of a good teammate than Thomas for what it's worth. It's time to give him another chance at the starting job and see what he can do with it. Plus, Anton Khudobin looked like a capable backup in a very limited sample size late in the regular season with the Bruins.

By now, even the most hardcore Thomas fans would have to admit they're suffering serious Tank fatigue. Who knows how much longer the team, his coaches or teammates could put up with his garbage? If this is truly the end of the Tim Thomas era in Boston, yikes. What a fall from grace (no pun intended) in less than a year's time since the Bruins captured their first Stanley Cup in 39 years while he won the Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy.

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