Roberto Luongo's comments about Tim Thomas after Game 5 were pretty straightforward: We're two goalies with different styles; sometimes he makes saves I can't, but my kung-fu would have been stronger on that Max Lapierre goal.
But since this is one athlete commenting on another athlete in the Stanley Cup Final, Luongo's critique was brought to the Boston Bruins for rebuttal, and rebut they did:
And round it went back to Roberto Luongo, who commented on his comments as the Vancouver Canucks prepared to leave the airport for Boston, with a chance to win the Stanley Cup on Monday:
"I said also that he might make some saves that I don't, so I was just saying on that particular play I would have played it different and that's the difference between me and him."
"I've been pumping his tires ever since the series started, and I haven't heard one nice thing he had to say about me, so that's the way it is."
Again, why the outrage? Luongo is (a) completely right given the nature of the goal and (b) was complimentary to Thomas last night and again today.
The last part of his quote, though, made us want to buy him a teddy bear or an Edible Arrangement. That's one of the most subtly melancholy, angst-ridden quotes we've seen from a professional athlete. Dude wins the gold medal, gets no respect. Dude moves his team one win away from the Cup, and his opponent is being chatted up as an MVP. Dude gives his opponent some love, and it's not reciprocated.
The sad part isn't that Tim Thomas hasn't said "one nice thing" about Roberto Luongo. It's that Roberto Luongo has been obviously listening for him to say it.