It was only a matter of time

Quote :

"Ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy told the feds two referees fixed the outcome of one playoff series - and that officials were told not to eject star players from games for fear of hurting ticket sales. The bombshell allegations are contained in a court document filed Tuesday by Donaghy's lawyer. It describes the "inner workings" of the NBA in which league executives used referees to manipulate games. Donaghy said officials were told not to call technical fouls on stars, and said two officials helped extend a 2002 playoff series to a seventh game, all in the name of ticket sales and television revenue. David Stern's worst nightmares may have just come true, as conspiracy theorists begin to celebrate. Jun. 10 - 6:36 pm et"

Quote :

""Team 3 lost the first two games in the series and Team 3's Owner complained to NBA officials," the letter says. "Team 3's Owner alleged that referees were letting a Team 4 player get away with illegal screens. NBA Executive Y told Referee Supervisor Z that the referees for that game were to enforce the screening rules strictly against that Team 4 player. Referee Supervisor Z informed the referees about his instructions. As an alternate referee for that game, Tim also received these instructions." Mavs owner Mark Cuban did in fact complain after his team lost the first two games of the series, and Dallas went on to beat Houston in seven games. Van Gundy said that a working referee had told him about the league's plan. Donaghy's letter claims that Supervisor Z contacted the coach. Van Gundy was ultimately fined $100,000. Looking at box scores from the series, however, the only game in which Yao fouled out was in fact Game 1. He did average 4.4 fouls per game in the series. The letter also details an incident in the 2002 playoffs in which Donaghy alleges that two referees, who were known as NBA "company men," wanted to extend a series to seven games. "Team 5" could have wrapped up the series in Game 6 but lost two players to ejection, lost that game and ultimately the series. It is not clear which series this account refers to. Donaghy also alleges that team executives conspired with the league to prevent star players from being called for too many fouls or being ejected. He claimed that league officials told referees that doing so would "hurt ticket sales and television ratings." According to the letter, when an official did eject a star player in the first quarter of a game in 2000, he was privately reprimanded. In addition to game-altering allegations, Donaghy's letter claims that many officialy carry on relationships with team exectutives, coaches and players that violate their NBA contracts. "Tim described one referee's use of a team's practice facility to exercise and another's frequent tennis matches with a team's coach," the letter states. The NBA has not commented on Donaghy's allegations. Donaghy's attorney and prosecutors also declined to comment to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Donaghy faces up to 33 months in prison."

I never read books, but his tell-all will definitely be a day 1 purchase

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 6:44 PM. Reason : x]

6/10/2008 6:41:18 PM

wow this is big

my friend is always insisting that the nba is fixed, I guess he was right

6/10/2008 7:39:37 PM

Quote :

"I never read books, but his tell-all will definitely be a day 1 purchase"

me too

6/10/2008 7:53:04 PM

2002 western conference finals.

Kings vs Lakers.

Game 6. anyone who watched that game new something was up. Which is why Vlade Divac told Chris Webber before being tossed that "they were going to give this game to LA"

seriously. i watched that game and wondered how the hell mike bibby's bleeding nose could possibly fouled kobe bryant's elbow.

dick bavetta, if i remember correctly, was the one making the shady calls that game.


seriously. it doesn't even burn to know about this now, it just makes sense.


V the LA-Sac series is the one mentioned in the document

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 8:10 PM. Reason : ]

6/10/2008 8:00:31 PM

how bout the most recent incident

game 2 of the 08 finals

6/10/2008 8:08:13 PM

Some games frequently cited by conspiracy theorists:

Quote :

"1999 - New York vs. Indiana, Game 3. Larry Johnson sinks a game-winning four-point play as the referees declare that he was fouled on a three point shot, even though the foul occurred long before he released the ball. The Knicks win 92-91. 1999 - New York vs. Indiana, Game 6. The Knicks receive almost every foul call during the fourth quarter, allowing them to finish the series at home and not have to go back to Indiana to play a Game 7. Final score 90-82 1999 - San Antonio vs. New York, Game 3. Down 2-0, the Knicks get every call in their first home game and win their only game of the series. Final score 89-81 2000 - New York vs. Miami, Game 7. With the Knicks down by less than a basket, Latrell Sprewell is awarded a timeout as he is falling out of bounds with 2.1 seconds left in the game. The clock stoppage allows New York to keep possession of the ball and eventually set up the game winning shot, allowing them to advance to the next round of the playoffs. After the game, Sprewell admits that he never called the timeout. Final score 83-82 2000 - Los Angeles vs. Portland, Game 7. LA shoots 21 more free throws than Portland, which allows them to rally back from a 17-point deficit in the final seven minutes. Shaquille O'Neal played illegal defense down the stretch, yet was never called for it. With 25 seconds left, and the Lakers only up by four, Shaq body-blocks Trailblazer Steve Smith so hard that he is knocked off the court, no foul is called. Final score 89-84 2002 - Boston vs. New Jersey, Game 4. Boston was up 2-1 but the Nets are allowed to push and shove Celtics Kenny Anderson and Paul Pierce throughout the game. Boston is also called for three offensive charging fouled at the end of the game, allowing New Jersey to tie up the series. Final score 94-92 2002 - Los Angeles vs. Sacramento, Game 6. This is considered by most people to be one of the worst officiated games of all-time. In the previous five games in the series, LA averaged 22 free throws a game. The team was awarded 27 free throws alone during the fourth quarter of game six. The refs ignored several blatant fouls committed by the Lakers, such as Kobe Bryant elbowing Sacramento King Mike Bibby in the face and bloodying his nose. This game prompted several sports columns around the country and incited Ralph Nader to write a letter to the NBA asking them to monitor the referees more closely. Los Angeles was allowed to stay alive and play a Game 7, where they eventually beat Sacramento. Final score of game 6: 106-102 2003 - Los Angeles vs. Minnesota, Game 4. In the middle of the 2003 season the NBA declared that the first round of the playoffs, which up until that point had been decided by a best of five series, would be extended to best of seven. This is considered by many to help the Lakers, as they had been playing poorly for most of the season and now the team that must face them needs to beat them four times instead of three and must play an extra game in Los Angeles. Minnesota killed the Lakers for most of the game, but as the second half progressed the officiating began to turn towards L.A and the team made a comeback. There was a 25-6 disparity in free throws awarded in the third and fourth quarters. Then, with 23 seconds left, Kobe Bryant was given a four-point play much like Larry Johnson in 1999. Kobe was given two more free throws on the Lakers final possession, but he missed one, sending the game into overtime where Minnesota was able to prevail 114-110. "

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1457311

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 8:13 PM. Reason : 2]

6/10/2008 8:13:18 PM

Quote :

"2000 - Los Angeles vs. Portland, Game 7. LA shoots 21 more free throws than Portland, which allows them to rally back from a 17-point deficit in the final seven minutes. Shaquille O'Neal played illegal defense down the stretch, yet was never called for it. With 25 seconds left, and the Lakers only up by four, Shaq body-blocks Trailblazer Steve Smith so hard that he is knocked off the court, no foul is called. Final score 89-84 "

&

Quote :

" 2002 - Los Angeles vs. Sacramento, Game 6. This is considered by most people to be one of the worst officiated games of all-time. In the previous five games in the series, LA averaged 22 free throws a game. The team was awarded 27 free throws alone during the fourth quarter of game six. The refs ignored several blatant fouls committed by the Lakers, such as Kobe Bryant elbowing Sacramento King Mike Bibby in the face and bloodying his nose. This game prompted several sports columns around the country and incited Ralph Nader to write a letter to the NBA asking them to monitor the referees more closely. Los Angeles was allowed to stay alive and play a Game 7, where they eventually beat Sacramento. Final score of game 6: 106-102"

No doubt in my mind these were "controlled from above" by the refs & NBA. I remember watching those games specifically and sitting there like damn, am I really seeing this live with my own eyes. But the allegation do not surprise me in the least, since I came to understand professional sports I knew there was unwritten rules to help the ratings, propel the stars, give and make certain calls. I just hate it when is so damn obvious. Chalk up as business.


III

6/10/2008 8:43:20 PM

They were talking on 850 this evening how the refs for tonight's game seemed custom picked to give the Lakers a win

6/10/2008 9:07:37 PM

Why do you all think it was such a big fuss when Joey Crawford took all that heat for giving Technicals to Tim "I never foul, who me?" Duncan???

Hell look at how Jordan, Malone, others were treated when crunch time came around.

6/10/2008 9:23:15 PM

The NBA has 2 major problems, which is why I don't enjoy it. 1, the stars are bigger then the game. When they are out, it isn't interesting. NFL star players get hurt all the time, game goes on.

The other problem is that the entire game is to controlled by ref opinions. They just have to much control over outcomes of games, the news after every nba series isn't the great play, but something about the refs. Just look after game 2, story was the refs not Celtics up 2-0.

Oh, in case anyone is wondering, it is only a few minutes into the second quarter and LA has shot 15 free throws, the Celtics have shot 2.

6/10/2008 9:46:46 PM

I vividly remembering the game LA had against Portland, when Rasheed was with Portland. That's the game where Kobe throws that ally oop to Shaq and shaq throws both hands up with his mouth wide open/eyes popping out of his head and points at Kobe after the made ally oop. Portland had that game in the bag, I mean in the bag. I don't care who you're playing against, for an upper echelon team to blow a 17 point 4th quarter Game 7 lead would have to be catastrophic, or a fix

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 10:35 PM. Reason : .]

6/10/2008 10:31:12 PM

this is interesting...

6/10/2008 10:37:37 PM

^^ Don't Forget Scottie Pippen was on that team. Portland was stacked to win that series and the title. 17 points and I swear it was only like 6-8 minutes at the most...I might even be generous in giving that time. Yeah a team makes a comeback, and a refs make bad calls...but seriously...for real though?


III

6/10/2008 11:56:38 PM

Yeah, but Pippen was worthless in Portland.

6/11/2008 2:24:11 AM

This makes me think of WWF... or WWE... I hate to think the sports I follow are scripted, that's one of the major reasons I've never like wrestling. They already know what's going to happen for the most part. But then again, I don't really like the NBA until the playoffs anyways. Hey, maybe Duke and UNC really do get calls. JK, we all know they do, there's no maybe

6/11/2008 3:30:14 AM

Quote :

"The other problem is that the entire game is to controlled by ref opinions. They just have to much control over outcomes of games"

seems like more of a problem with basketball in general, since there are so few players and one individual can have such a big impact on the game

6/11/2008 9:40:34 AM

NBA is apparently fixed, NFL championship teams are cheating, MLB players are using steroids... not a good atmosphere for professional sports right now

6/11/2008 10:35:11 AM

Quote :

"PackGuitar All American 2909 Posts user info ^this entire series is a conspiracy setup for the NBA 6/9/2008 4:23:46 PM "

6/11/2008 10:49:08 AM

^^i'll conveniently mention that there's not a lot of talk about any forms of cheating in hockey.

Yes, there was Rick Tocchet (sp?), but that was un-related gambling.

6/11/2008 11:03:19 AM

Quote :

"1999 - New York vs. Indiana, Game 3. 1999 - New York vs. Indiana, Game 6. 1999 - San Antonio vs. New York, Game 3. 2000 - New York vs. Miami, Game 7. 2000 - Los Angeles vs. Portland, Game 7. 2002 - Boston vs. New Jersey, Game 4. 2002 - Los Angeles vs. Sacramento, Game 6. 2003 - Los Angeles vs. Minnesota, Game 4. "

Let's see. Thats 4 unfairly called games in favor of New York, and 3 unfairly called games in favor of LA.

In other unrelated news NY and LA are the two largest market teams in the NBA.

6/11/2008 11:10:50 AM

^now sure how thats unrelated, but ok.

6/11/2008 11:22:56 AM

I find this w/ the NBA to be worse then baseball steriods and much worse then the Patriots.

At least with steriods it was exciting to watch at the time plus all players on all teams were doing it so it sorta balanced, and I've never really found the Patriots to be a big deal, because again it is something I think all teams did in one way or another.

I am officially done with the NBA. It isn't fun to watch, the stars are to big and the refs are crooked. GG.

6/11/2008 11:27:04 AM

if you just now realize that the refs are crooked in the NBA, then they're smarter than you.

6/11/2008 11:32:42 AM

i was watching espn when this news came out and everyone on there defended the NBA

can't we at least get some skepticism here people

i'm glad you guys have sense

6/11/2008 11:41:08 AM

Quote :

"if you just now realize that the refs are crooked in the NBA, then they're smarter than you."

Have always thought it, but this gives traction to actually believe it and not just be a crazy "conspiracy" person.

6/11/2008 11:55:15 AM

i hope you stop watching college basketball as well since its just as easy to fix basketball games on any level

"The game of basketball" happens to be the easiest sport to fix, at least out of the main sports...it has the least amount of players on the playing surface at a given time, and one individual player can make more of an impact than an individual in another sport (ie, football skill position players need offensive line blocking, etc)

I will be interested to see the people that always say "OMG UNC CONSPIRACY" in a sarcastic way implying that UNC never gets anything handed to them on the bball court would view this...is it still just a bunch of whiny State fans? Or is there actually a legitimate gripe...

6/11/2008 12:02:04 PM

^ after finally realizing just how much the refs can change games this season, my interest in college basketball has decreased significantly. I think the Paulus kick ball in the State game was the final straw for me

6/11/2008 12:07:41 PM

It all started to go downhill when traveling quit being enforced about 10-15 years ago.

If you can't enforce the fundamental rule which your game is based apon, how can you enforce the more complicated rules(and I use complicated loosely).

I can still watch college basketball because the collegiate atmosphere saves the sport. I still don't enjoy basketball, but I enjoy college sports in general.

6/11/2008 12:11:57 PM

haha if you dont enjoy basketball why were you watching the NBA in the first place (if the main/only reason you watch college bball is the atmosphere)

6/11/2008 12:12:51 PM

Quote :

"told not to eject stars"

Are we going to get told the sky is blue next?

Everyone knows the stars don't get ejected! I didn't know there was conspiracy theories about it, I thought it was just accepted as true. I remember back when the Bulls were at the peak of being "Kings of the NBA" with Jordan as the #1 American sports star, that Jordan and a bench player on another team both got in a fight with each other. Both swung punches for a few seconds before getting pulled apart. The bench player got ejected and Jordan just got a simple foul. It didn't even draw that much controversy. I remember ESPN talking about it back then and they rationalized it as "well...everyone came to see Jordan play."

Quote :

"i watched that game and wondered how the hell mike bibby's bleeding nose could possibly fouled kobe bryant's elbow."

LMAO.

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 12:36 PM. Reason : /]

6/11/2008 12:33:27 PM

just to play devil's advocate, what about Amare Stoudamire getting ejected and suspended during the Spurs Suns series last season?

6/11/2008 12:35:28 PM

Quote :

"now sure how thats unrelated, but ok. "

Knicks and Lakers winning = NBA makes a lot of money.

(Okay, I see you were just confirming him. But I'll spell it out more now for others that don't get it.)

Quote :

"i was watching espn when this news came out and everyone on there defended the NBA can't we at least get some skepticism here people"

Bill Simmons, where are you?

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 12:41 PM. Reason : /]

6/11/2008 12:40:05 PM

^I was saying it's not unrelated in any way... it's just obvious.

But you can't really expect ESPN as a whole to blow this story up as the NBA is their cash cow at this point.

6/11/2008 12:44:12 PM

We'll dust this off from a year ago: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070722

6/11/2008 12:55:10 PM

Wow this is pretty serious.....and I might actually care if this happened when NBA basketball was good. Honestly, I could care less about this

6/11/2008 1:42:19 PM

^you mean, couldn't care less?

6/11/2008 1:46:21 PM

I think you guys are putting way too much stock in the words of someone who is, essentially, a disgruntled employee.

6/11/2008 1:48:15 PM

^ If you took a poll of all NBA fans, a majority have always personally believed this before they even knew Tim Donaghy.

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 1:56 PM. Reason : /]

6/11/2008 1:55:44 PM

how is no one mentioning the Spurs-Suns game from 07? jesus christ that one was absurd.

6/11/2008 1:56:43 PM

Of course they believed it. A majority sports fans want to believe their teams lose for reasons other than being shitty. See: every NC State fan on this board.

6/11/2008 1:58:37 PM

^^I mentioned that in that game they actually did eject a superstar (Amare)

6/11/2008 1:59:55 PM

^^ Of course. But then there's other times where game-changing fouls get called in the Finals and the 3 replays can't even find a single instance where the defender touched the guy he supposedly fouled.

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 2:01 PM. Reason : /]

6/11/2008 2:01:02 PM

Quote :

"haha if you dont enjoy basketball why were you watching the NBA in the first place"

Because its sports and I'd rather watch sports then America Can Dance or some crap like that.

6/11/2008 2:49:41 PM

this is why i have never been interested in NBA.

6/11/2008 3:00:07 PM

2004 NCState @ UNC Football.


Game was refereed by Donaghy's brother's wife's cousin.

6/11/2008 4:47:58 PM

This is a great interview. It's with a professional gambler that bets on NBA and makes a living off the winnings. It's about the Donaghy scandal.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-308/A-Professional-Gambler-s-Take-on-the-Tim-Donaghy-Scandal.html

6/11/2008 9:06:16 PM

i (honestly) can't wait to hear rasheed wallace's comments, if stern doesn't tie him up and gag him first.

6/11/2008 9:30:23 PM