Full Court Press

I wonder if this has anything to do with that mysterious phantom call on Pippen against NY in the 1994 playoffs? Think about it??

Roman responds: What about MJ's non-push-off on Byron Russell?

I've watched a TON of NBA and have seen many unexplainable calls which allows a team to cover (or not). Depending on the extent of the details, this story can put the whole steroids debacle on page 3 for awhile.

I'm not surprised at all...I'm just surprised they caught someone.

How far up does this go? Bevetta? Stern? NBA on NBC?

Maybe its not just gambling, but also ratings fix??

The people will revolt against these corrupt leagues, if someone doesnt rain them in.

Baseball on steroids..now Golf!
NBA has the fix in...
NFL gone wild!

NASCAR.....is full of drunkdrivers

NHL is still has atlethes with mullets...

Suddenly the MLS isnt looking so bad....i like Becks...and Victoria....whos with me?

How far up does this go? Bevetta? Stern? NBA on NBC?

Maybe its not just gambling, but also ratings fix??

The people will revolt against these corrupt leagues, if someone doesnt reighn them in.

Baseball on steroids..now Golf!
NBA has the fix in...
NFL gone wild!

NASCAR.....is full of drunkdrivers

NHL still has atlethes with mullets...

Suddenly the MLS isnt looking so bad....i like Becks...and Victoria....whos with me?

Let's play guess the ref....I say Bavetta or possibly Joey Crawford

When they expose which referee was involved, every game he has ever called will be scrutinized. It will ask the question, "Who really deserved to win the game?" Do you then strip teams of their titles like how the NCAA handles cheating (ex. being what they did to Michigan and the Fab 5). Plus, you know that they are going to find out that professional players were involved. How deep will this rabbit hole go? Players could have "shaved" points in their series because of gambling.Lets be honest, both Jordan and Barkley have admitted to having gambling problems. This is all speculation, but it wouldn't shock me that they implicate some well known players.

Culzie, did you see "Victoria Beckham, Coming to America?" It was fantastic. I became a major fan when she said, "I wouldn't be caught dead in ballet flats."

The NBA has never been honest. I stopped watching the NBA when the Kings beat the Lakers but somehow the NBA and the refs allowed the Lakers to move on a win a crown. I really hope the NFL is legit because I don't want to give up on another sport and I feel the people that actually follow the NBA are simply fooling themselves. It is my opinion the NBA is struggling because of the games that are obviously fixed.

All I can say is that I am not surprised. I bet it happens alot though in College Basketball games. Yes, I am still fuming over Illinois loss to North Carolina in the championship game of 05. I still feel as if they took James Augustine out of the game to let Fat Sean May(the next Sweetney) have his day along with jagoff Roy Williams winning his first championship. Hmmm.....Sean May's dad was in the audience, he of the "won a championship 19 years ago on Indiana blah blah blah team". As the announcers kept yapping "wow wouldn't it be incredible for his son to win just like his dad" crap I realized Illinois would not be "allowed" to win that game.

Yeap, I bet it happens alot.

Tim Donaghy...he's the guy Rascheed Wallace nearly punched after a game and drew a long suspension.

Guess he's already resigned...this is HUGE.

I can see Wallace and Cuban waiting in line to get their fine money back.

No hat needed...it's been obvious for years....particularly in Football and Basketball...Ronnie Harmon's fumble, Irving Fryer's drops.....Gervin's kid point shaving...Heck, Da Bulls got away with murder... particularly at the expense of the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals....and let's not forget our darlings "The 9/11 New England Patriots"....I can go on for days...I thought it was obvious to everyone with sports knowledge....I'm embarrassed for 'em....

but not as embarrassed as I would be if I was caught watching Soccer...."Invented by Mom's to keep little boys from playing football!!"

and for the Gamblers....It's an even money bet right now Mike Vick misses between 9-12 games this year....and Vegas would know...

Crawford is an easy target, but I doubt it would be him. But God this does shed some light on a few odd games we fans have seen. I'm a die-hard Bulls fan--and this may sound strange--but I'm even angry when the opposing team gets cheap calls on them.

It saps the game. It seemed as though any time the Bulls were at home in a playoff series they got a ton of calls and vice-versa.

Since we are being co-conspirators and co-theorists in this dastardly deed, let’s play with the numbers.

30 NBA teams play 82 games per season which = 2460 total games.

************************************************************
One source close to the probe counted the number of games on which the ref and his wiseguy buddies scored windfalls in the "double digits."

************************************************************

The article states double digits for number of games comprise, which I will used the highest number possible - 99 games - at best.

Do the calculations and the best we get is 4.02% of games betted on this season or per season. What is the percentage of games you guys bet on, whether office pools or personal bets with friends or enemies? Do NOT TELL, the IRS will come after you for NOT paying TAXES on your winnings!

MAJOR QUESTION? Is the particular referee(s) named, betted and pass judgment only playoff games, the entire 82 game season or both? If so, are not referees teamed with the same group to get a feel for how each calls a game? Just like teammates a power forward know when to roll to the basket for the pass from the point guard for the lay-up or block out. Also, the center knows when the alley-oop pass is coming from the point guard or point forward. I know they have to talk about how bad or how they missed a call every once in a while. Now does the net widen and everyone has been cheated out of the thrill of watching and thinking there was true competition among their favorite team?

Coming full circle wouldn’t the other referees pick up on the alleged perpetrator (co-referee) bad calls SOME TIMES? And if they do not notice it are they now a part of the scheme or co-conspirators for not reporting the guy.

This James Bond 007 - Super Sleuth stuff is fascinating.

Bculzie if its Hugh Hollis - I am going to be pissed off to the highest level of pissivity! Who knows, it might just be a whole bunch of them working together. It makes sense. They have to get jealous of those players making all that money.

Roman responds: It's Tim Donaghy.

big deal. Let me know when games AREN'T fixed. That's a big story. Plus .....the New York Post..........seriously.....did it have a picture of Britney Spears' baby driving her mom home too?
or an Alien pregnant with Kevin James' baby?

Boy!... What is going on int the sports world now days? Seems like everytime I turn on the TV or my computer, there is some kind of scandal! Now an NBA ref is fixing games with mob connections? Between Vick's Dogfighting and this, it makes me anxious to hear some good news... Like Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record!

I used to ref small fry games, and my friend (other ref) and I would orchastrate the games so that they were always buzzer beaters. So that the kids (6-10yrs old) and their paretns would have some fun and they wouldnt be blow out no fun games.

It was easy to do.

could it be that some of the rules changes over the years made it easier for any ref to make calls to either keep a game close or help create a blow out? for instance... a player can put one forearm in the back of a player backing into the paint and lean every bit of his body weight on him BUT if he simply reaches out with both hands and touches the player on the back to maintain a certain distance between them that is a foul.....if you reach out and touch a player dribbling on the perimeter to help gauge and maintain a certain distance between you that is a foul...if you touch a player on the elbow as he releases a shot and it affects the shot (soley to the discretion of the ref's opinion) it's a foul....goal tending, was the ball still on the way up or on the way down? very subjective......does Kobe get one more step in the lane before traveling is called than the average player? did the player move his pivot foot prior to putting the ball on the floor or was it a simultaneous move? again very discretionary on many occasions. did a player have sole possession and call time out prior to being tied up for a jump ball? two players going after a loose ball inadvertently collide one player is knocked down...is the one left standing guilty of a foul or was it incidental contact and play should continue? do super stars get calls rookies don't? sure they do. should they? NO! you can make a case in any game that it was fixed by the ref's but are they all fixed? I doubt it very much. Hitman made reference to the Bulls getting away with murder at the expense of the Pacers in the eastern conference finals but as I recall Reggie Miller got away with a Jordanesc non-push off to get free and make a 3 to send that series to game 7. have games been fixed? to some degree I am sure some have but is it a widespread conspiracy? I believe if it was it would have been uncovered long ago.

thing on him too hard fouls" are a joke. As was the case with the 'Washington Madame', the hatchet won't stop here.

******************************************************************
NBA referee Tim Donaghy is under investigation by the FBI for allegations that he bet on games that he officiated over the past two seasons, and that he made calls affecting the point spread in games, multiple sources said. Where are these sources when the cheating is happening at that moment in time?

******************************************************************
I refer back to a previous post; can’t one referee tell when another is making blatant bad calls or a no call when violations occur? Come on guys it is not as though they are watching the game as the fans are, at least they are not supposed to be!
******************************************************************

The initial report indicated the crooked ref allegedly made calls
to manipulate the final score of the game at least 10 times.

HOUSE always WINS!

NOW THE MAJOR QUESTION - "Is this another Black Sox Scandal?" I doubt it, players make plenty of money nowadays! Referees make a decent pay yet simply a human being with faults. Hell, he would have done better asking Michael Jordan for a loan if that uptight for money! Okay, maybe not Mike, with his gambling butt!

See how human beings with the same faults and one is worth $300 million dollars and gambles; the other worth $300 thousand dollars whose gambles and now the mob got him by the cojones. The latter is now guilty of having a human frailty which some are practicing this activity in an office pool every sporting season. Try to put yourself in this guy place with your thirty thousand dollar salary! Do you feel the air squeezing from your lungs and now grasping at any hand that is thrown your way whether it is a decent one or a terrible one? You simply want to breathe for another day!

Life is a beautiful thing when able to make sound decisions every TIME you MAKE ONE! The guy screwed up! I won't hang him for it!

But if it were really that fixed, do you think that San Antonio and Detroit were at the top of the list of teams?

Wouldnt it be NY, Boston and LA in the finals every year?

Bavetta intentionally lost his race with Barkley because he bet against hisself. No way will that healthy guy lose to a pudge like Barkley. I knew then that I couldn't trust sports. Thanks Dick. You opened my eyes to cheating in sports way better than anything else in the last 100 years. Nyuk,nyuk.

Tim Donaghy just made Bonds and Vick very happy. They get moved to page 2 and 3.

Getting ready to start my 33rd year as a referee, it breaks my heart to bypass the 'gentlemans code' among refs and talk about another, but it's out there for all to see now. For years I've watched N.B.A. games religiously, and it doesn't happen often, but these OCCASIONS stick out like sore thumbs. That Bulls-Knicks game some papers were referring to was pushing for the OVER to cover, not the spread, DUH! The under/over is much easier to work than the game spread itself, but it seems Dumbaghy wasn't that smart, seing he was in for hundreds of thousands in the red. But anyone who thinks he was alone probably thinks Bonds was really the only one on steroids. Partnership is a strong bond, and a gambling addiction even stronger. College basketball play is the only true game left, and I'm not sure how squeeky clean that can be. Oh, and 'bculzie', if you would have "fixed" small fry games in my neighborhood, the PARENTS would have hung you from the light pole and let the kids play 'PINATA'. Keep it close but not to 'buzzer beater' status. That type of loss has a stronger effect on kids than you may realize.

Always felt the NBA refs controlled the outcome of games too much. Many questionable calls through the years. Wouldn't be surprised if more NBA refs are on the take. NBA lost its fantastic many years ago!Just another nail in the coffin as why I dislike the NBA.

Bculzie I agree. The whole game is not fixed. Just one or a few dirty refs. There is no way that the league would allow Boston or New York to go through what they have. Boston is downright painful to watch. And they definitely would have thrown Malone, Ewing and Barkely a bone.

Funny stuff wrd

It's funny how one of the things I hate most about the NBA is now coming back to kick them in the butt, and that is the horridly subjective nature of calls made by the referees.

The rules should be made clearer, first of all, and secondly they should be equally enforced on all players. Giving veteran players and stars more leeway than everyone else cheapens the game. Unfortunately, this insidious practice is creeping its' way into baseball now. Anyone notice how tight the strike zone gets when Lee or Bonds are up at the plate? This needs to be stopped yesterday.

I'd be a little surprised if umps never fixed baseball games. I've seen quite a few Cubs games where the home plate umpire's strike zone changed drastically depending on which team was at bat. All professional sports leagues need to begin paying closer attention to the referees. An obvious measure that I can't believe has not yet been taken would be to keep stats on officials as well as players, including columns for "blown calls against" and "blown calls for." That would make any foul play more transparent, as well as weeding out the officials who absolutely stink (and we all know there are many of these).

In addition, things that can be automated should be. I don't see why they don't have a machine call balls and strikes during baseball games. I can't imagine anything fairer than that, and it is certainly within our technological capabilities.

The NBA sucks so badly right now, with their asinine rule changes, stupid policies that turn mediocre players into stars (Shaq is the most obvious), and endless commercial breaks - I've already essentially stopped watching, and this just puts the cherry on top of the s**t pie.

Anthonny, you wouldnt have strung up nothing. I was a ref and a coach for 15 years. I was the most loved and favorite coach in the program. Parents loved me, kids, coaches. I coached Jeffy J, Little Pax, Little wennington, little cartwright, ALL OF THEM.

Your a nut job to pick out that one comment....dude....my point was It was easy for a ref to change the outcome of the game....but make it unnoticible...my point was to make it fun for the kids....I bet you were one of those dads that chased the refs out the gym cause your kid didnt get to put up 50 in a house league game......i hated dads like you!

I stuggle to watch NBA games start to finish for this very reason. More than any other sport professional basketball in the US is the one that sticks to the rules the least. Refs have been making questionable home team calls for years. If the Bulls are at home and trailing at halftime you know the third quarter is going to take forever because they are going to get all those flimsy calls going their way; vice versa if they're on the road and leading. It makes the games predictable, boring and it borders on theater rather than pure sport.

I would just like to see what would happen next season if the refs had Kobe on as short of a leash as Tyrus Thomas, or if Chauncey Billups and Raymond Felton had their games called the same way.

If anything, this goes to show that all the government's efforts to snuff out mob action in any capacity is about as effective as cortisone 10 on 1,000 bee stings.

I guess this is repulsive, saddening and shocking, but when you look at the biased calls of any NBA ref, mob gambling ties or not, it's not that shocking: They've been effecting the outcome of games for years.

Mr. bculzie. It's bad enough you can't spell, even worse you can't read either. It's easy for someone to jab at people in a blog all day long (A.K.A. bculzie), but it's even easier when they're out of state (A.K.A. bculzie). What I said was the "PARENTS" in my neighborhood would string you up; meaning they knew the game well enough to see someone take a learning process away from their kids, AND the neighborhood was tough. If you coached all who you said you did, then I'm sure the inner city might overwhelm you a little bit. I've coached softball, baseball, basketball, and football for over 30 yrs. besides refereeing those sports, and LEARNING and SPORTSMANSHIP were what I taught. You're (that's Y O U apostrophe R E} a nut job for taking my words out of context. As much time as you spend on these blogs I would think you'd be able to get it right by now. Anthony has one 'n' after the 'o', buzzer beaters are tougher on ANYONE that may have lost by 5 or 6 in an otherwise PROPERLY refereed "FUN GAME", and you can't be too good if you think refs can make it "unnoticeable" (that's U N N O T I C E A B L E). And last but not least, I respected referees the same way I wanted respect while in their position. You got all that?

David Stern's days are numbered as commisioner of the NBA.

It's no longer a matter of IF he will step down - it's a matter of WHEN.

Here's why.

If David Stern keeps his job, the NBA will have zero credibility.

Stern has often proclaimed that game-fixing has never happened in the NBA - at least not on his watch.

And now, with the Donaghy story, everyone knows otherwise.

So the question becomes very simple: Is Stern a liar, or is he incompetent? There are no other options here. He either KNEW that game-fixing was going on, and he lied about it - or he had no clue about game-fixing, in which case, he's incompetent.

Either way, David Stern has to go.

And either way, David Stern WILL go - or the NBA is dead.

Wait and see.

bculzie and Anthony - you're debate is interesting to me because it shows how cheating permeates every level of sports. I tend to agree with you on this one, Anthony, because as hard as it would be for a kid to lose a game, get trounced by the other team, I fail to see how a corrupt ref fixing the outcome is in any way a good thing. You weren't keeping the kids interested, Culzie, you were cheating. If the parents knew what you were up to, I doubt they would have held you in such high regard. Especially parents with those last names. Were there any kids who didn't get into the game who otherwise would have in a blowout? How about the lesson of good sportsmanship? Also I just find it a little off-putting to hear you go on about how awesome you think you are. Kids deserve better - they are smarter and more resilient than you think.

JohnS. Money!! On the money!!! I never understood why blantant errors were not considered the kiss of death. Too much tradition says that baseball and a lot of sports need umps and refs. Replays should let every guy know who is failing at his job. REplays are never wrong only the officials. It kills me to watch the NFL network on Monday and have the President of officials tell me some hot air excuse for what I watched a million times the day before. I kept hearing how the NFL needed full time jobs for refs so they can be better prepared to do their job. Doesn't NBA have full time officials? What good is it? I can make videos on my cell phone. Watch a full movie and extras play from a thin round metal wafer in a plastic box on a 7 inch screen that I can fold and put in a small pack. If technology is so superior than what we've had over the years who needs a ref/ump, but traditionalist. And as long as we pay athletes these astronomical salaries and have odds and betting,there will always be someone out there willing to level the field by giving some officials money to control the outcome of a game played by someone making 10 and 60 times what they make. Everyone that official encounter in the stadium are making vastly more money than they are. Wouldn't you want to get anything close to what the players are getting? Too bad the only way is by cheating. The athletes do so why shouldn't they feel compelled? Not saying it's right but...

...also for the record, it takes me about 20secs to post...how long does it take you?

Julie you are right, however there are times when as the coach, you see players/coaches/parents "stacking the deck", so you as a ref/coach/grownup have to level the playing field. It might not be fair, but its done THROUGHOUT sports. "America's" favorite team/player benefits from a biased call all the time. A "make-up" call in the NBA is nothing more than a way to balance things. A good coach does look to balance things out, and to get EVERY kid in the game. That is exactly what happens when a kid star gets taken out of the game. Everyone KNOWS he/she is the best player and should be out there most of the time. But in the interest of the BIG picture, sacrifices are made.

Culzie coming after Navarro was the best part of the exchange! PRICELESS! He sounded just like one of those angry parents! And when he was commenting on how much he is liked all I could think of was Will Farrell from Kicking and Screaming! Culzie is one of my favorite bloggers period.

Cheating would be if I were taking odds that little Johnny would cover the spread (or the over, which woulda been around 15pts.)

No, sorry Julie, I wasnt cheating, I was creating excitement in a sport at an age in kids when they had NO IDEA how exciting this game could be.

Feel free to ask more questions, before you level such harsh criticism next time.

Ive spent more time on a bball court than most of you combined, so dont tell me how to do my job, I dont come to McDonalds and tell you how to flip burgers do i?

I started an inner city meets suburban overnight camp. I played for NEIU, and coached kids so hard core & knew basketball at such a young age that they thought you were cheating them, they would string you up themselves, forget the parents.

See, I didnt say I always finessed games to be buzzer beaters on every level, but rather, when we would coach 15-20 games on a sunday between 3 kids out of 10 who could dribble more than four times without traveling, and we could barely keep them from going to the pop machine, let alone stay focused on plays and dribbling...etc....point is, i dont even have to explain myself mr guns of navaro, i just simply told you a little story about a time when my other house league refs and i would make it fun for the kids, to show you how little it takes to shape the outcome of a game. You know a little out of bounds here, a little jump ball there, i mean, i coulda called traveling and a foul on every play. If you had kids in a house league game, or ever sat around and watched a sunday full of 6 year olds trying to figure out how to put a jersey on and which way to go, youd actually have appreciated me. Gaurantee it.

Oh yeah, weird how someone who posts in a blog, thinks its an insult, to insult someone for posting in that same blog. Since when is it a bad thing to post in this blog? It takes about 10 minutes out of my day. Not sure how long it takes you to type out your posts, but for me, not that long.

Oh, and screw spelling, weve already covered that, there is no spell check here, I could care less, you can figure it out, try to attack my points next time and not my style of typing

You made no original points, you said things that others have already said, you are a parrot. At least WRD thinks for himself!

BDOG!

MJ was the biggest cheater in the game lady.

Go read his own book. He said, he would cheat, steal and lie to win.

See his hand check on Byron Russle if you have any question, also, he never came to watch, but Johnny Pax did. He was there every sunday and his boy was one of those kids that would shoot every time down the floor, regardless of score or other kids on the team. You tell me, who was the sportsman here!

Roman responds: What do you mean, he never came to watch? And whose boy? What are you talking about?