Game fixing - fouls?

[Bart]

This story shouldn't come as a shock to Caste Football members.


http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8231176/Report:-Donaghy-s ays-refs-fixed-playoff-series
The Tim Donaghy scandal just got more serious.





The disgraced former NBA referee told authorities in a four-page letter released Tuesday that two officials conspired to fix the outcome of a 2002 playoff series and influenced several other post- and regular-season games.


Court documents filed by Donaghy's lawyer detailed the "inner-workings" of a plot in which top league executives used referees to manipulate the games. Donaghy claims two referees were "company men" whose job was to extend a playoff series in 2002 to a seventh game.


The documents did not name the series, but the Lakers-Kings Western Conference finals was the only series in 2002 that went to a seventh game, with the Lakers winning both Game 6 and 7 to reach the NBA Finals.


"Personal fouls (resulting in obviously injured players) were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees," the document says of the unnamed series. "Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities to Team 6."


Two players from Team 5 fouled out in the game, the document said, and the "referees' favoring of Team 6 led to that team's victory that night." Team 6 also went on to win Game 7 of the series, according to the document.


The Lakers trailed the Kings three games to two in 2002 when Los Angeles rallied to win each of the final two games and eventually went on win the NBA championship. Key Kings big men Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard both fouled out in Game 6.


Shaquille O'Neal scored 41 points and pulled down 17 rebounds against the Kings in Game 6, and drew most of the fouls that sent Divac and Pollard out of the game.


"Our big guys get 20 fouls tonight and Shaq gets four? You tell me how the game went," Kings coach Rick Adelman said after the game, according to SportsTicker. "It's just the way it is. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called."


(snip)Edited by: Bart

 

[jaxvid]

WOW, let the conspiracy theories fly. That's some serious stuff.

 

[guest301]

We have had many posters on here(including myself) that have complained about the outcome of that Lakers/Kings series in 2002 and all the shenanigans going on during game 6. I hope this explodes in the NBA's face and brings them down. Fans have a right to expect fairly officiated games and if this proves to be true, the NBA is in for a world of hurt on this one.

 

[Guest]

Ah, Lakers-Kings 02. My introduction to shady NBA games.

 

[KG2422]

I thought the Mavs-Heat Finals was bogus too. David Stern was hanging out with the Heat owner on his yacht. I don't think it was innocent. I also think it had a lot to do with making Wade a superstar with all of those phantom calls and preventing a certain German from becoming as big of one.

 

[guest301]

I thought the Mavs-Heat Finals was bogus too. David Stern was hanging out with the Heat owner on his yacht. I don't think it was innocent. I also think it had a lot to do with making Wade a superstar with all of those phantom calls and preventing a certain German from becoming as big of one.

Bingo! Making Wade a star and the second coming of Kobe as well as giving a old Shaq his last hurrah was the objective of that series. Dirk and the Mavs were screwed.

 

[Don Wassall]

The AP article by Brian Mahoney linked below is nothing but an illustration of "circling the wagons"type propaganda. Not one person quoted gives Donaghy's charges any credibility, even though just last week the league said he had been "completely honest" about his role in betting on games. And the word "conspiracy" is ominously bandied about to further discourage dissent from Mahoney's angle, yet such a crime would by nature have to be a conspiracy. Further, conspiracy charges are routinely added to many criminal complaints involving more than one person.


Scot Pollard is featured in the article, not because he was the star of the '02 Kings --he was only a popular "overachieving" backup -- but because he echoes the party line that the '02 Kings-Lakers series couldn't possibly have been fixed.


This whole story is being way underplayed by the media (again). It should be a huge story. Maybe if Roger Clemens or Brittany Speers can be worked into it somehow. . .
<H1>Disgraced NBA referee Donaghy's presence lingers over finals, but players don't believe him</H1>


http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/19799894.html?locat ion_refer=SportsEdited by: Don Wassall

 

[White Shogun]

Disgraced NBA referee Donaghy's presence lingers over finals, but players don't believe him

No, they don't believe him but they and their coaches constantly bitch and moan about the bad calls. In other words, the refs are either supremely incompetent or they're corrupt. I'm not sure which is worse. Either one is enough for me to turn the channel on the NBA. Edited by: White Shogun

 

[bigunreal]

It's great to see someone like Donaghy come forward and admit the obvious. When you give someone the power to control the number of easy shots (free throws) each team gets during a given game, and they routinely give one team 20+ more opportunities than the other team, it's almost impossible for the team with that many more free throws to lose. Now we just need an NFL referee to speak out publicly about their games being fixed.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

This is great news for me. The Lakers were not champions in 2002 or in anyones mind that has any brains. They had the championship trophy literally gift wrapped for them by having not one, but two games given to the them.

How can anybody actually not believe Donaghy? The officiating was so bad it literally resulted in about a 30-40 point swing between both games 4? and 6 of that series. Officiating can't be that bad unless something fishy was going on. If David Stern had any guts he would have suspended all the officials officiating the first ridiculously called game pending an investigation...But Stern is what he is- he is a tyrant a fool and a narcissist who also took away a possible championship from Steve Nash and the Suns last playoffs.

I mean what does Donaghy have to lose at this point, he is up against serious federal charges. I 100% believe his very credible story! The NBA sucks!Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[Kaptain]

No question game-fixing was going on. Donaghy just affirmed what I already knew. Even Ralph Nader has said the games were fixed. The worst IMO was the Bulls wins over the Jazz. No way were they going to let the Jazz beat Michael Jordan.

 

[Don Wassall]

Donaghy book canceled over liability
<CITE =source sizset="16" sizcache="8"></CITE>
<CITE =source sizset="16" sizcache="8">By Sam Alipour
ESPN The Magazine
Archive | Contact</CITE>


Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's tell-all book has been canceled by Triumph Books and parent company Random House, the publisher said.


"Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA" was slated for publication later this month. The book was to have covered Donaghy's experience as an NBA referee and the events leading up to his conviction on federal wire fraud charges.


During the process of editing and vetting the manuscript, which Triumph received from Donaghy in the spring, Random House and its imprint made the joint decision to cancel the book out of "concerns over potential liability," according to an e-mail from a Triumph representative.


Pat Berdan, a senior consultant at Executive Prison Consultants and Donaghy's liaison to the publisher, said that the decision not to publish the book came two weeks ago. He said it was the result of a threat of legal action by the NBA.





"Somehow, the NBA got wind of the project and let Random House know in a threatening-type correspondence that they would object to the publication of such a book and they threatened that they would sue if they did go ahead and do that," said Berdan, who didn't see any letters from the NBA. "Random House considered that and ... just pulled the plug on it."





"The NBA never threatened a lawsuit or anything else," NBA vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank wrote in an e-mail to ESPN.com.





Berdan said the book was vetted, including one final look by a senior attorney from Random House, and was ready to go to press when the company decided not to publish the book.





"Our supposition is that they became aware that the book is coming," Berdan said. "The major houses knew the book was coming. So it's conceivable that the NBA found out the book was forthcoming and it was a reaction to the general information. There's no question that they have a certain degree of contempt toward Donaghy."


The NBA was aware of the book but had not received or reviewed a copy.





Berdan said there is "legitimate interest" from five publishers to continue with the book.





Donaghy, 42, remains behind bars for a probation violation following his 15-month prison sentence.


A New York judge sentenced Donaghy last year after the referee said he took thousands of dollars from a professional gambler in exchange for inside tips on NBA games -- including games he worked.


Court papers say Donaghy began placing bets on NBA games in 2003. He gave gambling associates sensitive information, including which crews would officiate games and how the various officials and players interacted.


His actions "compromised his objectivity as a referee because of his personal financial interest in the outcome of NBA games," the government said.


Donaghy said in a court filing that the league routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results, while discouraging them from calling technical fouls on star players.


Commissioner David Stern has called Donaghy's allegations "baseless," saying he tried to implicate others to secure a lighter sentence.


Donaghy said he took part in the betting operation because he was a gambling addict.


He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce in the tips-for-payoffs scheme.


He was released from a federal prison in Pensacola, Fla., to a halfway house in June. He was scheduled for release on Oct. 24.


But Donaghy was sent back to prison in August when he was accused of violating his federal probation by not showing up for work, the U.S. Marshals Service said. His lawyer said it was all a misunderstanding.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4603209

 

[j41181]

I smell a dirty cover-up!

 

[jaxvid]

Donaghy said in a court filing that the league routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results, while discouraging them from calling technical fouls on star players.

There's the caste system right there! Foul on the white guys, free passes on the black guys. No wonder the NBA is covering it up. I don't know why anyone would torture themselves watching an NBA game when the outcome is effected in this manner?

 

[Don Wassall]

Deadspin seems to be the only outlet interested in Donaghy's book andhis claims in it. Granted he isn't the most credible witness but he's an insider whose charges should be closely and openly examined. The media and NBA should be all over any claims of dishonest officiating, but Donaghy'sgame-fixing has been downplayed from the beginning by the media, and now the NBA says it will investigate the charges made by Donaghy. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse. A few relevant links:

The Book the NBA Doesn't Want You to Read
http://deadspin.com/5392030/the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read?skyline=true&amp;s=x

Excerpts from the Book the NBA Doesn't Want You to Read
http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read?skyline=true&amp;s=x

NBA Will Review Allegations in Donaghy Book It Sought to Quash
http://deadspin.com/5392987/nba-will-review-allegations-in-donaghy-book-it-sought-to-quash