The one thing the NBA wishes would go away...

[westkoast]

ESPN is retarded.  They asked him the same day the information came out if any feds asked him about it?   The investigation that DB is talking about, the same one Reality is referencing, was done last summer BEFORE this information came out.  So you can't say the investigation sucked, like Reality did, because they didn't contact him about a specific game during the investigation PRIOR to the information coming out.  Not everyone has a magical crystal ball like you.

Oh westkoast . . . this may hurt a little . . .

The information released yesterday was released in a public letter that Donaghy's attorney released in response to the NBA's demand that Donaghy pay $1 million for restitution. The letter DID NOT release new information. Everything the letter contained came from Donaghy's accounts to federal investigators. Donaghy first said these things months and months ago; they were made public YESTERDAY. Thus the significance of Reality's post: The supposed federal and NBA investigations into Donaghy's months-old allegations about Game 6 DID NOT include even a phone call to one of the two referees accused of fixing the game.

Why would it hurt?  The investigation was over either way.  This information came after it was finished.  The million dollar demand came after the investigation was wrapped up in the summer because they wanted him to pay for it.    Of course the investigation didn't include it.  How could it?     Why would you expect the case to be re-opened in a month and have people back on the case?  This is the federal government we are talking about here. 

[JoMal]

ESPN is retarded.  They asked him the same day the information came out if any feds asked him about it?   The investigation that DB is talking about, the same one Reality is referencing, was done last summer BEFORE this information came out.  So you can't say the investigation sucked, like Reality did, because they didn't contact him about a specific game during the investigation PRIOR to the information coming out.  Not everyone has a magical crystal ball like you.

Oh westkoast . . . this may hurt a little . . .

The information released yesterday was released in a public letter that Donaghy's attorney released in response to the NBA's demand that Donaghy pay $1 million for restitution. The letter DID NOT release new information. Everything the letter contained came from Donaghy's accounts to federal investigators. Donaghy first said these things months and months ago; they were made public YESTERDAY. Thus the significance of Reality's post: The supposed federal and NBA investigations into Donaghy's months-old allegations about Game 6 DID NOT include even a phone call to one of the two referees accused of fixing the game.

Why would it hurt?  The investigation was over either way.  This information came after it was finished.  The million dollar demand came after the investigation was wrapped up in the summer because they wanted him to pay for it.    Of course the investigation didn't include it.  How could it?     Why would you expect the case to be re-opened in a month and have people back on the case?  This is the federal government we are talking about here. 

OMG!!! Who is the retard here?

The information came from the feds investigation of Donaghy months ago, back when they were supposed to contact those referees, like Delaney, mentioned by Donaghy as being in games like the 2002 playoff game. Later, the League thought it would recoop - and punish - Donaghy more by making him pay the League restitution for the cost of the investigation. They never needed a pittance like a million bucks, so it was strictly to further punish Donaghy. Donaghy and his lawyers retaliated by RELEASING exerpts from the investigation never made public. Such as that the feds knew about the 2002 playoff game allegations, which refs worked it, and apparently, according to Delaney, never followed up on it by asking him any questions about it. You know, Reality's alligation?

[Joe Vancil]

Wow.

I just don't see how anyone could not understand the timeline of this whole incident, and why it shows the incompetence of either the government investigators, the NBA, or both.

1) Donaghy arrested
2) Donaghy tells government about Sac/LA game
3) Feds and/or NBA investigate game
4) Referees contacted - but according to referee, this contact never happened
5) Conclusions reached by NBA and Feds
6) NBA sets monetary damage penaly for Donaghy
7) Donaghy lawyer releases information that Donaghy revealed in step 2
Referee says step 4 never happened

The conclusions were reached BEFORE the people in question were contacted.  That's a corrupt investigation.

There's no question that Donaghy is a scum-bag, but the more that is revealed, the more the Feds and the NBA look like scum-bags as well.


I actually defended the Kobe foul in game 6 as being accidental.  At the time, Skander was absolutely livid about the play, and it was that one play that most turned him from a casual Bryant supporter to a Bryant critic.  I remember HIM talking about how corrupt he thought the officiating was for that particular game.  If there is anyone who hates admitting that Skander is probably right on a controversial topic, it's me, but from the looks of things right now, SKANDER WAS PROBABLY RIGHT.

If I'm some of the folks who got fined by the NBA for criticizing officials, I'm starting to consider filing a lawsuit - especially if I'm no longer on the league payroll.

Scot Pollard's reaction - "I knew it" - was also telling.  It now becomes a question of how soon a player decides the Players Union and the League Office are the wrong venue for appeals for fines, and how soon it becomes the legal system.

In my opinion, Donaghy's arrest has now turned into just the tip of the iceberg that so many folks have always suspected was lurking just beneath the surface.

Stern promised more visibility about what was being done with officiating.  Did any of you see a sign of it, other than perhaps the admission that the officials made errors on the Fisher non-call and the Pistons shot-clock, both of which resulted in NO ACTION in response?  My reaction is, "And that's it?"

I think this incident goes to show the ugliness that NBA officiating has devolved into.

[JoMal]

Joe -

I don't think you meant to say that Kobe's foul on Bibby was intentional, just poorly judged by the refs in that game. But at that point of the game, it would not surprise me to think that Kobe thought he could get away with more aggressive play because the referees were starting to call the game in the Laker's favor.

As I said earlier, since that game six back in 2002, my enthusiasm for NBA basketball has gone down considerably. This latest revelation made by Donaghy is not going to improve my opinion. But what I HAVE noticed is, compared to back then, when most people made the same judgement and observation as you stated YOU had - the Kings are a bunch of whinners and Shaq started calling them "the Queens" and everyone got the joke on Sacramento by following his lead. Now, every newspaper in the country is carrying this allegation and the ramifications it may have on the League. The fallout, in other words, is six years too late for us here in Sacramento, but maybe the League will get the scrutiny it deserves because of this and the 2002 game six fiasco will be brought up again and again every time something questionable happens on the court.

Stern can argue that the League is clean all he wants, but that tarnish is not going to leave his beloved NBA for some time now.   

[Joe Vancil]

JoMal,

No, I used the word "intentional," and that's exactly the word I meant.  I argued that Kobe's foul was incidental;  Skander argued that it was pre-meditated and done explicitly on purpose.  If the refereeing was corrupt - and it appears that that's a distinct possibility, a smart player WOULD have fouled on purpose.

[Reality]

Update:
Although the information is incomplete, investigators suggest Donaghy proved successful at picking winners a staggering 80 percent of the time.

Sources said the FBI, which discovered and alerted the NBA to the gambling scheme, found Donaghy's information credible, though it didn't lead to indictments against additional refs or anyone else affiliated with the league.
Stern has dismissed Donaghy's allegations as "baseless,"...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3603039
 

[WayOutWest]

From the same article:

"Presumably, the league is banking on the Pedowitz Report to confirm the point that Donaghy was a lone operator and that no other officials engaged in criminal activity or compromised the league's credibility.

League sources told ESPN.com that Pedowitz is expected to make public his report before the Oct. 28 start of the regular season, perhaps within the next two weeks. Pedowitz did not return a call seeking comment.

When Donaghy was sentenced in late July, Pedowitz said he would require additional time to gather information before publicly releasing his findings or recommendations. Pedowitz is reported to have interviewed every current league referee, though Donaghy himself has declined requests to speak with him."

[Reality]

^^ the league sponsored Pedowitz Report.
Don't be a sheep.  You know this report will be a joke.  A bigger one then MLBs Mitchell Report and the congressional **hearings** on steroids.

From the same article:  "named after former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz, whom the league commissioned to conduct the study."

[WayOutWest]

^^ the league sponsored Pedowitz Report.
Don't be a sheep.  You know this report will be a joke.  A bigger one then MLBs Mitchell Report and the congressional **hearings** on steroids.

From the same article:  "named after former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz, whom the league commissioned to conduct the study."

Who's the sheep? 

You want to take the word of a guy who's been PROVEN to be dishonest?  The report is supposed to be independant, it's sponsered by the NBA but nobody from the NBA is involved in the actual investigation.  That's as good as it's going to get unless you were in the room when it all went down. 

[Reality]

baaaah baaa

[WayOutWest]

baaaah baaa

Finally, the most intelligent thought from you to date!  Woohoo!  YOUR BEST POST EVER!

[Reality]

baaaah baaa

Finally, the most intelligent thought from you to date!  Woohoo!  YOUR BEST POST EVER!

baaaa baaaaah
Pedowitz says it was only Donaghy.  Donaghy acted alone. 

82% and counting donot believe this b.s. 

ESPN poll.

[jemagee]

They voted in an ESPN poll thus immediately losing all credibility and believability.

Yeah, I know, it's hard, but true.

[Reality]

Golden earings designate Sterns marking as Laker Sheep

AP
NEW YORK  A long-awaited independent report on the actions of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy concluded on Thursday that the convicted ref was the sole culprit in an illicit betting scandal.  But investigators did not see all the phone records that led federal officials to suspect that the scandal spread beyond Donaghy, FOXNews.com has learned.
The crooked ref's repeated phone calls to a second referee were reported on FOXNews.com on July 14.

The 133-page report on the 14-month investigation, which was headed by former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz, calls for the creation of a "culture of compliance" and closer monitoring of games for suspicious activity. The report shows that the league's investigators conducted more than 200 interviews with referees and team and league personnel.

The report details several facts that were included in FOXNew.com's exclusive findings:

 Donaghy placed 134 calls to a second referee, Scott Foster, between October 2006 and April 2007;

 Many of these calls lasted no longer than two minutes;

? Many of these calls were placed in the hours before or after games; and on a few days, Donaghy's calls to Foster were close in time to calls Donaghy made to Thomas Martino, the "middleman" who passed along the referee's betting picks to professional gamblers. Martino was sentenced to 12 months in prison for his role in Donaghy's scheme.

But in coming to its conclusions, the investigators neglected to obtain a complete set of Donaghy's phone records.

During the course of the 2006-2007 season, court documents and phone records obtained by FOXNews.com show Donaghy placed 134 calls to Foster, 10 times more calls than made to any other referee.

To address why so many short calls could show up on the records, the report stated: "Foster told us that he frequently calls other referees and either hangs up when the call goes to voicemail or leaves a short voicemail message, and that other referees do the same when calling Foster."

The report stated that Foster's cell phone service provides records of all the calls that were dialed, regardless of whether the calls were actually answered ? meaning it's impossible to tell if Donaghy actually spoke to Foster when he called or if Donaghy just left numerous voice messages. "If the phone rings five or six times and the caller then leaves a message, it is likely that the call will last over one minute and will be recorded as a two-minute call," the report stated.

But law enforcement sources close to the case say told FOXNews.com that this isn't true ? these calls did not go to voicemail. They said Foster answered the phone when Donaghy called.

The Pedowitz report also found that referees broke league rules involving casino gambling, but none of their activities reached the criminal level.

In a conference call with the media Thursday afternoon, NBA commissioner David Stern said, "On the first day we met with the FBI they told us that Donaghy was the only one they had illegal activity concern with, but they did say there were referees that were violating our rule that they had that information as well from Donaghy. I think the Pedowitz report confirms both of those points."

But sources told FOXNews.com that the FBI never told the NBA that Donaghy was the only referee involved in criminal activity. In fact, at the time of this first meeting with Stern, sources said, the FBI was investigating multiple referees, all of whom appeared in Donaghy's phone records.

[jemagee]

The Salt Lake Tribune had some things to say about Dick Bavetta...

Don't know how many of you combed through the Pedowitz report today - - it's actually highly readable - - but Kurt Kragthorpe and I read it separately and both came to the same conclusion. For a report hoping to enhance the credibility of NBA referees, it achieved the opposite by practically indicting Dick Bavetta. Bavetta is arguably the NBA's highest-profile (and definitely most genial) referee, someone who has worked 2,200 games in 33 seasons. Although the report said Bavetta was praised by coaches and team officials for being a good communicator, he was painted as a controversial figure among his fellow referees. Salt Lake Tribune

"A number of referees told us that they believe Bavetta is highly conscious of how he is viewed and wants to be liked by everyone, including team personnel," the report said. "Some referees are clearly put off by what they describe as antics and his hugging and kissing of team personnel." "A few ex-referees," the report added, "including those who have held or hold supervisory positions with the NBA, used harsher words to describe Bavetta's style, suggesting that his play calling at times reflects an effort to keep games close or to ingratiate himself with a team." Salt Lake Tribune