Tim Donaghy, an ex-NBA-ref, has stated that many aspects of the NBA are fixed. Specifically, he points to the 2002 Western Conference finals between the Lakers and the Kings. He states that the series was fixed so that it went all 7 games and to ensure that the Lakers reached the finals.
I'm not going to comment on whether or not these allegations are true, but I can say that out of all the professional sports (PGA, PBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), I could definitely see the NBA being fixed. The interest in the NBA has declined significantly, ever since Michael Jordan left (for the first time). I know I haven't been into basketball since he has left, and I know many others who feel the same way.
It's obvious the NBA wants more and more people to watch, so it could be in their favor to pick which teams could be used to maximize profits. Not saying this is actually happening, but I could see it as a true statement.
It's nothing more than a conspiracy theory with absolutely zero tangible, empirical evidence. But it's fun and interesting to think about 
It is quite odd the Lakers got Gasol for nothing and the Celtics got Garnett, Allen, and Posey for nothing. Even more odd these two teams, of which have a legendary match up history dating back to the glory days of the NBA, end up in the Finals now going to a Game 6. And in this Finals match up the refs have been insanely lopsided on their calls toward the home teams.
Like I said, none of this has weight. Perhaps they're just coincidences and the refs really are just calling the games as they are. I don't see it being true based on the evidence at hand (which is pretty much not present), but I wouldn't put it past Stern to be behind this even if it's unlikely. The NBA is, after all, a profit-desiring entertainment business...and we all know greed is extremely present today. Hes obviously just doin this to try to save himself. Its the perfect idea for him to do. He has nothing to lose, and he doesnt need any evidence whatsoever. Just the fact that the idea is now planted in peoples minds, theyll start seeing phantom false calls all over the place. The fact is that he was only able to come up with one game that the calls were all messed up, and this is in the history of the game. If u question the integrity of the referees as a whole, then the sport loses its meanin and has absolutely no point.
| scherkids wrote: |
| Hes obviously just doin this to try to save himself. Its the perfect idea for him to do. He has nothing to lose, and he doesnt need any evidence whatsoever. Just the fact that the idea is now planted in peoples minds, theyll start seeing phantom false calls all over the place. The fact is that he was only able to come up with one game that the calls were all messed up, and this is in the history of the game. If u question the integrity of the referees as a whole, then the sport loses its meanin and has absolutely no point. |
Saving himself? There is no saving himself. He's done for regardless of what deep dark secrets he comes forth with.
The fact of the matter is that the NBA is in decline. It's losing popularity very, VERY quickly. Those in charge of the NBA would probably stop and nothing to make it likable again. Not saying the NBA is fixed, but I can tell you this matchup between the Celtics and Lakers will NOT make the NBA popular again.
They are going to have to try harder...Well, I watched the game in question (Kings vs. Lakers game 6) and I have this to say. I would like to believe the NBA isn't fixed....I am a huge basketball fan. I'd like to believe in the integrity of the game and the officials. And basketball is a hard game to officiate......However, if this game wasn't fixed.....it was one of the most AWFUL display of officiating of any game anywhere. I think the fact that Tim Donaghy picked this one game out of a a multitude of other poorly officiated games, is going to plant doubt in people's mind, because if it wasn't fixed, that was the CLOSEST thing to a fixed game I have ever seen. Regardless of how hard it is to officiate a game, pretty much EVERY call in the fourth quarter....(Lakers went to the line almost 30 times in the 4th quarter alone.....Kings maybe 6 or 7), traveling calls (or non traveling if it was the Lakers) out of bounds calls, pretty much everything went against the Kings in the 4th quarter......and there were also a TON of non calls when there was obvious contact when the Kings took it to the hoop....got knocked down and no call. And then on the other end....a King would jump for a block, whiff on everything, and get called for a foul. The obvious inconsistency is what made that game appear fixed. I hope the NBA is forced to do SOMETHING because of this allegation, because if they are forced to improve officiating, something positive can come of this mess. I mean, in closing think about this....a ref (Joey Crawford) who last year was suspended for giving Tim Duncan of the Spurs a 'T' for laughing on the bench and then challenging Tim Duncan to fight....was assigned to work a Spurs game in the playoffs. In that game, Brent Barry drew a foul on the last play of the game, a foul which would have given the Spurs a chance to tie the game against the Lakers. Crawford looked at the play......shook his head 'No' and let the foul go....the NBA later admitted a foul should have been called. Even if there is nothing to the perception that Crawford doesn't like the Spurs, the NBA should have avoided even the perception and not assigned Crawford to work a Spurs playoff game. It just doesn't look good!!
| scherkids wrote: |
| Hes obviously just doin this to try to save himself. Its the perfect idea for him to do. He has nothing to lose, and he doesnt need any evidence whatsoever. Just the fact that the idea is now planted in peoples minds, theyll start seeing phantom false calls all over the place. The fact is that he was only able to come up with one game that the calls were all messed up, and this is in the history of the game. If u question the integrity of the referees as a whole, then the sport loses its meanin and has absolutely no point. |
I complete agree with your statement. Tim Donaghy has already pleaded guilty. Now on the verge of being sentenced, he is doing anything he can to shorten his term. Donaghy has already turned himself on his ex-colleagues and provided the perfect solution to give himself less jail time. The Kings-Lakers series, in many eyes of the Kings fans, was that they were robbed of their championship opportunity. As a Laker fan, I agree that the Kings were the better overall team and played with more heart, and perhaps this was their only shot at a possible title. But no, Donaghy had to explicitly point to this particular game as the one being fixed. Under no circumstances has this been proven true by Donaghy or the NBA, and there will not be a solution to this allegation unless the FBI heavily investigates the three officials who worked that game. Bavetta, Delaney, and somebody else.. | Alaskacameradude wrote: |
| Well, I watched the game in question (Kings vs. Lakers game 6) and I have this to say. I would like to believe the NBA isn't fixed....I am a huge basketball fan. I'd like to believe in the integrity of the game and the officials. And basketball is a hard game to officiate......However, if this game wasn't fixed.....it was one of the most AWFUL display of officiating of any game anywhere. I think the fact that Tim Donaghy picked this one game out of a a multitude of other poorly officiated games, is going to plant doubt in people's mind, because if it wasn't fixed, that was the CLOSEST thing to a fixed game I have ever seen. Regardless of how hard it is to officiate a game, pretty much EVERY call in the fourth quarter....(Lakers went to the line almost 30 times in the 4th quarter alone.....Kings maybe 6 or 7), traveling calls (or non traveling if it was the Lakers) out of bounds calls, pretty much everything went against the Kings in the 4th quarter......and there were also a TON of non calls when there was obvious contact when the Kings took it to the hoop....got knocked down and no call. And then on the other end....a King would jump for a block, whiff on everything, and get called for a foul. The obvious inconsistency is what made that game appear fixed. I hope the NBA is forced to do SOMETHING because of this allegation, because if they are forced to improve officiating, something positive can come of this mess. I mean, in closing think about this....a ref (Joey Crawford) who last year was suspended for giving Tim Duncan of the Spurs a 'T' for laughing on the bench and then challenging Tim Duncan to fight....was assigned to work a Spurs game in the playoffs. In that game, Brent Barry drew a foul on the last play of the game, a foul which would have given the Spurs a chance to tie the game against the Lakers. Crawford looked at the play......shook his head 'No' and let the foul go....the NBA later admitted a foul should have been called. Even if there is nothing to the perception that Crawford doesn't like the Spurs, the NBA should have avoided even the perception and not assigned Crawford to work a Spurs playoff game. It just doesn't look good!! |
Maybe they assigned this ref for ratings. It creates controversy, and gets people talking (even though it's very, very negative talk). Like I said, a majority of people couldn't care less about this decreasingly popular sport, and this may even make it decline further.
While it may be a tough sport to officiate, it isn't too tough to be consistent. If it is a foul for one team, then it should be a foul for the other team. This clearly was not what happened during the Kings/Lakers game.
I guess we can only wait to see how this pans out....why would we take the word of a disgraced ref such as Tim Donaghy?
Then man took money from the mafia to ensure point spreads went there way and got busted and is now facing criminal charges...
Why would we listen to what he says?
OK. First of all, the NBA is a great league. They will do anything to now protect the integrity of the game. However, it will be hard for this league to sustain a positive image for a while.
| roxys_art wrote: |
| Alaskacameradude wrote: | | Well, I watched the game in question (Kings vs. Lakers game 6) and I have this to say. I would like to believe the NBA isn't fixed....I am a huge basketball fan. I'd like to believe in the integrity of the game and the officials. And basketball is a hard game to officiate......However, if this game wasn't fixed.....it was one of the most AWFUL display of officiating of any game anywhere. I think the fact that Tim Donaghy picked this one game out of a a multitude of other poorly officiated games, is going to plant doubt in people's mind, because if it wasn't fixed, that was the CLOSEST thing to a fixed game I have ever seen. Regardless of how hard it is to officiate a game, pretty much EVERY call in the fourth quarter....(Lakers went to the line almost 30 times in the 4th quarter alone.....Kings maybe 6 or 7), traveling calls (or non traveling if it was the Lakers) out of bounds calls, pretty much everything went against the Kings in the 4th quarter......and there were also a TON of non calls when there was obvious contact when the Kings took it to the hoop....got knocked down and no call. And then on the other end....a King would jump for a block, whiff on everything, and get called for a foul. The obvious inconsistency is what made that game appear fixed. I hope the NBA is forced to do SOMETHING because of this allegation, because if they are forced to improve officiating, something positive can come of this mess. I mean, in closing think about this....a ref (Joey Crawford) who last year was suspended for giving Tim Duncan of the Spurs a 'T' for laughing on the bench and then challenging Tim Duncan to fight....was assigned to work a Spurs game in the playoffs. In that game, Brent Barry drew a foul on the last play of the game, a foul which would have given the Spurs a chance to tie the game against the Lakers. Crawford looked at the play......shook his head 'No' and let the foul go....the NBA later admitted a foul should have been called. Even if there is nothing to the perception that Crawford doesn't like the Spurs, the NBA should have avoided even the perception and not assigned Crawford to work a Spurs playoff game. It just doesn't look good!! |
Maybe they assigned this ref for ratings. It creates controversy, and gets people talking (even though it's very, very negative talk). Like I said, a majority of people couldn't care less about this decreasingly popular sport, and this may even make it decline further.
While it may be a tough sport to officiate, it isn't too tough to be consistent. If it is a foul for one team, then it should be a foul for the other team. This clearly was not what happened during the Kings/Lakers game.
I guess we can only wait to see how this pans out.... |
If they assigned Crawford 'for ratings' that was a very very poor decision on their part. David Stern is nothing if not a big 'promoter' of the league and does usually does anything he can to avoid negative publicity....this decision gave them him some negative publicity.
I agree that the consistancy is lacking, and that is the big thing. If Kobe does it, it's not traveling, but if it's some 2nd string little known guy, it is. And the superstars get more foul calls too. So the consistancy HAS to improve.
As for a majority of people not caring about a decreasingly popular sport, I don't agree with that at all. Basketball is the second most popular sport in the WORLD after soccer. Now some people may start watching college instead of NBA basketball, but basketball itself is not decreasing in popularity.
And the recent NBA finals had good TV ratings, the highest in 8 years....up over 50 percent from last year, so MORE people, not less, are watching. | Alaskacameradude wrote: |
| roxys_art wrote: | | Alaskacameradude wrote: | | Well, I watched the game in question (Kings vs. Lakers game 6) and I have this to say. I would like to believe the NBA isn't fixed....I am a huge basketball fan. I'd like to believe in the integrity of the game and the officials. And basketball is a hard game to officiate......However, if this game wasn't fixed.....it was one of the most AWFUL display of officiating of any game anywhere. I think the fact that Tim Donaghy picked this one game out of a a multitude of other poorly officiated games, is going to plant doubt in people's mind, because if it wasn't fixed, that was the CLOSEST thing to a fixed game I have ever seen. Regardless of how hard it is to officiate a game, pretty much EVERY call in the fourth quarter....(Lakers went to the line almost 30 times in the 4th quarter alone.....Kings maybe 6 or 7), traveling calls (or non traveling if it was the Lakers) out of bounds calls, pretty much everything went against the Kings in the 4th quarter......and there were also a TON of non calls when there was obvious contact when the Kings took it to the hoop....got knocked down and no call. And then on the other end....a King would jump for a block, whiff on everything, and get called for a foul. The obvious inconsistency is what made that game appear fixed. I hope the NBA is forced to do SOMETHING because of this allegation, because if they are forced to improve officiating, something positive can come of this mess. I mean, in closing think about this....a ref (Joey Crawford) who last year was suspended for giving Tim Duncan of the Spurs a 'T' for laughing on the bench and then challenging Tim Duncan to fight....was assigned to work a Spurs game in the playoffs. In that game, Brent Barry drew a foul on the last play of the game, a foul which would have given the Spurs a chance to tie the game against the Lakers. Crawford looked at the play......shook his head 'No' and let the foul go....the NBA later admitted a foul should have been called. Even if there is nothing to the perception that Crawford doesn't like the Spurs, the NBA should have avoided even the perception and not assigned Crawford to work a Spurs playoff game. It just doesn't look good!! |
Maybe they assigned this ref for ratings. It creates controversy, and gets people talking (even though it's very, very negative talk). Like I said, a majority of people couldn't care less about this decreasingly popular sport, and this may even make it decline further.
While it may be a tough sport to officiate, it isn't too tough to be consistent. If it is a foul for one team, then it should be a foul for the other team. This clearly was not what happened during the Kings/Lakers game.
I guess we can only wait to see how this pans out.... |
If they assigned Crawford 'for ratings' that was a very very poor decision on their part. David Stern is nothing if not a big 'promoter' of the league and does usually does anything he can to avoid negative publicity....this decision gave them him some negative publicity.
I agree that the consistancy is lacking, and that is the big thing. If Kobe does it, it's not traveling, but if it's some 2nd string little known guy, it is. And the superstars get more foul calls too. So the consistancy HAS to improve.
As for a majority of people not caring about a decreasingly popular sport, I don't agree with that at all. Basketball is the second most popular sport in the WORLD after soccer. Now some people may start watching college instead of NBA basketball, but basketball itself is not decreasing in popularity.
And the recent NBA finals had good TV ratings, the highest in 8 years....up over 50 percent from last year, so MORE people, not less, are watching. |
the ratings had more to do with the fact it was Lakers v Celtics than anything else...If you think that the ratings had to do with the fact that it was the Lakers vs. the Celtic, do you also agree that it could be possible that the NBA is 'fixing' the games to make sure popular teams make it to the finals to increase the ratings? I think it's possible. My point was only that basketball as a game is pretty popular, although there are definitely teams that are more popular and less popular. So, it wouldn't surprise me to see the NBA making sure their popular teams make it to the finals.....thus increasing exposure and maximizing TV revenue because the more people that watch the games, the more ad revenue the TV stations can charge, and the more money the TV stations can pay to purchase the rights to broadcast the basketball games.
| Alaskacameradude wrote: |
| If you think that the ratings had to do with the fact that it was the Lakers vs. the Celtic, do you also agree that it could be possible that the NBA is 'fixing' the games to make sure popular teams make it to the finals to increase the ratings? I think it's possible. My point was only that basketball as a game is pretty popular, although there are definitely teams that are more popular and less popular. So, it wouldn't surprise me to see the NBA making sure their popular teams make it to the finals.....thus increasing exposure and maximizing TV revenue because the more people that watch the games, the more ad revenue the TV stations can charge, and the more money the TV stations can pay to purchase the rights to broadcast the basketball games. |
to buy into the NBA fixing games so that big market teams (boston, lakers, knicks,etc) make the finals, we would then have to look at is he paying owners/gms of other teams to trade them star players?
Did Stern payoff McHale so he would send KG to Boston? Did he payoff Chris Wallace to send Pau Gasol to LA for Kwame freaking Brown?
It goes too far with too many people involved just for TV ratingsNBA is all about entertainment. Just like said before, superstars get priviliges in the plays. I remember watching Lakers vs Timberwolves a couple of years back, and oh my God. I remember asking my friend: "Why is O'neal getting freethrows for manhandling the whole Timberwolves?". I guess and1 plays must be the coolest plays?
And not even mentioning Karl "The Smackdown" Malone with his swinging elbowdrops and lowbows. Just watch the last play of Utah Jazz vs Housten Rockets 1997 Game 6 West Conference Finals. Drexler was one of the greatest defenders in NBA. So where was he? I'll show you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDi0Ce_Z5w&feature=related
You see that big man in the right uppercorner with moving screen? That's Malone holding Drexler with both hands. Malone is the dirtiest player of the game. [quote="mattyj"
to buy into the NBA fixing games so that big market teams (boston, lakers, knicks,etc) make the finals, we would then have to look at is he paying owners/gms of other teams to trade them star players?
Did Stern payoff McHale so he would send KG to Boston? Did he payoff Chris Wallace to send Pau Gasol to LA for Kwame freaking Brown?
It goes too far with too many people involved just for TV ratings[/quote]
Well, that's ANOTHER aspect of it, but not what I was looking at. I was just talking about the outcomes of the games. After all, the refs COULD cause an inferior team to beat a team that was better (see Lakers vs. Kings), so paying off owners/GM's doesn't necessarily have to enter into it at all.
However, now that you mention it, those trades seem a little off. Ya, I'll trade you KG for Al Jefferson and some assorted bags of rocks. Sure, take Gasol off our hands, it's not like we wanted him, we'd rather have Kwame Brown. Something seems just a little weird about those trades...not that Kevin McHale had been pulling off blockbuster trades before, I'd rate him about Isiah Thomas level as a GM, but still, something seems a little off here,.....NA....it's probably just me.
Fixed or not fixed I just hope the NBA does not die. But you can not beleive what you always here from someone who lost his job, and fixed games.
| AK47BLAZE wrote: |
| Fixed or not fixed I just hope the NBA does not die. But you can not beleive what you always here from someone who lost his job, and fixed games. |
No, but it makes for some interesting discusssion, especially when he happens to name the game he did, which if not fixed, was at the least HORRIBLY biased officiating....that's why it's interesting Plus, police use informants all the time in other trials and cases. Using the testimony of a drug dealer to bring down the kingpin/head of the drug operation, and even though they would not normally be the most 'reliable' of witnesses ..(they are drug dealers after all, testifying so that they will get a lighter sentence), still their testimony is OFTEN that which convicts the big head of the operation, so it's not like there isn't some sort of precident here. In other words, the ref that is convicted MAY be lying, but it is also possible he is telling the truth.
