So much for faith and trust in the NBA

[MUCSteelers5xSuperChamp]

The thoughts of NBA referees betting on games is something not too farfetched. Especially after reading this link, which disturbed me more than anything: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-referee072007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I only hope that this isn't true and if it is, the offending referees need to hang up their whistles.

Being an NBA fan, I am ashamed to say the league's officials are in serious trouble......

[Kamd50]

WoW!

[MUCSteelers5xSuperChamp]

Kamd50,

You can say that again. I personally never thought I'd ever hear of REFS doing this kind of thing.

Those are some stubborn referees indeed!

The NBA needs a lot of help!

[DAWGH8R]

The power of the Almighty $$$$$$ !!

Why do you think that Las Vegas has no pro teams ???

[austinsm11]

Why do you think that Las Vegas has no pro teams ???

Too many temptations for Bengals players?

[longtimefirsttime]

He's been an official for 13 years. How many games were there in which he impacted the outcome? This goes way beyond downgrading airline tickets and pocketing the cash.

[longtimefirsttime]

From Brian Windhorst (who writes for the Beacon and ESPN):

"Several people have e-mailed information from Elias Sports Bureau: Donaghy worked 68 games in 2005-06 and 63 games last season including five playoff games. Bill Simmons wrote about Game 3 of this season's Spurs-Suns game and Donaghy's calls."
http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons&entryDate=20070514

"All sorts of Donaghy stories will come out of the woodwork now, and here's one of them involving Rasheed Wallace. Wallace was suspended for this incident."
http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/

"Donaghy was one of the officials during the brawl in Detroit in 2004 as well."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2004-11-20-refs-brawl-blame_x.htm

"On the bright side, Mr. Donaghy's lasik surgery recently came out great."
http://sportswrap.berecruited.com/2007/07/20/fbi-nba-reveals-that-tim-donaghy-was-the-gambling-nba-referee-good-thing-he-had-lasik/

"--In 2005, Donaghy was sued by one of his neighbors. I can't provide a link for it, but I pulled a piece of the article off a subscription archive service from the Philadelphia Inquirer. It reads:

"NBA official Timothy Donaghy, no stranger to discord, was sued last week for harassment and invasion of privacy. The suit was filed in Chester County Court by his next-door neighbors, Peter and Lisa Mansueto of East Bradford Township, who have tangled in court with Donaghy before.The Mansuetos, who own a hardwood-flooring company in West Chester, allege that Donaghy has stalked them and vandalized their property. In addition, the suit suggests that Donaghy is a serial menace, having been disruptive previously in both West Goshen and Haverford Townships.Donaghy, 38, in his 11th NBA season, said Wednesday that he had not seen the suit, but added that he was not surprised. 'Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out with us as neighbors, and we've elected to move,' he said. "In the future, we wish them [the Mansuetos] the best of luck.'"

This guy is (in) TROUBLE.

[longtimefirsttime]

This will be a HUGE story. From David Aldridge:
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_top/20070720_FBI_investigating_area_NBA_referee.html

Look at David Stern's statement:
"As we previously stated, we have been cooperating with the FBI in their investigation of allegations that a single NBA referee bet on NBA games that he officiated. As part of that cooperation, we were asked by the Government not to comment about the investigation, but in light of the widespread press coverage and the naming of the referee, Tim Donaghy, we consider it appropriate to make a fuller statement. We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again. We will have more to say at a press conference that will be scheduled for next week."

[ReineyKicker15]

The NBA is in bad shape. I will still watch but they have already been having problems becuase of their image, and now this a lot of people just arent gonna watch. I think they will bounce back eventually but its looking bad right now.

[DAWGH8R]

Anyone that believes that only ONE official was/is involved needs mental help !!

[longtimefirsttime]

From the NY Post:

"The sources indicated the referee apparently had a gambling problem, slipped into debt and fell prey to mob thugs. 'That's how he got himself into this predicament' by wagering with mob-connected bookies, one source said."


"Bookmakers hope to encourage an equal amount of betting on each team and make their money on the "vigorish," which is typically 10 percent of a losing bet. But armed with the inside information, the bookmaking syndicate could set an artificial point spread that would encourage large "layoff" bets from other bookies carrying too much action on one team, that were likely now to lose."

[CarlE]

What's the NBA?

[Dr Strangemind]

It will be interesting if he fingers others, but if there's mob involvement he will probably think twice about it.

[The Butler]

The only guy happy about this is Mike Vick. He got bumped as the lead story on the sports shows/pages.

[Obie Wan]

Who cares? It's the NBA. It's been a long time since the NBA was either competently officiated or relevant. It's WWE on the hardwood.

Crooks and thugs - you reap what you sow.

[Al.]

What's the NBA?

National Betting Association :scratchchin:

[obie7661]

It’s Hard to Tell if Fix Is In, Betting Experts Say

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/sports/basketball/22nba.html?ref=sports

[longtimefirsttime]

It’s Hard to Tell if Fix Is In


Cough, Cough....Marion Harding....Cough, Cough
(No I'm not still bitter over that game am I? :wink: )

[austinsm11]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2945840

Three squad cars from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office arrived at Donaghy's home in Bradenton, Fla.
"Our concern is for his safety and his family's safety," Sheriff's Lt. Robert McNealy told the newspaper for a story in Monday's editions. "We are definitely going to share any information we get with the FBI."

Duh. I would think the FBI would have someone there keeping on eye on the place at all times.

The Daily News reported Sunday, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, that Donaghy will cooperate with authorities and possibly name other officials and players involved in the betting scandal.
Players as well? Wow.

[longtimefirsttime]

"Two catholic high school chums of disgraced referee Tim Donaghy have been identified as the bookies in a gambling scandal rocking the NBA, the Daily News has learned. But the two bet-takers apparently exaggerated their Mafia connections. "They're nobodies," a law enforcement source said. The mob wanna-bes attended Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa., with Donaghy, who was a varsity standout on the school's basketball and baseball teams."

-New York Daily News/SI

[longtimefirsttime]

"Tim Donaghy once got into a fight with veteran NBA official Joey Crawford at a referees training camp. Another referee said Donaghy had a reputation -- at least among some fellow officials -- for "deliberately blowing calls," though the official added that he never suspected he was deliberately trying to influence the outcome of games. "I saw him have a couple of calls where I was like, 'Wow,' just like anybody else," said the referee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But I thought he was a better referee than that, so I was a little bit surprised."

Washington Post/SI

[MR EMPTY PANTS]

i will tell u all a complete fact. when i was betting sports back in the mid 90`s i lost a bet to no action in college football. i believe the game was wisconsin on the road at fresno st or byu, not sure which but anyway wisconsin was favored by 9 or 10 or so. i had wisconsin and so must have 99% of the country because they were up 27 or so late in the 4th quarter when the lights all of a sudden went out in fresno or byu. they could not restore power and since wisconsin was up by a wide margin the officials called the game. even though i covered the spread easily under vegas rules or any bookie or offshore site" A GAME IS NOT OFFICAL UNLESS ALL 4 QTRS ARE PLAYED, THEREFORE REGUARDING IN A "NO ACTION" STATUS, ALL BETS ARE REFUNDED.

my point of the this is: i know from an un-named source i cannot mention who lives in youngstown that those lights were turned off on purpose that day because the money side was so un-even that bookmakers couldn`t handle the payouts. "that is a stone-cold fact".

if you think that this, the NBA and other isolated incidents are not common, "you`re dreaming" sports are fixed at all levels in every sport because the underworld controls everything even to this day.

[longtimefirsttime]

Wow. That's quite a story.

[DAWGH8R]

I remember the game well. As with ANY site/casino/book that takes college football bets, a college football game MUST go:

Football Wagering Professional and college football games are official after 55 minutes of play.

The official time of scoring plays for grading purposes is the time on the clock AFTER the score is made.

[longtimefirsttime]

"My ESPN colleague Mike Missanelli of 1050 Radio in New York broke the story today that former NBA official Tim Donaghy will sing to the feds that as many as 20 NBA referees took part in some type of gambling activity.'
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2979711&name=sheridan_chris&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos2

[austinsm11]

"My ESPN colleague Mike Missanelli of 1050 Radio in New York broke the story today that former NBA official Tim Donaghy will sing to the feds that as many as 20 NBA referees took part in some type of gambling activity.'
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2979711&name=sheridan_chris&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos2

This could get interesting. It just seems odd to me that only 1 referee would be involved in cheating like this.