Another sports website has obtained a copy of the book, Blowing The Whistle: The Culture Of Fraud In The NBA, written by former NBA ref Tim Donaghy. The book exposes some of Donaghy’s personal dirty laundry, including how he decided to bet on certain NBA games during his tenure there. But one of the lighter anecdotes in the book involves a bet that referees would make to see who could hold out the longest before calling the first foul of the game.
During one particular summer game, Duke Callahan, Mark Wunderlich, and I made it to the three-minute mark in the first quarter without calling a foul. We were running up and down the court, laughing our asses off as the players got hammered with no whistles. The players were exhausted from the nonstop running when Callahan finally called the first foul because Mikki Moore of the New Jersey Nets literally tackled an opposing player right in front of him. Too bad for Callahan-he lost the bet.
I became so good at this game that if an obvious foul was committed right in front of me, I would call a travel or a three-second violation instead. Those violations are not personal fouls, so I was still in the running to win the bet. The players would look at me with disbelief on their faces as if to say, “What the hell was that?”
Seriously, read the whole thing at Deadspin, and here’s hoping that the book actually sees the light of day. I mean, everyone knows that outcomes are fixed in the WWE and they seem to be doing pretty well. Besides, I’m pining for the day that Kevin Garnett finally smacks Bruce Bowen in the head with a steel chair.
Sports fans are going to have a hard time wrapping their minds around this one, but Tim "the Gamblin' Zebra" Donaghy told federal investigators that the NBA tells its referees to favor stars and ensure certain outcomes.
According to the document, he told FBI agents, "League officials would tell referees they should withhold calling technical fouls on certain star players because doing so hurt ticket sales and television ratings."
Notably, Donaghy also detailed how two officials fixed Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals: with the Kings leading the series against the Lakers 3-2, the refs called more fouls on the Kings, ensuring that LA got 16 more points at the stripe and a crack at winning the series (which they did before sweeping the Nets in the Finals).
As someone with eyes, all I have to say is, Wow, thank God Donaghy has broken this case wide open. Send that guy to Washington and he'll blow the roof off Capitol Hill (Capitol Hill has a roof, right?). It turns out that powerful "lobbies" use money and gifts to influence the representatives that WE elected! Dun Dun DUNNNNHHHH!!!
In this "30 Rock" clip, Alex Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy says his cousin Tim fixes NBA games. That's pretty much all the connection to the sports world I need to post a video, especially if said video talks about beating up hippies at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Few things are as satisfying in theory and in practice as badly beaten beatniks.
Bonus points for Steve Buscemi's appearance. He and John Turturro should play supporting characters in every film ever.
(Thanks to hunk-o-rama Chris for the tip.)
I realize I haven't touched on Tim Donaghy's guilty plea to two felony charges, but that's because the only legal infractions I understand are DUI, stalking, assault, rape, and murder. You know, the sexy crimes.
As recompense, here's "Goodfoulers," which is the best thing I've seen on the Internet since an Eva Angelina movie last night. It's funny, and less of a Scorsese rip-off than most Guy Ritchie movies.
ESPN.com's Wayne Drehs interviewed gambling expert R.J. Bell, who drops this bomb on the sports world: NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who last week was accused of betting on NBA games and fixing point totals in games he worked over the last two years, probably fixed point totals in games he worked over the last two years.
[During the last two seasons', Bell found that, in games when Donaghy was part of the officiating crew, NBA teams scored more points than Las Vegas expected (hitting the over) 57 percent of the time. With a league average of 49 to 51 percent, the odds of such an occurrence are 19 to 1. When Bell analyzed the numbers from the two seasons before the two in question, he discovered that, in games Donaghy officiated, NBA teams scored more points than Vegas expected just 44 percent of the time...
"There's a 99.9 percent chance that these results would not have happened without an outside factor," Bell said. "Something abnormal was going on here."
But what could it be? Who can solve this mystery? Is it too far-fetched to believe that Donaghy possibly got caught up with the mob in an illegal gambling ring? Only time will tell, friends. Only time will tell.
Regular readers of With Leather may recall that I didn't exactly handle the Suns' playoff screw-job very well. And whether Donaghy was fixing Game 3 of Suns-Spurs or not, his part in the shitty officiating certainly raises questions. Which is just awesome. It's really great to be infuriated by this a second time.
NOTE: despite the above video, I'm not responsible for the threatening phone calls to Donaghy's home. Check my phone records. I only call 900 numbers.
