Ref fixing NBA games? Feds investigating...

[Duff_Man]

Great. An NBA ref with mob ties appears to have been calling games to change the outcome. This will be really bad pub for our beloved league.

The Fix Is In

[sturt]

If it grows into a larger investigation of more than one ref, it might explain a lot of mysterious stuff that went down in the last ten years of NBA ball... until then, I will continue to line-up behind my pal Cuban and pin the blame on The Tyrant himself and his influence that tilts the playing surface like no other playing surface in major league sports... Selig has his issues, and Goodell is going to, sometime after his honeymoon, but their leagues have committees of owners who deal with umpiring/officiating, as opposed to a CEO who, by his own admission, regularly has dictated the degree to which refs should be blowing whistles and even for particular players... unheard of in any other sport, but for what ever reaason, Stern's allowed a free pass.

But again, if this comes out bigger, perhaps The Tyrant's influence was mediated by a larger influence... we'll see.

[AHF]

Has Stern really admitted telling refs how frequently they should call fouls for or against certain refs?

[exodus]

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I will continue to line-up behind my pal Cuban and pin the blame on The Tyrant himself

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Sounds like someone has a problem with authority.

[TheDude]

Well maybe then we should have voted for Belkin. If he had ties to the mob, then maybe that ref would have hooked him up and we won a few more games? yes, i'm kidding...

seriously though, this isnt good. Stern needs to step up or they're going to make him get strict like Goodall...

[hawkman]

So that explains that LA Lakers/ Sacramento Kings series a few years back. Game 6 of that series was one of THE worst officiated games that I've ever seen. Or how about Derek Fisher getting a turn around jumper off to win a playoff game vs. the Spurs with 0.4 seconds left on the clock? That's less than half a second. Is that even friggin possible? It's hard enough to get a regular jumper off in that amount of time, nevermind doing a complete 180 and then shooting. And don't even get me started on some of the inconsistencies I see during Hawks games.

[exodus]

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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.

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Pretty easy to see that happening. I know a lot of guys who gamble a lot on football games. Seems they just like the action. Frankly i never got the allure. I only like to bet when i feel confident of winning.

If you think you can consistently beat the spread then you are saying that you know better than guys who do this for a living. No thanks.

[Lascar78]

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Has Stern really admitted telling refs how frequently they should call fouls for or against certain [players]?

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Of course not.

Teams are allowed to complain about particular calls or trends in the calls, sometimes against a particular player. If the NBA finds a legitimate problem they issue directives to watch out for certain kinds of violations or other guidelines on the enforcements of the rules, but never specific players or teams of course.

A renegade ref with Mob ties influencing games is a disaster for the league, it's not like they benefit. But of course it's easier to blame "The Tyrant" (LMAO).

[Lascar78]

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Or how about Derek Fisher getting a turn around jumper off to win a playoff game vs. the Spurs with 0.4 seconds left on the clock? That's less than half a second. Is that even friggin possible?

It's hard enough to get a regular jumper off in that amount of time, nevermind doing a complete 180 and then shooting.

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Are you suggesting that the San Antonio game clock operator wanted the Lakers to win?

[Sothron]

Its funny that I have commented for years that I feel the NBA is rigged to an extent and now this happens. The refs handed the Heat the title two years ago and I do not know how many other playoff games are decided with some one sided calls.

[NJHAWK]

This is not a suprise. The suprise is that they havnt been able to catch refs and players at this in the past. I think the nba is bad but its still not as bad as the nfl. You know there is some fixing in the nfl. Hopefully this investigation will open up a whole can of worms and bring these people down.

[DJlaysitup]

One thing's for sure...once the Feds get a bite they don't stop fishing (ask MV). If there is more to this than one rogue referee they will find out. The prospect of being a longterm resident of Marion Federal Penitentary will flip a lot of guys.

[Lascar78]

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Its funny that I have commented for years that I feel the NBA is rigged to an extent and now this happens. The refs handed the Heat the title two years ago and I do not know how many other playoff games are decided with some one sided calls.

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The thing is most people (presumably yourself included?) say that the games are influenced to fit the league's agenda. This is a guy who got desperate and supposedly influenced some games to fit his personal agenda (mob money). Two very, VERY different things. If this story is true, it doesn't surprise me that much at all. Any league can have a ref or two that the mob / bookies gets to. NBA refs are reviewed more than any other league, but there are more calls in basketball that could go either way (foul vs marginal contact, block/charge, etc...) than there are in any other sport, so it's hard to prove.

However I would be STUNNED if the league actually tried to fix the games and there was a conspiracy that involved basically telling the refs which team to help (i.e. give the kings game 6, give Wade the FTs ...).

All I'm saying is that a conspiracy involving the NBA is very different from an individual turning to the dark side, so let's not act like this is some kind of proof / hint that the former might be true.

I'm sure there are hardly any pro leagues in the world that haven't had a crooked ref at some point in time. Some people just can't resist the green.

What I really want to know is ... WHICH REF WAS IT? I suspect Violet Palmer. No seriously my money's on Joe Derosa. Anyone want to take bets?

[drzachary]

Using the statistical methods we love here on HS, I'll make the following conclusion:

Given the sample size of one ref and limited games, every ref gambles on every game now and will continue to do so into the future. This pattern will never change.

[BossTweed]

I would imagine the ref was mostly just trying to make specific teams cover/not cover the spread, not win or lose outright.

I can't imagine whoever it is would go through so much trouble as to fix a whole series.

[MikeWilksBooth]

Prob Steve Javve,,,he looks like scum lol. Does anybody remember the Hawks and Blazers game from this year where they screwed us. Who reffed that?

[frosgrim]

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The thing is most people (presumably yourself included?) say that the games are influenced to fit the league's agenda. This is a guy who got desperate and supposedly influenced some games to fit his personal agenda (mob money). Two very, VERY different things. If this story is true, it doesn't surprise me that much at all. Any league can have a ref or two that the mob / bookies gets to.

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Good point. The mob's interests in particular games may be different from the NBA's, or they may not be. But, yes, taking mob money is not the same as being directed by the NBA to make or not make certain calls.

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NBA refs are reviewed more than any other league, but there are more calls in basketball that could go either way (foul vs marginal contact, block/charge, etc...) than there are in any other sport, so it's hard to prove.

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I would say baseball umps are reviewed and scrutinized more than NBA guys. Heck, baseball has that computerized strike zone assessor at different parks. But, the point is still sound, refs get reviewed.

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What I really want to know is ... WHICH REF WAS IT? I suspect Violet Palmer. No seriously my money's on Joe Derosa. Anyone want to take bets?

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LOL- I have no idea who or whom is taking money, or is under some mob pressure. The guy that is doing it, might be under some gambling debt and this is how he's paying it off.

[thesheedera]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2943095

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Friday, July 20, 2007

Donaghy under investigation for betting on NBA games

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ESPN.com news services

NBA referee Tim Donaghy is under investigation by the FBI for allegations that he bet on games that he officiated over the past two seasons and that he made calls affecting the point spread in games, multiple sources told ESPN.

Donaghy, a 13-year veteran of the league, is aware of the investigation and resigned from the NBA recently.

The NBA issued a brief statement Friday, saying: "We have been asked by the FBI, with whom we are working closely, not to comment on this matter at this time."

According to a law enforcement official, authorities are examining whether Donaghy -- whose identity was not revealed until Friday afternoon -- made calls to affect the point spread in games on which he or associates had wagered.

Donaghy

The law enforcement official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity, said the referee was aware of the investigation and had made arrangements to surrender as early as next week to face charges. The official, who did not identify the referee, is familiar with the investigation but was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

The investigation first was reported Friday by the New York Post.

The law enforcement official said the bets involved thousands of dollars and were made on games during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.

The FBI probe, which began recently, also involves allegations that the referee had connections to organized crime associates. Other arrests are expected, the official said.

The referee had a gambling problem, according to the official, and was approached by low-level mob associates through an acquaintance.

Nevada gambling regulators were not involved in an investigation and had no information about the allegations, said Jerry Markling, enforcement chief for the state Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board.

Jay Kornegay, executive director of the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton, said he had never seen any unusual activity in NBA betting, and was surprised not to have heard about an investigation until Friday.

"Whispers would have happened on the street, and we would have heard something," Kornegay said. "Any type of suspicious or unusual movements, you usually hear in the industry. We're so regulated and policed, any kind of suspicion would be discussed.

"We haven't seen anything like that in the NBA that I can remember," he said, "and we haven't been contacted by anybody."

Kornegay said legal sports betting in Nevada represents a fraction of sports betting worldwide, with 98.5 percent of all action taken outside the state. Clayton cited a 2005 estimate by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission that found $380 billion is wagered on illegal sports betting, compared with $2.25 billion in legal sports betting in Nevada.

Gambling long has been a problem in sports, and leagues have made a point of educating players of the potential pitfalls. The NBA, for example, discusses gambling at rookie orientation, even bringing in former mobster Michael Franceze to speak.

NBA commissioner David Stern had long objected to putting a team in Las Vegas because it permits betting on basketball, though earlier this year allowed Mayor Oscar Goodman to submit a proposal to owners on how the city would handle wagering on a team if it moved there.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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[sturt]

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I will continue to line-up behind my pal Cuban and pin the blame on The Tyrant himself

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Sounds like someone has a problem with authority.

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...ouch ...nailed me.

[exodus]

You had to see that one coming. I actually tried to resist...for about 2 seconds.