Is the Tim Donnaghy controversey about to be re-ignited? http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24898/donaghy-scandals-ringleader-speaks An interesting read to say the least. I wouldn't mind checking out that book.
wow. I can't believe that Stern would be dumb enough to let this go this far. BTW, anyone heard anything from General Johnson, the referee czar?
as someone who has long suspected the league of not being on the up and up, I really enjoyed this read. There seems to be a million links to follow (and I will) but heres a great one detailing a game TD officiated where he bet on Orlando and made 14 of his 16 calls against the Rockets who won anyways on the strength of having a hot night from the 3 point line http://aloneinthecorner.com/post/665714379/a-failed-fix STOMP
I just wish this had come out 2 years ago. It might have brought Stern down, or at least weakened him to the point that the whole lock-out insanity would have been avoided. Crooked refs and an unhinged kommisar.....some days I wonder how the league survives.
I don't understand how or why people are so anti-Stern. The league has not flourished under him, and I find it hard to believe it has flourished in SPITE of him. I'm not willing to give him credit for making the NBA the second-most popular pro sport in the USA, but to not give him credit for its ascension (and, indeed, blaming him for its ills while giving him NO credit) while he has been commish... I just don't get it. Ed O.
Where would you like to start? He interfers in the relationship between the teams and their players. He panders to the bigots who think the game is "too urban". He looks for petty and arbitrary reasons to smack down the players (eg, how they dress when not playing), but then tolerates incompetent - even corrupt - officiating. Don't even get me started on his "disrupt the game with more technical fouls!" mandate. Of course, the elephant in the room is the SECOND work stoppage that is about to occur on his watch. Stern wants it both ways. He wants everyone to believe that the league is so broke that the only way to fix things is to go nuclear....but he also wants credit for the great job he has done promoting and managing the sport.
Because he has destroyed all the credibility the league once had. The top tier of the standings, and the outcome of the playoff series, are quite obviously "controlled". It's no more real than "Professional" Wrestling.
