Scott Foster now implicated in Donaghy gambling

[50 cent]

The Ticket just reported that Donaghy made 137 phone calls to Foster during his gambling timeline.

If this is true, things are going to get pretty interesting.

[lefty]

More dark clouds on Stern's house.

Please :hat

[Bartleby]

EXCLUSIVE: NEW YORK — NBA referee Tim Donaghy made repeated phone calls to a second referee at the same time he provided inside information to professional gamblers during the course of the 2006-2007 season, according to court documents and phone records obtained by FOXNews.com.

The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided “picks” to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13.

It’s unclear what information was exchanged during the calls between Foster and Donaghy, who is awaiting sentencing later this month in federal court after reaching a plea deal in the case. Federal prosecutors in the case declined to comment on this report. But former federal prosecutors not involved in the investigation say the frequency and duration of the calls, as well as the days they took place, are suspicious.

The new information may call into question insistent claims by NBA Commissioner David Stern that Donaghy was a “rogue, isolated criminal” acting on his own, without the cooperation of any other referees or league officials.

Donaghy has countercharged that the NBA is rife with corruption, and has even accused some league executives of game-fixing during the playoffs. Stern has not wavered, dismissing the claims and calling Donaghy a “singing, cooperating witness” seeking a shorter prison term.

The conversations with Foster and others have led authorities to suspect the NBA betting scandal goes beyond Donaghy, sources close to the investigation told FOXNews.com.

Law enforcement sources close to the case say the FBI has investigated anyone who showed up in Donaghy’s phone records. In a statement Friday, Tim Frank, NBA Vice President of Basketball Communications, said, 'Lawrence Pedowitz's independent review is ongoing." (Pedowitz, a former Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, was named by Stern last year to head the league's investigation.) The NBA says it is not aware of any further criminal investigation ongoing in the case.

Calls between Foster, 41, and Donaghy, also 41, took place immediately before and after 54 of the 57 games Donaghy officiated from the beginning of the 2006-2007 season until mid-March, when his role in the gambling operation apparently ended. Records also show a vast majority of the calls came in the hours before or after games officiated by Donaghy or Foster.

Donaghy’s phone records for one of those days, Dec. 30, obtained by Fox News, reveal the following:

— 10:34 a.m. – Donaghy calls Foster.

— 10:35 a.m. – Donaghy calls another referee.

— 10:36 a.m. – Donaghy calls Martino, the “middleman” between him and his bookie.

— 10:39 a.m. – Donaghy calls Foster.

— 5:15 p.m. – Donaghy calls Martino.

— 5:23 p.m. – Donaghy calls Martino.

— 7 p.m. – Donaghy referees game between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. The Magic win in a rout, 97-68.

— 8 p.m. – Foster referees a game between the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. The Grizzlies win 110-104. Foster and Donaghy speak 12 minutes after the game.

— 11:27 p.m. – Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fourth time of the day.

— 11:38 p.m. – Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fifth time of the day.

The following day, Donaghy spoke with Foster at 1:37 p.m., for two minutes. One minute later, at 1:40 p.m., Donaghy spoke to Martino, also for two minutes.

On a number of other days:

— Donaghy placed three calls to Foster before Donaghy refereed the Jan. 19, 2007, game between the New Orleans Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs. The next day, he called Foster three more times.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381842,00.html

[2centsworth]

Jordan pushing off was not a foul because Jordan was a superstar. Once you allow for gray areas corruption easily follows.

[FromWayDowntown]

Particularly interesting given Foster's sudden ascendancy this season -- a suprising nod to call Game 7 of Spurs/Hornets and then 2 games in the NBA Finals. I've generally thought Foster was a good young official, so the suspicion is surprising to me.

I will say that implicating another official, no matter who it might be, in this thing (and it would appear from the call log that others might be involved as well) might actually be the straw that breaks the camel's back. It's one thing to say that it was just one rogue official who acted on his own and kept his activities secret from the rest of the fraternity. It's something else if he's making calls to other officials to get information or whatever and is consistently getting that information upon request. If it comes out that other officials were gambling on games with Donaghy as an intermediary to a bookie, the thing comes apart at the seams. If it's Donaghy calling other officials to coax information out of them, there's a terrible problem with oversight and recognition. If it's Donaghy calling Foster and others because they're friends, it's kind of a non-story.

[2centsworth]

If it's Donaghy calling Foster and others because they're friends, it's kind of a non-story.

maybe if they were lovers you would call someone that often.

[rj215]

Stern Must Go!!!

[FromWayDowntown]

maybe if they were lovers you would call someone that often.

I agree that it's suspicious. It's also suspicious that the calls were made on a phone that Donaghy reportedly used almost exclusively for gambling. And it's suspicious that Donaghy was talking to Foster and to his bookie in such close proximity to each other. Finally, I think it's odd that the calls stopped right around the time that Donaghy is believed to stopped gambling on games. That would certainly create some reasonable suspicions about what was going on and the extent to which Foster is something more than an innocent dupe in this situation.

[z0sa]

Not surprising. According to the logs on FOXNews, he called Foster right before calling Martino (who relayed the pick information to a bookie) multiple times. Both of them making wagers possibly, with Donaghy being another sort of middleman for Foster? Perhaps skimming off the top of Foster's winnings to increase his own profit?


If it's Donaghy calling Foster and others because they're friends, it's kind of a non-story.

I highly doubt that, considering this from the article:


Calls between Foster, 41, and Donaghy, also 41, took place immediately before and after 54 of the 57 games Donaghy officiated from the beginning of the 2006-2007 season until mid-March, when his role in the gambling operation apparently ended.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's odd that only Fox is reporting on this at the moment. I don't see it on ESPN.com yet; I don't see it nba.com yet; and I don't see it on other news sites like cnn.com, either.

Not necessarily disputing the report, just wondering why it's only getting attention on one outlet.

[1Parker1]

^Stern CIAism?

[VaSpursFan]

wow...that's crazy. the deeper into the rabbit hole we go, the more interesting this saga gets!

[hater]

LMAO

can't wait for Stern's "I am not a crook!" speech

[Galileo]

this Is Going To Blow The Top Off The Massive Conspiracy!

The Shit Has Hit The Fan!!

Stern, Bavetta, And Bob Delaney Are Next!!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

[Galileo]

Joey Crawford is in the cross hairs!! Who's next to sing like a canary?? The conspiracy against small-market teams widens!!!

[tlongII]

I wonder what timvp has to say now about a possible conspiracy. I remember timvp repeatedly denying such a thing could happen in the NBA and of couse his loyal "ass tasters" marcus bryant, T Park, and ChumpDumper always agreed with him. :lol

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I wonder what timvp has to say now about a possible conspiracy. I remember timvp repeatedly denying such a thing could happen in the NBA and of couse his loyal "ass tasters" marcus bryant, T Park, and ChumpDumper always agreed with him. :lol

So they sample it before timvp to make sure it's not poisoned? I think I hear a rap coming on...

[Galileo]

I wonder what timvp has to say now about a possible conspiracy. I remember timvp repeatedly denying such a thing could happen in the NBA and of couse his loyal "ass tasters" marcus bryant, T Park, and ChumpDumper always agreed with him. :lol

ChumpDumper is, as Joe Stalin used to say, a "useful idiot".

The "lone rogue official" theory is as dead as the Dodo bird!

Stern doth protest too much!!

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

On a more serious note, if this is true? It's going to be a long summer for David Stern. We'll see just how tough his teflon is. My prediction: look for Foster to receive a sizable deposit from an off shore account and then go public with the revelation that he and Donaghy were just having lots of gay phone sex.

[nkdlunch]

there are always ppl who laugh at conspiracy theorists. just look at the remaining Bush backers

[Galileo]

On a more serious note, if this is true? It's going to be a long summer for David Stern. We'll see just how tough his teflon is. My prediction: look for Foster to receive a sizable deposit from an off shore account and then go public with the revelation that he and Donaghy were just having lots of gay phone sex.

David Stern is the "Dick Cheney" of the NBA!

:nope

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

David Stern is the "Dick Cheney" of the NBA!

:nope

You mean they'll just shotgun Foster's face instead of paying him off?

[Galileo]

there are always ppl who laugh at conspiracy theorists. just look at the remaining Bush backers

the feds always dribble out this stuff out before their next indictment!

[lefty]

You mean they'll just shotgun Foster's face instead of paying him off?

:lmao

[Obstructed_View]

there are always ppl who laugh at conspiracy theorists. just look at the remaining Bush backers

Thermite burns! Thermite burns!

[ThunderStix®]

there are always ppl who laugh at conspiracy theorists. just look at the remaining Bush backers

There is nothing wrong with George W. Bush.

[phyzik]

:corn:

[timvp]

Damn, this is potentially crippling for the NBA. Well actually, maybe this is what the NBA needs to make it clean house and put in some transparency to regain fan confidence.

If you asked me to name the crooked ref last year in the playoffs, I would have said Foster. I usually don't care enough about refs to notice who is making which calls but I remember Foster making a whole hell of a lot of bad calls. For example, look at this thread:

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2514905

That foul on Parker against Chandler was a joke. That offensive foul on Duncan might have been even worse. I was dumbfounded when I saw those two calls. Now it makes sense.

What other games to Foster call during the playoffs?

[GrandeDavid]

Maybe they are just lovers.

[timvp]

I wonder what timvp has to say now about a possible conspiracy. I remember timvp repeatedly denying such a thing could happen in the NBA and of couse his loyal "ass tasters" marcus bryant, T Park, and ChumpDumper always agreed with him. :lol


http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9941/tlongoden1jo6.gif

[hater]

Maybe they are just lovers.

would not surprise me. did you see Donahy's wife? :

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03212008/photos/news011.jpg

[GrandeDavid]

would not surprise me. did you see Donahy's wife? :

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03212008/photos/news011.jpg

Is his wife that man or the dog?

[Marcus Bryant]

I don't recall tlong not hanging on a Spurs fan forum 24/7.

[phyzik]

ESPN has the story now...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3487206

[FromWayDowntown]

Damn, this is potentially crippling for the NBA. Well actually, maybe this is what the NBA needs to make it clean house and put in some transparency to regain fan confidence.

If you asked me to name the crooked ref last year in the playoffs, I would have said Foster. I usually don't care enough about refs to notice who is making which calls but I remember Foster making a whole hell of a lot of bad calls. For example, look at this thread:

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2514905

That foul on Parker against Chandler was a joke. That offensive foul on Duncan might have been even worse. I was dumbfounded when I saw those two calls. Now it makes sense.

What other games to Foster call during the playoffs?

I don't know that the implication is that Foster was gambling on games -- more likely that Foster was feeding information to Donaghy, not that I think it's any better. With that, though, there's less of an implication that Foster was pushing outcomes, assuming that there's any validity to the report at all. I'm still stunned that something so inflammatory wouldn't have been a breaking news item on sports sites across the web at this point.

In any event, here's what Foster did in the 2008 playoffs:

Game 1 of CLE/WAS
Game 3 of ORL/TOR
Game 4 of SA/PNX
Game 5 of NO/DAL
Game 6 of DET/PHIL
Game 1 of BOS/CLE
Game 5 of DET/ORL
Game 6 of LAL/UTH
Game 7 of SA/NO
Game 4 of BOS/DET
Game 1 of BOS/LAL
Game 5 of BOS/LAL

[jinsatx]

Sorry guys, just had to post a reply....

This is a non-starter... for any of you who have been involved in any type of investigation on either side, this information was known the day they got Donaghy's cell phone records months ago ... why this comes out now is simply somebody not being able to keep their mouth shut during an investigation and figuring they can be a hot shot source to fox news.... whoever leaked should be fired... also, the NBA investigative staff has had this same phone record information and I'm sure Foster was investigated before he was allowed to work the playoffs... the NBA can be arrogant at times, but they are not STUPID..

give the conspiracy theories a rest.....

[tlongII]

I don't recall tlong not hanging on a Spurs fan forum 24/7.

You should be flattered.

[jack sommerset]

Refs need to tke lie detecter test. End this shit. Those who don't want to on "principle" Fuck them. The sport is bigger than they are.

[VaSpursFan]

Sorry guys, just had to post a reply....

This is a non-starter... for any of you who have been involved in any type of investigation on either side, this information was known the day they got Donaghy's cell phone records months ago ... why this comes out now is simply somebody not being able to keep their mouth shut during an investigation and figuring they can be a hot shot source to fox news.... whoever leaked should be fired... also, the NBA investigative staff has had this same phone record information and I'm sure Foster was investigated before he was allowed to work the playoffs... the NBA can be arrogant at times, but they are not STUPID..

give the conspiracy theories a rest.....

i would like to agree with you. I read the article and the passage below leads me to think otherwise:

FOXNews.com reached Foster at the same cell phone number found in Donaghy’s phone records and asked him if he was being investigated by the NBA, the government or anyone else. “Not that I know of,” he said. He declined to comment on his relationship with Donaghy and the nature of the calls.

When called for comment again on Thursday, a voice message announced the person at this number “is not accepting calls at this time.”

[Obstructed_View]

If the investigators didn't check his luds (as Law and Order puts it), then heads need to be rolling quick. It would be in Donaghy's interest to have rolled on this guy by now, though, and it's probably someone from his camp that's leaked it since the NBA isn't doing anything to help him out.

[Obstructed_View]

Damn, this is potentially crippling for the NBA. Well actually, maybe this is what the NBA needs to make it clean house and put in some transparency to regain fan confidence.

If you asked me to name the crooked ref last year in the playoffs, I would have said Foster. I usually don't care enough about refs to notice who is making which calls but I remember Foster making a whole hell of a lot of bad calls. For example, look at this thread:

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2514905

That foul on Parker against Chandler was a joke. That offensive foul on Duncan might have been even worse. I was dumbfounded when I saw those two calls. Now it makes sense.

What other games to Foster call during the playoffs?


If he was dumb enough to be intentionally making bad calls while the Donaghy thing is going on, then he deserves the idiot of the year award while he's in prison. I have a feeling it will be administered rectally.

[FromWayDowntown]

It sounds to me as though this information is not news to the NBA or those who are very close to the investigation. It also sounds to me as though Foster has been interviewed about this subject and investigated. That the FBI hasn't indicted him -- it surely knew of these calls long ago -- would seem to say a lot about the nature of the calls. That the NBA allowed Foster to work so many playoff games in 2008, presumably after having knowledge of the connection with Donaghy, is also suggestive of the fact that the league's own investigation (and the reports demonstrate that Foster has been included in that investigation) turned up nothing.

I'm not trying to shill for Scott Foster at all, but I'm taking from the relative disinterest in this story that there's really nothing here. Perhaps I'm too forgiving on that, but I'll presume him innocent until proven otherwise.

Ultimately, I think it's incorrect (based on what we know) to say that Donaghy or even Foster are indicative of some league-wide conspiracy. The fact that Donaghy got away with betting on games he worked is, to me, indicative of the poor oversight of officials. The possibility that Donaghy was doing that while talking relatively openly with another official (about who knows what) is further evidence that the league's administration of its officials has been poor. It doesn't suggest, though, that the league was dictating outcomes of games and it doesn't suggest that Foster was doing anything wrong (other than, perhaps, being a poor official) in 2008.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Sorry guys, just had to post a reply....

This is a non-starter... for any of you who have been involved in any type of investigation on either side, this information was known the day they got Donaghy's cell phone records months ago ... why this comes out now is simply somebody not being able to keep their mouth shut during an investigation and figuring they can be a hot shot source to fox news.... whoever leaked should be fired... also, the NBA investigative staff has had this same phone record information and I'm sure Foster was investigated before he was allowed to work the playoffs... the NBA can be arrogant at times, but they are not STUPID..

give the conspiracy theories a rest.....

You're right, they wouldn't do anything stupid like having Joey Crawford ref the pivotal game of Lakers - Spurs and conveniently favor the Lakers down the stretch after he got into a verbal altercation with Tim Duncan last year. Oh wait...

[ducks]

stern let me find my rope
I got a tree

[2centsworth]

the officiating in the NBA has always been a joke in favor of the glamour.

[leemajors]

It sounds to me as though this information is not news to the NBA or those who are very close to the investigation. It also sounds to me as though Foster has been interviewed about this subject and investigated. That the FBI hasn't indicted him -- it surely knew of these calls long ago -- would seem to say a lot about the nature of the calls. That the NBA allowed Foster to work so many playoff games in 2008, presumably after having knowledge of the connection with Donaghy, is also suggestive of the fact that the league's own investigation (and the reports demonstrate that Foster has been included in that investigation) turned up nothing.

I'm not trying to shill for Scott Foster at all, but I'm taking from the relative disinterest in this story that there's really nothing here. Perhaps I'm too forgiving on that, but I'll presume him innocent until proven otherwise.

Ultimately, I think it's incorrect (based on what we know) to say that Donaghy or even Foster are indicative of some league-wide conspiracy. The fact that Donaghy got away with betting on games he worked is, to me, indicative of the poor oversight of officials. The possibility that Donaghy was doing that while talking relatively openly with another official (about who knows what) is further evidence that the league's administration of its officials has been poor. It doesn't suggest, though, that the league was dictating outcomes of games and it doesn't suggest that Foster was doing anything wrong (other than, perhaps, being a poor official) in 2008.

you're like, totally wrong. Stern has been running the league into the ground since he took over.

[GSH]

I wonder what timvp has to say now about a possible conspiracy. I remember timvp repeatedly denying such a thing could happen in the NBA and of couse his loyal "ass tasters" marcus bryant, T Park, and ChumpDumper always agreed with him. :lol


Yep. Besides insisting that no referee changed the outcome of a game, several insisted (over and over, ad nauseum) that there is no way a referee could change the outcome of a game. And they mocked anyone who suggested otherwise. But if you're wondering if any of them are going to admit that they were smug, arrogant assholes, don't hold your breath.

The phone calls to Foster still aren't the worst of it. The league is playing a really stupid game, and it's going to wind up biting them in the ass. Nobody wants to see the league crippled, but they aren't going to let them get by with claiming that Donoghy was an isolated problem either. If Stern doesn't step up soon, more of the dirty laundry is going to get "leaked" to the press.

For the record, the league and the prosecutors knew about the calls from the beginning. And they decided that they don't conclusively prove that anybody else was involved. So Stern has plausible deniability for his public statement that "to his knowledge" Donoghy was an isolated, rogue official. But they also counted on the documents not going public.

Whether you call it a full-blown conspiracy or not, there is no doubt that referees did change the outcome of games. And there is no doubt that league officials did influence referees. And if dumb shit Donoghy hadn't gotten involved with bookies, people would still be insisting that it can't happen.

[rj215]

Hopefully they'll get something on Joey 'Mr. Sense of Humor' Crawford....especially after that non-call when Fisher fouled Barry....

[spurscenter]

its all fixed when it matters to marketing side of things

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09qL5MWelTe32/610x.jpg

[LakerLanny]

Don't fall all over yourselves apologizing to me.

Who was pointing this shit out about the NBA officials for literally YEARS now?

Oh yeah, that was me!

LakerLanny = Vindicated

[LakerLanny]

You're right, they wouldn't do anything stupid like having Joey Crawford ref the pivotal game of Lakers - Spurs and conveniently favor the Lakers down the stretch after he got into a verbal altercation with Tim Duncan last year. Oh wait...

The only reason that game was even close was because the *purs got literally every call until the Barry play.

Enough already, no team has benefitted in history as much from bad calls as yours.....look at Duncan without NBA officials handholding him in the Olympics, he was a useless scrub.

[angelbelow]

wow..

[TDMVPDPOY]

donaghy was probably testing the free calls entitled on his cellphone plan....:D

[nkdlunch]

so any more updates on this? seems ESPN and Stern taking this off the headlines with breaking news like "mayo makes a half court shot"

[Slinkyman]

The only reason that game was even close was because the *purs got literally every call until the Barry play.

Enough already, no team has benefitted in history as much from bad calls as yours.....look at Duncan without NBA officials handholding him in the Olympics, he was a useless scrub.

Yeah the Olympics have never been fixed, EVER!

sincerely,
French Judge

[ChumpDumper]

I agree that ref oversight is poor, but every "I told you so" douchebag here is trying to tie Donaghy to their "Stern controls all outcomes" fantasies they dreamed up when their team lost a playoff series.

Fans didn't give a shit about Donaghy and won't give a shit about Foster if he's involved either.

[nkdlunch]

I agree that ref oversight is poor, but every "I told you so" douchebag here is trying to tie Donaghy to their "Stern controls all outcomes" fantasies they dreamed up when their team lost a playoff series.

Fans didn't give a shit about Donaghy and won't give a shit about Foster if he's involved either.

I am pretty sure once 2 or more ppl are involved it's considered a conspiracy.

Stern does not need to be directly involved. He is still responsible, it's his league.

if you don't beleive Stern is direclty trying to cover up all this bad rep for the league, you are clueless.

[ChumpDumper]

Report: Donaghy bet on games.

Stupid fan: See? Stern is keeping the (Spurs/Lakers/Mavs/Suns/Blazers) from winning!!! He wants the (big/small/midsize) market teams to win to placate his (media cronies/sponsors/foreign fans/alien overlords)!!!!

[FromWayDowntown]

I am pretty sure once 2 or more ppl are involved it's considered a conspiracy.

Stern does not need to be directly involved. He is still responsible, it's his league.

if you don't beleive Stern is direclty trying to cover up all this bad rep for the league, you are clueless.

There are 2 different types of conspiracies that could be involved with NBA officiating. One is that the league is telling officials how to call games and dictating outcomes that favor particular teams. That is a conspiracy that would implicate the Commissioner directly. Dongahy attempted to suggest that such a conspiracy exists, but as we all know, there is virtually no proof and Donaghy did little to further that case by citing only to highly-publicized cases without any further proof.

The other is a conspiracy among officials who are gambling. That would seem to be the sort of conspiracy that Foster's involvement might have suggested -- although, again, Foster has apparently been investigated in this matter and hasn't been indicted or otherwise found to have acted improperly. But that sort of conspiracy doesn't implicate Stern except in the tangential sense that the Commissioner's office is involved in overseeing the officials. Even then, Stern's involvement wouldn't be a matter of comission; it would be a matter of omission. Stern wasn't telling the officials (Donaghy and Foster (again, he's apparently innocent here)) what to do; at most he was failing to see what the officials were doing. If you have proof that Stern was telling officials how to call games and that Donaghy and Foster (again, he's apparently innocent of any wrongdoing here) were discussing those things before making bets, you don't have any proof to implicate the league in a conspiracy. So, at most, the league is guilty of poor oversight; nothing about this report, even if it revealed more fire, would suggest that the league was actively involved in the alleged conspiracy.

I agree with Chump's thought, as I noted earlier, that this isn't a vindication for those who believe that the league has been fixing playoff series or anything like that -- at best (if you think bringing down the league structure is a best case scenario) it suggests that the league has done a very poor job of overseeing its officials and ensuring that those officials are acting properly. Perhaps the league has realized this and is attempting to address those problems with its new hire of General Johnson to oversee officials. In any event, even if every official was on Donaghy's speed dial and there were extensive conversations among the officials about how to bet on games, none of those conversations would implicate Stern in a conspiracy to rig outcomes.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Even if there is nothing to support the idea that Stern was in on anything, if Foster does become implicated (which seems less likely as more time passes) Stern will be left with a growing credibility gap after his repeated assertions that Donaghy was the lone gunman. Because he was so emphatic in the aftermath of the Donaghy revelations that he was a "rogue official", any further problem will cast a shadow over practically every statement he's ever made. If it turns out Foster was indeed on the metaphorical grassy knoll there will be no silencing the .4 Truther movement.

[FromWayDowntown]

Even if there is nothing to support the idea that Stern was in on anything, if Foster does become implicated (which seems less likely as more time passes) Stern will be left with a growing credibility gap after his repeated assertions that Donaghy was the lone gunman. Because he was so emphatic in the aftermath of the Donaghy revelations that he was a "rogue official", any further problem will cast a shadow over practically every statement he's ever made. If it turns out Foster was indeed on the metaphorical grassy knoll there will be no silencing the .4 Truther movement.

Oh, I agree that Stern has heap big problem if there is proof that Foster was involved, particularly now that the league has indicated that it knew of the Foster link long ago. Stern's credibility on that issue would be shot. I don't think we'll cross that bridge, however, because it seems that there's nothing to implicate Foster as anything more than an unknowing patsy or simply a friend of Donaghy's.

I still think there's a logical disconnect between proof of gambling officials and any proof of the beliefs held by those who are part of the .4 Truther movement.

[tlongII]

I find it highly unlikely that Foster was not involved in at least some way. Regardless of whether charges are brought against him or not.

[degenerate_gambler]

thought i'd get this out here...


http://pregame.com/forums/blogs/rj-bell/archive/2008/07/16/big-money-undefeated-in-accused-ref-s-games.aspx


Big Money UNDEFEATED in Accused Ref's Games
by RJ_Bell on 07/16/2008 8:00 AM

Statistics indicate that NBA Referee Scott Foster Affected Games

Las Vegas, Nevada (7/15/08) News reports have revealed that NBA referee Scott Foster was involved in over 130 suspicious phone calls with disgraced ref Tim Donaghy. An examination by RJ Bell of Pregame.com of betting patterns in Scott Fosters games raises even more questions.

During the 2006-07 period under investigation, seven games refereed by Scott Foster had lopsided enough betting on one team to move the point spread by at least 2 points; those seven teams were undefeated against Vegas meaning that the big-money gamblers won a 7 of 7 times on Fosters games; the odds of that happening randomly are less than 1%.Statistics alone cannot convict, but its certainly noteworthy that seven times in Fosters games one team was bet extremely heavily, and all seven times that team won, said RJ Bell of Pregame.com.

Two of those seven games stand out: On January 19, 2007 the Kings opened as a 1.5 favorites at Boston; betting on Sacramento moved the line to -4.5. Kings won by 5, shooting 25 free throws, versus only 14 free throws for the home team Celtics. On March 20, 2007 the Nuggets opened as 2.5 point underdogs at New Jersey. Denver was bet so heavily, they closed as 1 point favorites. Denver won by 4, shooting 32 free throws versus only 22 for the home team Nets.

In prior reporting widely carried by the national media, RJ Bell of Pregame.com uncovered that big-money bettors won 15 straight lopsidedly bet games refereed by Tim Donaghy during the 2006-2007 season.

Inside the numbers of this study: Teams bet in a disproportionate fashion typically win only around 50% against the Las Vegas line. Wins and losses determined against the opening number. The time frame considered: Opening Day 2006 through March 31, 2007.
MEDIA NOTE: Print, radio, TV, and Internet media should feel free to quote any information above. Please attribute: RJ Bell of Pregame.com.

For complete game-by-game details, follow-up questions, or media appearances email: [email protected]

[Galileo]

Foster will probably be indicted soon. The feds usually leak shit out to Fox before they hand down indictments.

NBA: Where Rigged Games Happens

The 2002 WCF Game 6 between Kings & Lakers was allegedly fixed by 2 officials to extend the series to 7 games.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3779794126037457169&q=nba+rigged&ei=IXB-SMn_HJzQ4gKxt8iJCw&hl=en

[tlongII]

The league should never have tried to go after Donaghy to recoup legal expenses. They are going to be hosed now.