UV Ray
08-16-2007, 11:14 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0816boivin0816.html
Donaghy proceedings cause bewilderment
Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 16, 2007 12:00 AM
It boggles my mind more than offends my sensibilities. How can a high-profile NBA official bet on games, provide information for others to do the same and allegedly frequent casinos under the supervision of a league that can be downright Orwellian in its surveillance and control?
You can take the points, but leave your hip-hop clothes at home.
It boggles my mind on this day of Tim Donaghy's guilty pleas because of something that happened to former Cardinals player Ron Wolfley more than 15 years ago.
The former special-teams standout, now a radio talk-show host and analyst with KTAR-AM (620), attended a Guns N' Roses concert in Las Vegas with Cardinals teammate Mike Zordich. Wolfley, a self-described non-gambler, hit the blackjack table, "even though I had no idea how to play the game."
After 30 minutes, he left.
Three days later, his phone rang.
"Ron, this is Harold Henderson with NFL security. I have an important question to ask you."
"Uh, OK."
"Do you recall the guy that was sitting next to you at a blackjack table in Las Vegas?"
"Mike Zordich."
"No on the other side. The big guy with the coat to your left."
"I have no idea."
The big guy, Henderson told him, had ties to organized crime. Somehow, the league knew that for a half-hour one night in Sin City, a "wedge-buster" in the NFL was sitting next to a bad seed.
"Amazing," Wolfley said. "It's not like I was some superstar."
It boggles my mind that Donaghy's charade went on for two years, that his frequent golf partner was a convicted bookie and that, according to the New York Post, Donaghy had been introduced to the Gambino crime family and frequently snuck off to Atlantic City to play blackjack and poker.
The NBA did investigate allegations of casino gambling by Donaghy in 2005 and found nothing.
It boggles my mind that a Western Conference executive told me that when word broke of an official possibly being involved in gambling, many of his peers suspected Donaghy. Why would so many others smell the trail but not the league?
Donaghy slipped through the cracks of the NBA's extensive monitoring system. Commissioner David Stern said the NBA employs consultants from the FBI, CIA, Army and Secret Service to help with monitoring and background checks.
Just four years ago, Stern called the league's referees "the most statistically analyzed and mentored group of any company in any place in the world."
Makes you question who's doing the analyzing.
It boggles my mind that some believe this is a widespread problem in the NBA. Most referees have the best interests of the NBA in mind. Do they make mistakes? Of course. Are they manipulating the system to feed their addictions? No way.
Donaghy's a bad seed, not a branch on a tree of bad intentions.
By the way, the legal documents released Wednesday suggest any improprieties involving Donaghy ended around April 30. That is nearly two weeks before the controversial Phoenix-San Antonio Western Conference semifinal game that Donaghy officiated. So much for those Suns fans perched on the grassy knoll.
It boggles my mind that many are convinced the NBA will lose supporters because of this. For the under-35, poker-loving fans with short attention spans, this revelation will inspire nothing more than a shoulder shrug.
For the over-35 generation, the disconnect already has happened.
The league, with all its warts, will survive. You can bet on it.
Donaghy proceedings cause bewilderment
Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 16, 2007 12:00 AM
It boggles my mind more than offends my sensibilities. How can a high-profile NBA official bet on games, provide information for others to do the same and allegedly frequent casinos under the supervision of a league that can be downright Orwellian in its surveillance and control?
You can take the points, but leave your hip-hop clothes at home.
It boggles my mind on this day of Tim Donaghy's guilty pleas because of something that happened to former Cardinals player Ron Wolfley more than 15 years ago.
The former special-teams standout, now a radio talk-show host and analyst with KTAR-AM (620), attended a Guns N' Roses concert in Las Vegas with Cardinals teammate Mike Zordich. Wolfley, a self-described non-gambler, hit the blackjack table, "even though I had no idea how to play the game."
After 30 minutes, he left.
Three days later, his phone rang.
"Ron, this is Harold Henderson with NFL security. I have an important question to ask you."
"Uh, OK."
"Do you recall the guy that was sitting next to you at a blackjack table in Las Vegas?"
"Mike Zordich."
"No on the other side. The big guy with the coat to your left."
"I have no idea."
The big guy, Henderson told him, had ties to organized crime. Somehow, the league knew that for a half-hour one night in Sin City, a "wedge-buster" in the NFL was sitting next to a bad seed.
"Amazing," Wolfley said. "It's not like I was some superstar."
It boggles my mind that Donaghy's charade went on for two years, that his frequent golf partner was a convicted bookie and that, according to the New York Post, Donaghy had been introduced to the Gambino crime family and frequently snuck off to Atlantic City to play blackjack and poker.
The NBA did investigate allegations of casino gambling by Donaghy in 2005 and found nothing.
It boggles my mind that a Western Conference executive told me that when word broke of an official possibly being involved in gambling, many of his peers suspected Donaghy. Why would so many others smell the trail but not the league?
Donaghy slipped through the cracks of the NBA's extensive monitoring system. Commissioner David Stern said the NBA employs consultants from the FBI, CIA, Army and Secret Service to help with monitoring and background checks.
Just four years ago, Stern called the league's referees "the most statistically analyzed and mentored group of any company in any place in the world."
Makes you question who's doing the analyzing.
It boggles my mind that some believe this is a widespread problem in the NBA. Most referees have the best interests of the NBA in mind. Do they make mistakes? Of course. Are they manipulating the system to feed their addictions? No way.
Donaghy's a bad seed, not a branch on a tree of bad intentions.
By the way, the legal documents released Wednesday suggest any improprieties involving Donaghy ended around April 30. That is nearly two weeks before the controversial Phoenix-San Antonio Western Conference semifinal game that Donaghy officiated. So much for those Suns fans perched on the grassy knoll.
It boggles my mind that many are convinced the NBA will lose supporters because of this. For the under-35, poker-loving fans with short attention spans, this revelation will inspire nothing more than a shoulder shrug.
For the over-35 generation, the disconnect already has happened.
The league, with all its warts, will survive. You can bet on it.