For Stern, Ignorance Is Bliss

[duncan228]

I put this here because of the Spurs part in it. Please move if it belongs in NBA Central.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700235614,00.html?pg=1

For Stern, ignorance is bliss
By Doug Robinson

It's not difficult to understand why Tim Donaghy, the rotten ref, is offering unsavory information about NBA officiating.

It's not difficult to understand why the media and the public are ready to give at least some credence to Donaghy's assertions.

What is difficult to understand is why NBA commissioner David Stern is so smug in the face of Donaghy's charges leveled against the league.

Stern immediately began playing D when Donaghy, who is awaiting sentencing for gambling on games in which he officiated, claimed that a 2002 playoff series was rigged by referees and officials, and that the NBA routinely encouraged referees to call bogus fouls to manipulate games while also discouraging them from calling technical fouls on star players to protect TV ratings.

Stern immediately labeled the charges as baseless and insisted Donaghy was the only rogue referee. "... the accusations that we manipulate games that then get reported on ... the facts underlying those, they're false," Stern said. "We don't."

It would be easy to dismiss out of hand anything a convicted felon says — except that the NBA didn't catch Donaghy in the first place, the feds did. So where does the commish get off being so confident in his system of policing his officials in the first place?

When Donaghy was busted last year, Stern said that there had been nothing suspicious about the frequency of Donaghy's foul calls, his bank account activity or anything else that would have tipped off the league. After boasting that the NBA's system of monitoring referees gives the league the best officials in sports, he said he wasn't surprised Donaghy went undetected.
"If you're intent upon engaging in criminal activity," he said at the time, "and if you are acting alone in many cases without the knowledge of even your family, it's possible. Our history is replete with examples of that. So it doesn't come as a surprise that you could go undetected."

But now he's saying he knows for certain that the league is clean.

According to Stern, Donaghy, an NBA referee for 13 years, was rated in the top tier of officials.

But Stern is sure the rest of the refs are good to go. Fool him once, shame on him; fool him twice — couldn't happen.

The commish is certain he has a handle on the integrity of NBA officiating, but he didn't know about the eight referees who were charged with tax fraud in 1998. He didn't know they were downgrading first-class airline tickets purchased by the league and pocketing the difference without reporting the income to the IRS.

But he's sure he knows the rest of the referees are clean.

He didn't know about veteran referee Joey Crawford's personal feud with Spurs' star Tim Duncan until the ref ejected Duncan from a 2007 game against Dallas and, according to Duncan, challenged him to a fight on the court. Crawford was suspended for the rest of the season.

Stern also didn't know that Donaghy was engaged in wire fraud and transmitted wagering information and was taking cash payoffs from gamblers and making bets on games in which he was officiating.

The commish finally reluctantly agreed to launch the league's own investigation of Donaghy's assertions late last week, but only because of, as he acknowledged, the intense media coverage. Until then, he was indignant and defensive and clearly in denial, adopting the same stance as baseball commissioner Fay Vincent when the steroid allegations first began to surface in the Major Leagues. Remember how they scoffed at Jose Canseco?

Like Canseco's steroid accusations in baseball, Donaghy's assertions merely reinforce long-held suspicions by fans and media — the separate rules for star players, the alleged league plot to ensure that big-market teams win and so forth.

In the post-Donaghy era, everything looks even more suspicious — from Michael Jordan's pushoff of Bryon Russell to the "blown" calls on 3-point shots in Game 6 of the 1998 Jazz-Bulls NBA finals game to the New York Knicks winning the right to pick Patrick Ewing first in the 1985 NBA draft.

The NBA's huge credibility problem makes it crucial that the league investigate Donaghy's charges instead of stonewall tactics a la Vincent. Perception is everything, a point that seems lost on Stern and the NBA. They tried to ignore Donaghy's charges and hoped they went away, a method that has worked in the past. To wit: The Joey Crawford Case.

Crawford was one of those referees accused in the airline-ticket tax scandal. He was sentenced to six months house arrest and three years probation for tax fraud. He resigned immediately, but was reinstated after the NBA owners' lockout shortened the 1998-99 season and never missed a game.
In April 2007, after the altercation with Duncan, Crawford was suspended for the balance of the season and the playoffs. He was reinstated again this season.

Guess who was officiating during the controversial Game 4 matchup between the Spurs and Lakers last month when there was a crucial no-call in the final seconds on a play in which the Spurs' Brent Barry was fouled by Derek Fisher.

The following day, the NBA announced that a foul had occurred and should have been called. Crawford, the man who wanted to fight Duncan, was the closest official to the play in question. Not only is Crawford, a referee who has an open feud with one of the league's star players, still officiating in the NBA, he's officiating Spurs games — in the playoffs, no less.

Small wonder the NBA has a credibility problem.

Stern can't afford to ignore Donaghy.

[td4mvp21]

He brings up some good points. Really, the only thing controversial about Game 4 was the no call. Up to that point, we had gotten a very fair share of calls from the officials. I do find it ironic that Crawford was closest to the play, however. I'm willing to bet there was a reason he didn't call it.

[polandprzem]

In the post-Donaghy era, everything looks even more suspicious — from Michael Jordan's pushoff of Bryon Russell to the "blown" calls on 3-point shots in Game 6 of the 1998 Jazz-Bulls NBA finals game to the New York Knicks winning the right to pick Patrick Ewing first in the 1985 NBA draft.

Yea if anybody remembers - they did not counted 3 pointer from Eisley (ball was like 2 meters from Howards hands when the buzzer sounded), but they said Harpers two was good, and it simply wasn't.

[xtremesteven33]

it was equally as pathetic when NBA analysts say that Barry didnt deserve the call cause he didnt sell it.

wow...

all this coming from people who said the spurs flop too much

[duncan228]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/ny-spnba0618,0,3204389.story

NBA not caving to public perception in assigning refs
BY KEN BERGER

BOSTON - Dwyane Wade was on the court before Game 6 of the Finals Tuesday night. All things considered, there couldn't have been a more appropriate bystander.

Wade led the Miami Heat to the 2006 NBA title with one of the greatest individual performances in league history, carrying Pat Riley's team to four straight victories after going down 0-2 against Dallas.

But like these Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, Wade's performance was notable for circumstances beyond his control. With officiating back in the news, it was not difficult to conjure memories of Wade's 25 free-throw attempts -- and the Heat's 49-25 advantage from the line -- in Miami's controversial, 101-100 overtime victory over Dallas in Game 5 of that series. Wade finished with 43 points.

Two of the officials who worked that game, the aftermath of which included a $250,000 fine for Dallas owner Mark Cuban, were assigned to Game 6 Tuesday night -- Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford. Given the resurfacing of the Tim Donaghy scandal, this decision either took a healthy dose of naivety or courage on the NBA's part, depending on your perspective.

"They're two of the best officials we have," Wade said before the game. "One thing you have to understand about officiating in the NBA is, it's the hardest thing . . . We don't worry about past history. The ball's still got to go into the basket. You can't control that, so we're not worried about that."

Fans in Dallas, Sacramento and San Antonio might beg to differ.

But if nothing else, the NBA -- particularly director of officials Ronnie Nunn and vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson -- did not cave to public perception in assigning referees for the past two games of the Finals. Reports of the FBI asking questions about Dick Bavetta were in the news for several days before Nunn and Jackson assigned Bavetta to Game 5.

Similarly, they had to know the backlash that would ensue if anything untoward happened Tuesday night at the hands of Crawford. The controversial ref was suspended last season for an altercation with the Spurs' Tim Duncan and came under criticism in the Western Conference finals for missing a call on Derek Fisher against Brent Barry at the end of Game 4. The league acknowledged the next day that a foul should have been called, which would've given the Spurs a chance to send the game to overtime.

A league official said Tuesday that no consideration was given to the media reports about Donaghy's latest allegations in determining officiating assignments.

But with Donaghy's July 14 sentencing still weeks away, league officials are bracing for more allegations from the disgraced official, who pleaded guilty last summer to felony charges related to betting on games he officiated and providing information to gamblers. As Newsday reported Tuesday, federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles will be reviewing Donaghy's allegation that two referees, directed by a league official, heavily favored the Lakers against the Kings in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals in Los Angeles.

Newsday also reported that Los Angeles County prosecutors have reviewed the case, but determined that the statute of limitations has expired. The statute of limitations on felonies is three years under California law, and one year for misdemeanors, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the county district attorney's office.

"Our folks are sending material over to U.S. Attorney's office for review by the U.S. Attorney to determine if there's any possible violation of federal laws," Gibbons said.

Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, declined to comment on the matter.

In addition, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce was planning to send a letter of inquiry to the NBA this week about the 2002 Lakers-Kings game. But Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Philadelphia Daily News' editorial board this week that he has no interest in pursuing Senate hearings on Donaghy's game-fixing allegation.

The questions for the NBA are the same ones it faced when the Donaghy story broke 11 months ago: When will it end, how will it end, and how does commissioner David Stern steer his life's work through these troubled times?

"We're going to get past this," Wade said. "We don't worry about that. We've got one of the best commissioners in the game and he's going to do the best job he can to move us forward."

[wildbill2u]

Why were NBA refs taken back into the fold and reinstated after they committed--and were sentenced--for tax fraud?

Is the game so barren of referees that they couldn't be replaced permanently? Or were these guys the ones that the League office leans on?

Do you think NFL or MLB officials who committed felonies would be permitted to return to officiating?

[LakerLanny]

Why were NBA refs taken back into the fold and reinstated after they committed--and were sentenced--for tax fraud?

Is the game so barren of referees that they couldn't be replaced permanently? Or were these guys the ones that the League office leans on?

Do you think NFL or MLB officials who committed felonies would be permitted to return to officiating?


It is like they think the league can't go on without Joey Crawford or Ken Mauer

If they were money oriented enough to commit federal tax fraud, is it really such a reach to think they would manipulate/rig/fix a game for some additional money?

Until the NBA starts assigning officials to playoff games in a transparent, random fashion.....it is completely suspect.

Lakers go 0-5 in the playoffs with Ed F Rush, 14-2 with anyone else.

Meanwhile Boston goes 6-1 with Rush, 10-9 with anyone else.

Rush "officiated" an incredible 27% of Boston's playoff games! That is just wrong, no matter how you slice it.

[smeagol]

It is like they think the league can't go on without Joey Crawford or Ken Mauer

If they were money oriented enough to commit federal tax fraud, is it really such a reach to think they would manipulate/rig/fix a game for some additional money?

Until the NBA starts assigning officials to playoff games in a transparent, random fashion.....it is completely suspect.

Lakers go 0-5 in the playoffs with Ed F Rush, 14-2 with anyone else.

Meanwhile Boston goes 6-1 with Rush, 10-9 with anyone else.

Rush "officiated" an incredible 27% of Boston's playoff games! That is just wrong, no matter how you slice it.

If anything, referees favor LA.

[peskypesky]

If this is all true, how do you explain the tiny-market Spurs winning 4 Championships in the past 10 years?

[Cry Havoc]

If this is all true, how do you explain the tiny-market Spurs winning 4 Championships in the past 10 years?

Because if suspicious calls were made like this every single series -- and they would have had to have been to keep the Spurs from winning -- it would be really freaking obvious that the fix was in.

[ChumpDumper]

But everyone is claiming it IS obvious.

When did the league fix games for the Spurs?

[Galileo]

I put this here because of the Spurs part in it. Please move if it belongs in NBA Central.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700235614,00.html?pg=1

For Stern, ignorance is bliss
By Doug Robinson

It's not difficult to understand why Tim Donaghy, the rotten ref, is offering unsavory information about NBA officiating.

It's not difficult to understand why the media and the public are ready to give at least some credence to Donaghy's assertions.

What is difficult to understand is why NBA commissioner David Stern is so smug in the face of Donaghy's charges leveled against the league.

Stern immediately began playing D when Donaghy, who is awaiting sentencing for gambling on games in which he officiated, claimed that a 2002 playoff series was rigged by referees and officials, and that the NBA routinely encouraged referees to call bogus fouls to manipulate games while also discouraging them from calling technical fouls on star players to protect TV ratings.

Stern immediately labeled the charges as baseless and insisted Donaghy was the only rogue referee. "... the accusations that we manipulate games that then get reported on ... the facts underlying those, they're false," Stern said. "We don't."

It would be easy to dismiss out of hand anything a convicted felon says — except that the NBA didn't catch Donaghy in the first place, the feds did. So where does the commish get off being so confident in his system of policing his officials in the first place?

When Donaghy was busted last year, Stern said that there had been nothing suspicious about the frequency of Donaghy's foul calls, his bank account activity or anything else that would have tipped off the league. After boasting that the NBA's system of monitoring referees gives the league the best officials in sports, he said he wasn't surprised Donaghy went undetected.
"If you're intent upon engaging in criminal activity," he said at the time, "and if you are acting alone in many cases without the knowledge of even your family, it's possible. Our history is replete with examples of that. So it doesn't come as a surprise that you could go undetected."

But now he's saying he knows for certain that the league is clean.

According to Stern, Donaghy, an NBA referee for 13 years, was rated in the top tier of officials.

But Stern is sure the rest of the refs are good to go. Fool him once, shame on him; fool him twice — couldn't happen.

The commish is certain he has a handle on the integrity of NBA officiating, but he didn't know about the eight referees who were charged with tax fraud in 1998. He didn't know they were downgrading first-class airline tickets purchased by the league and pocketing the difference without reporting the income to the IRS.

But he's sure he knows the rest of the referees are clean.

He didn't know about veteran referee Joey Crawford's personal feud with Spurs' star Tim Duncan until the ref ejected Duncan from a 2007 game against Dallas and, according to Duncan, challenged him to a fight on the court. Crawford was suspended for the rest of the season.

Stern also didn't know that Donaghy was engaged in wire fraud and transmitted wagering information and was taking cash payoffs from gamblers and making bets on games in which he was officiating.

The commish finally reluctantly agreed to launch the league's own investigation of Donaghy's assertions late last week, but only because of, as he acknowledged, the intense media coverage. Until then, he was indignant and defensive and clearly in denial, adopting the same stance as baseball commissioner Fay Vincent when the steroid allegations first began to surface in the Major Leagues. Remember how they scoffed at Jose Canseco?

Like Canseco's steroid accusations in baseball, Donaghy's assertions merely reinforce long-held suspicions by fans and media — the separate rules for star players, the alleged league plot to ensure that big-market teams win and so forth.

In the post-Donaghy era, everything looks even more suspicious — from Michael Jordan's pushoff of Bryon Russell to the "blown" calls on 3-point shots in Game 6 of the 1998 Jazz-Bulls NBA finals game to the New York Knicks winning the right to pick Patrick Ewing first in the 1985 NBA draft.

The NBA's huge credibility problem makes it crucial that the league investigate Donaghy's charges instead of stonewall tactics a la Vincent. Perception is everything, a point that seems lost on Stern and the NBA. They tried to ignore Donaghy's charges and hoped they went away, a method that has worked in the past. To wit: The Joey Crawford Case.

Crawford was one of those referees accused in the airline-ticket tax scandal. He was sentenced to six months house arrest and three years probation for tax fraud. He resigned immediately, but was reinstated after the NBA owners' lockout shortened the 1998-99 season and never missed a game.
In April 2007, after the altercation with Duncan, Crawford was suspended for the balance of the season and the playoffs. He was reinstated again this season.

Guess who was officiating during the controversial Game 4 matchup between the Spurs and Lakers last month when there was a crucial no-call in the final seconds on a play in which the Spurs' Brent Barry was fouled by Derek Fisher.

The following day, the NBA announced that a foul had occurred and should have been called. Crawford, the man who wanted to fight Duncan, was the closest official to the play in question. Not only is Crawford, a referee who has an open feud with one of the league's star players, still officiating in the NBA, he's officiating Spurs games — in the playoffs, no less.

Small wonder the NBA has a credibility problem.

Stern can't afford to ignore Donaghy.

Thank you, duncan228.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!

This is a wake up call. Don't you see?

The NBA has many rigged and fixed games, in favor of big market teams. Its crooked, no different than the crooked federal government we have in Washington DC.

The NBA acts as if we have to absolutely prove every single allegtion. And then when a witness (who was providing reliable info to gamblers) provides reliable info to us, THE FANS, info that corroborates what we can see with our own eyes, Stern sounds like a guilty politician with everything to hide.

You see, WE do not have to prove the NBA guilty, no more than the PEOPLE have to prove the govenrment crooked and full of conspiracies.

If WE, the fans, don't believe what Stern says, we don't have to support the NBA any more, just like the PEOPLE don't have to vote for the same crooks anymore.

PLEASE LISTEN.

Back the San Antonio Spurs, and other small market teams if you'd like, BUT DON'T BACK the NBA anymore. Tell them to shove it until we get some real answers. Buy Spurs tickets and Spurs products. Go to the games when they play small market teams. But at the same time, contact the NBA and tell them they are full of shit. Encourage the players to speak up. They are stacking the deck against the Spurs and have been since the NBA/ABA merger, especially since the Duncan era. Duncan is equal to the greatest players of all time.

THAT'S HOW A SMALL MARKET TEAM WON 4 RINGS

Duncan never got the calls Jordan got. Jordan had the refs of his side, Duncan has the deck stacked against him. Tell David Stern to get rid of Dick Bavetta and Bob Delaney, these people stink. They're dirty. They are far worse criminals than Tim Donaghy. We need to do this. The cat is out of the bag. Strike while the oven is hot. Speak up. Tell the NBA to FIX IT, instead of fixing games!!!

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag:

UPDATE:

I feel your pain, Sacramento:

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=hBtUSOSRMZ_k4ALK-OGmDw&hl=en

[ChumpDumper]

:lol

Support your NBA team just like you have these many years, but don't support the NBA!

[Mister Sinister]

Thank you, duncan228.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!

This is a wake up call. Don't you see?

The NBA has many rigged and fixed games, in favor of big market teams. Its crooked, no different than the crooked federal government we have in Washington DC.

The NBA acts as if we have to absolutely prove every single allegtion. And then when a witness (who was providing reliable info to gamblers) provides reliable info to us, THE FANS, info that corroborates what we can see with our own eyes, Stern sounds like a guilty politician with everything to hide.

You see, WE do not have to prove the NBA guilty, no more than the PEOPLE have to prove the govenrment crooked and full of conspiracies.

If WE, the fans, don't believe what Stern says, we don't have to support the NBA any more, just like the PEOPLE don't have to vote for the same crooks anymore.

PLEASE LISTEN.

Back the San Antonio Spurs, and other small market teams if you'd like, BUT DON'T BACK the NBA anymore. Tell them to shove until we get some real answers. Buy Spurs tickets and Spurs products. Go to the games when they play small market teams. But at the same time, contact the NBA and tell them they are full of shit. Encorage the players to speak up. They are stacking the deck against the Spurs and have been since the NBA/ABA merger, especially since the Duncan era. Duncan is equal to the greatest players of all time.

THAT'S HOW A SMALL MARKET TEAM WON 4 RINGS

Duncan never got the calls Jordan got. Jordan had the refs of his side, Duncan has the deck stacked against him. Tell David Stern to get rid of Dick Bavetta and Bob Delaney, these people stink. They're dirty. They are far worse criminals than Tim Donaghy. We need to do this. The cat is out of the bag. Strike while the oven is hot. Speak up. Tell the NBA to FIX IT, instead of fixing games!!!

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag:
Calm down, mein Freund. o_o

[mrspurs]

i should have this copied so i could paste it everytime a thread of this nature is made.....imo until the nba abopts its version of the nfl's red flag....the nba cheats...always has...always will...the refs cheat, that much has been proven for years...until nba refs are held accountable for their calls during the games, (not after) imo, will the nba be able to seperate itself, from the officiating, in the sport boxing....go spurs go

[Twisted_Dawg]

Two thoughts:
1. In a job that requires utmost honesty, integrity and character, the NBA fires refs that had lied, cheated and defrauded them and the IRS and were were later convicted on felonies. Then the NBA rehires these liars, thiefs, cheats and felons again? Unbelievable.

2. Dwyane Wade is one salad tossing mofo!!!

"They're two of the best officials we have (Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford)," Wade said before the game. "One thing you have to understand about officiating in the NBA is, it's the hardest thing . . . We don't worry about past history. The ball's still got to go into the basket. You can't control that, so we're not worried about that."

[But like these Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, Wade's performance was notable for circumstances beyond his control. With officiating back in the news, it was not difficult to conjure memories of Wade's 25 free-throw attempts -- and the Heat's 49-25 advantage from the line -- in Miami's controversial, 101-100 overtime victory over Dallas in Game 5 of that series. Wade finished with 43 points.]

[phyzik]

If this is all true, how do you explain the tiny-market Spurs winning 4 Championships in the past 10 years?

Maybe Stern wanted to gauge international interest in the NBA... who better then the Spurs at that time?

[Thomas82]

Thank you, duncan228.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!

This is a wake up call. Don't you see?

The NBA has many rigged and fixed games, in favor of big market teams. Its crooked, no different than the crooked federal government we have in Washington DC.

The NBA acts as if we have to absolutely prove every single allegtion. And then when a witness (who was providing reliable info to gamblers) provides reliable info to us, THE FANS, info that corroborates what we can see with our own eyes, Stern sounds like a guilty politician with everything to hide.

You see, WE do not have to prove the NBA guilty, no more than the PEOPLE have to prove the govenrment crooked and full of conspiracies.

If WE, the fans, don't believe what Stern says, we don't have to support the NBA any more, just like the PEOPLE don't have to vote for the same crooks anymore.

PLEASE LISTEN.

Back the San Antonio Spurs, and other small market teams if you'd like, BUT DON'T BACK the NBA anymore. Tell them to shove it until we get some real answers. Buy Spurs tickets and Spurs products. Go to the games when they play small market teams. But at the same time, contact the NBA and tell them they are full of shit. Encourage the players to speak up. They are stacking the deck against the Spurs and have been since the NBA/ABA merger, especially since the Duncan era. Duncan is equal to the greatest players of all time.

THAT'S HOW A SMALL MARKET TEAM WON 4 RINGS

Duncan never got the calls Jordan got. Jordan had the refs of his side, Duncan has the deck stacked against him. Tell David Stern to get rid of Dick Bavetta and Bob Delaney, these people stink. They're dirty. They are far worse criminals than Tim Donaghy. We need to do this. The cat is out of the bag. Strike while the oven is hot. Speak up. Tell the NBA to FIX IT, instead of fixing games!!!

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag:

UPDATE:

I feel your pain, Sacramento:

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=hBtUSOSRMZ_k4ALK-OGmDw&hl=en

Excellent thoughts.

[Galileo]

Excellent thoughts.

Thanks.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Stern is getting old. Expert a fairer shake for the Spurs next year.

Spurs in NBA

32 years
28 years, made playoffs
26 years, + .500 record
24 years, 1st or 2nd in division
19 years, made conference finals (elite 8)
16 years, division champion
10 years, conference finals (final four)
4 NBA championships

A record of excellent matched only by the Lakers.

[m33p0]

dear dave,

YOU KNOW JACK SHIT!

disgruntled fan