does anyone remember the name of the nba ref who was an ex undercover cop and snitched against the mob? wonder if there is any relation to whats going on. i know it was a long time ago that happened, but just a possible conspiracy theory.
Already did the research. Alas, he did not. He did however ref Suns-Spurs G3 this year, you know, where the Spurs were shoving Nash around all night long and allowed to do so. The one where they called a foul in the last two minutes with the game decided for a reach-in on Nash, and D'Antoni sarcastically screamed from the bench "Why call it now?" Because a spread needed to be covered, Mike.
it's ridiculously harder for NFL and MLB... i could see NHL though.
NBA refs can easily change the game by giving a team freethrows... you can't make someone hit in baseball or get a TD in football. in hockey you could give out BS penalties.
Spare me. 1919 MLB World Series...
It is just more publicized now than it was then. The only way to combat this is with consistent vigilance.
The beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de dee, la de da de da
Charleston was once the rage, uh huh
History has turned the page, uh huh
The miniskirt's the current thing, uh huh
Teeny bopper is our newborn king, uh huh
The beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de dee, la de da de da
The grocery store's the supermart, uh huh.
Little girls still break their hearts, uh huh.
And men still keep on marching off to war
Electrically they keep a baseball score
The beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de dee, la de da de da
Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss
The cars keep going faster all the time
Bums still cry, "Hey buddy, have you got a dime"
The beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de dee, la de da de da
And the beat goes on, yes the beat goes on...
Rasheed Wallace not a fan of accused referee Donaghy
Posted by Justin Rogers July 20, 2007 15:53PM
Remember several years ago when Rasheed Wallace got suspended for a week for threatening an NBA referee in the parking lot after a game? Well it turns out that was Tim Donaghy, the official under investigation for point shaving.
Well, at least he did not ref the NBA Finals. Which means the Cavs had a fair shot at winning, but didn't. It's the "James Era", right NBA.com?
I was not on any team's , I just had high respect for Utah for not playing scared vs. Dallas this year (which all teams except Utah, GS, Phoenix, and SA did, which is why Dallas got 67 wins)
They lost my respect though when they put on the worst WCF performance since Minnesota in 2004.
Well with everything said.. Ya think we'll have instant reply on foul calls?
Donaghy was ref for Game 3 of the WC Semis (Spurs 108 Suns 101).
Stern's statement:
http://www.nba.com/news/stern_statement_070720.html
NBA Commissioner David Stern Statement
NEW YORK, July 20, 2007 – NBA Commissioner David Stern has issued the following statement:
"As we previously stated, we have been cooperating with the FBI in their investigation of allegations that a single NBA referee bet on NBA games that he officiated. As part of that cooperation, we were asked by the Government not to comment about the investigation, but in light of the widespread press coverage and the naming of the referee, Tim Donaghy, we consider it appropriate to make a fuller statement.
"We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again. We will have more to say at a press conference that will be scheduled for next week."
Rasheed Wallace not a fan of accused referee Donaghy
Posted by Justin Rogers July 20, 2007 15:53PM
Remember several years ago when Rasheed Wallace got suspended for a week for threatening an NBA referee in the parking lot after a game? Well it turns out that was Tim Donaghy, the official under investigation for point shaving.
January 26, 2003, ESPN.com: Then, about an hour after the game, Wallace was speaking with Memphis guard Brevin Knight and signing autographs for an acquaintance of Knight's when Wall, Donaghy and Steve Javie, the third ref, came walking past on the way to their car.
According to a source, Wallace shouted at Donaghy, "That was a bull---- call and technical, and I'm gonna get my money back," referring to the fine players receive for getting T'd up.
Donaghy then, according to the source, shouted back, "Watch the tape."
At this point, things get a little murky. Wallace then apparently took some steps toward Donaghy, and, a source says, said, "No, you watch the tape," and cursed at Donaghy. What is also unclear -- and very important, obviously -- is whether Donaghy cursed back at Wallace, or merely repeated what he'd already said, or didn't say anything. No one I spoke with disputes, though, that Wallace reacted by raising his arms -- as if to throw a punch, the league believes; with no malice toward Donaghy intended or planned, Wallace's people believe -- and moving toward Donaghy, who moved toward Wallace. Another source contends that Wallace then yelled at Donaghy, "I'm gonna kick your ass, punk-ass mother-----," and that the league viewed this as prima facie evidence of a threat against the official -- the major reason for the seven-game suspension.
Needless to say, I don't think a sympathy card will be in the mail anytime soon.
Thanks Bishopdon for reminding me about this story.
I doubt Sheed's a fan of any ref. Anyone remember who the guy that T'd Sheed up for looking at him was?
Crisis of character
Gambling scandal cuts to heart of league's integrity
Posted: Friday July 20, 2007 7:04PM; Updated: Saturday July 21, 2007 2:18AM
And the NBA is facing possibly its worst crisis in history.
"I never would have believed that this would happen," says Mark Madsen, the player representative of the Minnesota Timberwolves. "It's tragic. I never thought I'd be hearing this in 100 years, about any official in any sport."
But it has happened. Sometime next week, referee Tim Donaghy, lowly regarded as a whistle-blower in some circles but qualified enough (in the NBA's view) to work postseason games, will reportedly surrender to the FBI to face charges that he conspired to make calls that would affect the point spread of games. Donaghy, 40, a 13-year veteran who officiated five playoff games in 2007, allegedly had a gambling problem that landed him in financial difficulty, according to the New York Post, which broke the Donaghy story on its front pages on Friday. Said one league source with ties to Philadelphia (Donaghy is one of four NBA refs who graduated from Philadelphia's Cardinal O'Hara High School and he still lives in the Quaker City suburbs): "When I heard that a referee was in trouble with gambling, I knew right away it was Donaghy."
Donaghy, who was on duty the night of the infamous Nov. 19, 2004 brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, has made no comment. NBA officials have been similarly close-mouthed, saying that the FBI has asked them not to speak. Calls to half a dozen referees went unreturned.
But when Commissioner David Stern does talk, he will have to answer this: If others knew that Donaghy was a gambler, why didn't the NBA? Good question.
In a bit of irony that is no doubt souring Stern's innards, the story broke as the NBA was working out its star-spangled troops in Las Vegas, which is also the site of the Olympic qualifier. Years ago, Stern looked upon Vegas as a modern-day Gomorrah -- best left ignored because of its ties to gambling. That has changed. Though Stern still expresses reservations about a Vegas-based NBA franchise, the 2007 All-Star Game was staged here, and now that is followed by the Olympic event, which USA Basketball, headed by former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, lobbied for. One of the league's most prominent ownership teams, the Sacramento Kings' Maloof brothers, Gavin and Joseph, own a Vegas hotel (the Palms) where players and coaches stayed during All-Star Weekend.
Beyond the issue of the ref's alleged gambling, and whether or not the NBA knew about it, the baby-faced Donaghy is no stranger to trouble. In January, 2005, his next-door neighbors in Chester County sued him for harassment and invasion of privacy for a pattern of discord that had reportedly gone on for several years. Peter and Lisa Mansueto claimed that Donaghy vandalized their property and stalked them, even to the point of following Mrs. Mansueto around Radley Run Country Club, where Donaghy and the Mansuetos were members. After an internal investigation, Donaghy was suspended from Radley Run for the summer and early fall of 2004. The suit also alleged that Donaghy set fire to the Mansuetos' tractor and crashed their golf cart into a ravine.
Efforts to reach the Mansuetos to confirmt the disposition of the lawsuit were unsuccessful as of 6 p.m. on Friday. Donaghy has since sold his house and moved to Bradenton, Fla.
Donaghy is the least-regarded of the Cardinal O'Hara foursome, which also includes Joey Crawford, Mike Callahan and Ed Malloy. One NBA coach called him "absolutely the worst referee in the league" but others were kinder. "I'd put him about in the middle," said another coach, requesting anonymity. "Then again, it's a large and undistinguished middle."
Donaghy's competence, or lack thereof, doesn't prove or disprove that he was making crooked calls. But now, as Madsen says, "Every player is going to try to remember their games that he worked. If there were any close games or late calls, players are definitely going to think about that. This is bad."
Though it was obscured by the subsequent riot in the stands between members of the Indiana Pacers and Pistons fans, Donaghy's work on Nov. 19 at the Palace would've earned him no commendation from the league office. He and Ronnie Garretson, the two senior officials, did little to defuse the situation after Detroit's Ben Wallace threw a punch at Indiana's Ron Artest. Artest then went and sprawled on the scorer's table, after which a cup of beer was tossed at him after which all broke loose.
Donaghy was also on the crew that worked a game in Sacramento on the April 2004 night that Shaquille O'Neal (then of the Los Angeles Lakers) claimed the outcome was "predetermined" after a 102-85 skunking by the Kings. Then again, Vlade Divac, an inventive flopper then playing for the Kings, always brought out Shaq's angry side.
In January 2003, Donaghy and Rasheed Wallace, then with the Portland Trail Blazers, got into a postgame shouting match on the loading dock of the Rose Garden in Portland. Wallace had been upset with some of Donaghy's calls during the game. Again, that proves nothing since at one time or another 'Sheed, now a Detroit Piston, is upset with everyone's calls. But officials are not supposed to get into offcourt shouting matches with players.
Donaghy, who is about 5-foot-7, looks like a junior-high kid staring up at the players he officiates. He does not have the bulldog demeanor of a Crawford (no one does), but a former friend of his said he was highly aggressive. "Tim was an unbelievable athlete, a hard-driving kid, very determined," said Scott Newman, the editorial sales director for Bloomberg North America, who grew up playing basketball in Philly with Donaghy. "He always wanted to be the best. He was a little guy who got the most out of what he had. He was very passionate about what he did."
That's one way to put it. The league source close to Philly put it this way: "He's the kind of guy who is always in fights. When he was a kid, you'd see him throwing rocks at cars. He's just an asshole. No one likes the guy. He's always in fights on the golf course, that kind of thing. He's a very antagonistic guy. When you have too many enemies, one of them comes back to bite you.''
Obviously, this scandal isn't just about something coming back at Donaghy. It cuts to the heart of a league that struggles with public perception even in the best of times.
"Even though it might be only one guy, it doesn't matter," said an NBA coach. "If you're a fan, you're going to walk out after a game wondering."
Questions about point spreads are prevalent among casual fans even though, within the NBA, the subject doesn't come up all that much. I can attest to that --I just don't hear much conversation about it. (Then again, I'm not a gambling man.) "Things happen too fast in this league to worry about whether you're up two points or 10 points," said one NBA coach. "I don't know how one referee blowing one whistle could have that big of an impact."
But don't think gamblers aren't aware of who's wearing the striped shirt. A Web site known as COVERS.com tabulates how individual refs perform vis-à-vis the over-under in every game. In case you're interested -- and now you are -- Tim Donaghy finished third for the 2006-07 season.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...scandal/1.html
great more fuel for suns fans to cry about......1 game isnt 6!! YOU LOST!!!
Courting danger
NBA behemoths don't faze ref Bob Delaney. They're not the mob.
By DAVE SCHEIBER
Published October 31, 2006
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photo
[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]
Bob Delaney, a 20-year NBA referee, doesn't tremble when facing down 7-footers. He's hardened from his years undercover infiltrating the mob.
Part Two: An inside job
BRADENTON -- Even from a distance, you can pick him out in a heartbeat. Inside the crowded basketball gym where he runs his referee school, the man with the black NBA polo shirt, matching black sweats and stylishly slicked-back graying hair has his gaze fixed on the mob in motion - young hotshot players and student officials racing up and down the hardwood.
Right away, you realize Bob Delaney is considerably taller than he looks on national TV when he's maintaining order alongside the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and so many towering pro players.
The 20-year veteran of countless NBA battles - a respected crew chief known for his hard-nosed, fearless style - stands 6 feet 1 with an athletic, 188-pound physique that most 55-year-old men would envy. There is also a distinctive presence about him, emanating from his streetwise New Jersey accent and calm blue eyes that have stared into much worse than the frequent glares of angry multimillionaire players and coaches.
On this morning, the Bradenton resident can be found courtside by a yellow 20-foot scaffold. It is the final session of an intensive, four-day program of his Officiating Academy in IMG's spacious basketball gymnasium, part of the sprawling Nick Bollettieri sports complex that is home turf to such marquee athletes as tennis player Maria Sharapova and golfer Paula Creamer.
He is busy talking into a miniature mike attached to a long wire that winds its way to a video camera high above the fast-paced action. All his comments and insights are recorded, so graduates can return to their referee jobs in high school, college and the pros with a personalized DVD critique from the master.
"Very good, very good," Delaney, head of IMG's entire sports officiating program, says encouragingly into the mike when one of his pupils makes a proper call. "But I wouldn't get into a big smiling thing about it. You don't want to be smiling when you're making a call, as if it's a joke. This is business."
In another lifetime, long before he entertained thoughts of becoming an NBA referee, Delaney blew the whistle in a considerably different kind of business.
And he worked with a far different type of wire.
He wore one.
A game of life and death
There were no jocks in this world, except the one he put on to hide the tiny tape recorder inside the plastic cup, and the second jockstrap he would wear over that as an added precaution. One wire ran from the recorder up the side of his body under an arm, the other he pulled through the inside of his pants pocket so he could easily activate the record button.
You see, for nearly three years in the 1970s, Bob Delaney was Bobby Covert, an undercover cop for the New Jersey State Police on a special mission: infiltrate the mob.
His 21/2-year investigation of large organized crime families in New Jersey and Philadelphia, at a time when the mob was at the height of its power in America, could have been straight out of the Sopranos. Amid rumors that he had gone bad, he literally disappeared from the force to work with the state police and FBI. He became the fake president of a fake trucking company with a fake rap sheet. And gradually, he earned the trust of some of the most ruthless criminals in the Northeast.
In that realm, it was Delaney's ability to blend in, not stand out, that made him so successful. It kept him alive when one slip would have meant a bullet to the head. And the experience ultimately led to his future in the NBA and the heights he has achieved there.
Most stories about sports figures at the top of their games require a look at formative athletic moments and impressive stats in high school, college, the pros. In this one, the stat that mattered most was 30 - the number of indictments brought against members of the Genovese and Bruno crime families, the result of Delaney's undercover duty.
Most such stories involve the names of big sporting influences along the way. In this one, the high-profile moniker is Donnie Brasco - the alias used by fellow undercover cop Joe Pistone, whose story was made into the 1997 movie Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. Delaney and Pistone crossed paths in a tense episode during the course of their investigations, and neither had any idea the other was actually with law enforcement.
"Myself and another undercover went to a sit-down to help mediate this beef with another family and Bobby was there," says Pistone, who spent six years in New York City infiltrating the Bonanno crime family. "He was very convincing. I was impressed, because if he loses the beef, he ends up dead."
Delaney's story is a study of a man forever changed by the hazardous duty of his early 20s, how he grappled with the unexpected psychological burden of living two lives simultaneously, how he refused to let fear hold him back in bitterness or seclusion in the years after.
And how the intimidation tactics he faces on an NBA court don't faze him in the slightest.
"Nothing," Delaney says with a half smile on his made-for-Hollywood face, "compares to what I lived through."
The making of an undercover cop
He grew up tough and confident in an Irish-Italian working class neighborhood in Paterson, N.J. And though he loved playing basketball, police work was always in the back of his mind.
His father, Robert Delaney, was a distinguished 30-year veteran of the New Jersey state trooper force and a captain in the 1970s. Back then, the agency not only patrolled the highways in uniform but sent a large number of officers into the field in plain clothes to do all manner of crime-fighting - from narcotics to murder investigations to busting up mob activity.
Delaney was a basketball standout for three years at Jersey City College but left before his senior year to join the state police in 1973. "My dad gave me my badge," he says. "It was a great moment that you remember your whole life."
Just 21, and with such a strong trooper background, Delaney seemed to have a terrific future. He was partnered with a veteran who had seen about everything on the job, Bob Scott, and was assigned to the rural area of Flemington, where there was no local police department. They lived with other troopers in a barracks, 15 days on, 15 days off.
"I had just come off turnpike duty when Bobby came in as a young recruit," Scott, now retired, says. "He was a big, tall, handsome, tough kid and very energetic. I made a lot of arrests as a trooper and I liked Bobby because he was a go-getter. I just took him under my wing and tried to teach him."
Much of their work dealt with domestic disputes, drunken drivers, bar fights and break-ins in six different townships. To stay in shape, Delaney worked as a referee at junior varsity and community basketball games. Three months into the job, Delaney experienced something that opened his eyes to a gut-wrenching facet of the work. He was called in to investigate the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl from her family's farm. He and Scott eventually discovered her sexually mutilated body - a crime later attributed to a man who had stopped to tell her one of her cows had gotten loose.
"For a 21-year-old kid, all of a sudden reality sets in," he says. "You realize there are some bad people in this world, and the bad can be really bad. So my understanding of victimology started at that point, and so did my understanding of bad guys."
A month later, another important lesson: He was called to investigate a break-in that occurred days after the homeowner was killed by a drunken driver. Delaney thought he had done a good job scrutinizing the scene, only to watch a senior detective find the case-breaking clue - paint chips on the fence that had been brushed by the getaway car. The thieves, having read the obituary, robbed the house during the funeral. "That reinforced how bad some people are," he says. "But it also reinforced to me the importance of attention to detail."
His big challenge came after one year on the job. The state police had joined forces with the FBI to embark on a six-month investigation of organized crime on the Jersey waterfront. Project Alpha would involve five undercover agents, three from the FBI, two from the state police.
Delaney was approached by a trooper sergeant, Jack Liddy. "He just walks over and says, 'You ever think of working undercover, I want to talk to you. If you ever tell anybody I'm talking to you, you won't have a shot at this job.' "
The young cop wanted in.
Attending your own funeral
A clandestine meeting at a diner followed, and soon the compe ion for one of the two trooper spots was heating up. And Delaney, with his poise, people skills and knowledge of the state, looked good.
There was one last step in the process, however: a meeting with the major in charge of the project. It was set for noon, but hours before the session, Liddy told Delaney it had been pushed to 2. So the sergeant took the candidate to lunch. "As soon as we hit the restaurant, Jack says, 'Whaddya want to do kid, eat it or drink it?' " Delaney recalls. "I say, 'Whatever you do boss.' So we go to the bar and he puts like three beers in me. And pretty soon, he says, 'Okay, let's go see the major.' "
Delaney had a fairly decent buzz on as he sat down for the meeting. It began badly. The major expressed concern that Delaney's father was a state police captain and there might be heat from the union if his son went undercover on a highly dangerous assignment.
"I got my back up a little," recalls Delaney. "I said, 'Excuse me sir, I've never asked for anything because my father is in the outfit, but I sure don't want to be held back because of it. If that's the case, maybe you're telling me I need to go find another job.' "
Delaney had passed the final exam he didn't even realize he was taking. The major liked the moxie the kid displayed in standing up to him. Further, Delaney learned that the meeting had been scheduled for 2 p.m. all along. His superiors just wanted to see how he would handle himself in a high-pressure situation under the influence of alcohol - a spot he would constantly find himself in with the mob.
Soon after, a car arrived in the middle of the night at the station house where Delaney and other troopers lived. He slipped out and left in the car, while another trooper went in and removed his uniforms. The next day, April 9, 1975, a personnel order was issued stating that Delaney had resigned.
Aside from those involved in Project Alpha, only Delaney's parents and sister knew the truth. His mentor and partner, Scott, had been away for the week and returned to the barracks to hear the stunning news. "Somebody said, 'Did you hear about Delaney?' " Scott recalls. "I said, 'No, what happened?' And they said that he and a buddy went to Florida and got arrested for murder. I could picture Bobby - he didn't take any s--- from anybody and maybe somebody gave him some. I felt really bad about it."
Other stories swirled: he'd gotten jammed up in a criminal investigation, he had smacked a woman around, he'd gotten into drugs confiscated on busts. His parents stopped going to state police functions because of all the whispering.
Scott talked it over with his wife, Fran. Though they had four small children and lived on a modest trooper's salary, they would offer all their savings to Delaney to help him out. Scott called Delaney's father. To his shock, Delaney answered.
"I thought he'd be in jail in Florida," he says. "But I told him I wanted to help him out, and that I'd go to Florida to serve as a character reference in court - even though that probably would have gotten me fired for breaking the state police rules."
To Scott's dismay, Delaney barely reacted.
"He just said, 'Okay, thanks a lot. I'll see you.' And he hung up," says Scott. "I had just offered him my life. I never heard from him. He never called back. And I never could figure it out."
For Delaney, having to stay mum with Scott was torture. He couldn't let him know that the offer of assistance had brought tears to his eyes.
"It was like being at your own funeral," he says. "Just like that, I was gone from the face of the earth."
-- Dave Scheiber can be reached at 727 893-8541 or [email protected].
>> Tomorrow: Into the shadows, onto the court
"He didn't take (bleep) from anybody. He was one of the refs that was marked who you couldn't talk (bleep) to. As a matter of fact, even if you raised your voice, he would turn around and look to give you a technical. He'd make a point to look back and see if you were going to try to argue or throw a fit. And because he always stayed like that, then you knew just not to do that."
Matt Geiger, former Philadelphia 76ers center, below
"I think he's tough, but fair. He's somebody you can talk to. He definitely draws the line when enough's enough. He doesn't hold grudges. He calls it like he sees it and if he thinks he misses a call, he says that. And the players respect that. But he's a no-nonsense guy, a guy who does a good job of controlling the game and ultimately lets the players play. I think once the story came out that he was an undercover police officer, he got a lot more respect. Everybody called him Donnie Brasco and things like that. But once you're in the heat of battle, you don't think about that stuff."
Grant Hill, Orlando Magic forward
"For a 21-year-old kid, all of a sudden reality sets in. You realize there are some bad people in this world, and the bad can be really bad. So my understanding of victimology started at that point, and so did my understanding of bad guys."
Bob Delaney
"He's a very tough ref; he doesn't take anything from anybody. He's a guy that when you go to him, you've got to go to him the right way. You just know that every time he comes in to ref a game, he is going to be fair. I respect him off the court for what he has done and what he did for his profession."
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat guard
But 2 + 2 = 4, last time I checked. (With a 7th to go at home, if need be.)
"...stands 6 feet 1..."Which one is it?"Donaghy, who is about 5-foot-7..."
With this news, D-wade just lost about 3 free throw attempts per game
Donaghy was ref for more games that Suns won than they lost. So he must have helped them even get to the playoffs.
You cannot have it both ways.
A turning point for the NBA and the David Stern era? Record low ratings and the apparent failure of the "Please god, let us find another Jordan soon" marketing strategy, plus, plus this ref scandal?
I think it's time for a new commish.
Vince McMahon may be available.
And I heard Don King was trying to buy the Spurs.
I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you mean, over the course of Donaghy's 13-year career? Game 3 was the only game in that series he reffed in.
I am talking about all year kid. And he reffed one game in the Suns /Lakers series .... and you won.
lol yeah this doesn't do Wade any good.
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