Donaghy: League didn't want small market team like Spurs in Finals every year

[FeZZy]

This does not allege an NBA conspiracy led by David Stern. It doesn't really allege anything except Donaghy's opinion.

You have got to be the stupidest conspiracy nut I've ever seen. You think there was a giant conspiracy to help the Spurs, but not to help the Lakers and other big market teams.

Aight listen up cuz im only going to say this once..shut the up if nba was ed up then there wouldn't been a 2007 nba game sweep of the nba's prodigy son lebron james or they would of called the foul in the end of game three..the spurs wouldn't of won the nba championship in 2003 which had some of the worst ratings of all time why would he do that? why would 1999 nba finals not gone to the knicks if they were the most liked underdog in nba history can you just take a minute and realize yeah maybe refs are re ed and are payed like your boy donaghy but its not stern and i dont even like the guy

[TJastal]

I find it funny when people say "But the spurs won 4 les so there can't be a conspiracy!!"

Well no, it still exists, it's just that the spurs were just that good. In the 2007 sweep of CLE and the league's poster boy James the spurs had a unique guy who could slow down their 1 man wrecking crew, and his name was Bruce Bowen.

I wonder just how many sleepless nights the spurs caused David Stern, trying to come up with a way to put an end to their dominance.

After the 4th le and spanking of poster boy James, the league finally had enough and started changing rules to reduce the effectiveness of the spurs' stifling defense. They also looked the other way while the lakers added a franchise player for mere scraps.

And of course there's the .04 Fisher shot and the Fisher foul on Brent Barry that went uncalled... actually the league has used Derek Fisher and his flopping to subtly influence outcomes of games for years. And he hardly needs any contact to to initiate a flop either and his flops always seem to come at critical points in the game when the lakers need an extra possession or a swing in momentum (I wonder why.. Of course, the refs have never noticed such things and just "play dumb" every single time .. they have to know he's flopping by now, it's been well over 1 decade of this now. For years they've insulted the intelligence of basketball fans with this charade.

[smeagol]

Goran, be aware that the poster who started all this believes that 9/11 was an inside job. He loves conspiracy theories . . .

[FromWayDowntown]

Actually, he's a convicted felon, cheat and liar, but now he's suddenly a completely credible source? How gullible are you?

Maybe you have different standards than I, but I'd be reticent to jump on his bandwagon.

When he's the only source to corroborate a hysterical conspiracy theory, I suppose that you'll take whatever you can get.

I'm convinced that next week, Galileo is going to start arguing about the conspiracy that causes the Sun to rise in the East each day. Such blatant favoritism for the East and its larger markets is surely not just a matter of coincidence.

[Cane]

Actually, he's a convicted felon, cheat and liar, but now he's suddenly a completely credible source? How gullible are you?

Maybe you have different standards than I, but I'd be reticent to jump on his bandwagon.

There are still convicted felons officiating the NBA today including the playoffs. Pretty ty isn't it?

[Baseline]

I find it funny when people say "But the spurs won 4 les so there can't be a conspiracy!!"

Well no, it still exists, it's just that the spurs were just that good. In the 2007 sweep of CLE and the league's poster boy James the spurs had a unique guy who could slow down their 1 man wrecking crew, and his name was Bruce Bowen.

I wonder just how many sleepless nights the spurs caused David Stern, trying to come up with a way to put an end to their dominance.

After the 4th le and spanking of poster boy James, the league finally had enough and started changing rules to reduce the effectiveness of the spurs' stifling defense. They also looked the other way while the lakers added a franchise player for mere scraps.

And of course there's the .04 Fisher shot and the Fisher foul on Brent Barry that went uncalled... actually the league has used Derek Fisher and his flopping to subtly influence outcomes of games for years. And he hardly needs any contact to to initiate a flop either and his flops always seem to come at critical points in the game when the lakers need an extra possession or a swing in momentum (I wonder why.. Of course, the refs have never noticed such things and just "play dumb" every single time .. they have to know he's flopping by now, it's been well over 1 decade of this now. For years they've insulted the intelligence of basketball fans with this charade.

Exactly, TJ. If you watch as many Laker games as I do, there's a reason they're so confident down the stretch - they know they're going to get extra possessions, calls, and the benefit of 90% of the doubts.

When the Spurs won their les, they knew that they would get the benefit of the doubt 10% of the time, and that's if they were lucky. So when people say they won four les because they were just that good, it's the absolute truth. They had to be.

[Galileo]

Galileo, that is awesome. Congratulations. I want to hear all about the interviews and what you're able to learn from Donaghy.

My opinion of him is that he's totally legit. The league had no choice but to bury him as a rogue referee. There's too much at stake to let people think for two seconds that there's a wider range of refs doing things to affect games, or that the league is encouraging practices which affect games.

I've been either a player or a fan my whole life, so it's obvious to me that games have been affected, and it's obvious to me that the league has affected certain trades as well.

Anyway, I'm particularly interested to hear if Donaghy sheds any light on how the league influenced referees in handling Laker games, or Kobe Bryant as an individual player. The league has obviously worked very hard to keep Bryant in our face through the media, which I've always thought was a bad idea, but it would be fascinating to hear more spceifics from Donaghy on the Lakers.

My point is, the day Shaquille was traded, the Lakers were no longer relevant, and weren't for 3.5 years. Then with one trade, they became the best team in the league. How does that happen other than league interference? I think it's clear that it doesn't happen unless the league makes it happen. The league had to get something done in order to keep Bryant in LA. He might of bolted for Chicago otherwise. So witht he Gasol trade, they accomplished two major goals - keeping Bryant in LA, and making the Lakers a finals team again. For Stern, the East has either Boston, LeBron, or Dwight Hoawrd in the Finals, but the West was in danger of having small market teams like the Spurs back in the Finals unless Stern did something about it. But trading Kwame Brown for Gasol? I mean, if you're going to cheat, at least make it look less obvious. Why there wasn't a congressional inquiry into this is beyond me.

I'd also like to hear more specifics from him on the Spurs, specifically the Derek Fisher shot being allowed to count, which I've always thought was the most blatant piece of manipulation in the history of the NBA. I think it's incredible that we have won four les during an obvious period of league manipulation. I remember the days when the Spurs would routinely lose double digit leads to the Lakers in the 4th quarter of playoff games. With all the calls Bryant got, we'd have to be up by 16-18 points going into the 4th to even have a shot at winning the game, especially in 2001 and 2002, and even 2003. Thus, the Spurs had to work that much harder and be that much better in order to win. That's why I think we're a dynasty -- we got zero help, whereas teams like LA got nothing but help.

Case in point, the Lakers/Kings Game was in 2002. The Fisher shot was in 2004. The Fisher non-foul call on Brent Barry was in 2008.

Anyway, Galileo -- sorry about the long email, but it's great news that you were able to hook up with Donaghy.

Thanks for the post. Yeh, it was cool that Tim Donaghy called me. I have three radio interviews lined up for him, and they are all going to be podcasted, and you can listen live on the Internet. I will be sure to post the info here. He said he did 8 radio interviews last week and three this week, and is working on another book. He said his current book is selling well.

The stuff you posted are good questions. When Donaghy does his interviews, I will solicit questions to have asked to him, and pass them on to the radio hosts. We are plannig the interviews after the college tournament is over.

btw - Doesn't Kori and Timvp do a radio show for Spurstalk? If they do, Tim Donaghy would be an excellent guest, in my opinion.

If anyone is interested in this, please let me know.

[greyforest]

When he's the only source to corroborate a hysterical conspiracy theory, I suppose that you'll take whatever you can get.

I'm convinced that next week, Galileo is going to start arguing about the conspiracy that causes the Sun to rise in the East each day. Such blatant favoritism for the East and its larger markets is surely not just a matter of coincidence.

Absolutely. There's no incentive - profit, ratings or otherwise for the NBA to be impartial in its officiating. Of all major sports, NBA is one of the least subjective to officiate, and has the least scrutiny surrounding such impartiality. No players or figureheads other than Donaghy have ever even alluded to such allegations.

[Galileo]

Actually, he's a convicted felon, cheat and liar, but now he's suddenly a completely credible source? How gullible are you?

Maybe you have different standards than I, but I'd be reticent to jump on his bandwagon.

criminals are used as reliable witnesses in most federal trials. They are used in the war on drugs and against organized crime. Over 50% of all federal defendants are up on conspiracy charges.

The only difference with Donaghy is that he's not saying what the government or big business want to hear.

One millions people are put behind bars each year by drug snitches in the racist war on drugs alone.

btw - Bob Delaney is a former undecover FBI snitch.

[TJastal]

Absolutely. There's no incentive - profit, ratings or otherwise for the NBA to be impartial in its officiating Of all major sports, NBA is one of the least subjective to officiate, and has the least scrutiny surrounding such impartiality. No players or figureheads other than Donaghy have ever even alluded to such allegations.

Ok I'm really stumped here trying to decide which statement is dumber.

1. The "no incentive" for the league to be impartial.

2. Of all sports, nba officials have the least impartiality, cuz we all know the rules about traveling, offensive charges, contact in the post, yada yada yada are not subject to interpretation.

Place your vote now!

[Galileo]

Goran, be aware that the poster who started all this believes that 9/11 was an inside job. He loves conspiracy theories . . .

Two of the radio hosts I am getting Donaghy on are published authors on 9/11.

[Galileo]

I find it funny when people say "But the spurs won 4 les so there can't be a conspiracy!!"

Well no, it still exists, it's just that the spurs were just that good. In the 2007 sweep of CLE and the league's poster boy James the spurs had a unique guy who could slow down their 1 man wrecking crew, and his name was Bruce Bowen.

I wonder just how many sleepless nights the spurs caused David Stern, trying to come up with a way to put an end to their dominance.

After the 4th le and spanking of poster boy James, the league finally had enough and started changing rules to reduce the effectiveness of the spurs' stifling defense. They also looked the other way while the lakers added a franchise player for mere scraps.

And of course there's the .04 Fisher shot and the Fisher foul on Brent Barry that went uncalled... actually the league has used Derek Fisher and his flopping to subtly influence outcomes of games for years. And he hardly needs any contact to to initiate a flop either and his flops always seem to come at critical points in the game when the lakers need an extra possession or a swing in momentum (I wonder why.. Of course, the refs have never noticed such things and just "play dumb" every single time .. they have to know he's flopping by now, it's been well over 1 decade of this now. For years they've insulted the intelligence of basketball fans with this charade.

Good post Jason. You make logical points. It's nice to see that the Spurs fans in Wisconsin are not duped by David Stern.

btw - I talked to Mitch henck of WIBA, he says he will put Donaghy on the air.

[Galileo]

Aight listen up cuz im only going to say this once..shut the up if nba was ed up then there wouldn't been a 2007 nba game sweep of the nba's prodigy son lebron james or they would of called the foul in the end of game three..the spurs wouldn't of won the nba championship in 2003 which had some of the worst ratings of all time why would he do that? why would 1999 nba finals not gone to the knicks if they were the most liked underdog in nba history can you just take a minute and realize yeah maybe refs are re ed and are payed like your boy donaghy but its not stern and i dont even like the guy

game three on the '99 Finals was fixed.

Stern didn't want the series to go 3-0.

As for the non-call in game three of '07, all that proves is that ref was not in on the conspiracy.

What ref was it, btw?

[Galileo]

Absolutely. There's no incentive - profit, ratings or otherwise for the NBA to be impartial in its officiating. Of all major sports, NBA is one of the least subjective to officiate, and has the least scrutiny surrounding such impartiality. No players or figureheads other than Donaghy have ever even alluded to such allegations.

Tim Duncan said in 2007 that Joey Crawford had a vendetta against him.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

I find it funny when people say "But the spurs won 4 les so there can't be a conspiracy!!"

Well no, it still exists, it's just that the spurs were just that good.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Two of the radio hosts I am getting Donaghy on are published authors on 9/11.

Richard Ramirez the night stalker serial killer was a published author, wtf is your point?

[TJastal]

Oh I see how this works. So if post 25 laughing faces I'll be more right than you since you only posted 24.

[TJastal]

[TJastal]

I feel so much smarter now.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

I seriously laughed though. "The Spurs were just that good,"

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

I thought that s bag ref fixed a Spews/Suns series.

Donaghy says the Suns/Spurs series had tons of biased officiating in favor of the Spurs (which I think is bull just like everything else Donaghy says), coincidentally the Spurs fans who want to bury their head neck deep in Tim Donaghy's asshole think he made that up and everything else was true. Weird.

[Galileo]

Give 'em , TJ!!

:-)

[angelbelow]

This is of no surprise.

[greyforest]

Ok I'm really stumped here trying to decide which statement is dumber.

1. The "no incentive" for the league to be impartial.

2. Of all sports, nba officials have the least impartiality, cuz we all know the rules about traveling, offensive charges, contact in the post, yada yada yada are not subject to interpretation.

Place your vote now!

Tim Duncan said in 2007 that Joey Crawford had a vendetta against him.

not very good at detecting sarcasm

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

criminals are used as reliable witnesses in most federal trials. They are used in the war on drugs and against organized crime. Over 50% of all federal defendants are up on conspiracy charges.

The only difference with Donaghy is that he's not saying what the government or big business want to hear.

One millions people are put behind bars each year by drug snitches in the racist war on drugs alone.

btw - Bob Delaney is a former undecover FBI snitch.

It is hilarious that you call yourself Galileo and continually commit logical heresy. We are not talking about the War on Drugs (that is called "switching the goalposts"), we are talking about an alleged NBA conspiracy which would have to involve tens to hundreds of people, none of whom have yet whistleblown. Only the guy caught padding his pockets, Donaghy, has become a whistleblower... at the same time as he has a book to promote in an effort to rebuild his shattered finances. Furthermore, the alleged conspiracy would have the big market teams in the Finals every year, even though 5 of the last 10 championships have gone to small market teams.

Apply a few basic tests of logical thinking here - such as Occam's razor - and your house of cards fell over before you even built it. It also doesn't help that you are trying to make your bones by becoming part of this story, which is clearly blinding you to the obvious.

There is no question that the NBA has three referring standards - one for superstars, one for rookies, and one for everyone else. Personally, I hate that and consider it a cultural problem within the league. But that does not mean the NBA is a scripted soap opera like the WWE, or a grand conspiracy by the big market teams.