Donaghy says 2002 playoff series rigged

[IndianaGreen]

Source: Associated Press

Donaghy says 2002 playoff series rigged

Disgraced ref says NBA officials manipulated results; Stern fires back

NEW YORK - NBA referees, influenced by cozy relationships with league officials, rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seven games, a former referee at the center of a gambling scandal alleged Tuesday.

Without identifying anyone or naming teams, Tim Donaghy also claimed the NBA routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings.

Speaking before the start of the NBA finals Game 3 featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, NBA commissioner David Stern called the allegations baseless.


Read more: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25084143/

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We know the New England Patriots' coach cheated by stealing signals from the opposite teams during playoffs, so why not the same thing happening in NBA?

[rurallib]

1. it's like the republicans have taken over sports.

[olddad56]

14. in a sense they have. ...

I used to love watching professioanl sports. Now I consider them all entertainment corporations. With the exception of golf, corporate sports just no longer get it for me.

I would rather go watch a high school ball game that a corporate one.

It just ain't the same.

[ticapnews]

2. The series in question raised eyebrows at the time

It's summed up pretty well over in the Sports Forum.

But it does make one wonder how much more credibility the NBA has than the WWE.

[geomon666]

4. At least wrestling tells you it's all for show.

The NBA has officially lost all credibility with me.

[Supersedeas]

8. Stern is trying to play is off -- but the NBA officiating is absolutely horrible

[ladywnch]

3. I'm shocked.....SHOCKED.......to find out there's gambling going

on here.

Your winnings, sir.

Oh, thank you.



The classics are always the best.

[tom_paine]

13. Casablanca: Humphrey Bogart vs. The Bushies

[shaft]

5. I know that's bad in MLB as well

Playing loose with the rules is a tradition with many sports, but I don't see how what the NBA did is anything but putting on a fix. No integrity.

[defendandprotect]

6. "Sports Builds Character" . . . !!!!

Come on, folks --- when big money came into all of this --- and even before --- the sickness of
this kind of competition was obviously corrosive.

Competition like this encourages aggressiveness which we have enough of in our society ---

Start looking at this stuff at our local levels -- in our towns ---

Here we have a bankrupted Treasury and our town spent $1 MILLION on soccer turf!!!

We have more care and attention to our baseball fields than the homeless get ---

And the kids in town have the latest equipment -- and accessories -- all intended to make

them look professional.

Sometimes I watch at the park as the ... maybe youngs ss .... 8 year olds/?? for football

practice!!!! They even have the attacking dummies!!!

And parents consumed with this crap every week and weekend ---

[scarface2004]

7. it s already set for next year...

atlanta hawks take down the sacramento kings in a scintillating 7 game series that breaks all previous viewership records!!

[McCamy Taylor]

9. Only reason it matters is the $$$ from gambling. This throws the odds.

Did any of the people in television and cable who conspired to commit this fraud also make bets that took advantage of this knowledge? The feds need to investigate. Just imagine what the odds are going to look like at the next playoffs with the gamblers knowing that there will be 7 games and the best players will never foul out.

[Dr.Phool]

10. Arlen Specter will get to the bottom of this!

He ain't got nothin' better to do.

[Blue_Tires]

11. O RLY?

[LeftyMom]

12. No shit.

More than slightly bitter,

LM in Sacto.

[pjt7]

15. David Stern

is the head crook in the NBA.

& people wonder how 9.11 could be a fraud & continue to be covered up. The NBA has been fixed for years & continues to rigged, right in front of millions, each & every night!

[Zavulon]

16. I believe Donaghy and doubt the fix was limited to 2002.

Does anyone remember the penultimate game in the Dallas-Miami series a couple years ago? Sorry, but when Dwayne Wade goes to the foul line exactly as often as the entire opposing team (25 times apiece), you can rule out fair officiating.

The foul that was the final straw was the one where Wade wasn't touched (there was nobody within 203 feet of him) and the whistle was blown by the ref who was the farthest one away from Wade.

I haven't watched a single NBA game since.