updated info from the CBW

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle]

July 20, 2007
More details on the betting scandal.
If David Stern was hoping the indictment would precede the naming of 
the referee in the middle of the betting scandal, he would have had a 
better chance of hoping someone wouldn't spoil the ending of the 
latest Harry Potter book.

Tim Donaghy is the name of the Referee who will live in infamy, not 
just in the NBA, but for all sports.  He is the first official in any 
of the major American pro sports leagues of Basketball, Baseball, or 
Football to be indicted--well, in strict terms, he's not indicted 
yet, but it's going to happen--for gambling on games in his sport.

Worse, he placed bets on games he worked.  We don't know yet which 
games.  We don't know if his actions affected the winner of the game, 
or "just" the point spread, or any other aspects of the games.  We do 
know, based on consistent reports, that it was "double digit" numbers 
of games, most likely over the last two seasons.  We know that the 
amount of money involved was in the "thousands of dollars".

Perhaps worse yet, this wasn't just Donaghy falling afoul of the 
Nevada Gaming Commission, or getting spotted on the road.  His name 
came up in New york, as part of an ongoing investigation into organized crime.

That's right, while most of us were content to watch "the Sopranos", 
Donaghy was living the mob life.  In fact, people associated with 
policing legal gambling in Las Vegas swear they had no clue there was 
a problem, much less an investigation.

 From the records, we know that in the last 2 seasons, we know he 
officiated at 68 games in the 2005-06 season and 63 games in 
2006-07.  He was also one of the officials in 20 playoff games, 
including 5 this past season alone:
April 23, Pistons vs. Magic
April 27, Warriors vs. Mavericks
April 29, Suns vs. Lakers
May 04, Nets vs. Raptors
May 12, Suns vs. Spurs

After hiding futilely behind a generic "no comment", during which 
time the public found out more about the case than some of the 
attorneys probably knew, David Stern finally issued the following 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."

Well, gee, I feel better already.  Let's keep a few things in 
mind--and perspective.  First, Donaghy isn't the Godfather.  He's a 
guy with a reported "gambling problem" who got introduced to the mob 
when his losses got too large for him to realistically cover.  He's a 
relatively small part in an overall investigation into organized 
crime making money by fixing basketball games.  He was convenient to 
the mob, but unlikely their only means of generating income.

Second, Donaghy has already been "brought to justice", in that he's 
been identified, and will, in short order, face Federal indictments 
for his part in this.  Without knowing all details, I think it safe 
to say we can expect racketeering charges, conspiracy charges, 
etc.  I think it likely that the Feds would rather squeeze Donaghy 
for testimony on the actual mobsters, than focus on throwing him in a 
cell and losing the key.

Third, Donaghy's career is already over.  Partly because he'd 
recently retired after 13 years as an NBA official (though it's a 
safe bet, so to speak, that this was privately encouraged and kept 
secret so as not to hinder the investigation); and partly because 
even if he hadn't there's zero chance he'll ever be allowed near a 
professional sporting event ever again.

What does all this mean for everyone involved?

For Donaghy, he'll face the Federal charges and even though no rules 
specifying what to do in Basketball--as opposed to Baseball which has 
some experience in this--he'll certainly be banned from anything to 
do with the NBA, de facto, if not specifically written.  He can also 
probably forget ever seeing an NBA game live again.  He'll be lucky 
if Stern can't get an injunction preventing him from subscribing to 
NBAtv.  Even death won't help, because I think Sid Borgia and Red 
Auerbach will make their way to Hell and beat the shit out of him.

For David Stern, it's a PR nightmare, no matter how you slice 
it.  He's spent years trumpeting the integrity of the NBA officials 
and one of the veteran officials ends up involved with the mob to fix 
games.  He'll have to be somewhat more tolerant of Mark Cuban and 
Tommy Heinsohn, who, I am sure, take no pleasure in being proven 
right in such a manner.  He'll have to take public, transparent steps 
to reassure everyone from the Federal Government to the casual NBA 
fan that this was a fluke.

For the officials, it's an even worse nightmare.  Everyone knows that 
someone in every NBA venue will have signs or shout comments 
referring to this.  They've gotten to conduct discipline behind 
closed doors for ages, and that's going to have to end.  It's not 
inconceivable that one or more other refs might find themselves 
giving testimony in the case.  Nobody wants to see Ronnie Nunn, Joey 
Crawford, or Dick Bavetta in a court instead of on one.

For the teams, it's a case of "nothing can be done".  Unless Stern 
feels gracious--and I really think he ought to, considering--there's 
nothing in the NBA rules that specifically alludes to what to do if a 
game is found to be fixed.  Normally, the deadline for protesting is 
long past, but I think someone needs to look at this set of 
games--however many they turn out to be--on a case by case 
basis.  It's possible that all Donaghy did is ensure that the point 
spread was covered, or not, as needed.  It is also possible his 
actions, or lack of actions, determined which team won.  So every 
game needs to be checked, but the teams also need to be 
realistic.  If you got blown out by 30 points because your team 
couldn't play defense that night, you can't lay that loss on 
Donaghy.  But if your star player got tossed in a close game, you 
might have a case.  This is going to be a mess to untangle, and 
nobody will be satisfied, no matter what is done.

For the fans, it's confirmation of the conspiracy theorists worst 
allegations.  The games were fixed, by the very people who are 
supposed to ensure the rules are followed.  If you thought attendance 
dropped last season, watch and see what happens if Stern can't 
convince everyone that's it's just one guy.

For the game of Basketball, it just really, really sucks.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
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