[ebbearsfb1]

scale of a 1-10, 1 not at all, 10 defintely is... whats everyone think???

[marabdl86]

10 without a doubt NBA is fixed. That's why you have to watch the lines. Handicapping is useless. If a line is too good to be true, it usually is.

[nextdurrrr63]

5 ...

[ijenpo]

all sports are fixed

[Eatminus]

1

Would make zero sense to fix it

[marabdl86]

^^

[Wind gara]

11.

[Sumo]

What do you mean fixed? A team loses on purpose? I find some of the results weird and hard to fathom, but i put it down to the ups and downs of sports, not one team losing on purpose. I mean, Suns cost me a whole heap of cash by losing unexpectedly today, but I don't think the threw the game.

[marabdl86]

Refs control the game. Especially the NBA, it's so easy to just blow a whistle and put a team on the foul line

[marabdl86]

No team just looses on purpose

[Aurelius]

The $100,000 fine given to Jeff Van Gundy in '05 for claiming refs were targeting Yao Ming sure makes them look guilty as hell post Donaghy scandal.

[Nickelicious]

Amazing. 1 is the answer. Everyone else is paranoid because they are too stupid to admit they suck at NBA betting.

The Donaghy scandal was an anomaly. He has never indicted any other refs for fixing games, only that he knew the propensity of other refs well enough to predict gambling winners:

"Donaghy began betting on sports with a friend, Jack Concannon. He quickly got involved in more different kinds of gambling, to the point of obsession. In the early stages of his gambling addiction, he avoided betting on the NBA, but, he writes, by November 2003 that line was crossed too, and before long he found he was extremely adept at picking NBA winners.

"Eventually, writes Donaghy, Thomas Martino and James Battista convinced Donaghy to provide his NBA picks to Battista instead of Concannon, and they struck an arrangement by which Donaghy would be paid for every correct pick he provided. That relationship led to Donaghy's being disgraced as a referee, and incarcerated for his crimes. He was released Nov. 4.

"Donaghy is adamant throughout the book that his NBA betting success was not attributable to influencing NBA games with his own whistle. Instead, he says that his insider's knowledge -- the referee's master schedule, for instance, and first-hand knowledge of referees and their biases -- was all he needed to consistently outfox oddsmakers. The implication is that many NBA referees are not fair in how they call games."

And that last sentence says it all. NBA refs ARE NOT fair in how they call games. They have biases and they hate or love certain teams or players. But fixing games? That would require a connection with major gambling entities, and even Donaghy admits that is not reality.

[andywend]

I was hoping the NBA would fold after the Donaghy scandal.

Love baseball and football but can't stand watching or betting on pro basketball.

College hoops aren't so bad.

[suicidekings]

Amazing. 1 is the answer. Everyone else is paranoid because they are too stupid to admit they suck at NBA betting.

Sounds like the correct answer to me. I fully admit that sometimes I make wagers that lose, badly... Does that mean I got screwed? No. It means I made bad choices. Ideally the good choices outnumber the bad, but the bad ones will never result in me laying blame on others for my own mistakes...

[Fed_42420]

I love basketball, if you ever played or love the game you would know it is not fixed. But you have to remember it is played by human beings and reffed by human beings.... Do I really have to explain to you idiots about human beings not being perfect blah blah blah .... A lot of the players are extremely inteligent people with college degrees, a lot are from foreign countries. To have it fixed you would have to have a large percent of the players involved, thats simply not going to happen. A few refs calling a few extra fouls is not going to "fix" the game.

[Joe Dogs]

fed 42420,refs calling three quick fouls on a key player or two......can and will influence the outcome of a game.

[MV]

fed 42420,refs calling three quick fouls on a key player or two......can and will influence the outcome of a game.

yes the refs have personal biases and there even is a league-bias to superstars, think of how many times the kobes and lebrons get calls just because they're kobe or lebron. but fixing games because of gambling lines? nope.

[jcljack25]

What do you mean fixed? A team loses on purpose? I find some of the results weird and hard to fathom, but i put it down to the ups and downs of sports, not one team losing on purpose. I mean, Suns cost me a whole heap of cash by losing unexpectedly today, but I don't think the threw the game.

Its not winning and losing that is fixed but I am sure they are aware of the spreads. Why at the end of some blowouts are the guys just standing around yet on others they take a last second shot.

Yes the NBA is fixed.

[KiDBaZkiT]

It is fixed, anyone see Pau Gasol throw Thompson on the ground last night in the first OT? ESPN even replayed the highlight saying he got away with a blatant foul, there was an official right there. If they would of called the foul he wouldnt have been there to tip in the tying bucket to send it to 2nd OT with .04 on the clock. How about on X-mas, Mo Williams pump faked and CLEARLY jumped into the contact twice but they called the foul and was a 3 with an official two feet away or in the same game the no call on Shaq when he made contact with Kobe and on the replay they showed his big ass foot CLEARLY in the restricted area, even Van Gundy said "I can see why Kobe Bryant is upset that is terrible missed call" and Marc Jackson agreed and made a similar comment, I could go on for hours about that game, only thing I saw Lakers get away with was that Fisher cheap shot that should of been a T.

[Indecent]

The implication is that many NBA referees are not fair in how they call games."

And that last sentence says it all. NBA refs ARE NOT fair in how they call games. They have biases and they hate or love certain teams or players. But fixing games? That would require a connection with major gambling entities, and even Donaghy admits that is not reality.

Why should we assume games are fixed only for gambling purposes? Doesn't that seem a little too stringent of a definition? Games could be "fixed" for a lot of reasons.

What about the allegations of playoff series being extended or "given"to teams by referees? Allegations of bets amongst referees where the first ref to call a foul had to pay for food afterward? I'm sure there are a lot more in the book if the NBA ever lets it come out.

Even if those allegations are untrue (some probably are), to dismiss the idea because there is no implication of major gambling ties doesn't make sense.

Do you think the "biases" referees have influence the outcome of the game at all?

[JohnAnthony]

6.77

[goldengreek]

An 8

[eagles7967]

10 not every single game is fixed better team will usually win but its fixed and lines are fixed its all about money you never no what players are fixing you knows theirs a good amount betting making money because they control it and people love money on the christmas day i seend how teams play slow pace and were just going out and look to me like missing shots on purpose in orlando boston game its easy to fix sports with all the fouls and with so many people involved its unavoidable ref players coaches owners they need their money want more and so does vegas

[ICE-BLOOD]

way less than 1% fixed, and I don't even care about the few that are cause half of the fixes will go my way.

if there were alot of fixes going on, you would see alot of blackmailing of the fixers and people blowing the whistle on the fixers.

players and others involved in the NBA make enough money legit rather than to influence a pointspread for a payoff

[TGHMak]

Fixed or not the refs make some if horrendous calls, and now that they can review replays they still make the incorrect call constantly.

[lovesports]

we will never know....

[PAULYPOKER]

scale of a 1-10, 1 not at all, 10 defintely is... whats everyone think???

As fixed as every sport my friend about 75% fixed+or-10% it's all business and business is good if you can figure it out you can be a part of it to

[hels]

People who say 1 are way off and people who say 10 are way off.

Examples of odd calls such as (I think it was the Bulls about 5 days ago) when they were up by 5 and the opposition had a foul called against them with like 0.7 seconds left or something to give the Bulls 2 free throws and cover the -6.5 spread. For real, what ref calls a foul with 0.7 seconds left to give the team up by 5 free throws??????? I wasn't playing that game but I know LB was and he subsequently won.

Yes I know everything just seemed to fall into place for that to happen and of course it could have just been some crazy anomoly but to answer the question properly we have to ask "WHY?" here's some thoughts.

-are refs that strict to call a foul with 2 seconds left and give 2 free useless free throws
-why are players fouling/looking to be fouled when the game is already decided
-why wouldn't the refs just let the game finish
-who would inform the referees/pay them off to 'fix' games
-how would the knowledge come to these refs
-if this is happening, how would word not have ever gotten out yet...... a ref would tell their wife, who would tell friends, who would tell husbands etc. etc. etc. rumours would surface

Those are just random thoughts about it all. I think fixing games/changing small outcomes is much harder than it appears.

One final thought. If the books are already bringing in excellent money, why would they ever take the risk when it could completely ruin their business?

and finally, this is similar to thought that online poker rooms could have fixed 'bot' players that could see real players' cards. Of course this is possible, but if the poker site is already bringing in big cash, why take a risk that would ruin everything if caught?

Risk vs. Reward is the biggest issue.

[Fed_42420]

For anyone to truly answer this question you have to clearly define the word "fixed". Everyone clearly has a different definition of this word. To me it is not fixed , but yes I think refs miss calls on purpose, players bet on games and try to influence the outcome. But to me "fixed" is something different.

[iceaxe56]

Shaving points is as American as apple pie--you would have to be a fool not to thinks its fixes--look at your o/u games how close they usually are--you think that is coincidence?-Most pro-players gamble--they have someone do it for them---so of course they are going to miss a shot on purpose now and then.

[Fed_42420]

Shaving points is as American as apple pie--you would have to be a fool not to thinks its fixes--look at your o/u games how close they usually are--you think that is coincidence?-Most pro-players gamble--they have someone do it for them---so of course they are going to miss a shot on purpose now and then.

Right but I dont think anyone disagrees with you there, just that the word "fix" means something different to them. To me for it to be fixed means theres no competition, the game means nothing to any player. That would never happen so to me it is not fixed.

[Pride>UFC]

I'd say an 8.

2002 Western Conference finals...I've never seen the refs purposely try to help a team get to the finals the way they helped the Lakers, and I had no money or rooting interest.

2006. I've never seen a player get so many calls to extend and ensure that the more marketable team wins the NBA title. D-Wade shot more free throws than the entire Mavs. This is just one jew (david Stern) screwing another jew (Mark Cuban) out of a title for more money (the jewish way)

[marabdl86]

^^ yup im a die hard Mavs fan and that one hurt like hell. We got robbed