[bigboydan]

You have to assume this guy will give everyone up at some point.

[michael777]

he will sing like a bird

[bigboydan]

I'm still waiting to hear Steve Franis' name.

[jjgold]

probably another ref

this could get interesting

[bigboydan]

Actaully I'm thinking bookies will be the first ones he drops the dime on coach.

[Jay Edgar]

I'm not saying that no other player or official ever tried to shave points in the last two years . . . .

But I would put money on the proposition that Donaghy himself never communicated with any player or official about what he was doing.

That's just entirely consistent with who the guy seems to be.

And apparently his supposed mobbed-up associates were as interested in an advance copy of the assignment sheet as anything else.

[colt29]

Tip of the iceberg. do you really think he was the only NBA affilliated person. Crooked all the way around, like Stern's nose.

[Jay Edgar]

Very persuasive argument.

Hmm .. why is it I don't come around here so much anymore?

In the real world, you examine human behavior by looking at and thinking about motive. Only somebody deeply in debt, and/or a loner with something of an unstable personality, has the motive or the perceived motive to risk career and reputation on something like this.

Donaghy was in concert with lowlifes or desperate losers only. I don;t think any of them are in the NBA.

[goldengoat]

i tend to agree with jay edgar

[colt29]

You just described 90% of the NBA.

[onlooker]

This should get interesting.

[ShamsWoof10]

Very persuasive argument.

Hmm .. why is it I don't come around here so much anymore?

In the real world, you examine human behavior by looking at and thinking about motive. Only somebody deeply in debt, and/or a loner with something of an unstable personality, has the motive or the perceived motive to risk career and reputation on something like this.

Donaghy was in concert with lowlifes or desperate losers only. I don;t think any of them are in the NBA.

I would like to try and present a better argument to why I believe it's more then him... I mentioned in the other thread about the Suns/Lakers game... Up 9 I believe it was with 10 sec. to go, they are fouling and the ref. is calling fouls...

Actually what would be interesting is to see who commited those fouls... If it's the same 2 or 3 guys then that's a possiblity OOOORRRR the coach(es) being the other possiblity...

I'm not saying a ref. can't fix it by himself but the Knicks game in Jan. and the Suns game doesn't seem like it can only be one person....

[Razz]

From Simmons:

When news of the scandal broke on Friday, as J.A. Adande pointed out in his column that day, every diehard NBA fan had the same reaction. They weren't thinking, "I can't believe it!" or "Oh my God, how could this happen?" They were thinking, "Which one was it?" This was like finding out that your grandfather who smoked three packs a day for 50 years just came down with lung cancer. It was sad but inevitable. It was only a matter of time. These guys never made enough money (as we learned from the airplane ticket scandal) and struggled at their jobs consistently enough that there was no way to tell the difference between blowing a call and intentionally blowing a call.

The rest of the article is worth reading, but this part was particularly poignant. I tend to agree that there are plenty of names he's going to be able to give, just a matter of who he wants to rat out.

[Dark Horse]

We'll see. If he rats out other refs the NBA is going to take one hell of a beating.

[isetcap]

Nobody else in the NBA is going down for this. If so, it will be disastrous for the league. Certainly other people are involved, but none of the ones named will be NBA representatives.

[Dark Horse]

If Donaghy knows of more refs, he is in a perfect position to lessen his own sentence. Lot of money at stake. Would it be shocking if he's found dead after an apparent suicide?

[tblues2005]

I think the NBA has a big mess on their hands and it is just sad to see these refs that get paid pretty well have to resort to something like this. The NBA should be paying attention to this all along and should have been questioning some of these calls that are being made and how many free throws that a certain team gets above another team. I just don't understand how they could be so blind not to see it. Mr. Stern has a big problem on his hands here and he better get it corrected or it will happen again. I think this ref should never be another ref in this league ever again without a doubt.

[ShamsWoof10]

I think all of us are waiting for his inevitable "suicide"

Pleeeeeasee... He's not going to kill himself... You guys don't put a big price tag on life do you..? Guys in the withdraw threads talking about wanting to die if they don't get paid... I know it's silly talk but so is this...

[bigboydan]

He will NOT be protected by the FBI. Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being a floater in the river within the next 48 hours.

His family sure is pushing him to enter the witness protection program.

[Razz]

His family sure is pushing him to enter the witness protection program.

I don't think that's applicable. Donaghy has to be looking at jail time no matter how cooperative he is.

[JBC77]

The Associated Press had a report this morning that he has been getting death threats, cops are parked at his house. They also said that he is more than willing to talk and plans on doing so as early as Monday.

[Lucas]

Nobody else in the NBA is going down for this. If so, it will be disastrous for the league. Certainly other people are involved, but none of the ones named will be NBA representatives.

Exactly, look at other scandals in the rest of the world. The main interest of people who sit on their well-paid chairs is to sit there for infinity. Their only interest is to pretend that everything is ok /while maybe some INDIVIDUALS MADE INDIVIDUAL mistakes, which is not NBA responsibility/.

The only conclusion is that capper should pay more attention to umpire.

[Razz]

Nobody else in the NBA is going down for this. If so, it will be disastrous for the league. Certainly other people are involved, but none of the ones named will be NBA representatives.

Perhaps. But if it's me looking at years in prison and I can make a deal with the feds to drastically reduce that sentence, I don't give a shit about my former employer.

[Bill Dozer]

I would like to try and present a better argument to why I believe it's more then him... I mentioned in the other thread about the Suns/Lakers game... Up 9 I believe it was with 10 sec. to go, they are fouling and the ref. is calling fouls...

Actually what would be interesting is to see who commited those fouls... If it's the same 2 or 3 guys then that's a possiblity OOOORRRR the coach(es) being the other possiblity...

I'm not saying a ref. can't fix it by himself but the Knicks game in Jan. and the Suns game doesn't seem like it can only be one person....

If there are any accomplices wouldn't they have to be lower on the pay scale than a player? Players that actually play get too much compared to the kind of money that could have been transferred to them.

I also think he was alone on it. A partner makes it much riskier. It only takes a slightly different pace of game to affect the total or a few fouls on a star to change a side.

[tacomax]

ESPN claiming that he will be pleading guilty to his charges tomorrow.

[bigboydan]

Just caught that myself on ESPN news at the top of the hour myself Taco. I'm curious how this one will play out along with the Toccett hearing on Friday.

[bigboydan]

I wonder how many years he's really gonna get. My guess would be a grand total of 3 years in jail.

Donaghy pleads guilty, could face up to 25 years in prison

NEW YORK -- Former referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in an NBA betting scandal that rocked the league and raised questions about the integrity of games.

Donaghy faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce.

Donaghy provided recommendations, called "picks," to co-conspirators about what team they should bet on, said U.S. District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon. If he was correct, they paid him.

The picks included information about games that Donaghy officiated, the government said.

The information was not public, the judge said. Donaghy had "unique access," including what crews would officiate at games, the interaction of different officials and players, and the physical condition of certain players.

He concealed the scheme from the NBA and other referees to avoid detection, the judge said.

Donaghy also must pay a $500,000 fine and at least $30,000 in restitution.

Donaghy, who stood ramrod-straight, hands clasped in front of him, spoke in nearly inaudible tones as he told the judge that he is seeing a psychiatrist for his gambling addiction, and is taking an antidepressant and anxiety medication.

Prosecutors said in open court that Donaghy bet on games himself; but that was not a specific part of the verbal admission he made before the judge.

The two alleged co-conspirators were in the custody of federal marshals on Wednesday and were awaiting arraignment on conspiracy charges carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years.

The FBI first contacted the NBA on June 20 to talk about a referee alleged to be gambling on games, and the two sides met on June 21, NBA commissioner David Stern said last month. Donaghy resigned July 9 after 13 years as a referee; Stern said he would have fired him sooner but was told it might affect the investigation.

Stern blamed a "rogue, isolated criminal" for the betting scandal that threatened the credibility of every referee.

Donaghy was rated in the top tier of officials, Stern said, and there was nothing suspicious about the frequency of his foul calls. He was assigned to work in the second round of the playoffs, with his last NBA game coming during the Phoenix-San Antonio Western Conference semifinal series.

No other NBA officials or players were expected to be involved in the scandal, which Stern called the "most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced either as a fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or a commissioner of the NBA."

[Dark Horse]

Why did Stern immediately declare that there was a single ref cheating when, at best, he has absolutely no clue? If he truly was into cleaning up his league, why didn't he bring in every single ref for a lie detector test? If players have to drug test, why don't refs have to lie detector test?

[katstale]

You can bet this guy is not done singing. When it is all over--he will make Angel Martin (Rockford Files reference) look like a deaf mute by comparison.

[Jay Edgar]

All due respect, you guys are reaching badly -- because it makes a better story, I know. And we all love a good story. That's why we love Mob movies, and want them to be true -- even though criminals, including those who claim to be in the Mob, have proven from time immemorial to be relatively stupid people.

This is what Stern actually said:
===============
I also understand that Mr. Donaghy is the only referee who is alleged to have bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others with respect to NBA games that would enable them to place wagers with an advantage. I'll say it again, I understand that this is an isolated case involving an NBA referee who engaged not only in a violation of our rules, but in criminal conduct.

But let me make it clear, that's my current understanding, and I await the outcome of the investigation by the FBI and the determination by the Justice Department and what they are going to do with it. All of my knowledge is secondhand. That's my current understanding. But given the extraordinary interest that has been generated and fair questions that have been asked, I felt I had an obligation to come here as soon as possible, and I informed both the FBI and the Justice Department that I would be doing that.

If there are different facts that have been uncovered or will be uncovered, we will make them available as we know them.
=========

Stern is being careful and he has a fairly powerful union to deal with. He's also a very smart guy -- smart enough not to see bogeymen and to comprehend that there are no indications of a broader problem.

Donaghy is antisocial and a compulsive loser. His lowlife friends from Philly are mob wannabes, at best. It's a sad and pathetic little story, and it's not going to go where you guys say you know -- but really you just hope -- it's going.