The alternatives were New York, New Jersey, Cleveland and Detroit. The New York year the Knicks were an eigth seed with a near 500 record. You can influence, but can't outright control a series.
im not sure how interesting that is though. he didnt say anything mind blowing. of course the nba wants their stars and biggest names to go as far as possible into the playoffs. i believe what he says, but then again hes also saying some of the most obvious things people have railed on for the longest time. makes it easier to make it up if he were to be doing so. i'm more interested about the FBI investigation. they said they believe him that he could bet on 80% correctly just by knowing who the refs liked and disliked, i'd be interested in seeing how they went about that and came to that conclusion as well.
He's a scumbag for betting on the NBA, but you know it probably killed him inside once his family was threatened and his relationship with his wife was ruined. Sucks when people don't have the willpower to control their addictions.
Beside the Pistons series, the rest the Spurs were CLEARLY the superior team. And when you have the spurs vs a no-name team like the Pistons you just kinda let em go at it. Not to mention having the Spurs in the Finals that many times would allow it to create a team that folks without a home team could get behind. Also to create a buffer to put up in light of something leaking out about it.
Does that mean he picked the winner 80% of the time, or he picked the over/under on the point spread 80% of the time?
It was painful seeing the Yao Ming clip at the beginning of a story about biased referees screwing players over (and then Donaghy calling a travel on him in the clip) Also, that interviewer was terrible, kept asking leading questions and looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown the entire interview.
Part 1 <embed src='http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf' FlashVars='linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5914330n&tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel&releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&videoId=50080490&partner=news&vert=News&si=254&autoPlayVid=false&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br/><a href='http://www.cbsnews.com'>Watch CBS News Videos Online</a> Part 2 <embed src='http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf' FlashVars='linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5914372n&tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel&releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&videoId=50080491&partner=news&vert=News&si=254&autoPlayVid=false&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br/><a href='http://www.cbsnews.com'>Watch CBS News Videos Online</a>
You know, this interview actually improved his reputation in my mind. He seems like a decent guy that got caught up in an addiction and making money ... unfortunately he didn't have the willpower to do what was morally right. I really am sick and tired of David Stern. The league needs someone as commissioner who has morals and ethics, something I don't think Stern has either of. It's all about the bottom line, even if that means sacrificing the integrity of the game. It really is a shame.
The interview from an objective standpoint was AWFUL. Content was fine but the way it was edited/shot/asked was the most dry thing I've ever seen. It would be a question with any natural pause or flow of conversation edited out. At times it felt like the interviewer was just trying to punish him on camera and it was kind of disgusting. He was like do you understand what a detestable person you are? You could see Donaghy being eaten up inside, and it was quite difficult to watch. I undoubtedly think what he did was wrong but give the guy a break, he's been through a lot and doesn't need some old man who didn't get enough fiber that morning grilling him and trying to make him feel like the world's worst human. I'm still quite interested to read the book as the vast majority of what he has said makes sense/doesn't seem that farfetched.
Funny they brought Mike Mathis on, his dislike for Clyde Drexler was legendary. I remember watching (and re-watching in detail) a video tape of Game 2 or 3 from the '97 Utah series, the refs handed at least 1 of those games to Utah...
The referees can only TRY to influence the game. If you cannot put the ball into the basket nothing much the referees can do!
Thanks for the link. As far as I'm concerned this just confirms that (during the dal/rox series) the ref reports about yao were true. I'd go further, but that's more than enough to piss me off.
^^^ I feel the opposite, disgusted. What kind of break do you want to give him? The guy did it intentionally over more than 100 times, and only did 11 month time, enough break already. If he wants get media time for his book, he is subject to even tougher questions. What a rat.
Main priorities for the NBA... 1. Push star players. 2. Push large market teams. 3. Push globalization of the game. The Spurs cover 1 and 3.
stern is a marketing genius, and he's done good things to the league. but it's time for a new commish.
Every league wants that. you think baseball doesn't want yankees/dodgers? Football has more of a cult following like college, but they always want the big push of the big name qb. If they could have a tom brady in the bowl every year or eli, they would take it. I think alot of people get a bad call mixed in with rigged. I think these guys are human and they make mistakes and its easy to see in high def-slo mo fouls and things, but sit courtside or just go ref a aau ball game. The action and flow is incredible to say the least and its not a easy game to officiate under any circumstances.
well if the FBI is correct, then all he did was bet on games. thats obviously illegal but it wouldve been worse if he wouldve been proven to fix games. i actually find it kinda fishy that the FBI agent seemed to push the fact that no games were fixed. quite convenient that he just retired last year. maybe a nice payoff from david stern to get him to keep any other details quiet. and donoghy can limit his information by getting 11 months. So if my little conspiracy theory is correct, then wouldnt donaghy just be a pawn?
You do realize that if the NBA wanted to "bigger market" or "more marketable team" then the favorable refereeing would have been given to Houston. It's incredibly silly to bring up an example that has no direct merit to the topic, and assume that this revelation is in relation to that series. Stockton and Malone. Olajuwon, Drexler, Barkley. Which team is more "marketable"?
