He ruined that a long time ago. He lost his family and the sport hr loves. Don't know if he can get any job so...
What is the appropriate level of interest then? 60 minutes and what else do you think it requires? Another few episodes of "Outside the Lines"? This all comes back to you being mad about baseball being unfairly impugned in your opinion. That's fine and you're entitled to believe it, but it doesn't make it true. If anything, baseball gets a free pass. Look at Alex Rodriguez - he has been completely rehabilitated and is praised and adored. Less than a year ago he was outed as a consistent, multi-time cheater who lied about his cheating. You think the same thing would happen with Allen Iverson? Hahahaha. And as has been pointed out - the analogy to the Black Sox scandal fails - and official betting on tendencies of officials to play favorites is not the same as a whole team of players being bought off. If Dwight Howard was throwing the NBA Finals - it would have been a much bigger story. But that's not what happened.
I'm trying to think of an example beyond the baseball one so you can get past the idea that's what is driving this. I think of it as an example here because I can't think of a similar example of a scandal in sports that would get that sort of coverage....aside from the Black Sox scandal I wasn't alive for. There's no perfect analogy. Of course, all of that is based on if these allegations are true. I'm just surprised it's not being covered more. Rhad said the same thing...and I don't think it's because of his great love for baseball.
I actually think the size of the coverage is almost exactly appropriate for the size of the scandal and the perception. I mean look at the UEFA scandal. This is the latest in a long line of match fixing scandals (the last big one was the premier clubs in Italy essentially buying the officials...way beyond anything that Donaghy alleged). and this one goes all the way up to the Champions League - the biggest club soccer tournament in the world, the Champions League Final is probably the most watched sporting event in the planet after the World Cup, Olympics & Super Bowl. The gambling ring spanned 9 countries and involved hundreds of matches and hundreds of accomplices. But the Champions League has only a moderate level of interest in the US - hence it has generated very little coverage here. I mean I had to dig up one article from the Times (which actually tries to cover European soccer compared to most dailies, by running maybe 1-2 articles per month, and brief capsules of results) from a month ago to find anything about it. And it's not like people arent' focusing on Soccer with the world cup coming up soon.
I don't think you can compare the level of interest for the UEFA and the NBA in the United States. I recognize the NBA is 3rd among the big boys in fan interest....but it's still a gigantic player in the US among pro sports.
Of course they're not comparable - but the level of coverage of the scandal is directly proportional to their respective profiles in the US. Actually even in the British soccer press which I read fairly regularly the UEFA scandal has pretty much disappeared from view. Bizarre because it is only the biggest fixing ring in sports history.
A scandal involving HOF players will always garner more interest then one involving league bias, or ex referees. Nobody's kids have posters of referees or league commissioners on their walls. Nobody was cheering for the refs. Add in the denials, and the Barry Bonds record chase and you have a much more gripping story then allegations of a referee who was immediately fired when the story broke. Especially since he hasn't been able to credibly show that any specific championships, or games were deliberately fixed. If he can point to game fixing and direct involvement by the league, or players -- then you have a story. But even then, without the celebrity of big name players and stories of parties, and player's wives -- it's still may not get the same extent of coverage as the steroids mess.
I think what he meant to say was " It isn't the size of the ship but the motion of the ocean and the skill of the skipper " Oh wait! I'm off topic.
Okay, almost everything. With the volume of important miscalls through the years, don't you find it hilarious that you can dig out only a couple of admissions by the league that they had screwed up? You mentioned about Joey Crawford. The fact that he and some others are still alive and well in the league is a testimony enough that the accountability of NBA officiating is extremely low.
If Stern was somewhat innocent, he would have scheduled an interview with 60 minutes to cover his ass. He is guilty, he knows it, he knows that the fans know it. And the only way he thinks it'll be gone is if he just doesn't garner more media attention and sit and pray that it dies down.
Every league wants those things. You don't think Selig wanted Dodgers/Yankees in a seven game World Series? While NFL ratings will be high no matter what, I am sure the commisioner does not want Carolina or Cincinnati in the Super Bowl.
I guess many here are not aware that 12 other NBA refs are under investigation right now. They were identified by Batista's phone records.
Can't agree with you at all. What was missing from the 90s Finals against the Bulls? Dominant Center. You would be foolish to believe that, if there was a conspiracy in the '97 WCF, the Jazz would be the beneficiaries. 3 Stars > 2 Stars Best Center in the game versus Best Guard in the game. Champion versus Champion. Again, foolish for jumping to conclusions that there was a conspiracy in that WCF and foolish for thinking the big market team from Utah would be the "favorable matchup." Foolish.
Another interview on ESPN. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4722584 I can't stop thinking of 2002 Kings vs Lakers, 2005 JVG and Yao, etc. I want answers Stern... and this isn't getting enough media attention.
The odds may be against the little guy but they can overcome adversity. Are Miami and Detroit big markets as ell? I think of LA, New York, Boston and Chicago as the big market teams in the NBA.
