Hot topic, and of course he's hardly credible..but still..... I know that one of the series he fingered the 2005 Rockets/Mavs playoff series was complained about so much by Van Gundy (Rocket Coach at the time) that he was fined 6 figures for his comments. He now says that he doesn't think what the ref said is credible. For the record back then he said that he was told that the NBA told the refs to watch Yao Ming esp close for illegal picks, he never has said who told him that but he complained vigorously about the way the refs handled Yao. Now that is what Tim Donahgy said happened. I don't blame Van Gundy for not wanting a piece of this, he makes some nice coin as an analyst and I'm sure will get back into coaching soon. He doesn't need to be on the bad side of the NBA. But still I have to wonder if some of what Donahgy says is true. Van Gundy Disputes Donahgy
This is pure, unadulterated crap. I am dumbfounded that seemingly intelligent people in the media and the general public have not taken the time to analyze this situation objectively and have flocked like mindless sheep to a baseless assumption. 1)IF the refs as a group were trying to "fix" the outcome of a game - any game - would they be as blatant as they were in the game(s) in question? Of course not. They know what they are doing, and they would know how to make calls that would not stand out. Of course, they have made many bad calls in the eyes of 50% of the fans/coaches/owners, but to imply that they are fixing games without a shred of tangible evidence is a terribly unfair and just plain stupid assumption. 2) Donaghy cites only games that have been publicly debated as poorly refereed. That's a smart ploy (I'm sure he and his lawyer are not dummies): Stir up the already stirred-up emotions of people who have complained previously and shine the spotlight on already controversial games to infer that they were fixed. The choice of the game where - of all people - Ralph Nader sent a letter to the NBA Commissioner was clever. It got the talking sheep to focus on the letter as if Nader knew something no one else knew. 3) I am not an NBA fan so I don't have a dog in the fight, but I give the leadership credit for being smart enough to know that the only thing that protects the game is integrity and not efforts to fix outcomes for any reason whatsoever. Again, I am dumbfounded at how readily people dismiss the character of the leadership and assume the worst. There has been no precedent to suggest that the NBA leadership is devoid of integrity. Debatable decisons, yes, but lack of integrity, no. Why are people so willing to accept the word of a convicted felon who has no integrity over the NBA leadership? I'll tell you why.....because it gives the story legs and it keeps alive a controversy that attracts listeners and readers. If I had any expectations of or trust in the sports media, I would be disappointed, but I have neither.
What I've found most interesting is the reaction by ESPN to this story. They have a ton invested in the NBA. In fact, for the past month they've been "covering" the NBA ad nauseum. Stephen A. Smith, Legler, Jalin Rose etc. etcl etc. Now that one of their valuable assets is in jeopardy, they are crucifying Donaghy. Donaghy influenced the outcome of games, not apparently to decide who won but to insure that enough foul shots were taken to beat the over score. It's not completely inconcievable that NBA refs did the same thing ie. stretching series that should have been over in 4 or 5 games to 6 or 7 games increasing league TV revenue. Perhaps the best defense of the league I've heard is this: if the league is behind it, then the owners should know. If they do, It's hard to beleive that owners are going to buy franchises for over 500 mil. that are nothing more that members of another WWF. I think of Mark Cuban. He might think that the refs are screwin' him but I can't believe he thinks it's a league sanctioned screwin'.
My dad always used to tell me back in the 60s that he thought the NBA was fixed so I grew up with that notion. Jeff Van Gundy claimed his series with the Mavs was fixed and he got fined $100K for his thoughts. Now Donaghy corroborates VG's story. Its bad enough that basketball fundamentals are so rare that they have to scout around the world for real basketball players... now we find out that Stern may have a little Vince McMahon in him.