Subscribe Feed (RSS)Deadspin has excerpts and a lot of it is jaw-dropping. Here’s one with a local flavor, concerning veteran official Dick Bavetta:
The 2002 series certainly wasn’t the first or last time Bavetta weighed in on an important game. He also worked Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers. The Lakers were down by 13 at the start of the fourth quarter when Bavetta went to work. The Lakers outscored Portland 31–13 in the fourth quarter and went on to win the game and the series. It certainly didn’t hurt the Lakers that they got to shoot 37 free throws compared to a paltry 16 for the Trail Blazers.
You better go to the above link and read it all. It’s pretty incredible stuff, naming names. It seems to confirm a whole lot of people’s perceptions of how the NBA tries to manipulate outcomes of games. But can we take the word of a game-fixer and convicted felon?
UPDATE: Random House was originally supposed to publish this next month, but according to Deadspin, was talked out of doing so by the NBA, under a threat of a lawsuit. Donaghy is now said to be looking for another publisher, so these excerpts may be all you see for a while.
As horrible as he was, I believe him. I have no doubt that the refs at times control the outcome of games. Thats why if the Blazers want to get to the finals, they are going to have to just whip the asses of everyone they play.
If we can believe Jose Conseco, we can believe this guy…
this is one book i would definatly pay money to read.i think it stinks that he gets the royalties though.
Jaw dropping???
Really?
Hey Dwight, the games are STILL fixed! Didn’t you know that?
Not to worry . . .Blazer fans would never be conspiracy theorists. . .would they?
Dwight – you just threw a big piece of red meat to wolves.
So Dwight, what is your take on thought refs won that finals game for Lakers.
To this day i can’t believe the Blazers lost that game, but had not blamed refs, Then I am no expert. I can see obvious miscalls, but subtle stuff I can not.
However I can believe it may be so. The Blazers were best then and deserved to win. Little calls may have cost them that game.
What a deal if it can be shown.
You can just look at David Stern and know the entire league is crocked… highly entertaining though. I have long been saying that 2000 WCF was fixed that foul on Steve Smith was just plain terrible. But what killed us anyway was Sheed’s constant baseline misses.
There was a continuation 3 point play for Glen Rice during that run that was completely unacceptable. I’d have to see the play, but a foul (can’t remember if it was warranted) occurred, Glen rice proceeded to take 3 steps, and make an uncontested layup + the foul…
And do we even bring up the Shaq vs Sabonis fouls to set the tone for the series? Shaq throwing elbows to the face and Sabonis charged with the fouls?
Ean, that non-call when Steve Smith got hit, was THE absolute knockout punch, in my mind. I can talk about the alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq, which certainly turned the game. But messing Smith was the final nail in the coffin.
We don’t have to take the word of a convict. We all have eyes. We’ve all seen enough to believe what Donahy is saying without him ever saying a word. The refs in the NBA stink. The umps in MLB are hideous. NFL? Tom Brady says ow! Ref throws flag and it’s NiceFreakinLife. I dunno about collaborating and collusion by refs to fix outcome of games to NBA’s liking. But we all have eyes. The refs have a belly full of grudges, pre-conceived notions and star player treatment. Dude, the refs stink. They do not call and even handed, honest, game. Dude, the refs SUCK!
Best refs in the world, right Dwight?
That is what he claims…. LMAO !!
I’ve always said that Dick Bavetta looks like Mr. Burns on The Simpsons, and for good measure, his right-hand man Smithers looks kind of like David Stern.
As a die-hard Blazer fan, I didn’t even completely blame the refs for Game 7 in 2000. I was more ticked that the Blazers didn’t seem to at least TRY to drive to the basket and draw fouls. But, they probably wouldn’t have gotten the calls anyway. Still with hope, Steve Smith got fouled, and didn’t get the foul call. That was the knockout punch.
I was SHOCKED to read NOTHING about UTAH. I don’t know how much it angered Blazer fans, but with the Sonics (with Nate McMillan coaching and playing for us), Utah was the team that got ALL the calls. It angered us to no end.
I remember in 1995-96 when the Blazers nearly won Game 1 at Utah. Karl Malone threw himself into Sabonis, and got the call.
I hate Utah. I hate Boston. I hate the Lakers. I hate Phoenix.
Read the Deadspin article: if the league had any integrity, it would cancel the season until all of Donaghy’s allegations were investigated and all alleged wrongdoers given the opportunity to defend themselves in court. This will not happen, because the current NBA is a no more or less than a traveling advertising show, using athletes as spokesmodels. We’ve all known it for years, but, like fans of professional wrestling, we want to believe. Pretty pathetic.
Tim just confirmed what I already believed to be true. But the NBA and it’s commentators will still continue to defend the officiating. Right, Dwight?
I guess if I were making good money as an NBA commentator, my allegiance would be purchased, I’d too sell my soul to the devil, and “not bite the hand that feeds me.” Unfortunate, but true.
As a Seattle area Blazers fan, based on this Deadspin article which I actually DO believe Donaghy, I say this to the NBA: We don’t need you in Seattle anymore. We’ll continue to back the Blazers, with B-Roy, Nate, and Martell. Give Seattle an NHL team instead. Carolina Hurricanes becoming the Seattle Thunderbirds?
Then, just as, per Lynn Swan, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh sometimes band together in sports, a Blazer NBA Championship, and Seattle Thunderbirds NHL Stanley Cup, the PNW can band together with pride.
I am NOT a Vancouver BC fan, by the way. If Seattle gets the Grizzlies (gee I really hope), I’m STILL rooting for the Blazers to beat the Seattle Grizzlies (and OKC Thunder) by 40 points!
I’ll add another one that Donaghy should address. Remember 1992-93 when in Game 7 of the WCF, Phoenix shot 63 free-throws? Bull waste bogus. My friend said that if we ever had to face Utah IN Utah for Game 7, the Jazz would have shot 80 free throws.
Heck, why SHOULDN’T Donaghy have bet? Indirectly, he sure had his colleagues stacking the deck in his favor.
Wow, if there is even a hint of truth to this…
It’s one thing to have bias, we are all not perfect…
but to accuse the refs of actual conscious intent…
Man that is as bad as professional wrestling
I have a friend named BJ, who’s 5′6″, 325 pounds, and he thought that pro wrestling was real!
i want my money back!
C’mon ya’ll. I like deadspin. They are an entertaining read. They are the TMZ of the online sports world. I am not saying that is a bad thing. I am just saying controversy/freakshow is their bread and butter. The refs stink. NBA refs suck. Replacement, regular, does not matter, they live a flawed existence. I get that. However. I can not accept that refs are fixing games for a pre-conceived, NBA approved outcome. Not buying that. I could not watch one single game if I truly believed that. How could anyone? Why would anyone?
ps. Channing Frye is fast becoming a hit/cult hero in PHX. Not that anyone in PDX would have any trouble buying into that
Any Blazer fan knows that the league for years has been making superstar calls, no surprise. We also know they favor the bigger markets, too.
What’s interesting is whether it will continue. Portland’s a small market, but they’ve got a good owner — the NBA needs that. Many small markets are near collapse, which will cause teams to have to merge or move. It’s time for the NBA to provide some balance for these small markets until the economy gets back on track.
Stern has more than over-stayed his welcome. If the NBA really wants to improve, it needs to start with replacing him.
ChrisDotTodd, which team do you (and other fans)think will come to Seattle: Kings, Magic, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, or none? I say Kings. Imagine the Maloofs in Seattle. Rivalry renewed!
How is this news to anyone? There’s way too much money to be made off the status quo. Pro sports will never be rid of gambling.
Even though none of Doneghy’s anecdotes may be true, the frightening thing is that the refs COULD do these things and no one would be the wiser. That’s why Doneghy’s stories have the ring of truth to anyone who has watched the games for any length of time. We all see the egos involved in certain refs.
Having said that, Doneghy is not to be trusted in any form or fashion. He is a self-serving conniver, and the premise of the book confirms that.
“But can we take the word of a game-fixer and convicted felon?”
Why not? What does he have to lose now?