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Refuting Donaghy: The evidence

Last night we had Sean Patrick Griffin on our show to talk about his new book, "Gaming the Game." (less than $15 on Amazon or now in your local book store).  Take a listen:

Griffin lays out a pretty convicing case in this book based on years of research and interviews.  He expands on those on his two blogs about the scandal:  DonaghyPersonalFouls and NBAScandal.  In all three outlets, Griffin presents hard evidence that refutes Donaghy's claims of mob intimidation and how he bet on games. 

The most damning evidence points directly to Donaghy fixing the games he officiated, something he said he didn't do.  But the co-conspirators, who in court were testifying against each other, had the same story:  Donaghy's bets in games he did not officiate were worthless.  The games he picked in which he DID officiate were gold.  

There is no evidence to say other officials were involved, though its certainly possible that some might have been.  And as Griffin said in the show last night, without any recordings of admissions of game-fixing, we can only walk down the path the evidence presents. 

Tim Donaghy has actually started to turn himself into an endearing figure despite this scandal.  He plays to his audience well and actually comes off as likable.  But when the full story is told, Donaghy is proven to be the type of person who will say and do anything to benefit himself.  He'll use your human nature... as well as your suspicions of the league's officials... to paint a picture about himself and this scandal that minimizes his role and damn near makes him look sympathetic. 

But the reality is different.  The evidence points us to a person who jeopardized the credibility of this league by manipulating the outcomes of games either to cover a spread or to outright lead to a different winner.  In my opinion, those who love this game and this league should view Donaghy the way baseball views the Black Sox scandal.  He's a disgrace.

The 2 Man Game at 9: A new look at the Donaghy scandal

Coming up tonight at 9pm on The 2 Man Game, we take an entirely new look at the Tim Donagy scandal with author Sean Griffin.  His new book, "Gaming the Game", challenges much of what's known about how it went down.  Here's a synopsis from their website.

In June 2007, the FBI informed the NBA that one of its referees, Tim Donaghy, was the subject of a probe into illegal gambling. Within months, the public knew the broad outlines of a scheme involving Donaghy betting on games he officiated with a co-conspirator, longtime Donaghy acquaintance and professional gambler Jimmy "Baba" Battista. They were joined in the scandal by mutual childhood friend Tommy Martino. By November 2008, each man had pleaded guilty to charges relating to the conspiracy, and was in federal prison. The story was over. Or so it seemed to be.

Researched with dozens of interviews, court documents, betting records, referee statistics, and unique access to witness statements and confidential law enforcement files, Gaming the Game looks inside the FBI's investigation and beyond to provide the definitive account of the scandal. Jimmy Battista's remarkable decades-long bookmaking and betting career is examined; including, and especially, his role as architect of the widely publicized scandal. Battista, who unlike his co-conspirators never spoke with federal authorities, reveals for the first time intricate details of the scheme--most of which only he knows.

True Hoop had a great breakdown and reaction to the book last month.  Tonight, we're going to talk to the author to get the whole scoop.  Tune in at 9pm!  The Phone Number to join in is (724) 444-7444.  The 
Call ID to find us is 94051.

Tim Donaghy's ringleader speaks

TrueHoop has a must-read today about the man who ran all the money in the Tim Donaghy scandal.  James Battista is giving an account of the entire scandal that jives with what the rest of the co-conspirators and the FBI found.... and less with what Donaghy claims about mafia involvement and not fixing NBA games.  And as far as we're concerned, as fans of the NBA... it's the fixing that we're most concerned about.  Donaghy says he hasn't... the evidence suggests otherwise.

Late in the book, in a footnote, Griffin makes something of a "game, set, match" observation. Donaghy told authorities, and Battista confirms, that Donaghy and Martino used a secret code to communicate picks over the phone. "If Donaghy mentioned Martino's brother Chuck (who lived in the Philadelphia area), the pick would be the home team," the U.S. attorney explained in a letter to the judge. "If, on the other hand, Donaghy mentioned Martino's brother Johnny (who did not live in the Philadelphia area), the pick would be the visiting team." 

That the three conspirators agree on this point is proof positive that the conspiracy was about games Donaghy reffed. Such a code would not work in a world where, as Donaghy alleges, the three were looking to exploit his leaguewide insight on a regular basis. This code assumes everyone knows which of the NBA's many games they're talking about. 

Battista also points out that Donaghy was religious about checking with Martino, before games he reffed, to find out the point spread Battista had been able to get. That's information that would be essential for a game-fixer, but a curio otherwise. 

[...] As of today, all four conspirators -- Donaghy, Ruggieri, Martino and Battista -- have talked in some fashion or another. Ruggieri, Martino and Battista all agree that the only picks from Donaghy that mattered were picks on games he refereed. 

"Being able to control the outcomes," says Battista, "was the big reason he won his games. That was why he couldn't pick those other games." 

Of course, that leaves Donaghy alone with this theory, and credibility issues. 

This just makes me think Tim Donaghy fixed games.  He risked the integrity of a multi-billion dollar entity because he saw a way to manipulate games for his own gain.  

Did he act alone?  We don't know for sure, but I sure as hell hope so.  Could it happen again?  Absolutely. 

Take a look at the Celtics-Heat game.  For about 38 minutes, the game was called loosely.  Guys were allowed to play physically, some calls that could have been made, weren't.  Then, late in the 4th quarter, things changed on a dime.  Plays that were allowed earlier in the game were suddenly fouls.  For about a four minute stretch, the game was called tight.  And then, just as suddenly, things loosened up again. 

Was it a conspiracy?  Was it an anomaly?  Was someone covering a spread, or was someone just trying to make sure the game didn't get out of control?  The sad thing is, each side can make a case.  And that's the NBA's problem. 

The more that comes out about Donaghy, the more he is shown to be a dirty ref, and a dirty person who will say and do anything for his own personal gain.  The NBA needs to look at its officiating situation and make necessary changes to protect the integrity of its league.  I don't believe in vast conspiracies to fix games and the league... but the NBA needs to do a better job of not giving those who do so much ammunition.

McHale not a fan of robo-officials

[Photo credit: Barry Tse's Flickr page]

In ESPN's latest piece on the current state of officiating, old friend Kevin McHale has some less-than-enthusiastic thoughts on the direction of referees in today's NBA.

Now an analyst for NBA-TV, McHale said the current officiating system, with its computerized oversight, has "roboticized" this latest breed of NBA referees, rendering them either unwilling or unable to practice what McHale describes as the lost art of letting some fouls go in order to protect the flow of the game.

"Nobody goes to a game to watch 500 whistles," McHale said. "I just wish they'd let them play a little bit more in the paint, and not call the ticky-tack stuff out front."

Stern rejects the notion of independence from the rule book."That's not a methodology for inspiring confidence in your coaches and players," he said.

I find myself in semi-agreement with Kevin. True, no one likes watching a whistle-heavy game. But Stern has a point. Those games in which teams spend the first quarter figuring out what exactly constitutes a foul or travel can be just as frustrating -- especially if the rules change for the 4th quarter, as they so often do.

I'm mostly encouraged to see that the NBA is taking officiating seriously. Between the clamp down on player complaints and what seems to be a more accountable system of official criticism and instruction, it seems that they're headed in the right direction. Now if only they can teach Dwyane Wade what constitutes a carry.

The rest of the piece is quite good. It's about the man Stern tapped to turn around officiating post-Donaghy. Data analysis, the military, "super observers" -- there's a lot in it. It's worth a read.

Tim Donaghy and the Celtics: Part V: Boisterous Broadcasters and the Celtics Game that Started Donaghy's Downfall

It's early December in 2002 and you've just settled in to your favorite spot on the recliner to watch the Celtics take on the Phoenix Suns.  You're eager to see Joe Johnson's return to Boston after being traded the season before for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers.  It's a competitive game until Paul Pierce makes a move to the basket, gets tangled up in mid-air with Amare Stoudemire, and goes down.  Hard.  He lands face first on the court and loses his teeth.  He leaves the game briefly, but returns later on looking like a woozy boxer that just took a hit from Mike Tyson circa 1988.  If you're at the game, you're wondering why there was no foul called.  If you were at home, you witnessed one of Tommy Heinsohn's classic anti-referee outbursts. 

"THESE GUYS ARE RIDICULOUS!"  The video clip above says it all.  While there is no video proof that shows Mike Gorman holding Tommy back from charging onto the parquet, looking to attack NBA official Kenny Mauer like a Banshee, I'm convinced it happened.  Most Celtic fans love Tommy, despite is blatant and at times, outrageous attacks towards the referees.  Non-Celtic fans loathe his antics and have in fact, expressed their disappointment when firing up NBA League Pass for a Celtics game, only to have to mute the TV to make it semi-enjoyable.  Could it be possible that Tommy is so antagonistic in his commentating style that he negatively influences how referees officiate Celtic games?

As a subscriber of NBA League Pass myself, I've watched/listened to every teams' home commentators.  In my opinion, the majority of them display as much homerism as Tommy, but simply aren't as loud about it.  If you have League Pass this season, just watch a random game and you'll see what I mean (although I doubt Antoine Carr will be as obnoxious this season while doing color commentary during Cavs games).  With all of the madness in Tim Donaghy's book, you would think that Heinsohn would have a starring role.  The fact of the matter is that he doesn't even have a cameo.

Beginning on page 79 from Chapter 5 which is entitled "The Player's League," Donaghy explains how TV and radio announcers can also influence how NBA referees call a game:

Something else that fans may not be aware of is the relationship between television announcers and referees.  There are times when referees miss a call or fail to handle a crucial situation the right way.  Current announcers like Mike Fratello, Doug Collins, or Jeff Van Gundy might call you over during a timeout and say, "You guys really missed that."  You knew that if you were in the last minute of the game and you missed a call, you'd better make a call for the other team.  Many referees would look the announcers' way after a controversial call because we knew they were looking at slow-motion replays.  This was something I learned from Dick Bavetta.  It was a lot easier to hear from an announcer that you missed something-so that you could make a call the other way- than to get an email or a phone call from the league office saying that your blown call had cost a team a game.  If you missed a call but could still make it up and you didn't cost a team a game, then everything would be okay.

The announcers knew exactly what was going on in terms of the way we called games.  They knew what was happening, but for the good of the game, they would never bury us or point out our shortcomings.  The NBA actually has a guy in the East Coast office listening to everything the announcers say.  If he hears something that isn't good, he'll call the truck and relay the message.  For example, if an announcer is discussing a rule incorrectly or saying stuff that's out of whack, the NBA will be on the phone to the production staff in the truck and the message will get to the announcer within moments.  The announcers knew that every word they spoke was being monitored by the league.

Tim Donaghy and the Celtics: Part IV: Enemy Influences

In the first three parts to our Tim Donaghy and the Celtics series of posts, we covered aspects that were directly linked to the Celtics in some way.  In this installment, we'll take a look at how some of the biggest (and most hated) rivals of the green have or have not benefited from referee influence.  To begin, we'll look at who is probably the most hated Celtic rival: Kobe Bryant.  Exactly how much influence does Kobe have with NBA officials?  How does he compare with Michael Jordan in this regard?  Donaghy touches on both of these inquiries beginning on Page 60, in Chapter 5 entitled: "The Player's League."

I first met Kobe at the Summer Pro League in L.A.  I introduced myself, told him I was from Havertown, and wished him good luck on the upcoming season.  We shared some small talk and he thanked me for the good wishes.  He seemed like a good guy; a talented young man with a brilliant future ahead of him.

The next time I saw him was on the court in an NBA game.  He was the budding superstar for the Lakers, and I was still a junior referee in the league.  As his star power rose over the years, so did his obnoxious complaining and whining.  Kobe wanted a foul called every time he went to the basket.  He would scream on his way to the rim just to goad the referees into blowing the whistle.  Sometimes this tactic actually worked, depending on who was reffing the game.

Michael Jordan had done it much the same way, but he was less verbal about it.  Michael just sort of glanced at the referee as if to say, "Aren't you going to call that a foul?  It's me, Michael Jordan."  Kobe wasn't about to rely on subtle facial gestures.  He was constantly in your face and in your ear.

Often when someone else was shooting free throws, Kobe would seek out one of the referees and start jawing: "Come on now, you owe me one.  You missed that one, don't miss another one.  Come on now."

On those occasions when we did actually miss a call, the best approach for a referee was to acknowledge the mistake: "You know, you're probably right.  I probably missed that one."  However, that line can't be used too often or the player starts asking, "When are you going to stop missing them?"

For the young or less-confident referee, Kobe's verbal jousting and maneuvering could be very effective.  For those close to the court, it was obvious when he intimidated a ref into a call.

Donaghy goes on to explain at how referees would get together during timeouts and discuss how amazing Kobe was playing.  He also would further explain that Kobe's verbal abuse was relentless although it never seemed personal as he was just a fierce competitor always trying to gain an edge.  Again, this just points out how the human element of officiating is seemingly huge in determining how players are judged during a game.  If referee X likes you, despite being an annoyance, you've already started the game with a huge advantage.  On the flip side, if that same referee has a personal vendetta against you, well, you're probably Rasheed Wallace.

In continuation of the LA theme, would you think that Uber-fan Jack Nicholson would have any influence at all on NBA referees?  Here's Donaghy's take, on page 83 from the same chapter:

Tim Donaghy and the Celtics: Part III - Wyc Grousbeck Emulates Tommy Heinsohn

It's always interesting to ask someone what their opinion is on which type of team owner they want representing their favorite team.  Some fans are hardcore Mark Cuban-ites, loving how crazy he gets during Mavericks games all while sporting the every-fans' look of jeans and a team-logo t-shirt.  He is incessantly looking to improve his team with his deep pockets and bold trades.  It seems like he always hires more assistant coaches than he has players on his roster.  He's easily accessible through email and his own blog.  He's crazy enough to want his fans leaving every game as if they've just attended the greatest wedding-esque party of their lives (this falls into the WTF category).  He routinely challenges the NBA front office for rule changes in efforts to improve the game.  The most innovative project he's probably started was keeping statistics on the performance of NBA referees.  But is he viewed as an annoying pest during the games like Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck?

On the surface, one might think the answer to that question is blatantly obvious.  But according to Tim Donaghy's opinion, it might not be so crystal clear.  In Part III of our series we take a look at Donaghy's opinion on how the referee and team ownership relationships can and HAVE influenced the outcome of games.  Here is an excerpt from Chapter 5, entitled: "The Player's League," beginning on page 80.

    Owners also played a role, especially the loudmouth variety who NBA referees loved to hate.  Mickey Arison of the Miami Heat is a prime example of an owner who hurt his team on game day.  HE sat courtside and constantly screamed and yelled at us, seizing every opportunity to embarrass the refs in a relentless game of "gotcha."  During timeouts, Arison would get our attention and say, "Ive; got this little TV and I'm watching the replays.  You missed the call!"  The more he jawed, the more we stuck it to his team.  Some guys just never learn.

Robert Sarver, owner of the Phoenix Suns, was no better, constantly whining and crying about missed calls and bad fouls.  He worked tirelessly to intimidate the refs, but we always got the last laugh.

Wyc Grousbeck, owner of the Boston Celtics, was much the same, always yelling, screaming, and berating.  I had never met the man and didn't even know what he looked like until a game I worked in 2004.  Throughout the contest, this guy sitting courtside was incessant in his ranting directed toward the referees.  Finally, I went over to the scorer's table to have security escort him from the arena.

"Before you do that, did you know he's the owner of the Celtics?" said a man at the scorer's table.

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "He's the owner?"

That night I backed off and let him stay, but over the years Wyc Grousbeck got plenty of payback for the way he disrespected us.

First of all, the whole Mickey Arison/Miami Heat thing bodes very well for all of th Miami haters out there (and there are several) if this is true.  Second of all, this is a tough call for C's fans.  Personally I think it's good (to a point) to have your owner be passionate at games because as a fan you want an active owner, unlike the previous zombie owner that was Paul Gaston.  However, if he's THAT much of a deterrent where the refs are actively giving "plenty of payback" in terms of bad calls, technicals, ejections, etc. then it's clearly not a good thing.

Again, this is all going on the premise that Donaghy's claims even have a hint of truth.  And again, if you've been a hardcore NBA/Celtic fan for several years (if you're reading this blog then I'm quite certain you qualify) then you could easily see his point when it comes to shady officiating at times.  This could be quite the conundrum for refs though during a potential Celtics/Heat Eastern Conference Finals.  If both owners are hated equally, who do you "payback" the most?  I guess you just go with the home team!

Donaghy does have his list of owners "who were very respectful of the referees, owners who never tried to embarrass us or show us up."  He lists Larry Miller of the Utah Jazz, the Maloof brothers of the Sacramento Kings and amazingly Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks.

Tim Donaghy and the Celtics: Part II - Top 5 A-Holes in the NBA

It's the middle of a heated playoff series between your favorite team against your favorite rival.  Just like Rocky once placed a photo of his hated opponent Ivan Drago on his mirror, you do the same with Anderson Varejao, Pau Gasol, Quentin Richardson, LeBron James and yes, Kobe Bryant.  You watch as they hound the officials for calls on every single trip down the court, screaming for a foul on offense and blatantly flopping on defense.  Each and every play on each and every game you re-arrange your "hit list" of the biggest whiners, a-holes, and annoying instigators.  Have you ever wondered if say, an NBA referee shares these thoughts with you and carries out a specific bias, or favoritism towards said list?

Continuing our review of Tim Donaghy's book, "Personal Foul," we take a look at his list of the top five a-holes in the NBA.  Four out of Donaghy's five have worn the green uniform at some point in their careers.  Four of the five seem quite logical whereas one was a head-scratcher.

In Chapter 5, entitled "The Player's League" beginning on page 67, Donaghy lists his top 5 and provides a general description as to what attributes one of these players has:

For every funny guy or likable character in the NBA, there was a real asshole- the kind of selfish, profane, self-absorbed spoiled brat who the referees just couldn't stand.  My all-time top five on this list are Gary Payton, Rasheed Wallace, Antoine Walker, Chauncey Billups, and Stephen Jackson.  These guys could make your life a living hell, and they usually did.

Payton, Sheed, and Billups played a whopping combined 2 1/2 seasons for the C's but Antoine was here for quite some time.  Walker, Payton, Sheed and Stephen Jackson are hardly revelations, but I was surprised to see Chauncey Billups on this list.  Over the years I've read nothing to the contrary of him being one of the classier guys in the league.  Apparently Donaghy doesn't think so.  He goes into detail as to how NBA officials would extract revenge on players ranking high on their personal hit lists.

To have a little fun at the expense of the worst troublemakers, the referees working the game would sometimes make a modest friendly wager amongst themselves: first ref to give one of the bad boys a technical foul wouldn't have to tip the ball boy that night.  In the NBA, ball boys set up the referees' locker room and keep it stocked with food and beer for the postagme meal.  We usually ran the kid ragged with a variety of personal requests and then slipped him a $20 bill.  Technically, the winner of the bet won twice- he didn't have to pay the kid and he got to call a T on Mr. Foul-Mouthed Big-Shot Du Jour.

After the opening tip, it was hilarious as the three of us immediately focused our attention on the intended victim, waiting for something, anything, to justify a technical foul.  If the guy so much as looked at one of us and mumbled, we rang him up.  Later in the referees' locker room, we would down a couple of brews, eat some chicken wings, and laugh like hell.

Tim Donaghy and the Celtics: Part I - The KG Rule

Akin to calling a foul several seconds after it was committed, reading and reviewing this book is a little late on my part admittedly.  To me, Tim Donaghy's "Personal Foul" was well worth the time as well as the wait.  While the majority of you have probably already received the general intel of Donaghy's methodologies as well as intentions, my review will focus specifically on any and all material related to your Boston Celtics.  After all, this is a Celtics blog and there were a few tidbits of green colored references in Donaghy's tome.  This will be the first installment of a series of upcoming posts.

In Chapter 5, entitled "The Players' League," Donaghy delves into the details of certain players are officiated differently.  Clearly this shouldn't be a shocking revelation to any NBA fan, but I'm sure many of us never thought there would be a day that a referee would actually admit to it, let alone describe it.  Donaghy discusses how officials dealt with Kevin Garnett (albeit when he played in Minnesota, but his histrionics are still practiced here in Boston) on pages 62 and 63:

At least one superstar player in the league engaged in outrageous conduct that left many referees scratching their heads.  Kevin Garnett is one of the more vocal and provocative players on the court.  During his years of dominance with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett was known to be particularly fond of using the n-word when addressing teammates and opposing players.  It was a common occurrence, one I witnessed many times, for Garnett to shout the expletive at the top of his lungs while running up and down the court.

"Give me the f*cking ball! That n*gger can't f*cking guard me!" he'd shout.

Throughout the game, Garnett spewed a continual barrage of the word so loudly that he could be clearly heard 20 rows up in the stands.

Now, boys will be boys, and we were all men on the court, but the NBA promotes a fan-friendly atmosphere in the arenas and a decision had to be made.  One particular fall at our annual preseason referee camp, the referees in attendance raised the issue and debated whether a player's use of the n-word should generate a technical foul.  After considerable and rancorous discussion, it was decided that if a player yelled "motherf*cker" there would be no technical foul.  However, the use of the n-word during game action would result in a quick technical.

Despite the decision, many refs chose to ignore the rule, not wanting to limit Garnett's enthusiastic style of play.  When it came to Kevin Garnett, referees either loved him or hated him; there was no middle ground.

Anyone who has been to a Celtics game (or any game that KG has played in) and has sat relatively close to the floor can definitely attest to this.  He's a nutbag out there.  He incessantly talks junk to everyone and everything and headbutts stanchions as a pre-game ritual.  Kendrick Perkins has even gone on record to say that KG is a psychopath.  Now, whether you are offended or not by his aggressive vocabulary on the court is completely your right. 

I just found it fascinating that the NBA's officials created a special underground "KG Rule" even though it clearly wasn't enforced all that much.  Besides, KG isn't the only one cussing as often as Antoine Walker used to jack up threes.  The point by Donaghy was to show how referees clearly had their biases towards certain players and officiated them as such, rules be damned.

Later on in Chapter 10, entitled "How I Picked the Games," Donaghy describes how he was issued a mandate from his supervisor, Jim Wishmier, to crack down on KG's penchant for for traveling.

Donaghy Claim: Bill Kennedy's sexuality at root of hatred for Doc

Tim Donaghy, the former NBA ref busted for gambling on NBA games and author of some of the wildest claims I've heard in some time... dropped another bomb last night on the Celtics Late Night Show.

According to Donaghy, Bill Kennedy is gay.  And according to Donaghy, Doc Rivers once questioned Kennedy's sexuality during a game, and since then, Doc has been a target of Kennedy's. Here's the transcript of the question and answer, which came at the 67 minute mark of last night's show:

Question: one of the referees I've been annoyed with over the years is Bill Kennedy, every time he has a Celtics game I almost know that we're not getting calls. Is his relationships with Doc Rivers or the Celtics organization as a whole something you know about.

Donaghy: That's a difficult question for me to answer because I certainly don't want to offend anybody... I'm just gonna come out and say it like it is.  It's no secret on the staff that Bill Kennedy is a homosexual... I don't have any ill will towards gays or lesbians, but it was no secret that he's a homosexual.  It was known around the league, it was obvious during a game Doc Rivers questioned his sexual orientation and I think that has stuck with Kennedy over the years and he has no love for Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics

It is a wild claim that he made after being asked why it seemed Doc is targeted by Kennedy in games.  It's coming from Tim Donaghy, so I wouldn't just take it with a grain of salt... I'd take it with the whole shaker.

To me, I think Donaghy is pond scum who will say anything to make himself look better or knowledgeable.  Even if the claims about Kennedy are true, the fact that he'd so nonchalantly expose a person's sexuality is unseemly. 

However, it's a claim that is now public and it may well have an effect on the results of Celtics games officiated by Bill Kennedy.  Since its out there, I figured we might as well pass it along.

Follow the above link to listen to the entire 2 hour show.  Later on in the show, I hopped on to call Donaghy out on a few things.