How does the NBA influence games?

[GP1]

This is a link to a final in a series Deadspin has been running with Tim Donaghy, a former ref who went to jail for gambling problems. Read his book. It is an excellent review of what goes on behind closed doors with refs in the NBA and the interpersonal relationships between refs, players and coaches. I find it very believable. One doesn't have to fix calls to do well gambling on sports. All you have to have is knowledge of how refs feel about certain key players and you can accurately predict game outcomes.

[Dave in Green]

The NBA according to Donaghy. Yet another slimeball cashes in on his infamy.

That's the message for today, kiddies: First, violate the law. Then take advantage of your notoriety to command public attention and make money. No one can go so low as to lose credibility any more.

Reminds me of the recent story about Bernie Madoff. He's a hero to all the small-time con men incarcerated along with him in the Butner Correctional Institution in North Carolina. They are all in awe of his abilities to con billions out of suckers when they were only working with thousands of dollars at best.

The guy who really got screwed was Jeffrey Dahmer. Before he could get paroled and make millions with a TV reality show on how to cook human flesh, he was beaten to death by a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution. So sad that he wasn't able to cash in.

[GP1]

The NBA according to Donaghy. Yet another slimeball cashes in on his infamy.

That's the message for today, kiddies: First, violate the law. Then take advantage of your notoriety to command public attention and make money. No one can go so low as to lose credibility any more.

Reminds me of the recent story about Bernie Madoff. He's a hero to all the small-time con men incarcerated along with him in the Butner Correctional Institution in North Carolina. They are all in awe of his abilities to con billions out of suckers when they were only working with thousands of dollars at best.

The guy who really got screwed was Jeffrey Dahmer. Before he could get paroled and make millions with a TV reality show on how to cook human flesh, he was beaten to death by a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution. So sad that he wasn't able to cash in.

What if he is right? Does the messenger matter at that point? There is a big difference between Jeffrey Dahmer and a guy with a gambling problem. Try some perspective.

[Dave in Green]

My perspective is that there are too many victims of repeat offenders in the world, and that those who have damaged their credibility with a criminal history of betraying people's trust must work long and hard to prove they have truly reformed before earning back my trust.

[RootforRoo44]

Regardless of what you think about him, it's alarming to think that such a fix is in on NBA games. The scary thing is, if it's all true I still think I would watch.

[GP1]

Regardless of what you think about him, it's alarming to think that such a fix is in on NBA games. The scary thing is, if it's all true I still think I would watch.

To me there is a big difference between "fixing" a game and setting a tone that would influence certain styles of play. For example, the NFL cracked down on touching WRs past 5 yards which changed the game. That isn't fixing games, it is just changing the tone.

At no point did this guy fix games. All he knew was certain refs like certain players and focused on certain calls. Knowing that allowed him to very closely predict games.

His crime was getting involved with organized crime and letting them know what he knew went on around the NBA.