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Excerpts from the book the NBA doesn't want you to read

No Excuses

By No Excuses
in The Tailgate

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No Excuses

No Excuses

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A lot of interesting excerpts from Tim Donoghy's book "Blowing the Whistle". Everything in this book could be a lie but some of this stuff just makes too much sense with the trends seen on the court these days.

http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read

Studying under Dick Bavetta for 13 years was like pursuing a graduate degree in advanced game manipulation. He knew how to marshal the tempo and tone of a game better than any referee in the league, by far. He also knew how to take subtle-and not so subtle-cues from the NBA front office and extend a playoff series or, worse yet, change the complexion of that series.

The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings presents a stunning example of game and series manipulation at its ugliest. As the teams prepared for Game 6 at the Staples Center, Sacramento had a 3–2 lead in the series. The referees assigned to work Game 6 were Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney, and Ted Bernhardt. As soon as the referees for the game were chosen, the rest of us knew immediately that there would be a Game 7. A prolonged series was good for the league, good for the networks, and good for the game. Oh, and one more thing: it was great for the big-market, star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.

In the pregame meeting prior to Game 6, the league office sent down word that certain calls-calls that would have benefitted the Lakers — were being missed by the referees. This was the type of not-so-subtle information that I and other referees were left to interpret. After receiving the dispatch, Bavetta openly talked about the fact that the league wanted a Game 7.

"If we give the benefit of the calls to the team that's down in the series, nobody's going to complain. The series will be even at three apiece, and then the better team can win Game 7," Bavetta stated.

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In the pregame meeting prior to Game 6, the league office sent down word that certain calls-calls that would have benefitted the Lakers — were being missed by the referees.

I remember Mike Bibby getting leveled from a vicious elbow to the face from Kobe Bryant and surprise surprise, no whistle. It was an incredible non-call. I think that was either game 6 or 7.

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tone_dubbz

tone_dubbz

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I knew Sac-town should have won that series. There is no way they give up a 3-2 lead. C-Webb was a monster that year, and Bibby was good. Heck in Vlade was more than serviceable.

I wonder if the refs manipulated the Western Conference Finals between the blazers and lakers the following year.

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ixcuincle

ixcuincle

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I wonder if the refs manipulated the 2006 NBA Finals.

I have many questions about the officiating in the NBA. It's by far the worst of all North American sports. Every official is basically spoken of in a negative light. People like Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford (the guy who threw out Tim Duncan for laughing!) are simply horrible referees.

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Heidenreich

Heidenreich

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I loved that 2002 Kings team. Everybody knew that night that they got robbed. That fourth quarter was the most ridiculous sporting event I ever watched.

That being said, Donahey is picking the one game everybody instantly thinks of when theres any talk of fixing games. He needs to bust out other examples......

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tone_dubbz

tone_dubbz

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I wonder if the refs manipulated the 2006 NBA Finals.

I have many questions about the officiating in the NBA. It's by far the worst of all North American sports. Every official is basically spoken of in a negative light. People like Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford (the guy who threw out Tim Duncan for laughing!) are simply horrible referees.

Not sure about that one, D Wade was balling his ass off.

But I wouldn't be surprised. Joe Crawford ref'd two games in the series, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to cover the spread :doh:

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Destino

Destino

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Remember when Jose Canseco wrote a book and people said "no way!" and "he has no credibility"? How did that whole steroids thing he wrote about turn out?

You see what people don't understand is upstanding citizens are never going to have that information. They won't be a part of it . Bad people that are still in good standing will never reveal it because they are mixed up in it and don't want to kill the goose laying those wonderful golden eggs. The only source you will ever get that blows something like this wide open is a person of low credibility.

What makes this seem credible is that people have noticed sudden changes in calls during the NBA post season more than a few times. There isn't one fan in the NBA that won't admit that big names get the calls in the post season. Teams with larger markets and bigger names benefit as well.

If a drunk homeless hooker crack addict tells you the sky is blue... it doesn't mean the sky isn't blue.

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mcsluggo

mcsluggo

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I remember Mike Bibby getting leveled from a vicious elbow to the face from Kobe Bryant and surprise surprise, no whistle. It was an incredible non-call. I think that was either game 6 or 7.

you are wrong, sir.

It wasn't a "no-call". Mike Bibby got whistled for the foul of impeding Kobe's elbow with his nose.

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Warhead36

Warhead36

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Remember when Jose Canseco wrote a book and people said "no way!" and "he has no credibility"? How did that whole steroids thing he wrote about turn out?

Exactly. People trashed Canseco at first too but now he may be the most legitimate source of baseball steroid users. :hysterical:

I doubt any of this is true but it wouldn't surprise me. And if it is true(even some of it)it will cause chaos.

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No Excuses

No Excuses

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I loved that 2002 Kings team. Everybody knew that night that they got robbed. That fourth quarter was the most ridiculous sporting event I ever watched.

That being said, Donahey is picking the one game everybody instantly thinks of when theres any talk of fixing games. He needs to bust out other examples......

Read the entire article. Many more examples given, most notably the Suns-Spurs series from a few years back where the Suns were ROBBED once again.

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G.A.C.O.L.B.

G.A.C.O.L.B.

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Read the entire article. Many more examples given, most notably the Suns-Spurs series from a few years back where the Suns were ROBBED once again.

Yeah that was a complete robbery. That closed the Suns window too. Shame really. I thought they were the best team in the league.

If the government holds Senate hearings about 'roids, they should definitely hold hearings on this. I won't hold my breath.

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you are wrong, sir.

It wasn't a "no-call". Mike Bibby got whistled for the foul of impeding Kobe's elbow with his nose.

LMAO I think you're right.

Shaq was allowed to pretty much mow down anyone in his path in that series too. If anyone dared to play defense against him the whistles came out in a nanosecond.

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afkidd

afkidd

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i thought everyone knew that the nba was more about entertain and money then the other sports? Even college basketball the same...pretty sure Duke gets more then just the benefit of the doubt because they are a high profile ball club.

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ixcuincle

ixcuincle

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http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArwbWD6sj3GVdFzcEi3pa3Q5nYcB?slug=dw-donaghybook102909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Ask around the NBA this week and you won’t find too many people outside the league office dismissing Donaghy’s claims.

“I read it last night and was laughing, and said, ‘Yep, that’s about right,” one team executive said. “I don’t think anyone is going to dispute the possibility.”

If the NBA’s own front-office people believe this, then how can fans simply dismiss it?

Consider Rasheed Wallace(notes), who has recorded a record number of technical fouls during his career-long battles with refs. He earned many of them, but he also claimed the refs had it in for him.

“Some of them cats are felonious, man,” ’Sheed famously declared, even before Donaghy became a felon.

Was Wallace targeted? Well, here’s Donaghy, according to Deadspin’s excerpt:

“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.

“After the opening tip, it was hilarious as the three of us immediately focused our full 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.”

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