Expect more denials and condescension from your pal, David Stern:

[carrrnuttt]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381842,00.html

Disgraced NBA Referee's Phone Calls to Second Ref Raise Questions


EXCLUSIVE: NEW YORK — NBA referee Tim Donaghy made repeated phone calls to a second referee at the same time he provided inside information to professional gamblers during the course of the 2006-2007 season, according to court documents and phone records obtained by FOXNews.com.

The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided “picks” to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13.

It’s unclear what information was exchanged during the calls between Foster and Donaghy, who is awaiting sentencing later this month in federal court after reaching a plea deal in the case. Federal prosecutors in the case declined to comment on this report. But former federal prosecutors not involved in the investigation say the frequency and duration of the calls, as well as the days they took place, are suspicious.

The new information may call into question insistent claims by NBA Commissioner David Stern that Donaghy was a “rogue, isolated criminal” acting on his own, without the cooperation of any other referees or league officials.

Calls between Foster, 41, and Donaghy, also 41, took place immediately before and after 54 of the 57 games Donaghy officiated from the beginning of the 2006-2007 season until mid-March, when his role in the gambling operation apparently ended. Records also show a vast majority of the calls came in the hours before or after games officiated by Donaghy or Foster.

Donaghy’s phone records for one of those days, Dec. 30, obtained by Fox News, reveal the following:

— 10:34 a.m. – Donaghy calls Foster.

— 10:35 a.m. – Donaghy calls another referee.

— 10:36 a.m. – Donaghy calls Martino, the “middleman” between him and his bookie.

— 10:39 a.m. – Donaghy calls Foster.

— 5:15 p.m. – Donaghy calls Martino.

— 5:23 p.m. – Donaghy calls Martino.

— 7 p.m. – Donaghy referees game between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. The Magic win in a rout, 97-68.

— 8 p.m. – Foster referees a game between the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. The Grizzlies win 110-104. Foster and Donaghy speak 12 minutes after the game.

— 11:27 p.m. – Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fourth time of the day.

— 11:38 p.m. – Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fifth time of the day.

The following day, Donaghy spoke with Foster at 1:37 p.m., for two minutes. One minute later, at 1:40 p.m., Donaghy spoke to Martino, also for two minutes.

On a number of other days:

— Donaghy placed three calls to Foster before Donaghy refereed the Jan. 19, 2007, game between the New Orleans Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs. The next day, he called Foster three more times.

— On Jan. 27, Donaghy had the day off, but he called Foster five times, each time for no more than two minutes, before Foster refereed a game that night between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.

— On Jan. 18, the next day, Donaghy and Foster spoke three more times.

— On Feb. 2, before Donaghy refereed a game in Boston between the Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers, he made three more calls to Foster. He called Foster again after the game, then immediately called Martino.

Only three game days do not show calls to Foster:

— Nov. 29, when the L.A. Clippers hosted Memphis;

— Jan. 22, when Donaghy was in Toronto and, according to court records, used calling cards to place all of his calls;

— Jan. 24, when Cleveland hosted Philadelphia and Donaghy used the same calling card. On Jan. 23, however, Donaghy’s cell phone records show two calls to Foster.

Donaghy might logically communicate with other referees he was officiating with, and there are many such calls in Donaghy’s records. But Donaghy and Foster did not referee a single game together during the 2006-2007 season.

Donaghy also had three other cell phone numbers registered in his name, all of which he used. But he called Foster using the phone the feds say he designated for mostly gambling-related use.

The short calls with Foster stopped abruptly in mid March 2007, when Donaghy is believed to have stopped his gambling.

And then, here's this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3484915

 

[nowagimp]

After being called a conspiracy theorist on this board many times before the donaghy story broke, I am LOL at how silly it is to be a "loyal fan" and defend the NBA as many here did. It was quite in vogue here to criticize anyone complaining about obvious officiating gaffes, but the tools of stern in the form of suns, lakers and spurs fans have evaporated into the woodwork now. There were even some fans who emphatically stated that Donaghy was "one rogue referee". Yeah and the mob only "tinkers" in sports gambling.

 

[scXfreakX]

If true, this story gets worse and worse. Everyone knows how dirty the NBA is. How bad the officials are. Its no secret. And of course, now it seems that David Stern did lie on national television. Jeez, this league doesn't need this kind of crap right now.

 

[nowagimp]

If true, this story gets worse and worse. Everyone knows how dirty the NBA is. How bad the officials are. Its no secret. And of course, now it seems that David Stern did lie on national television. Jeez, this league doesn't need this kind of crap right now.

When two are involved its defined as a conspiracy, so it appears we have a conspiracy. Now Im waiting for the "two rogue referees" speech from stern.

and then there is this story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3483237

george karl:

Asked if he believes Donaghy is the only referee guilty of manipulating games, Karl squirms before he answers. He leans forward, then back. He sighs. He shakes his head and finally offers, "I don't know how to answer that question without getting fined."

and also by karl


"I've never felt going into a contest that there's a chance of it being manipulated," he says. "I feel the integrity of the league is always there at the beginning of the game. It's what happens through the game -- and the circumstances, and losing -- that you bring out the paranoia. And it exists. It exists in players. It exists in coaches. It exists in fans by the surveys and reports that we're getting back where [out of] 100,000 people, we're seeing 75,000 of them are saying they feel there's some partiality going on in refereeing of NBA basketball games."


When asked how many of the NBA's 58 referees he trusts, Karl says his answer depends on where the game is being played.

"If I'm playing a team that I'm supposed to [beat] on my home court, I trust probably all of them," he says. "But if I'm playing the Lakers in the Staples Center, I probably only trust 25 percent of them."


So the players, coaches, and fans believe there is an integrity problem in the officiating, and 75% of fans polled(by the NBA?) think that partiality in officiating is going on.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Stern lied...

 

[Lefty]

Stern needs to step down.

 

[Mainstreet]

When two are involved its defined as a conspiracy, so it appears we have a conspiracy. Now Im waiting for the "two rogue referees" speech from stern.

and then there is this story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3483237

george karl:

Asked if he believes Donaghy is the only referee guilty of manipulating games, Karl squirms before he answers. He leans forward, then back. He sighs. He shakes his head and finally offers, "I don't know how to answer that question without getting fined."

and also by karl


"I've never felt going into a contest that there's a chance of it being manipulated," he says. "I feel the integrity of the league is always there at the beginning of the game. It's what happens through the game -- and the circumstances, and losing -- that you bring out the paranoia. And it exists. It exists in players. It exists in coaches. It exists in fans by the surveys and reports that we're getting back where [out of] 100,000 people, we're seeing 75,000 of them are saying they feel there's some partiality going on in refereeing of NBA basketball games."


When asked how many of the NBA's 58 referees he trusts, Karl says his answer depends on where the game is being played.

"If I'm playing a team that I'm supposed to [beat] on my home court, I trust probably all of them," he says. "But if I'm playing the Lakers in the Staples Center, I probably only trust 25 percent of them."


So the players, coaches, and fans believe there is an integrity problem in the officiating, and 75% of fans polled(by the NBA?) think that partiality in officiating is going on.

I really liked that interview with George Karl with ESPN. I'm glad you posted it. It was refreshing to hear some candor.

 

[Andrew]

That freaking sucks....on a side note, refs can ref more than one game a night?

 

[mojorizen7]

If true, this story gets worse and worse. Everyone knows how dirty the NBA is. How bad the officials are. Its no secret. And of course, now it seems that David Stern did lie on national television. Jeez, this league doesn't need this kind of crap right now.

This is exactly what the league needs right now.....
a new commisioner and a group of referees managed and governed by non-NBA people.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Playing devil's advocate here.

Ya know, we still dont know what the heck Donaghy did. He told the mob who he thinks would win games due to the personalities of the refs officiating, and called a couple extra fouls here and there. Its been a year and the media has yet to give us a comprehensive breakdown of his actual infractions and shady actions. Has no one at espn/fox/etc sat down and reviewed tapes of his games? It's all be conjecture and probability up to now, and I would really like to see exactly wtf he has done.

 

[Irish]

That's what they have now.

Stern, Jackson, and the rest of the league office are in total denial and so refuse to bring in coaches and referees to review videos to try to find a solution.

While I am as critical of refs as anybody, I think the good ones can give insight into how to change the rules to make them less subjective and why so many calls get blown. It would be a great dialogue if Stern wasn't standing in the way of a serious critique of his cronies.

 

[Bufalay]

Playing devil's advocate here.

Ya know, we still dont know what the heck Donaghy did. He told the mob who he thinks would win games due to the personalities of the refs officiating, and called a couple extra fouls here and there. Its been a year and the media has yet to give us a comprehensive breakdown of his actual infractions and shady actions. Has no one at espn/fox/etc sat down and reviewed tapes of his games? It's all be conjecture and probability up to now, and I would really like to see exactly wtf he has done.

Gave Eddie House 2 points for a 3 point shot in a triple OT game vs. Denver.

 

[justAndy]

There was that one analysis by some gambling guy - claimed that in games Donagy reffed the bettors went to the "other side" of the the "line" at a 6 times greater rate than average.
In his opinion, this was very unlikely to be a random statistical anomoly.

 

[nowagimp]

Playing devil's advocate here.

Ya know, we still dont know what the heck Donaghy did. He told the mob who he thinks would win games due to the personalities of the refs officiating, and called a couple extra fouls here and there. Its been a year and the media has yet to give us a comprehensive breakdown of his actual infractions and shady actions. Has no one at espn/fox/etc sat down and reviewed tapes of his games? It's all be conjecture and probability up to now, and I would really like to see exactly wtf he has done.

The problem is that the testimony isnt public, and the NBA wants it that way. The only way that any statements got out is in a letter to the court for leniency that Donaghys lawyer put forth. All the evidence and testimony is sealed, not available. I for one am not going to use the view that evidence is not available in this case to excuse the conduct of thed NBA and its officials. The NBA can make all the evidence available after the decision, but I doubt that will happen with a front office that fines coaches and players for questioning officials. Coaches have made comments, but they are few and far between due to fear of retribution. If players dont have confidence in the rules and the officiating, what kind of sport is that? I'll tell you what kind, the kind where you show up, get paid and go home and F the results(to a degree).


Rasheed Wallace on 5-30-08:

"All that bull(bleep)-ass calls they had out there. With Mike [Callahan] and Kenny [Mauer] - you've all seen that (bleep)," Wallace said. "You saw them calls. The cats are flopping all over the floor and they're calling that (bleep). That (bleep) ain't basketball out there. It's all (bleeping) entertainment. You all should know that (bleep). It's all (bleeping) entertainment."

 

[sly fly]

Playing devil's advocate here.

Ya know, we still dont know what the heck Donaghy did. He told the mob who he thinks would win games due to the personalities of the refs officiating, and called a couple extra fouls here and there. Its been a year and the media has yet to give us a comprehensive breakdown of his actual infractions and shady actions. Has no one at espn/fox/etc sat down and reviewed tapes of his games? It's all be conjecture and probability up to now, and I would really like to see exactly wtf he has done.

If you don't know what Donagy has done, then you haven't watched any of the games he officiated.

To get you started, flip to Suns/Knicks 2006, triple-overtime game. If that hasn't satisfied your appetite for more information, nothing will.

Donagy didn't just "call a couple extra fouls here and there". He missed calls, made up calls, and invented calls. The most unfortunate thing about the entire situation is that the Napolean midget in New York turned a blind-eye to his suckiness. Refs should be held publicly accountable for poor performance, and if there was an efficient system in place, Donagy would have been outed near the onset of his dealings with the mob.

The problem still exists. The NBA is still in denial. And, the problem won't be totally eradicated until every current ref (unfortunately, the good ones too) is let go and a new system is put in place. Not sure hiring a former military man with no officiating experience is the first step everybody is looking for?

The writing is on the wall for Scott Foster. 156 quickie cell phone calls from Donagy before NBA games. Unless these two guys were lovers, I smell a rat.

 

[CardsFan88]

Did Scott Foster ref any of the games we as Suns fans were pointing to? I gathered that in the season they were watching him they didn't do any games together, like other games of the Spurs-Suns series? I felt almost the whole series was pathetically officiated, but I never keyed in on any of the other refs after the incident except for Donaghy.