NBA Refs are dirty - FBI

by lee3022 on Aug 3, 2008 10:11 PM PDT

The New York Daily News has published an interview with Philip Scala, recently retired FBI supervisor who uncovered Donaghy's betting scheme and headed the task force that investigated Donaghy's claims. Scala believes Donaghy told the truth, including about the NBA having other refs that are dirty.

Philip Scala, the recently retired FBI supervisory special agent in charge of the Gambino squad, which uncovered Donaghy's scheme of betting on basketball games he had officiated, said he believes the disgraced referee's claims that other refs were dirty.

This has been hashed about some before about believing or disbelieving David Stern's assertion that there are no other refs doing illegal gambling on NBA games. Since Mr. Scala is now retired he can presumably speak more freely about the investigation.

Scala said he was not merely offering his opinion of the disgraced referee, rather it was his informed assessment of his credibility after his unit - officially known as C-16 - conducted an exhaustive investigation.

What do you think happens next? Maybe a congressional investigation of the NBA? How can this not create a stir? Do you believe Donaghy now with Scala's support?

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"There something going on with that Skipper. No one gets that fat eating coconuts"

by 92wastheyear on Aug 3, 2008 11:18 PM PDT reply actions

In Stern we trust

Right?

by southern oregon on Aug 3, 2008 11:51 PM PDT reply actions

Wrong

I can’t have complete faith in NBA officials until Stern is out and the new commisioner has a plan to hold the officials accountable.

Dose anyone remember the song 123 go Rip City?

by 123_G.O._RipCity on Aug 4, 2008 12:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah when is he done anyways.

I feel like the republicans did in the 1940s when they just couldn’t seem to get rid of FDR.

by RipCityRoyCity on Aug 4, 2008 12:44 AM PDT up reply actions

Or democrats now...

with bush.

Ford: Bill, you're claiming victory already? Have you had a "Mission Accomplished" banner printed yet?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624

by ratbastird on Aug 4, 2008 9:00 AM PDT up reply actions

Hey Geo B....

tell me how Iraq tastes

"Meow" --- My cat Bonzi suggesting my money would be better spent on albacore then a couple months of mindless TV from COMCAST.... at least until the season starts.

by bow4meow on Aug 4, 2008 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions

I was referring,

However to the fact that FDR was elected to 4 terms that is a long time.

by RipCityRoyCity on Aug 4, 2008 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Touche'

by RipCityRoyCity on Aug 4, 2008 9:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Amen brother

This ongoing suspicion (apparently quite well founded suspicion) about the honesty and objectivity of the refs is making me increasingly uneasy.

Get a new commish and hold the refs accountable for their crappiness where appropriate. Fire the ones who can’t see properly or are cheating or just plain stupid.

I’m really sick of this garbage. It is truly an outrage. A scandal of epic proportions and Stern the myopic hubris-addled jackass thinks he can just paper it over. Disgusting. Where is the public outcry?

I hope it’s okay to say jackass on this site. And sorry to all mules for comparing them to Stern.

Winning is everything.

by MT Suit on Aug 4, 2008 12:46 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

I'm looking for a JOB.

Maybe i will drop my resume off at the NBA front office. I am probably more qualified to run this league than he is.

by RipCityRoyCity on Aug 4, 2008 9:27 PM PDT up reply actions

David Stern?

A lying scumbag? Don’t kid me like that, kind sir!

Who would have thunk?!

Stern is a

ROTUNDITYDOTNET

by damir on Aug 4, 2008 1:53 AM PDT reply actions

DOWN WITH STERN!

The pictures kinda small, but Im giving the C's a big thumbs down

by Blazermaniac77 on Aug 4, 2008 8:20 AM PDT reply actions

yeah

already knew this.

Justing waiting for someone to do something about it and hoping it takes place before the blazers start ascending so we don’t get screwed.

Ford: Bill, you're claiming victory already? Have you had a "Mission Accomplished" banner printed yet?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624

by ratbastird on Aug 4, 2008 9:09 AM PDT reply actions

Last time there were scab refs

The Blazers won the championship

(but Portland was lucky to get out of the first round vs. the Bulls, because those scab refs were calling gobs of fouls on Lucas and Walton…)

by two4larue on Aug 4, 2008 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions

It may or may not be true

I just don’t know

I was finding the aricle credible. A noted FBI agent with a ton of experience saying it was true…

but then I read this part:

“Scala, 58, fit, dapper and sporting a salt-and-pepper beard and mustache, has put together a consulting firm called Pathfinder that is collecting information about corruption in professional sports. “

well golleee! gomer…his new business sure would seem to depend on other refs being crooked so why would we expect him to say otherwise?

maybe everybody is on the take in one form or another

by moldorf on Aug 4, 2008 9:30 AM PDT reply actions

Exactly...

Not that I trust David Stern, but with the modern media everything needs to be scrutinized. Until the FBI or other legal institution decides to create a formal investigation into the anticonsumer practices being alleged I will continue to be optimistically critical.

If you let them make you, they'll make you into paper mache.
At a distance your strong until the wind comes, then you'll crumble and blow away.
- Incubus

by ZooooomByU on Aug 4, 2008 10:34 AM PDT up reply actions

Maybe he saw a market

He doesn’t seem like the type to chase windmills.

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on Aug 4, 2008 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah, that was my first thought

“So… you quit because you saw a lot of money in this?”

Ford: Bill, you're claiming victory already? Have you had a "Mission Accomplished" banner printed yet?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624

by ratbastird on Aug 4, 2008 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions

True... but...

1.) LA vs Sac
2.) Bulls vs Jazz
3.) It sounded like he said those things before he retired, but maybe not.
4.) We already know the refs suck and that Stern has refused to let a little fresh air in and acknowledge that even if the refs are clean, that there’s a definite trust issue with fans.

Ford: Bill, you're claiming victory already? Have you had a "Mission Accomplished" banner printed yet?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624

by ratbastird on Aug 4, 2008 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions

Everyone's motives should be questioned so I agree that his might be complex

But a senior FBI agent gets a few bucks and has good security and lots of power. My thought was he could not say all this while he was in the FBI and likely having his retirement years completed wanted to air it out before it got swept under the rug by Stern.

Compare David Stern to Scala and Scala comes out with far far more credibility. Heck Sheed comes out with far more credibility! David needs to go. King David is 3,000 years dead and even he was not allowed to build the temple.

by lee3022 on Aug 4, 2008 6:51 PM PDT up reply actions

Stern

is nothing but a mob boss himself anyways. He’ll say anything to cover his own *&^.

Oden/Pryz
LMA/Frye
WebFoot/Trout
Roy/Rudy
Blake/Bayless
**Champs 08-09**

by BigCelPhone on Aug 4, 2008 1:50 PM PDT reply actions

I believe it when Stern takes a polygraph

take that back, Truth serum only. To say that Stern has not influenced decision making by ref’s is not true in my book. But to Sterns advantage biased officiating occurs in every sport, his more then others, but human nature cannot be dis-qualified as a variant.

"Meow" --- My cat Bonzi suggesting my money would be better spent on albacore then a couple months of mindless TV from COMCAST.... at least until the season starts.

by bow4meow on Aug 4, 2008 3:57 PM PDT reply actions

What bothers me

about this is that I’ve started speculating about officials. Please, please, don’t even think people like Dan Crawford, Steve Javie, etc could be corrupt.

Cave Canem!

by Caveowl on Aug 4, 2008 8:11 PM PDT reply actions

What's entirely ridiculous

is that an independent investigation hasn’t happened yet, given the nature of Donaghy’s allegations and their potential truthfulness. He isn’t alleging that there are more refs in his situation connected to gambling, but that there are refs who have tilted games according to the will of the NBA in order to boost ratings. And people are calling for the results of the NBA’s investigation which looked for signs of outside corruption officials as a way to settle this? That makes no sense.

If Donaghy is telling the truth, an NBA investigation isn’t going to reveal anything. It’s essentially like asking Enron if they were engaging in any misleading business practices, why would the company incriminate itself if this is something that they’ve been orchestrating or, at the very least, encouraging? Without an independent body investigating this, given that so many people believe Donaghy, the truth will probably never fully come out.

by Royster on Aug 5, 2008 10:29 AM PDT reply actions

I guess the ref's should be given locker rooms to shower after games if they're so dirty.

- Tom

by tominhawaii on Aug 5, 2008 10:41 AM PDT reply actions

Or do you just want to see them naked????

Aldridge said. "We feel like we can beat any team. We feel like we can beat the Spurs, Suns, Lakers, Mavericks, whoever any night right now, and we'll still be here when those teams get old and their guys retire. We're going to be here for a long time."

by lee3022 on Aug 5, 2008 4:58 PM PDT up reply actions