Fixing for the inevitable
You've got to hand it to David Stern. At least the NBA makes it easy to plan ahead.
Still any lingering doubt that this series won't go the distance? Sure, it will look sorta conspicuous, but if Stern has proven one thing, it's that the league will do anything to make its broadcast "partners" happy.
Seven games brings maximum advertising revenue, which indeed makes Mickey grin.
Now I'll know where I'll be the next two Thursday nights. Here's to fixin'.
It's easy to yell "conspiracy" in any crowded stadium in any sport in America and get looks normally associated for the Yisrayl Hawkins's of the world. In every instance in every game there are those "huh?" moments that make you wonder how the officiating is so completely inept or, worse, subsidized. In most cases, it's just sports fans thinking irrationally about the teams they follow, how something so inexplicable could possibly happen at the worst opportune moment.
Then there is the NBA, where we already KNOW that such shenanigans exist.
I find it funny listening to commissioner David Stern try to dumb down the claims of disgraced referee Tim Donaghy, who has put Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals under more scrutiny than it began with six years ago. This, of course, after Game 3 of this year's NBA Finals, which was previewed as such locally: The Lakers will get the calls, Kobe Bryant will live at the free throw line, and the refs will do what they can to put LA back in this series.
Hey, guess what happened? THAT. All of it.
What a league.
"Pretty much he's a singing, cooperating witness who's trying to get as light a sentence as he can," Stern said in response to Donaghy's allegations. "He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he was not the only one who engaged in criminal activity.
"We said it in July and we'll say it again on the first anniversary: There's one criminal here."
Fine. Keep singing that line, Mr. Stern. But know you're on thin ice.
What's in the best interest for Stern and his league right now; making broadcast
"partners" ESPN and ABC happy by squeezing every bit of revenue they can out of paying corporations, or trying to rebuild the feeling across the country that what fans are watching isn't something out of Vince McMahon's closet? This Celtics-Lakers series could go seven games legitimately, as many people predicted. But if it does, you know there are still going to be fingers pointed viciously in the direction of the league office. To fully expect this thing to go seven because it's what is monetarily best for the league rather than expecting it to go seven because of the even nature of the two teams might just be step one to admitting you have a problem. And yet, this very idea has become a running joke, much like Stern's now-debated tenure.
Hey, if the NBA is lucky enough to have the Celtics and Lakers, the two most historic teams in the league's non-fixed history, in the Finals, well then you hold onto that for as long as you can.
You don't hope to. You do.
There's too much at stake otherwise, what with raking in the cash for Bristol, Conn. OK, the Celtics could win the next two and end this thing in five. Honestly, that would be the best thing for the NBA's perception, in that it wouldn't have one more conspiracy theory hanging over its head heading into the long summer.
On the other hand, two more games of "Hancock" ads can buy an awful lot of conveniently placed ping-pong balls.
Stern can try to wipe the Donaghy mess off his face all he wants, but until he does something other than label him as a singing canary, there's going to be serious doubt in a league long-seen as one where the fix was thought prevalent far before the disgraced ref's name became a familiar one. Besides, are we to believe that he was indeed a lone gunman?
Jason Whitlock, for one, suggests the refs be accountable for their actions. Novel.
Sports have become too lucrative to operate under customs developed before there were billion-dollar TV contracts at stake. This problem isn't limited to the NBA. I still remember Super Bowl XL and the one-sided officiating that sabotaged Seattle's chances of beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.Stern talked about "transparency" and how his league has nothing to hide. If that's the case, then he should be the first commissioner to make his refs accessible to reporters after every game. I think we would be less likely to see another Tim Donaghy if refs knew they had to immediately answer for their suspicious actions.
That would help, for sure. But in a league in which making corporations happy might just be more important in the long run than running a clean ship, I wouldn't hold your breath.
Stern would like you believe that Donaghy is doing all he can to lighten his sentence. Fine. But then one wonders why he doesn't use the San Antonio Spurs dynasty in his defense. Why would Stern want a small-market team to dominate the headlines in the NBA the past decade? Not sure. Why did the NBA want them to have Tim Duncan so badly more than a decade ago? Maybe he doesn't want to have to answer that question either.
Conspiracies arise in every major sport at one time or another, but never do they seem so consistent as in the NBA, from the inane draft lotteries right up to the NBA Finals. And while this Boston-LA matchup might even be seen as, let's say, convenient, let's not forget that they were the two best teams that the league had to offer over the course of the regular season. Not too much to argue there.
The history, the drama, the story lines, they all can't be compacted into a four-game sweep. Nor can the phone calls from Sprite. Yet despite the improved ratings for this year's Finals, which two percent of New England kids under the age of 12 have seen (Hey, they're not buying anyway), there is a major concern for the league in regards to ad dollars going forward.
One network executive tells Newsday's Bob Raissman:
"The sensitivity of the advertiser is often greater than the average fan… "If advertisers perceive the sport has a credibility problem, if they are spooked by even the chance, or smell, of scandal and don't want their products associated with the NBA, well, that's a major problem…"There's precedent here. Boxing did well on network TV [in terms of ratings], but Madison Avenue wanted nothing to do with it. There was too much chicanery - perceived or otherwise - attached to the sport."
In other words, make them really happy now. Otherwise, they might not be back in the fall.
See you in a week for Game 7.
Where's Arlen Specter when you need him?
Maybe it's about time we all just agree that the horse has left the barn - modern 'sport' is what it is. An entertainment based industry driven by advertising dollars which has become more important than the essence of the original sport itself.
That's what it feels like, and has for a good long while (two-plus decades?).
With the current state of Madison Ave. marketing stopping at nothing to push their wares on a dumbstruck public, this balance in sport isn't going away anytime soon. There's too much money to be had by the leagues, networks, and products... sport fans be damned.
Let's just do away with all the angst and start enjoying sports like we do television shows or movies - strictly entertainment. Because that's what these leagues are intent on serving up.
This doesn't involve a team from Philly or Pittsburgh. Why would Arlen give a hoot about that?
In spite of it all, if Paul Pierce had any kind of game resembling his normal one, the Celtics would have won the other night. Bad calls and Kobe at the line all night included.
The single worst call I've seen remains the 3-pointer by Pierce in the Detroit series where he got fouled...but the shot was disallowed, and Pierce was charged with the foul. Four points taken away (if Pierce made his free throw), a confused, upset Pierce then committed a quick, stupid foul on the defensive end (again as a direct result of the bad call) and the Pistons scored, I believe...so it was a 6 point swing in a (at that point) game that was fast getting away from the Celtics.
Luckily, both Pierce and the C's kept their composure, and they rallied to win.
Doesn't take away from what was an absolutely horrific call that was either made by a corrupt official, or just an incredibly inept and moronic one.
Bottom line: It should NOT have happened. Yet, sometimes, you can even overcome stuff like that. The C's did.
And for the next two games in LA, they probably will have to again.
Watching Game 3 of this year's finals reminded me why I stopped watching the NBA. There was one painful sequence where Paul Pierce was mugged by three Lakers and it took forever to call one foul when obviously 5 or 7 were committed. One ref called a tipped ball in favor of who else, the Lakers, and he was on one end of the court while the play took place at the other end. How the ref saw which guy tapped it last is beyond me.
There was a shameless quality to the way the game was officiated. We're calling everything for the Lakers and the audience can go hang. The Celtic players had this bemused look on their faces like they knew the fix was in.
The league smells funny, like someone who got stuck in a river with cement shoes and has just floated to the surface.
Maybe the only pure game these days is chess. You pretty much win solely on your wits and you get killed for a single mistake.
In the NBA, watch the first five minutes and you can pretty much see who will win the game. You can just watch the highlights the following day.
All you need to know about tonight's game is that the NBA has scheduled 2 referees with a demonstrated bias for the home team, and that the Celtics have a losing record in the games that they work. Chance, coincidence or conspiracy, you tell me
The league changed years ago. Sometime in the 90's. The big games are fixed and it comes from the top down - no question. Donaghy's telling the truth, he doesn't want to lengthen his sentence.
Stern can try to downplay this all he wants. With this scandal and the allowal of the theft of the Sonics from Seattle his legacy is totally tarnished. It's time for a new commissioner.
As far as the Lakers Celtics series goes, no one in the league gets more favorable calls than Kobe. And no one complains more. That's the league taking care of it's stars.
The Network Exec has a good point. Wrestling still does pretty well in the ratings, but has a hard time selling to advertisers just because of the perception of the product...not that there's a credibility issue with wrestling, but because of the negative attention the shows receive from parents' groups and the like. Perception matters more to advertisers than to anyone.
the big 3 have to be on point to offset the fixed officiating. that means you Truth and Ticket!
The refs did not make Garnett shoot 35% over the course of the three games played. Missing dunks and wide open jumpers has nothing to do with refs. Funny that we didn't hear any conspiracy theories from Boston after the 38-10 (nearly a 4:1 ratio) free throw disparity after game 2, but allow a convited felon to cast aspersion upon a game played 6 years ago with the Lakers having a 27-9 (3:1 ratio) and suddenly "The Lakers will get the calls, Kobe Bryant will live at the free throw line, and the refs will do what they can to put LA back in this series." Yes, all refereeing crews call each game differently, but as the Eagles so correctly put it in their Hell Freezes Over album a few years ago....... GET OVER IT!! Or maybe you folks in Boston are just giving yourselves a built-in excuse in case you lose The Finals.
....but I thought Arlen concerned about the integrity of any sports for any sport team. Here is a chance for opening up a congressional hearing for the good of all the SPORT FANS!!
Hey TGordon...you're right about Garnett shooting badly, etc. That doesn't excuse poor officiating.
As my earlier post stated, the single worst call I've seen in years took place against the Celtics in a game they WON...so, no one is saying you can't overcome adversity. If you can't, you lose.
It still doesn't excuse poor officiating. Or, are you in FAVOR of poor officiating? I don't get your post, pal.
Matt Talvi, when every player in every sport or every person on every job is perfect, you can complain about imperfect officiating......until then GET OVER IT!!
CELTICS WIN AGAINNNN
After being own as much as 24 points and down by 20 with 8min left in the 3rd, the Celtics come back to accomplish the second greatest comeback in Celtic playoff history (the #1 was in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals, led by Paul Pierce).
A few thing really impressed me in Game 4.
#1 Garnett taking it down low ALL game long. Lakers had no answer. 2 thumbs up.
#2 Eddie House coming in for Rajon Rondo, who by the way looked awful out there with his injured ankle. Eddie hit a few big shots and by big, I mean BIG. One in particular where the Celts took their first led of the game.
#3Doc Rivers using the bench to perfection. Posey had 18 points, Eddie House, as previously mentioned, PJ Brown with that huge dunk over Kobe. Hell, even Tony Allen got some burn.
Celtics>Lakers
Celtics in 6
Remember the reaction to Canseco's book when it first came out. The guy was a tool, but oh yeah, he was mostly RIGHT. Now we have Tim Donaghy, who frankly has a lot more credibility to begin with.
I actually think the refs feel pretty much hamstrung to fix this series, as the scrutiny is high right now. They'll make a few calls when they can, but David Stern's not paying them enough to risk losing their jobs and going to jail.
As a referee of numerous sports at various levels, I must say that this column is irresponsible and ignorant.
Officiating remains the most thankless job in all of sports, and subjecting referees to interrogation from the press after games would only serve to heighten what is already an unbelievable amount of pressure that is on these individuals. Donaghy is one bad apple amidst the tens of thousands of sports officials working today, and of course it is likely that in a group that large, there will be someone whose personal vices have compromised their ability to do their job. As much as fans, players and coaches love to use the refs as an excuse for what transpires during a game, the reality is that it the vast majority of these instances come down to a lack of execution on someone's part.
Referees simply "call it as they see it," within a system that has existed for years in which human judgment determines the enforcement of rules. If you don't like it, change the system; just stop blaming the officials.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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