NBA Games Fixed- FEDS PROBING REF IN MAFIA BET SCAM

[Kaptain]

secondroll7

Tim Donaghy is a 13yr veteran who resigned very recently.

he, right now, is the primary target.....there will be more according to the FBI..........

Tim Donaghy is supposed to have a Gambling Problem according to close friends, and some relatives, and other parties involved in NBA activities.....

He supposedly got behind to some Mafia Books, and they approached him with a way to pay his debt, and it was controlling the games....

All specualtion right now, but the FBI is pursuing him strongly, and made the statement, there were more under investigation

[Spearit]

he, right now, is the primary target.....there will be more according to the FBI..........

Tim Donaghy is supposed to have a Gambling Problem according to close friends, and some relatives, and other parties involved in NBA activities.....

He supposedly got behind to some Mafia Books, and they approached him with a way to pay his debt, and it was controlling the games....

All specualtion right now, but the FBI is pursuing him strongly, and made the statement, there were more under investigation

I believe in the 2 years of shaving points that he is in the know of other refs who are doing the same- college or pro.
Turning evidence will reduce his sentence and the bee hive will be active with co-horts, mafia, and other supporters of the scheme!

[DobinskiFormula]

Don't these guys make 6 figures already? It must be an issue of always wanting to be in control.

[Spearit]

Not sure of that but it really depends I think on the amount of games he is scheduled for such as 1000-3000 a game. This guy was in cahoots with the mob for gambling and was no doubt a loser at it! Control oriented -yes- type A mostly.

[Spearit]

Authorities believe former NBA referee Tim Donaghy will cooperate with their investigation that he made calls to affect the point spread in games on which he or associates had wagered, The New York Daily News reported Sunday, citing anonymous sources.


Closer look: Tim Donaghy

Age: 40
NBA experience: Referee in 772 regular-season games in 13 seasons
2005-06 season: 63 games; team officiated most often -- Trail Blazers (7 games)
2006-07 season: 68 games; team officiated most often -- Heat and 76ers (8 games)
High school: Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.; one of four NBA refs to attend O'Hara)
College: Villanova, 1989
Of note: In his first dozen seasons as an NBA referee, worked 704 regular-season games and 15 playoffs ... Also has seven years of CBA officiating experience ... Played varsity baseball at Villanova ... Participated in the NBA Read to Achieve program.


-- Sources: NBA officials media guide and the Elias Sports Bureau

Two of the bookies Donaghy allegedly used to place bets are expected to be arrested after he surrenders as early as Tuesday, the newspaper reported.

Authorities do not know if the gambling scandal extends beyond Donaghy.

The Daily News, citing sources, reported that Donaghy's name was first heard on a wiretap during probes of the Gambino crime family over the past year. The newspaper reported that Donaghy was threatened into cooperating with the bookies, who allegedly won thousands of dollars with Donaghy's help.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the bets were made on games during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.

Commissioner David Stern said the league is cooperating with federal authorities in their investigation

"As we previously stated, we have been cooperating with the FBI in their investigation of allegations that a single NBA referee bet on NBA games that he officiated. As part of that cooperation, we were asked by the Government not to comment about the investigation, but in light of the widespread press coverage and the naming of the referee, Tim Donaghy, we consider it appropriate to make a fuller statement," Stern said in a statement.

"We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again. We will have more to say at a press conference that will be scheduled for next week."

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Donaghy officiated 68 games in the 2005-06 season and 63 games in 2006-07. He also worked 20 playoff games, including five last season -- Pistons-Magic on April 23; Warriors-Mavs on April 27; Suns-Lakers on April 29; Nets-Raptors on May 4; and Spurs-Suns on May 12.

Those studying Donaghy's games might have noticed some trends.

When the home team was favored by 0-4½ points, it went 5-12 in games officiated by Donaghy this season, according to ***********, a Web site that tracks referee trends. Home underdogs were 1-7 when the spread was 5-9.5 points.

Donaghy was part of a crew working the Heat-Knicks game in New York in February when the Knicks shot 39 free throws to the Heat's eight, technical fouls were called on Heat coach Pat Riley and assistant Ron Rothstein, and the Knicks won by six. New York was favored by 4½.

[vinnyvegas]

My local paper talked about this guys issues w/ people in general...intimidating people, harassing people, threats to people, hitting golf balls into neighbors homes...a real class act and model citizen.

IF any of what was reported from his past is true, the NBA is more F'd up than you'd want to think given this guys supposed past & been allowed to ref 13 yrs w/ this type of behavior...

I too hope this blows up the NBA...

It also confirms what I've known w/o 'proof' and will continue to believe about the No Betting Allowed league...

Now I'm going to call my local to get my refund!

[KR-V3]

I always said that shit like that happened more than people thought...and have always been told by friends and even some people here that I was crazy.

We'll see when they report the other ref's that were involved.

What the fuck can Stern say now??? Even if it wasn't a great number of incidents, Cuban was right and he was wrong. Now everybody can call bullshit on the NBA. Gotta wonder if there are other sports.

[KR-V3]

this is why all sports gambling should be legalized here. this would be very hard to do if it were regulated. maybe this will open the govt's eyes.

I agree buddy!!! Then they could tax it also!!

[Spearit]

1) What is your reaction to reports that a NBA referee might have been involved in a game-fixing scheme?


45.0% Not surprised

31.3% Surprised

23.7% Shocked


2) Which statement best fits your view of this story?


53.0% This report is just the tip of the iceberg

35.4% If guilty, this is probably an isolated incident

11.6% I have no opinion


3) If it is proven that a referee was shaving points, how will that affect your interest in the NBA?


53.9% It won't affect my interest

24.2% I'll still be interested but probably not be as big a fan as before

21.8% My interest will decline significantly


4) If it is proven, what should happen to NBA referees?


70.3% Just that one referee should be fired

18.4% All current referees should be let go and the NBA should start over

11.3% I have no opinion


5) Which offense is worse?


55.2% Fixing games

40.8% Both are equally bad

4.0% Taking steroids


6) How would you grade the overall job that NBA referees did last season?


37.2% C

25.8% D

17.5% F

17.5% B

2.0% A


7) Which officiating job is the toughest?


38.0% NBA

35.0% NFL

17.6% MLB

9.4% NHL


8) Do you have faith that David Stern will carry the NBA through this episode and do what is needed to rid the game of any possible game-fixing?


56.0% Yes

44.0% No


9) Do you gamble on sports?


65.5% No

34.5% Yes


Total Votes: 27,635

[Kaptain]

Sudden Realization

I've always said the NBA was my toughest games to KAP, now I know why.......I'LL TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY IT WAS THE REFS FAULT, I MISSED THOSE GAMES.....MAYBE THE NFL WILL BE NEXT, CAUSE I CAN'T CAP THAT ONE EITHER

I wonder if He's Democrat or Republican

[Spearit]

Specific data on gambling Ref!

When noted sports gambling expert R.J. Bell began crunching numbers from the last four years of NBA referee Tim Donaghy's career Monday, what he discovered sent him on a public relations ride he never thought possible.

"It's been a crazy day," said Bell, the president of sports betting information site XXXX. "But this is some groundbreaking stuff."


The biggest eye opener, Bell said, came when he compared the number of points scored in the games Donaghy officiated versus the number of points the Las Vegas sports books had expected.
Donaghy, Game-By-Game

See how each game that Tim Donaghy worked last season finished in relation to betting lines.

In the two seasons in which the FBI is investigating Donaghy for allegedly fixing games for gambling purposes, Bell found that, in games when Donaghy was part of the officiating crew, NBA teams scored more points than Las Vegas expected (hitting the over) 57 percent of the time. With a league average of 49 to 51 percent, the odds of such an occurrence are 19 to 1.

When Bell analyzed the numbers from the two seasons before the two in question, he discovered that, in games Donaghy officiated, NBA teams scored more points than Vegas expected just 44 percent of the time.

Although the 13 percent difference might not seem that jarring to the casual observer, it's jaw-dropping in the world of sports gambling. Bell said the odds of a 44 percent probability happening 57 percent of the time are about 1 in 1,000.

"There's a 99.9 percent chance that these results would not have happened without an outside factor," Bell said. "Something abnormal was going on here."

ESPN.com's own research into Donaghy's last two seasons supports Bell's claims. In the 66 games Donaghy refereed in the 2005-06 season, the two teams in his games combined to score an average of 196.8 points. The average over/under, according to BoDog.com, was 186.6, a difference of almost 10 points.


In 2006-07, Donaghy refereed 73 games. In those contests, the two teams combined to score 201.37 points and the average over/under was 187.9 points, a difference of more than 13 points per game.

"Vegas is too good for that to happen," Bell said. "The standard range should be somewhere around five or six, maybe. Not 10 or 13."


The surprising trends aren't limited to total bets, when a gambler wagers on the total number of points scored in a game. Side bets, when a gambler picks one side or the other to win the contest, also raised some concern.


At the start of the 2007 calendar year, Bell said, there were 10 straight games in which Donaghy was part of the officiating crew and the point spread moved a point and a half or more before tip-off, indicating big money had been wagered on the game. In those 10 contests, according to Bell, the big money won all 10 times.
At the start of the 2007 calendar year, Bell said, there were 10 straight games in which Donaghy was part of the officiating crew and the point spread moved a point and a half or more before tip-off, indicating big money had been wagered on the game. In those 10 contests, according to Bell, the big money won all 10 times.

"They say follow the money, right?" Bell said. "Well, when the money is right 10 straight times, something is going on. To me, that's the gavel clicking down."

Just as interesting are the numbers from April 15 to the postseason. During that stretch, there were eight games in which Donaghy was part of the officiating crew and the line moved more than a point and a half before the tip, Bell said. And in those games, including over/under bets and win/loss wagers, the big money was just 2-7.


"It means one of two things," Bell said. "Perhaps in the playoffs, they felt too much scrutiny and they weren't trying to do anything and the results are just random. Or perhaps there was some sort of turnabout with the individual in question and he went the other way."


Yet despite such surprising numbers, in an environment in which every gambler is looking for every advantage he can find, Bell said it's highly unlikely anyone outside the individuals who had knowledge of Donaghy's alleged involvement would have been able to identify his tendencies.


"There's a strong indication that this was not going around on the buzz, as they like to say. Without the benefit of hindsight, two years wouldn't have been enough for these tendencies to reveal themselves," he said. "In three or four years, maybe. But not two."


According to FoxSports.com, over the last two seasons, Donaghy led the NBA in technical fouls, free-throw attempts per game and foul outs per game.

Bell said officials are studied to find possible gambling advantages in the ways they call a game. But the majority of that work, he said, is done in baseball; umpires are given ample attention because of their strike zone size. On any given night, the umpire can affect the over/under. In the NBA, Bell said the only real attention paid to the referees is whether that official is a "homer," in other words whether he has a tendency to be influenced by a home crowd in a big game.


"There's research that if it's a nationally televised game or a rivalry game with a large, boisterous crowd, some officials will get freaked out," Bell said. "A sophisticated gambler knows that and will consider that when placing his bets."

[Chado1]

According to FoxSports.com, over the last two seasons, Donaghy led the NBA in technical fouls, free-throw attempts per game and foul outs per game.

LMFAO....

[Spearit]

Chad- I do not believe this guy has a healthy future. Mob doesn't want him to talk and prison will find mob in containment. If I were him I would get a face transplant or a major overhaul and new identity and walk completely away from the life that I knew!
Reminds me of the Southwest airlines ad----------WANT TO GET AWAY!!!