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FBI probes allegations NBA ref bet on games he worked

sports.espn.go.com — The FBI is reportedly investigating an NBA referee who was allegedly betting on basketball games, including games he worked in the past two seasons. The New York Post first reported Friday that the year-long investigation is focusing on allegations that the referee bet on games and was making calls that affected the point spread on games.

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  • hablabla, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Wow, this is about as bad as it can get for a sports league. NBA officials have more control over the game than any other major US sport. Let's just hope that this ref didn't work the Spurs/Suns series, or all hell is going to break loose.
    • greenfield007, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1You are so right (and I was thinking the exact same thing)... let's hope he didn't work that Spurs/Suns series.
      • cuevo_dog, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It looks like he did ref a game: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2870228&type=story. He also toss Popovich out of a game in Jan 2007: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA012007.01C.BKNspurs.hornets.gamer.1abb0b2.html.
      • hipnerd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Dick Bavetta is the man.

        My first thought was Kings v. Lakers, Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. The Kings got called for fouls 27 times in the fourth quarter alone. That's a little more than one foul every 27 seconds. As ESPN's David Aldridge said:

        "There is nothing I can say that will explain 27 free throws for the Lakers in the fourth quarter -- an amount staggering in its volume and impact on the game. It gave me pause. How can you explain it? How can you explain a game where Scot Pollard fouls out when he's two feet from Shaquille O'Neal, or that Doug Christie is called for a ridiculous touch foul just as Chris Webber spikes Kobe Bryant's drive to the hoop, or that Mike Bibby is called for a foul deep in the fourth quarter after Bryant pops him in the nose with an elbow?"

        Bavetta also gave game 6 of the finals to the Bulls in 1998 by taking away a 3-point shot from Utah at halftime that clearly had left Howard Eisley's hands.

        Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals, Larry Johnson got fouled by Antonio Davis, dribbled once, took three steps, and then hit a 3-pointer. Bavetta ruled it a continuation. Johnson hit the free throw to complete a 4-point play, and the Knicks won 92-91. Pacers fan still call him "Knick Bavetta."

        I'd love for it to be Bavetta because it would explain so much.
    • RealmDown, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13My theory on Basketball: Give both teams 100 points and let them play for 2 minutes.

    • CheckPlease, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Or the Heat-Mavs series, or the Spurs-Pistons series, et al. God help the NBA if anybody watches Michael Jordan's push-off in the Bulls-Jazz finals. Not that Jordan would ever be involved with gambling in the NBA...
    • OwdenBowden, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2So they are having the ***** Ballbusting Imbeciles investigate the NBA? Well I guess when you have free time from tapping the phones, homes and emails of Americans you can head out and fix the NBA.
      • s1mph0ny, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The games that were effected are an internal issue. Betting on games that you participate in is fraud.
      • g3buz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3The games were being fixed by the mob. It was the FBI's organized crime division that was investigating it....

        Do you really have a problem with the FBI's organized crime division investigating organized crime?

        OK, I'll bite Owden, what _should_ they be investigating.
  • kamel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13This will tarnish the league for a long time. Fans have always suspected that the refs have a hand in who wins games. And of course not all refs are like this, but it will always be on the minds of fans when calls go against them. And think of the chants and signs that will be held up at games this year. I don't even think we've seen the tip of what the fallout from this will be.
  • markmorow, on 10/11/2007, -0/+19Wait until Mark Cuban gets a hold of this.
    • canewediggit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16i think i just heard rasheed wallace's head explode
  • RuffRidr, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5It will be interesting to find out which games were effected. Mavs vs. Heat in '06 perhaps. That sereies had a lot of shaky calls.
    • rfaraj, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Agree completely. That series was impacted more by the refs than any other I can remember.
    • jankind, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4Possibly, but that series also had alot to do with Dirk being a choke artist.
      Very sad.
      • rfaraj, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0And no one could stop Dwayne Wade...but the series was impacted with the refs more so than I've ever seen.
        • s1mph0ny, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2no one can't stop DW. He hits about 5 shots, misses about 5, and all the rest he just gets a ref to give him the call.
    • fadetoone, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Looks like he officiated at least one of the Mavs/Warriors round 1 games. Although I would attribute those losses mostly to poor playing. http://www.nba.com/games/20070427/DALGSW/gameinfo.html

      According to Wikipedia, he wasn't involved in the Mavs/Heat series... (sadly).
  • senatorkevin, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12If this is true, this is FAR worse than Pete Rose betting on baseball. While Rose was a manager during his bets, he obviously only had very limited control of the game and the outcome.
    • darny, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8only if he bet with his team. If he was betting against his team you'd better believe he had a lot of control over the outcomes.
      • dRuNk3nIrIsHmEn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1An article I read on ESPN.com said Rose's bets were always on Cincinnati to win.
  • Starflyer59, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9NBA=National Betting Association?
  • Fordi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Hah! I knew Wolfers had something. This is unexpected, though.
  • SverigesKung, on 10/11/2007, -4/+8Wait, wait, NBA games are fixed and/or have been fixed before? Shocking!
  • in2deep, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4This is crazy...interesting interesting....so is the past season whipped out...the Spurs don't win...yes!
    • s1mph0ny, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I'm pretty sure the spurs won because all LBJ could do is run around like an idiot.
  • theblueprint, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17Anyone who's watched one NBA playoff game in the last 5yrs knows something isn't right.

    I have no evidence to attribute it to gambling, but there has to be something behind the sheer number of ***** calls. Some were so bad, I was offended for the team that my squad was playing.
  • tominabox1, on 10/11/2007, -11/+6Ummmm Doesnt the FBI have something more important to do.... I dunno... maybe... Catch REAL criminals?!
    • reed311, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Yeah, but don't you remember when Bush wasted time in his speech talking about steroids in baseball? I'm not sure what the Government's obsession with interfering with sports is.
      • MoDinero, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Anything to distract us from the real issues. I'm waiting for the FBI investigations as to why cockroaches die on their backs or whether there is life after death.
    • kamel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8RTFA. They came across it as part of a mob investigation
  • aztuscani, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6This has the potential to be huge. All those myths and theories involving refs with agendas are now coming to reality.
  • reed311, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13Oh, so this is why they call a foul EVERY 3 SECONDS. Christ, you look at a guy wrong and they'll call a foul.
    • mwmccullough, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6That's right. And laughing gets you ejected.
  • noch, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I really want to know what official it is. They said it was a retired official . . . didnt Joey Crawford just retire?
    • jankind, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Suspended for the TIm Duncan incident.
      • noch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1yea, but i recall him saying he would retire after that season because Stern was gonna give him a big fine plus more says suspended next season. Id scrape nba.com but im at work
    • slaystench, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2That guy did call a lot of BS fouls... hmmm
  • jsaic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6ive always suspected something. the miami detroit series of 2006. the cleveland detroit series of 2007, the miami dallas series of 2006. all of these series had weird calls involved. the dallas miami series is the most insanely fixed series i have ever seen. dwayne wade got phantom calls all the time. the nba is fixed the draft is fixed and its sad because i want to see fair play.
    • stormgren, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Let me guess, Detroit fan?
      • noch, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1im actually a detroit fan, but i feel cleveland should have had calls in game 1 & 2 at the end of the game. miami/detroit series . . . nah, they just handed the pistons their asses
    • ScottoGato, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1If you compare foul calls across the board of the NBA, you'll realize that Detroit gets away with a lot of calls. Detroit fans might be oblivious to this if the only team that they watch is the Pistons. This is most obvious when the Pistons play at home, where the refs play to the crowd.
    • BigDaddyBucyk, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1 Detroit/Miami 2005? The refs. let the Pistons molest the Heat with impunity. The Pistons still cried over the scant fouls called against them.
  • darny, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4sports=arbitrary
    soap operas for men.
  • CheckPlease, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10I wonder if David Stern will have that ref playing minor league baseball until this blows over.
  • NsinU8, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Seems to me that the NBA should be policing their own employees. Tickets cost enough money as it is for our tax dollars to be going towards this. The NBA should have figured it out before the feds.
  • salinemist, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2Professional sports is dead in the US. The money is there, but the fans are leaving in droves. This is just another reason why.
  • adrenaline33, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2If it turns out to be true, I doubt it was playoff games or any games that would be in the spotlight. It was most likely regular season games in the Eastern Conference. It's bad either way, but I don't think the ref would be dumb enough to try and fix a playoff game considering those are the only games anyone really watches.
  • jankind, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1There has to be something rotten going on when Tim Duncan can get hit with two quick techs and ejected for simply smiling / laughing on the bench.
    • s1mph0ny, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5There's gotta be something going on when Tim Duncan Smiles/Laughs.
    • orph3us, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That was Joey Crawford, this is Tim Donaghy... Two different refs..
  • onlyclave, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Maybe he was doing this to fund his steroid habit.
  • 1jaxstate1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I hope it was Joey Crawford!
  • akatherder, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I've seen calls go FOR and AGAINST my team where I just thought "WOW! Somebody is on the take."
    • Neiby, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Same here. The action moves pretty fast in an NBA game, so you should expect to see the refs make some mistakes. But once in a while I'll spot a mistake so huge that I wonder if it was made on purpose.
    • merdiesel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Must be nice... As a Kings fan, we're ***** by the refs on a nightly basis. I hope whoever is responsible for this ***** is burned at the stake.
  • UtahApocalyse, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1My guess is Dick Bevetta, he HATES the Jazz and does everything to make them lose. As to the NBA, this will hurt. They need to quickly find out if this is happening with any other refs.
    • rickyuser, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Cant be Bevetta, he is too old. He is older than the concept of currency and betting. Though his hate for the Jazz could predate the beginning of time.
  • spamcrusher, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Am I the only one bothered at the fact the Federal Government is wasting resources investigating this? I would assume the FBI has some more important matters to attend to, like wiretapping citizens and harassing librarians.
    • xerigen, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4Reportedly the mob is involved. I can see why they would want to investigate that.
  • xerigen, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4My money is on Steve Javie. He likes to take control of the game and makes some absolutely horrific calls. And he uses way too much hair gel.
  • Chester12, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2On top of unnecessary fouls, I imagine the ref probably avoided making calls as well, which practically doubles the number of incidents to consider over the years (i.e. Suns/Spurs).
  • davewashere, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2This is just about the worst thing that could happen to the NBA. It's been slowly recovering from the Ron Artest melee and trying to shed its thug image, and now it appears at least one ref was fixing games.

    Officiating in the NBA is highly subjective, which makes it the easiest sport for fixing games. There are pretty much fouls happening constantly, but most refs ignore them unless they become a key part of the play. If one ref decided to call ticky tack fouls on one team and ignored the more obvious fouls from that team's opponent, the end result of the game could be manipulated rather easily.

    I say it's time to disband the NBA and make basketball an exhibition sport with no refs. Fans seem to enjoy the Harlem Globetrotters and the And 1 tour a lot more than Kobe "This Won't Hurt" Bryant and Carmelo "Stop Snitchin" Anthony.
  • TheGuin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2so the only thing in the NBA that is more messed up than the players, is the refs
  • psyberjay, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0This doesn't surprise me at all. Anyone who followed NBA for some time knows how refs always ***** a team with calls after calls after calls.... Look how they ***** Dallas last season with calls on D-Wade.. Only thing I remember about that Final is Wade shooting FTs.. I mean, he was on the foul line every 2-3 minutes or so..
  • Dhalsim007, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Check out this digg-related link: http://digg.com/basketball/NIGHTMARE_Look_how_much_an_NBA_ref_can_affect_a_game_result_vs_spread/blog
    It's scary how close these games are to the spread already....
  • goes211, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4They announced the the name as Tim Donaghy. Any info on this guy?
  • TurboDerek, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I wonder if all hate-mongers going after Michael Vick are going to be up in arms against this ref. So many people talk about how Vick is a thug who has to be guilty can we assume the same for Tim Donaghy?
  • sexylee, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This explains the shietty officiating for the past few seasons.
  • rfaraj, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Same guy who did the Artest brawl in Detroit
  • ChampCreed, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I can recall...a few games

    *Kings v. Lakers Game 6 (The year the Lakers were down 3 - 2 heading back to Sacramento)

    *Blazers v. Lakers Game 7 (Portland loses an 18 point lead and get no calls down the stretch with Pippen heaving a half-court shot early in the shot clock)

    *Bulls v. Knicks Game 5 (Year after Jordan left and the Hubert Davis gets a phantom call shooting a 3-pointer)

    Bulls v. Knicks Game 5 (Charles Smith Hacked to death under the basket/ but he should've dunked it)

    *Mavs v. Heat All Games (Dwayne Wade walks all over the place, Stackhouse gets ejected, D-Wade at the line for the entire game)

    And my Coup De Grace ! I believe Gilbert Arenas intentionally sat out the last couple of games and the playoffs because if he played there's no way the LeBron marketing blitz makes it to the finals...He'll be greatly compensated once he's up for contract.

    Lastly, the mob/gambling and sports is like peanut butter , jelly and bread...remember MJ's gambling fiasco...then suddenly he leaves the game!
    • orph3us, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Digg up, I don't know if Donaghy was reffing all those games, but I know he did most of the ones you mentioned and all were strange by general consensus of most people I know.
  • salimmk, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1this explains a lot. *****, if i were an nba ref i would do the same thing and be BANKIN!!!
  • packshoes, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0damin, that's incredible !
    Sports is not clean any more.
    www.packshoes.com
  • Bebc, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0always the business
  • in2deep, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This guy is done...can you imagine how many gamblers are blaming their loss of money on this clown...id want some protection if i was this dude
  • orph3us, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1As a fan of the NBA and basketball this is a travesty but also a godsend. If David Stern can't clean up the NBA maybe the FBI can.
  •  

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