Regular readers know I’m no fan of the officials in the NBA. The same play is a foul on one guy… and not a foul on the next. They make ridiculous notions like “he’s a star, he should get that call”… and “they’re the road team, why are they shooting more free throws than us” possible. But now we’ve got an explanation as to why at least one of them sucks. He was fixing games for the mafia.
The investigation, which began more than a year ago, is zeroing in on blockbuster allegations that the referee was making calls that affected the point spread to guarantee that he – and the hoods who had their hooks in him – cashed in on large bets.
Federal agents are set to arrest the referee and a cadre of mobsters and their associates who lined their pockets, sources said.
How many games did the ref fix? “Double digits” says one Post source. You know what’s just so perfect about this story? The fact that the refereeing is so bad in the NBA, that no one even suspected that a ref would be fixing games. The refs calls are so haphazzard and random… that one guy’s calls were just dismissed as the same old crappy refereeing.
Hey David Stern… you know… if you made sure your refs made uniform calls in the NBA and didn’t give players “star treatment” or “home court advantage”… this guy would have stuck out like a sore thumb and could have been suspended or investigated earlier. Instead, a mafia pawn was allowed to operate seamlessly with the rest of the refs because they all makes calls so crappy that it looks like they’ve got a personal stake in things. It’s Faaaan-tastic!
In some happier news… Ryan Gomes is getting married next month. Hey, did you know pro athletes like to play video games? I know… I’m shocked too.
Other stuff: Sonics put Seattle on the clock | OKC would be the new Sonics home | Jordan squashed 3 team deal involving Gerald Wallace, Lamaar Odom and Richard Jefferson | Francis chooses Houston | Nets extending Frank’s contract
This is so scandalous! Let’s hear the arrogant, my shit don’t stink David Stern explain his way out of this one. I hope this involves more than one ref and Stern is forced to resign.
Chuck. Everything in the NBA is fine… the game is great, people love it… the referees are fine….
Here.. have some more of this David Stern Kool Aid… it’s great.