Blog Focus: What to Make of the Tim Donaghy Allegations?
Blog Focus is Technorati's daily roundup of the top stories as told by the bloggers of the world. Each day five posts, no matter how popular or nascent, will be selected by editors to portray a general unscientific reaction to discussion points around the 'Net.
The NBA knew disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's book was coming. But the decision to hire an investigator to look into some of the claims made in the book suggests the league was perhaps caught a tad off-guard by how damning some of the allegations are.
You know who's never caught off-guard though? Bloggers. And they had plenty to say about the excerpts from the book that have been released.
SLAM: "Light, breezy reading for David Stern and company, I’m sure: “Bavetta went on to inform me that it wasn’t the first time the NBA assigned him to a game for a specific purpose. He cited examples, including the 1993 playoff series when he put New Jersey guard Drazen Petrovic on the bench with quick fouls to help Cleveland beat the Nets. He also spoke openly about the 2002 Los Angeles–Sacramento series and called himself the NBA’s ‘go-to guy.”‘"
The Baseline: "Let me ask you this, though: If you're a longtime NBA fan like me, does any of what in here really shock you? I singled out the Iverson/Javie/Crawford triad because it was in a class by itself. It had subliminal bribery, extreme prejudice, and, if true, probably should set up a system whereby refs can recuse themselves from certain games. It also made me feel like Javie was extremely petty, and Crawford both very small and kind of cute."
Midwest Sports Fans: "It is important to remember while reading the excerpts — which cannot be described as anything other than explosive and damning, but not totally unexpected — that Donaghy is a convicted felon who seemingly spent a good portion of his career engaged in deceitful, unethical professional acts. Thus, weigh how much validity his word carries."
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