Where to from here?

The dust is settling, and we’re beginning to see the aftermath.

It’s not ruined, it has taken some serious hits – it’s definitely not pretty, but it’ll be able to go on…

But will it ever be the same?

…

And that’s the question the NBA faces today, and the day after… ad infinitum.

The NBA has long focused on the behaviour of the players – long believing that any semblance of a downfall would come from that quarter. Player conduct, player appearance, player education… all were seen as necessities for staving off any impending disaster with in the NBA. It was all about the image of the athlete. Well, now it’s obvious that disaster has come from a totally different direction.

Enter Tim Donaghy.

Donaghy broke more than just the law and his contractual obligations when he was caught. He broke an almost sacred trust that we have in the adjudicators of professional sports. The trust that we all have that some things are just… sacrosanct.

Well… so much for that. Donaghy was more than amicable towards gambling away the integrity of the league. It would appear that he found himself in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The mob is involved. And Donaghy has brought the NBA to a level of infamy it’s never found itself even remotely in.

Blogsifting – Finding nuggets

Time to enter the blogosphere again, and get out those lil’ gems! Away for a few days (and thanks a heap to both JP from Pyle of List & Chimpanzee Rage from Deuce of Davenport), but over the last day or so, this is what I’ve been damn impressed with!

1. Writing at Epic Carnival, BD explores some of the best current topics in sports – including Matt Leinart’s fatherhood problems! Yup – Throwing Knives…
2. Bethlehem Shoals at Free Darko explores the Tim Donaghy controversy, and offers an opinion…
3. Digital Headbutt? Pain, pain, pain, pain, pain…
4. Link of a link of a link of a… anyway, found this at Awful Announcing, so they get the credit: Cops Meet The Sports World…
5. Dave at Dave’s Football Blog looks at his nomination for the AFL Goal of the Year (I hate Port!)…
6. The Steve Nash Charity Classic – with Austin Kent at Hoops Addict…
7. Our Book of Scrap loves hotness. Who doesn’t? Washington Wizards Dance Team Auditions…

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Gambling in Sports, The Tradition Continues

Now that NBA referee Tim Donaghy has been implicated by the Feds in a mob run gambling ring, it has to be time to reflect upon history’s past gambling operations. Most sports have had at least one. Now wait, before I go on, there are way too many to list. Soccer, Cricket, Baseball, NCAA Basketball, NBA Basketball, Japanese Baseball, Horse Racing, the list goes on for all the sports that have had a gambling scandal rock it. While it is a big deal when this occurs, obviously the lesson that can be learned is that the league will live on. Lets just take a look back and see what people have done in the past and not so present:

NBA Referee BUSTED…

NBA referee Tim Donaghy has been caught by the FBI gambling on games, including games which he officiated. I wrote a piece for Epic Carnival here…