Jul24 |
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Ref’s Help Unnecessary Against 76ers
In the ongoing saga of the Most Interesting Sports Scandal Going On Right Now™, the NBA held a press conference to address the Tim Donaghy scandal. NBA commish David Stern said Donaghy, who went to Villanova and Cardinal O’Hara (of course), is the only referee the league believes bet on games, but that won’t stop every single basketball ref at every level from being accused of being the new Tim Donaghy for the next 10 years or so. (It will never get old. The rollouts for next year’s St. Joe’s-Nova game are going to be awesome.) Meanwhile, in a recent STEPHEN A. SMITH column in the Inquirer, the master of the written word quoted an NBA source on Donaghy: “He’s disliked by a whole lot of people. He’s viewed as a loner by other referees, separate from the pack. Still, absolutely no one assumed he would be involved with something like this. The entire NBA community has to be shocked.” A loner! Did Tim Donaghy murder someone or something? Also, a January 76ers-Raptors game reffed by Donaghy could be one of the games the FBI is looking at. Heavy betting on the Raptors shifted the 76ers from a one-point favorite to a one-point ‘dog. Donaghy’s help was apparently not needed, as the Raptors won by 18. Samuel Dalembert probably did more to help the bookies than Donaghy ever could. Stern: Bet probe ‘worst situation that I have ever experienced’ [ESPN.com] |
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“Samuel Dalembert probably did more to help the bookies than Donaghy ever could” is better than any line Stephen A. Smith has ever written. Then again, “awww, puppies” is better than any line Stephen A. Smith has ever written, so take it for what it’s worth.