So… Remind Me Again Why The Donaghy Allegations Were A Bad Thing?
Sager Bombs
As we head towards a pivotal Game 6 in the current NBA Finals, it seems like a lot of the fire and brimstone over the Tim Donaghy allegations (in case you missed it) has already died down. Frankly, that’s probably deserved. Donaghy is a desperate man with zero credibility. The allegation that the NBA is in on the fix strikes mostly as a swing for the fences, an attempt to take down the whole league before he goes away. HOWEVUH, unless he has hard evidence, Donaghy’s second hand allegations are about as believable as the hippie who swears he only wants pot legalized for the hemp clothing and medical benefits.
End result? Free press for the league. In the words of Jay Mariotti, “All you’re doing is making me more famous.”
Now I understand that getting a reputation for being corrupt might not be goal #1 for Stern and Co., but they’re also smart enough to avoid battles that can’t be won. The NBA conspiracy theorists are always going to toss around their theories, and no matter how detailed or convincing a denial the league presents, it won’t suffice. This isn’t exactly groundbreaking stuff here, and for good reason. Look at any NBA game (No, really. Any NBA game ever.) and you’re going to find bad calls or no-calls that influence the game. Unfortunately, it’s just the nature of the sport.
Pointing to the Sacramento-LA Game 6 was both decadent and shrewd of Donaghy, as it’s widely acknowledged as one of the worst called games ever. If you’re going to wildly call out a game in any American sport (sorry, Serie A) in the last decade, this was the one to pick, evidence or no evidence. Fighting any analysis over that game, especially via the media, is a lose-lose for the league.
The best thing they can do is shut up, let this man dig his own grave, and see the sunny side of it. And there is one: the Mariotti-style “no pub is bad pub” angle. Lakers-Celtics always brings in casual fans, but so does intrigue. My roommate could give two shits about basketball, but he was glued to the end of game 4 and kept making comments about phantom fouls. Granted, he is completely, utterly, uninformed about what constitutes a foul, but the recent news got him (a) interested in watching, and (b) interested in talking about the game and the league after it was over.
Ratings for the finals have been huge. The NBA might not be doing backflips over the way the league interest came about, but given the discussion, quick burst of media attention, and slow burn out, it’s hard to argue with the results. So long as no smoking gun ever appears, this is basically the NBA’s version of the juiced ball: another topic for barstool conspiracy talk.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I hate it when evil wins.