THE NBA…Fixed or Not?
Tim Donaghy, the referee who said that he could pick 75-80% of games versus the spread, claims he had insider info based on knowledge from the workplace. Now that the NBA playoffs are upon us and well into the first round, one must wonder if Donaghy isn’t alone.

Think about that for a second. Think about your own workplace. Think about all the secrets, off-the-record and under-the-radar information you know about everyone around you. Now transfer that to the NBA, and if you were a league employee of any sort (coach, player, trainer, ref, etc), you'd know all kinds of details that the average gambling fan would never know, ranging from personal problems with the players and coaches to ref biases to health issues unreported. It's the very definition of "insider training."

I’ve always maintained that you can’t take the human element out of sports and refs are human too. If they're getting barked at constantly by the same player and perhaps in an inappropriate manner, the refs will inevitably - even if it's just subconscious - screw the player with bad calls. They also get into it as much as the player when the house is packed and the fans are going crazy. Look at the way they make a call with such emphasis when the crowd is roaring, it’s almost as if they’re waiting to make a call on the visiting team in an attempt to win the crowd over.

When the Oklahoma City Thunder recently hosted its first playoff game, the crowd was in a frenzy like never before and Kobe Bryant did not get to the line the whole game. If that exact same game was played in Hollywood, er, I mean L.A., there’s no way that happens. No way, no how, period.

Big market teams and big market players is what sells the NBA and there’s no way the refs aren’t influenced by either choice or command. Who could ever forget the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Trail Blazers and Lakers? That game was a blatant example of the NBA aiding and abetting the Lakers to victory. The free throw disparity was Lakers 37, Blazers 16, an atrocity that the NBA should forever be embarrassed about.

The NBA claims that it keeps detailed records to review their refs. If this is true, where are these records and why aren't they online for everyone to see? Moreover, I suspect many NBA teams keep their own internal "ref stats" so they can make the necessary adjustments when facing a Salvatore vs. a Bavetta vs. a Javie, etc. Make the stats public already!

Listen, I’m not saying the games are fixed but I’m no fool either and there’s no way the NBA (refs) allow the same thing to happen in Oklahoma City this Saturday night when the Lakers play there again for game three. The Lakers and specifically Kobe will get every call because the Lakers and Cav’s (Kobe and LeBron) are destined by the NBA to reach the finals for the most anticipated NBA Final ever. You don’t think so? Watch Saturday’s game and then tell me what you think. Or better yet, lay the two points with the Lakers.