NBA 09-10: The Roundball Rock - Page 10

On October 29 2009 12:09 Ace wrote:
exactly...that's the kinda league I'm in. The guy I'm going H2H right now lost to me last year and is the only one who has any idea what he's doing. His team has 4 of the players I had last year and is killing right now. You know this is bad when he's got CP3,Rondo,Aldridge,Lopez,Gay,Gerald Wallace,Joe Johnson and even Michael Beasley. Like HOW does this happen in a 10 team league is beyond me.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's tell-all book has been canceled by Triumph Books and parent company Random House, the publisher said.

"Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA" was slated for publication later this month. The book was to have covered Donaghy's experience as an NBA referee and the events leading up to his conviction on federal wire fraud charges.

Pat Berdan, a senior consultant at Executive Prison Consultants and Donaghy's liaison to the publisher, said that the decision not to publish the book came two weeks ago. He said it was the result of a threat of legal action by the NBA.

"Somehow, the NBA got wind of the project and let Random House know in a threatening-type correspondence that they would object to the publication of such a book and they threatened that they would sue if they did go ahead and do that," said Berdan, who didn't see any letters from the NBA. "Random House considered that and ... just pulled the plug on it."

To have a little fun at the expense of the worst troublemakers, the referees working the game would sometimes make a modest friendly wager amongst themselves: first ref to give one of the bad boys a technical foul wouldn't have to tip the ball boy that night. In the NBA, ball boys set up the referees' locker room and keep it stocked with food and beer for the postgame meal. We usually ran the kid ragged with a variety of personal requests and then slipped him a $20 bill. Technically, the winner of the bet won twice-he didn't have to pay the kid and he got to call a T on Mr. Foul-Mouthed Big-Shot Du Jour.

After the opening tip, it was hilarious as the three of us immediately focused our full attention on the intended victim, waiting for something, anything, to justify a technical foul. If the guy so much as looked at one of us and mumbled, we rang him up. Later in the referees' locker room, we would down a couple of brews, eat some chicken wings, and laugh like hell.

We had another variation of this gag simply referred to as the "first foul of the game" bet. While still in the locker room before tip-off, we would make a wager on which of us would call the game's first foul. That referee would either have to pay the ball boy or pick up the dinner tab for the other two referees. Sometimes, the ante would be $50 a guy. Like the technical foul bet, it was hilarious-only this time we were testing each other's nerves to see who had the guts to hold out the longest before calling a personal foul. There were occasions when we would hold back for two or three minutes-an eternity in an NBA game-before blowing the whistle. It didn't matter if bodies were flying all over the place; no fouls were called because no one wanted to lose the bet.

We played this little game during the regular season and summer league. After a game, all three refs would gather around the VCR and watch a replay of the game. Early in the contest, the announcers would say, "Holy cow! They're really letting them play tonight!" If they only knew...

During one particular summer game, Duke Callahan, Mark Wunderlich, and I made it to the three-minute mark in the first quarter without calling a foul. We were running up and down the court, laughing our asses off as the players got hammered with no whistles. The players were exhausted from the nonstop running when Callahan finally called the first foul because Mikki Moore of the New Jersey Nets literally tackled an opposing player right in front of him. Too bad for Callahan-he lost the bet.

I became so good at this game that if an obvious foul was committed right in front of me, I would call a travel or a three-second violation instead. Those violations are not personal fouls, so I was still in the running to win the bet. The players would look at me with disbelief on their faces as if to say, "What the hell was that?"

Court papers say Donaghy began placing bets on NBA games in 2003. He gave gambling associates sensitive information, including which crews would officiate games and how the various officials and players interacted.

Bavetta looked at me and casually stated, "Denver will win if they need the game. That's why I'm on it."

I was thinking, How is Denver going to win on the road in San Antonio? At the time, the Spurs were arguably the best team in the league. Bavetta answered my question before it was asked.

"Duncan will be on the bench with three fouls within the first five minutes of the game," he calmly stated.

On October 29 2009 12:39 HonestTea wrote:



That's the kind of league I wouldn't really get up in the morning for...

On October 30 2009 03:16 dangots0ul wrote:
With all due respect you opinions are bbal are amateur. I'd love to bet $ against u

On October 30 2009 03:16 dangots0ul wrote:
With all due respect you opinions are bbal are amateur. I'd love to bet $ against u

On October 30 2009 03:35 BlueRoyaL wrote:


who was this directed to? and who are you?? ive never seen you post once in any of the nba threads and you randomly show up pitting money against someone. you have no credibility yet