Tim Donaghy interview

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Many posters on both this Forum and the NFHS Basketball Forum know my background and know my passion for the basketball officiating profession. Tim Donaghy had the best and greatest job in basketball officiating and he pi$$ed on every man and woman who has ever officiated a basketball game at any level, so why in the wide world of basketball offficiating in particular and sports officiating in general would I giving a flying f*** about anything that an a$$hole like Tim Donaghy has to say.

MTD, Sr.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

He pi$$ed on every man and woman who has ever officiated a basketball game at any level, so why in the wide world of basketball officiating in particular and sports officiating in general would I giving a flying f*** about anything that an a$$hole like Tim Donaghy has to say.

Oh c'mon Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. Don't pussy foot around the issue. Please tell us what you really think.

[icallfouls]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Many posters on both this Forum and the NFHS Basketball Forum know my background and know my passion for the basketball officiating profession. Tim Donaghy had the best and greatest job in basketball officiating and he pi$$ed on every man and woman who has ever officiated a basketball game at any level, so why in the wide world of basketball offficiating in particular and sports officiating in general would I giving a flying f*** about anything that an a$$hole like Tim Donaghy has to say.

MTD, Sr.

Can you say Jose Canseco? Dumped on his colleagues, has an axe to grind. Lots of similar claims.

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by icallfouls

Can you say Jose Canseco? Dumped on his colleagues, has an axe to grind. Lots of similar claims.

Canseco was right.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Canseco was right.

Once you get by the fact that he is a douchebag, unfortunately you are right. In that particular case, you can't kill the messenger.

A similar scenario is going on right now with Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Canseco was right.

Canseco was right about some things.

Peace

[bradfordwilkins]

The fact anyone is giving this lying cheating SOB the time of day is sad enough -- but if you want some actual analysis of the "facts" he is claiming, there was a great piece done last year on ESPN calling a spade a spade:

Tim Donaghy's claims on trial - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN

[jbduke]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Many posters on both this Forum and the NFHS Basketball Forum know my background and know my passion for the basketball officiating profession. Tim Donaghy had the best and greatest job in basketball officiating and he pi$$ed on every man and woman who has ever officiated a basketball game at any level, so why in the wide world of basketball offficiating in particular and sports officiating in general would I giving a flying f*** about anything that an a$$hole like Tim Donaghy has to say.

MTD, Sr.

Tim Donaghy's voice carries some weight, whether we like it or not. That's why you should care.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by jbduke

Tim Donaghy's voice carries some weight, whether we like it or not. That's why you should care.

Carries weight with whom (Or is that who? )?

And no, we should not care and we have the right to dismiss his point of view. For one he is a convicted felon that was not accused of extending series, he was accused of giving inside information on betting information and making money off that information. Sorry, he might have been in the league, but he is still a liar and I would take his response with a grain of salt. And I have a feeling that Dan Patrick did not really challenge his perspective on this. Considering that many of the series have been one sided this year and other years. The NBA Finals last year was basically a sweep too.

Peace

[jbduke]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Carries weight with whom (Or is that who? )?

And no, we should not care and we have the right to dismiss his point of view. For one he is a convicted felon that was not accused of extending series, he was accused of giving inside information on betting information and making money off that information. Sorry, he might have been in the league, but he is still a liar and I would take his response with a grain of salt. And I have a feeling that Dan Patrick did not really challenge his perspective on this. Considering that many of the series have been one sided this year and other years. The NBA Finals last year was basically a sweep too.

Peace

1) No one is questioning your "right to dismiss his point of view." I didn't write about, nor do I care about rights in this case. I care about shoulds.

2) "Carries weight with whom...?"

It carries weight with all of the conspiracy theorists out there who lap up any and every piece of information that would "confirm" their suspicions about how big-money sport works in this country. You and some others seem to be of the opinion that if you find an idea to be nonsensical, then it's completely meaningless and unworthy of your attention. But I don't think it's silly to pay attention when someone with a big microphone slanders me or a group with which I identify.

[BktBallRef]

You are correct, Dookie. If something is nonsensical to me, then it's completely meaningless and unworthy of my attention. I couldn't givea$hit what Donaghy says, which is why I didn't even click on the link provided.

Do you listen to every liberal or conservative nut job who calls into a radio talk show? Based on your post above, you have to.

[jbduke]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

You are correct, Dookie. If something is nonsensical to me, then it's completely meaningless and unworthy of my attention. I couldn't givea$hit what Donaghy says, which is why I didn't even click on the link provided.

Do you listen to every liberal or conservative nut job who calls into a radio talk show? Based on your post above, you have to.

Wow. Recognizing differences across situations really isn't your strong suit, is it, Hole?

If you can't see the difference between the influence of a former NBA referee who has published a book and has easy access to print media and radio, and that of some random wingnut caller to AM political radio whom no one ever recognized as an authority, then I'm pretty much outta bullets. But since I'm the one claiming to care, I guess I can't give up quite yet.

If you don't want to care, that's fine. And if you don't want to believe that Donaghy's words could have downstream impacts on you, that's your prerogative, too, and we can probably just agree to disagree (amiably).

There are very definite holes in Donaghy's arguments, several of which have been pointed out quite nicely in this thread. Presumably, not everyone is going to see every last one of the flaws, so discussing them with a group of people who have special insight seems like a worthwhile enterprise.

There are those in the non-officiating community who are going to buy everything Donaghy says whole-hog. Obviously there's no changing those minds. But there are also many out there who are truly undecided as to what they think about his stories. Those are the people we have the power to persuade. And we can do that more easily if we're armed with a thorough understanding of what Donaghy and his adherents are saying.

Maybe the whole thing's just not that big a deal to you. And if that's the case, godspeed on your mission not to give a $hit. But it happens to be important to me and, I suspect, many other officials. And sticking our heads in the sand while this guy is spewing garbage, impugning the integrity of officials everywhere, is not going to make his ideas disappear.

History is littered with stories of good people who suffered because they thought that the ridiculous ideas of others weren't worthy of attention. This situation isn't significant in the grand scheme of history, but the lesson is still relevant.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by jbduke

But it happens to be important to me and, I suspect, many other officials. And sticking our heads in the sand while this guy is spewing garbage, impugning the integrity of officials everywhere, is not going to make his ideas disappear.

Yabut.....

Is Donaghy really impugning all officials or just the NBA officiating staff? And is Donaghy impugning the NBA officiating staff or is he impuging the direction that the NBA officiating staff is being given? Or is it a combination of both?

Does all of that really affect any of us? Or does it affect NBA officials only?

Note that I sureashell don't have the answer to any of those questions, and I'm not sure if anyone does.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by jbduke

Wow. Recognizing differences across situations really isn't your strong suit, is it, Hole?

If you can't see the difference between the influence of a former NBA referee who has published a book and has easy access to print media and radio, and that of some random wingnut caller to AM political radio whom no one ever recognized as an authority, then I'm pretty much outta bullets. But since I'm the one claiming to care, I guess I can't give up quite yet.

If you don't want to care, that's fine. And if you don't want to believe that Donaghy's words could have downstream impacts on you, that's your prerogative, too, and we can probably just agree to disagree (amiably).

There are very definite holes in Donaghy's arguments, several of which have been pointed out quite nicely in this thread. Presumably, not everyone is going to see every last one of the flaws, so discussing them with a group of people who have special insight seems like a worthwhile enterprise.

There are those in the non-officiating community who are going to buy everything Donaghy says whole-hog. Obviously there's no changing those minds. But there are also many out there who are truly undecided as to what they think about his stories. Those are the people we have the power to persuade. And we can do that more easily if we're armed with a thorough understanding of what Donaghy and his adherents are saying.

Maybe the whole thing's just not that big a deal to you. And if that's the case, godspeed on your mission not to give a $hit. But it happens to be important to me and, I suspect, many other officials. And sticking our heads in the sand while this guy is spewing garbage, impugning the integrity of officials everywhere, is not going to make his ideas disappear.

History is littered with stories of good people who suffered because they thought that the ridiculous ideas of others weren't worthy of attention. This situation isn't significant in the grand scheme of history, but the lesson is still relevant.

So because someone does not agree with you they are sticking their heads in the sand?

Also I do not care that much because I do not spend my time worrying about the NBA. What Donaghy says does not change my life one bit. Just like what Joe West does or does not do in MLB does no change what I do as a baseball umpire.

And we must keep in mind that Donaghy went from making a near $300,000 salary to a half a million dollar house to now having to sell a book to make any money. He probably would not even be allowed to work a high school game at this point for any money. I think he has incentive to talk about the NBA as he can flip this situation into speaking tours and other books so that he will become the so-called expert on NBA corruption. If you want to believe him, go right ahead. I guess you are sticking your head in the sand about the reality of what Donaghy claims he knows.

For the record, I went to an NCAA meeting where an FBI agent spoke about the Donaghy situation as he worked with someone of the people that had incite on the case the government had on Donaghy. The room was full of NCAA D1 Officials and they did not give a damn. They were bored by the topic and thought the issue went on too long. I guess they were wrong for their opinions because you say so.

Peace

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by jbduke

There are those in the non-officiating community who are going to buy everything Donaghy says whole-hog. Obviously there's no changing those minds. But there are also many out there who are truly undecided as to what they think about his stories. Those are the people we have the power to persuade. And we can do that more easily if we're armed with a thorough understanding of what Donaghy and his adherents are saying.

Maybe the whole thing's just not that big a deal to you. And if that's the case, godspeed on your mission not to give a $hit. But it happens to be important to me and, I suspect, many other officials. And sticking our heads in the sand while this guy is spewing garbage, impugning the integrity of officials everywhere, is not going to make his ideas disappear.

Evidently not. So far, it looks like everyone in this thread but you is "sticking our heads in the sand." I think that says a lot. There's not a thing you, me, or anyone else here can do about what this convicted felon, liar, and cheat is doing or saying. So I'm certainly not going to validate his claims be reading them, much less listening to him or arguing his points. What he does has zero effect on me.

BTW, if you think Joe Blow is rushing out to buy either of Donaghy's book, you're sadly mistaken. The only time anyone is paying attention to this guy is when his publisher gets some media or radio guy to interview, just to promote his book.

Can I ignore him? Damn right I can.