Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
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Some of you watched the 2008 All-Star game this year. Far less of you actually saw the ending.
A 15-inning affair that ended with a close play at the plate, the midsummer classic did not disappoint this year in terms of drama. Is this a credit to Bud Selig, who has awarded home field advantage to the winning all-star league since 2003? Or is it a credit to the players, who usually want to perform well in any circumstance?
Much ado has been made about the stakes Selig has married to the final score of the All-Star game, but we want to know your opinion. Do you think home field in the World Series should go to the ASG winning League? Do you think the League with the best record in Interleague play should earn Home Field? Should it be simply be based on regular season record? What about alternating between leagues every year like it used to? Vote below before we run out of relief pitchers…
How should World Series Home Field be determined?
Tags: All-Star Game, Poll
Posted in MLB | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
No doubt that you’ve heard about Tim Donaghy’s recent revelations regarding misconduct by NBA referees in key playoff games. (If you haven’t, read here.) Though specific teams and referees are never mentioned, it’s clear from his statements that he is accusing the NBA of conspiring with other referees to fix the outcome of more than one playoff game.
The game drawing the most attention, and rightfully so, is Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals when the Lakers - on the brink of elimination - shot 27 free throws IN THE 4TH QUARTER to beat the Kings and force a Game 7. In fact, go back and read the AP recap of that game. Check out these quotes:
“I feel sorry for our team, because they did everything they could to win the game,” Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. “It’s a shame, a real shame. … Our big guys get 20 fouls, and Shaq gets four. You tell me. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called.”
The officiating was so suspect, even Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson commented:
“There were some very interesting sequences in this game that were some eye-openers,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson admitted. “I’m sure we’ll want to take another look at them, both Rick and myself.”
ESPN’s Bill Simmons had this to say following that Lakers-Kings Series back in 2002:
What was the most disturbing subplot of the playoffs? Answer: The officiating, also the most disturbing subplot of the past four playoffs. If you examine the last four NBA playoff campaigns, during every situation where the league definitively “needed” one of the two teams involved to win — either to A) change the momentum of a series so it didn’t end prematurely, B) keep an attractive, big-market team alive in a series, or C) advance an attractive, big-market team to another round — the officiating appeared to be slanted towards the team that needed that game. I use the phrase “appeared to be,” because reviewing an official’s performance is purely subjective. Maybe I’m dead-wrong.
[regarding Game 6 between the Lakers and Kings] … LA needs a win to stay alive … from an officiating standpoint, the most one-sided game of the past decade … at least six dubious calls against the Kings in the fourth quarter alone … LA averaged 22 free throws a game during the first five games of the series, then attempted 27 freebies in the fourth quarter alone of Game 6 … rumors that David Stern wanted to pull a Vince McMahon and declare himself “The special guest referee” for this game prove unfounded.
The Lakers went on to win Game 7 against Sacramento (in OT) and beat the Nets for the NBA Championship that year.
If you’re wondering about the timing of Donaghy’s allegations, or the motives behind them, you’d do well to read Lester Munson’s analysis on ESPN.com. It should also be noted that David Stern has called the accusations “baseless”, and continues to refer to Donaghy as an “admitted felon” and a “convicted felon” - which he is.
My question is this: Do you think the NBA has conspired with referees in the past to affect the outcome of games? Yes or No.
Do you think the NBA Fixes games?
Tags: Fixing Games, NBA, Poll, Tim Donaghy
Posted in NBA, morality | 5 Comments »
