Phoenix Suns News, Suns Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary : controversy

The Fix Is In! Accusations Arise of NBA Ref Gambling & Fixing Games

chowell — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:00:00 GMT

7/21/07 - The latest news on the Tim Donaghy story:

FBI probes NBA ref for game-fixing by FoxSports.com
Did Donaghy fix Game 3 of Suns-Spurs? by FoxSports' Kevin Hench
This is a game Donaghy worked in the playoffs... good read for Suns fans, but don't get more pissed off that we didn't win.

The New York Post broke a story that an NBA official is being investigated by the FBI for apparent gambling and possibly for “fixing games“. ~~While~~ The referee ~~in question has yet to be named, he~~ is aware of the investigation and will turn himself into authorities soon (Fiji anyone?). The FBI believes that the bets on NBA basketball games took place during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. One can only hope that all of the games this guy “worked“ were regular season games and not the playoffs.

Updated 2pm (PST): The FBI is investigating allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games over the past two seasons, including ones in which he officiated. Defense attorney John Lauro confirmed Donaghy is under investigation but refused to comment on the allegations or the case.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Donaghy officiated 68 games in the 2005-06 season and 63 games in 2006-07. He also worked 20 playoff games, including five last season.

The referee is being accused of making bets on NBA games, including those that he was officiating. Authorities are trying to analyze the games to determine if the official impacted the outcome of the basketball game by calling fouls (or not), and thus affecting the point spread for betters. There are reported links to organized crime - again, this is all speculation at this point.

The NBA issued a brief statement Friday: "We have been asked by the FBI, with whom we are working closely, not to comment on this matter at this time."

While all the details have yet to come out, it's certainly another black eye for the NBA, who seriously needs a new image consultant. The past year has been very unkind to the league (new ball, Suns playoff suspensions) and they could really use some good news. If it turns out that this official did affect the outcome of the games, it would be a hard truth to swallow. Despite David Stern's comments that the game isn't fixed, it seems that he didn't know the whole story. While the league itself wasn't directing the games, its very likely that this official and the people who he was working with, were controlling them.

Unbelievable... NBA's Self-Inflicted Black Eye

chowell — Tue, 15 May 2007 23:21:00 GMT

I think I'm going to be sick....

The NBA has mistakenly applied 1-game suspensions to both Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns, for walking on court during last night's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Speaking specifically about the Horry-Nash incident, Suns owner Robert Sarver told reporters in Phoenix on Tuesday night: "The way this worked out for us, it was, I believe, extremely unfair. . . . The team that plays dirty should not be rewarded and the team that plays fair should not be penalized."

Sarver added that the "first thing on my agenda" for next season will be making a push at ownership level to have the leave-the-bench rule re-examined. Sarver also said that NBA commissioner David Stern has canceled a schedule appearance in Phoenix for Wednesday night's Game 5.

Controversy ???
I can't get a full look at the Spurs bench when the altercation took place, but it didn't look like their players even flinched. From what I could see, the Spurs coaches certainly had hands on players very quickly, as if they knew what was coming.

Robert Horry was also inserted into the game just before the altercation, leading further to speculation that he may have been instructed to deliver a message to the Suns. He may not have been told to do it as bad as he did, but I would pay a hefty amount of money to have a microphone in the Spurs huddle right before the incident.

"It was just an end-of-game foul and Steve fell down," Popovich said before the penalties were announced. "I didn't think it was such a big deal."

EXCUSE ME???? Not a big deal... Your 7th man off the bench takes a cheap shot at a 2-time MVP when the game is already out of your team's reach and it's not such a big deal? This is exactly the kind of cheap, dirty, egotistical attitude that the Spurs players have displayed in the series, no doubt from Popovich's tutoring.

Video

Eye for an Eye ???
Earlier in Game 4, Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen both left the bench and entered the court during an “altercation“ between Elson and James Jones, who btw was just coming back down the court and didn't intentionally cause Elson to crash from the rim.

The Suns countered by saying that Duncan and Bruce Bowen were guilty of a similar leaving-the-bench offense in Game 4's first half when San Antonio's Francisco Elson fell on the Suns' James Jones after a dunk. That play was also reviewed, but Jackson -- while conceding that Duncan "should not have been on the playing court" -- said that the league determined there was "no cause for the suspension rule" to be applied because the Elson-Jones tangle was not deemed to be an altercation.

The NBA ruled that there is no cause to suspend Duncan, but the video show's the proof. If you're going to apply the bench-clearing rule to the Suns, you also have to apply it to the Spurs.

Suspension for Leaving Bench, but Not for Deliberate Flagrant Fouls ???
Twice in the Suns-Spurs series, the NBA should've suspended a Spurs player for their “deliberate“ actions towards Suns players.

Bruce Bowen intentionally kicks Amare Stoudemire's achilles as he attempts a dunk. What other motivation could there be other than trying to injure the player?
Bruce Bowen knees Steve Nash in the groin. NBA later issues a flagrant foul and fine, but no suspension.

The Jazz and Warriors have had a physical series as well, but two specific incidents stand out:

Jason Richardson fouls Mehmet Okur hard on his drive to the basket (after game is out of reach), causing Okur to land on his back. No suspension.
Baron Davis commits a flagrant on Derek Fisher, again after the game is out of reach, but no suspension is issued.

HOW ON EARTH COULD A RATIONAL PERSON DETERMINE THAT TWO PLAYERS LEAVING THEIR BENCH IN THE AID OF THEIR TOP PLAYER, SHOULD BE SUSPENDED, but the same person won't suspend 3 players (Bowen, Richardson & Davis) for their deliberate actions against the opposition. File a petition against the league (ok, so it may not get to them) or email the NBA directly.

Nationwide Outcry
This isn't about me being a Suns fan or my opinions of the Spurs... This is about me being a life-long NBA fan who's enraged about the complete lack of common sense regarding this situation.

I'm certainly not the only blogger who's dissappointed with the league's decision. Many well-known bloggers, TV analysts and others have declared the ruling a travesty. Here's a few good reads:

TrueHoop.com - Flagrant Fouls, Leaving the Bench, and Suspensions
ESPN.com's Marc Stein - NBA suspends Stoudemire, Diaw for leaving bench
FoxSports.com BlogJam - The letter of the law
ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan - Ruling is Ridiculous (Insider subs. required)
Yahoo Sports' Steve Kerr - Let 'Em Play in Game 5

Suns Triumph in Big Game 4 Win Over Spurs

chowell — Tue, 15 May 2007 02:41:00 GMT

The Suns just wouldn't let it happen in Game 4... no way they were going to lose another game and go down 3-1 in the series. Withstanding the Spurs slow, methodical play for more than 3 quarters, Phoenix took over the last half of the 4th quarter en route to a hard fought 104-98 victory, and a 2-2 series tie.

Despite 8 turnovers from Steve Nash and a late body-check from Robert Horry (on Nash), the Suns withstood the physical play all game and pulled out the “W”. They played with a lot of heart, grit and determination in what we can only hope is a sign of better things to come. This game could possibly be “the hump“ they needed to get over to win a title. Winning the game on the Spurs homecourt, playing the Spurs way... nothing could be sweeter.

The Body Check
Roberty Horry elbow checked Nash into the scorers table with under 30 seconds in the game. Nash got up pretty quickly and both teams are lucky it didn't escalate into something more... god knows both teams hate each other at this point.

It's a shame that the Suns season could come down to a stupid-ass move from a player on the other team. If any Suns player gets suspended for coming off the bench to protect Nash, there's a serious problem w/ this league.

Already labeled a dirty team, the late check on Nash only adds to the animosity that most “non-Spurs” fans have towards the Spurs. They play tough, but they play dirty.

Some new nicknames for the Spurs' players perhaps:
“Bruce Knee“ Bowen
Cheap Shot Bob
Robert “Cheap Shot“ Horry

There are rumors that both Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire left the bench to help Nash, but team officials are claiming Stoudemire was on his way to the scorers table to check into the game. Again, for two players on the team that didn't even commit the foul, it would be a shame for Horry's actions to result in any Phoenix player missing the next basketball game.

The NBA should do the right thing in this situation and let both players play in Game 5. They did not cross halfcourt, they did not run, they did not throw punches or otherwise heat up the situation.

The Suns got a great effort from everyone on the team, including some great defense by Kurt Thomas on not only Duncan, but also on Parker late in the game on a few screen & rolls.

Bruce Bowen Cheap Player... NBA Should Suspend Immediately

chowell — Fri, 11 May 2007 00:01:00 GMT

Amare Stoudemire made an accusation today that the San Antonio Spurs' Bruce Bowen is a dirty player. There was an easy dunk attempt the other night where Amare barely made it up to the rim and almost looked injured as he turned and ran back down the court.

Watch Bruce Bown try to hurt Amare's leg - steps on achilles while Amare trys to dunk. This is all you need to see in order to HATE the crap out of Bruce Bowen. The league should review the video and suspend Bowen.

Miami Heat take NBA Championship amid controversy

chowell — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:39:00 GMT

Let's get this out of the way first: Congratulations to the Miami Heat for winning the franchise's first NBA title in history. Dwyane Wade was spectacular again, and walked away with his first title and the Finals MVP trophy (much deserved). It's clear that Shaq is no longer the dominant force in the league and Wade is establishing himself as one of the elite players in the game. He elevated his game to another level in the NBA Finals.

There were questionable calls at the end of the game, such as Wade's elbow to the face of Dirk Nowitzki, or the holding call on Jason Terry's final shot (Payton holding jersey). Arguing these incidents is futile, but I think it's pretty clear that the referees have been giving the Heat the benefit of the doubt on all calls since at least Game 4.

Now to the juicy stuff... Miami DID NOT deserve to win the championship in 6 games.

I have no problems with any of the games except Game 5, which the referees single-handedly handed to the Heat via the charity stripe. Game 3 was a blown opportunity for the Mavs; they had the Heat on the ropes and blew it. No argument there... In Game 6, the Mavs again failed to deliver when it counted and ended up w/out their first championship or a Game 7. This series should be 3-3 right now w/ a Game 7 on Thursday - instead, Miami wakes up this morning w/ a new trophy in their grasp.

Game 5, based on the number of foul shot attempts alone, is a horrid example of the referees making calls for one team over another. I watched the majority of the game and Dallas was no-less aggressive at attacking the basket as the Heat were. Dwyane Wade played great, but 25 free throws for him compared to just 25 for the entire Mavs squad? Give me a break. Dallas was employing the Hack-A-Shaq strategy, but that only led to O'Neal visiting the stripe 12 times. I recall only 5 specific instances where they grabbed Shaq on purpose before he even had the ball (that's 10 of 12 foul shots).

I don't know the stats well enough, but I'll bet a team shooting 65% from the free throw line hasn't beaten a team shooting 84% (over 15 free throws minimum). The refs simply put Wade on the line enough to keep the Heat in the game. The Mavs kept fouling Shaq, but he shot 2 for 12... how could they stay in the game w/ him missing all those FT's? Again, put Wade on the line enough times (he is their best FT shooter), stop the clock, and watch the Heat catchup.

Had the referees not put the Heat on the line (2-to-1) for the game, there's no way that Miami is even in the game and Dallas wins it. The series should be 3-3 w/ a Game 7 in Dallas.

I have no bias for either team - had Miami been playing anyone else (except Suns) I would've been rooting for them. Had they won w/out the questionable referee involvement, I would be happy for the Heat and wouldn't say a word.

Mark Cuban had some things to say after the loss... I think he played it safely because he is an NBA owner and could risk losing his team or other consequences if he crosses the line too far.

Just an honest sports fan's opinion... Go Suns in 2006-2007.

East Coast Conspiracy?

chowell — Sat, 21 May 2005 16:32:00 GMT

I don't know about all of you out there, but I'm about fed up with the NBA and ABC's airing (or non-airing) of the NBA Playoffs so far this year. The first non-Miami Heat game aired on primetime TV was Game 6 between San Antonio and Dallas on Thursday. Granted, it was a Game 6 and the series was pretty good, but what's up with not showing the Suns & Mavs Game 6 on Friday night? 130-126, overtime, series clinching game... need I say more?

To top this off, Miami has been off for damn near 2 weeks now (it would seem) and Detroit finished off Indiana a few days ago, but which conference has to play first? That's right, with only 2 days rest, the Suns will play San Antonio on Sunday afternoon, with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to be played on Monday.

The fact that the Suns would play a game two days after a Game 6 isn't that odd, but the fact they would've had to play Game 7 against Dallas on Sunday had they lost last night just adds to the fact that the league is scheduling in Shaq's favor.

To me, this just seems like another NBA league decision to help a team from the East coast (namely Miami) get to the NBA Finals. They have been reporting all week that Shaq isn't practicing and it seems like the league is giving him all the time in the world to get healthy enough to play against the Pistons. Btw - I think the Pistons can take the Heat in 6 games (think last year's sweep of Shaq's Lakers).

Conspiracy theory?? Sure seems that way to me.