Check out what some of the nation's top papers are saying about Tim Donaghy's accusations of fixed NBA games:
Stern can't handle the truth
Jay Mariotti, Sun Times
The
easiest event to fix in sports, I dare say, is a pro basketball game.
There's too much room for hocus-pocus and interpretation, too much gray
area for what is and isn't a foul, too much money on high. This always
has led to suspicions, first hinted at in Chicago by a fearless Phil
Jackson in the '90s, that the NBA conceivably could be in cahoots with
its referees to manipulate and extend a playoff series via officiating.
Claims may be bogus, perception is real
William Rhoden, NY Times
N.B.A.Commissioner
David Stern can huff and puff all he wants. But the league faces a
potential crisis of credibility and needs to do less huffing and more
introspection.
......Anyone is capable of lying, and even a
convicted felon may be capable of telling some truths. Donaghy will
soon have time to think about his actions.The big, bad, sprawling
N.B.A. had better start doing some soul-searching of its own.
For NBA, doors blown practically off hinges
The Washington Times
Stern
can denigrate Donaghy to his heart's content, stomp on him with all the
NBA's multibillion-dollar might, but that still doesn't mean the Rogue
Ref, as the commissioner likes to call him, is blowing smoke.
Fix not in
Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle
The
problem is that issues of integrity can eat away at a sport's
foundation. If fans begin to believe the games aren't called honestly,
their cynicism can turn to apathy. Apathy is a killer.
Van Gundy disagrees with ref
Houston Chronicle
"I
don't think for an instant games were manipulated to extend the series
or for financial reasons," Van Gundy said. "I told the truth then, so
to me this has no impact.