Tim Donaghy will be switching uniforms

They sent him to the big house.

U.S. District Judge Carol Amon sentenced Donaghy to prison time, plus three years of supervised release, saying he’d let the sport down by taking thousands of dollars from a professional gambler in exchange for inside tips on games — including ones he refereed.

“The NBA, the players and the fans relied on him to perform his job in an honest manner,” Amon said. Donaghy listened with his arms folded but showed no emotion.

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Tim received 15 months, but could have gotten 33. His lawyer argued for treatment not incarceration.

This story just keeps going with more developments.

The NBA has a gambling stigma?

Tim Donaghy claims games were requested fixed in the past?

David Stern hires all kinds of official overseers, including a retired Army general?

And now enters that dreaded word Racism.

Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at Penn’s Wharton School, who co-authored a study that said white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players, said the league needs to share all of the information it has.

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Tim Donaghy is facing charges on gambling on NBA games. He just happens to be an NBA ref.

The league wanted a million bucks from him for costing the league money.

Tim fired back with allegations of the NBA fixing some playoff games, including the famous seven game series between the Lakers and Sacramento. The NBA and David Stern have denied the allegations.

If Tim Donaghy’s latest allegations are true, Kobe Bryant won his last championship with the help of an NBA conspiracy.

And Scot Pollard is still ringless because some guys in suits determined it would be that way.

Even with Bryant chasing another title in a marquee NBA finals matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the league still can’t escape the Donaghy mess, now nearly a year after learning the former referee bet on games he officiated.

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Scott Pollard a current Boston Celtic and Derek Fisher a current Los Angeles Laker take a look back.

In a letter filed Tuesday in New York, Donaghy’s attorney made a series of allegations about officiating corruption and misconduct within the NBA. The most damning accusation centered on the 2002 Western Conference finals, when the Lakers rallied from a 3-2 deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings.

Donaghy said two referees known as “company men” worked the controversial Game 6, when the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the final quarter and scored 16 of their last 18 points at the line in a 106-102 victory.

The injured Pollard, who now plays for Boston, was on Sacramento’s team, while Bryant and Derek Fisher played for the Lakers squad that went on to sweep New Jersey for its third straight championship.

It’s funny really, because my good friend RonB and your intrepid author have often argued (in jest to be sure) that the NBA is fixed. Didn’t David Stern want a Boston vs. LA Laker series this year? That is funny, we got one.

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Now your intrepid author is a huge Piston fan.  Let that be known.  It is not that the rest of the league is not interesting to me, because it is.

no, the issue of being a fan is different than being a writer.  The writer part of me enjoys the whole league.  The fan part is a little more finicky

 A fan loves his team and has little respect for the opposition.  You will often bet with your heart, so to speak, believing that your team will win and the opposing players are bums.

 So if you back up a few years to the last NBA Championship for the Pistons, there was a sense of uneasiness in your intrepid author over the Joe Dumars General Manager act of picking up Rasheed Wallace to play alongside Ben “Clock Tower” Wallace for my beloved Pistons.

 Many of my friends felt ill at ease as well about this deal.

 We repeated to ourselves over and over again, “Trust in Joe D.  Trust in Joe D.” and we hoped for the best.

 Rasheed just has a knack for getting in trouble and easily leads the league in technicals.

 To make a long story short, Rasheed came to the Pistons and along with Big Ben began to shut teams down so much that David Stern had to push for some rules changes after the season to open up the offense.

 At the time, Coach Larry Brown told Sheed that Larry would take care of the technicals and Sheed should just concentrate on playing.  To a degree this worked and in spite of several, well, more than several technicals, Sheed was able to keep his head in the game.

Now that Rasheed Wallace has found out about the Fed Investigation into illegal gambling and racketeering involving referee Tim Donaghy he wants a refund on some of his fines.  In fact, Wallace finds the whole situation laughable.

“The first thing I thought of was how everybody was always saying how I was crazy about some of the things I said,” Wallace said Monday at the Pistons’ annual media day. “Take a look at me, now. Don’t look too crazy now, do I?”

To quote from the Book of ‘Sheed, the NBA should “CTC” — cut the check.

The league should offer Wallace a modest refund for some of the thousands he has contributed to NBA coffers for fines over the years, especially from his notorious run-in with Tim Donaghy. It would be merely a symbolic gesture, an acknowledgment of the new sensitivity regarding corrupt officiating after Donaghy admitted guilt to fixing NBA games to appease gamblers.

 Rasheed Wallace has a history with Tim Donaghy.

In 2003, Wallace and Donaghy had a well-publicized confrontation on a loading dock at Portland’s Rose Garden. Wallace, upset by a technical called during the game, and Donaghy exchanged postgame insults. Wallace received a seven-game suspension for threatening Donaghy and lost about $1.6 million in salary.

When we last saw Rasheed under game conditions, he lobbed invectives at the refs after being ejected in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. Many people assumed that would serve as his final image as a Piston.

But he’s back, still full of vinegar, playfully skewering his teammates and maintaining a relaxed mood in the locker room.

Rasheed, when he is laughing, is a problem for all the other NBA teams.

So look out NBA contenders, because Rasheed is going to seek his refund from you!

NBA Basketball Fan Question  Do you think Rasheed got a fair shake?

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