A new blog entry has been added:
[drupal=76]Donaghy - Telling the truth or trying to take others with him?[/drupal]
TDOS is usually uneventful. We're out of the playoffs so we sit back and watch the final teams play out their seasons.
This year, however, something new has been added.
For those of us who were around in June, 2002, the recent news about Tim Donaghy, the official who admitted to tinkering with games to facilitate his gambling addiction, came not as a shock but almost as a validation.
We've known in our hearts for a very long time that our 2002 team - Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, Scot Pollard, Lawrence Funderburke, Gerald Wallace, Mateen Cleaves, Brent Price and Chucky Brown - were robbed.
They played to the best of their ability and were left with the feeling their best was just a little short.
But was it?
If Donaghy's allegations are true, it didn't matter. They weren't going to win in anything less than 7 games. And, after having their hearts ripped out and stomped on in Staples in game 6, there just wasn't enough left for that final game.
If you're new to Kingsfans.com, welcome. We have a main discussion thread about this whole topic here.
In addition, we have a poll to gauge your feelings here.
I think there's every possibility the game was tilted towards the Lakers, but not because they were the Lakers. I tend to think it was, indeed, tilted so the team behind in the series would even it up.
While I'm disappointed, of course, my heart goes out to all of those players named above. They took us along for one helluva ride that season and they were deprived of what was rightfully theirs. You cannot right that wrong.
It would be nice if David Stern came out and admitted the game was poorly officiated, and that while he didn't subscribe to the allegations of Tim Donaghy that he and the team owners were going to meet together to set processes in motion that would keep it from ever happening again. This would, of course, entail a lot more transparency. They could create a panel to review complaints against officials and make public their determinations. AND, they could and should institute a removal of the gag order put on players, coaches, and owners once the season has concluded.
With every particle of every game available for review because of modern technology, the time has come to institute some kind of challenge system. Yes, it might in some instances slow the game BUT it might also remove the ability of any one or two officials to influence the outcome of games. Big Brother is watching anyway. He might as well utilize the tools at his disposal to restore some integrity to the game.
It would be nice, too, if I walked out my front door and found a 24-pound gold nugget had appeared on my front lawn overnight. Unfortunately for the NBA (and me - as far as the gold nugget goes) the chances of either are about equal.
I still love our Kings and I still love the game of NBA basketball. If all of this makes the game better, than maybe (just maybe) some good can come out of all this. Small satisfaction, I know, but it's better to know the truth than to wonder.
GO KINGS!
[drupal=76]Donaghy - Telling the truth or trying to take others with him?[/drupal]
TDOS is usually uneventful. We're out of the playoffs so we sit back and watch the final teams play out their seasons.
This year, however, something new has been added.
For those of us who were around in June, 2002, the recent news about Tim Donaghy, the official who admitted to tinkering with games to facilitate his gambling addiction, came not as a shock but almost as a validation.
We've known in our hearts for a very long time that our 2002 team - Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, Scot Pollard, Lawrence Funderburke, Gerald Wallace, Mateen Cleaves, Brent Price and Chucky Brown - were robbed.
They played to the best of their ability and were left with the feeling their best was just a little short.
But was it?
If Donaghy's allegations are true, it didn't matter. They weren't going to win in anything less than 7 games. And, after having their hearts ripped out and stomped on in Staples in game 6, there just wasn't enough left for that final game.
If you're new to Kingsfans.com, welcome. We have a main discussion thread about this whole topic here.
In addition, we have a poll to gauge your feelings here.
I think there's every possibility the game was tilted towards the Lakers, but not because they were the Lakers. I tend to think it was, indeed, tilted so the team behind in the series would even it up.
While I'm disappointed, of course, my heart goes out to all of those players named above. They took us along for one helluva ride that season and they were deprived of what was rightfully theirs. You cannot right that wrong.
It would be nice if David Stern came out and admitted the game was poorly officiated, and that while he didn't subscribe to the allegations of Tim Donaghy that he and the team owners were going to meet together to set processes in motion that would keep it from ever happening again. This would, of course, entail a lot more transparency. They could create a panel to review complaints against officials and make public their determinations. AND, they could and should institute a removal of the gag order put on players, coaches, and owners once the season has concluded.
With every particle of every game available for review because of modern technology, the time has come to institute some kind of challenge system. Yes, it might in some instances slow the game BUT it might also remove the ability of any one or two officials to influence the outcome of games. Big Brother is watching anyway. He might as well utilize the tools at his disposal to restore some integrity to the game.
It would be nice, too, if I walked out my front door and found a 24-pound gold nugget had appeared on my front lawn overnight. Unfortunately for the NBA (and me - as far as the gold nugget goes) the chances of either are about equal.
I still love our Kings and I still love the game of NBA basketball. If all of this makes the game better, than maybe (just maybe) some good can come out of all this. Small satisfaction, I know, but it's better to know the truth than to wonder.
GO KINGS!
