All Other Sports

[Lord Sam]

I thought it would be cool to start a topic to discuss all other sports outside of our very popular NFL Football thread. So this would include NBA, MLB, NHL, UFC, PGA, and any sports related stuff you can think of.

You may have heard that the FBI is investigating allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games he officiated over the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, including ones in which he officiated. Apparently this ref got in some gambling debts with some bookies and ended up resorting to this to pay of his debts.



ESPN.com's Eric Stein has a really good article regarding the severity of these alligations. Here are a few highlights of his article:

You know it's not a good Friday, as a sports commissioner, when you wake up to a crisis that you'd gladly trade straight up for baseball's steroid scandal.

Or as my Bloomberg News colleague Scott Soshnick put it on ESPN's "Outside The Lines": It would have been a much, much better Friday for David Stern if he were merely faced with the news bulletin that one of his Michael Vick-sized stars was being indicted on charges of sponsoring a widespread dogfighting operation.

This sort of thing has never happened in the US before:

How bleak is the situation? Various international soccer leagues have survived a handful of match-fixing scandals, but no referee, umpire, linesman or in-game official of any sort has ever been arrested or indicted for point-shaving or match-fixing in the history of America's four major sports.

Here is another quote that sums up the troubles the NBA is in:

From Bruce Arthur of the National Post

But this has the potential to bloody the NBA, and badly. This might have been the worst season in NBA history -- the short-lived change of basketballs, the injuries, the tanking, the whining, the All-Star fiasco (in Vegas, natch), the dead-dull playoffs, the playoff-altering suspensions, and finally, a dreadful NBA Finals.

But this is different. This might be the worst poison of all.

Crazy times we live in. I really soured on the NBA years ago, and the Nuggets SUCKED as well! But I've come around (about the same time Carmelo Anthony arrived coincidently) and I'm really starting to enjoy the NBA game again, especially watching the Phoenix Suns play. But the NBA really has a long way to go to get their act together.

[lovekeiiy]

Well it's funny when Skip Bayless says this guy is greatful for Michael Vick and Pac Man Jones, otherwise this would be the headline news.

To say this is a black eye for the NBA is like saying there a black men playing in the NBA. Couldn't he just get drunk and sleep with some dumb lady.

[Lord Sam]

So, Barry Bonds and the Giants have a seven game home stand where the Giant's slugger needs two home runs to tie and three to become the all-time home run king.



I was huge into baseball as a youth, but lost interest in the sport in '94 when the strike cancelled much of the season including the World Series that year. I kinda follow it, but only during this time of year (after the NBA Finals and before NFL training camps). So to me, it's not as big of a thing. Especially for a sport that doesn't seem to have the ability or desire to police itself with all of its apparent steroid and/or HGH use over the last decade.

So what do you think about this? Is this a big thing to you or not?

[dmiller68]

Originally Posted by Lord Sam

So, Barry Bonds and the Giants have a seven game home stand where the Giant's slugger needs two home runs to tie and three to become the all-time home run king.



I was huge into baseball as a youth, but lost interest in the sport in '94 when the strike cancelled much of the season including the World Series that year. I kinda follow it, but only during this time of year (after the NBA Finals and before NFL training camps). So to me, it's not as big of a thing. Especially for a sport that doesn't seem to have the ability or desire to police itself with all of its apparent steroid and/or HGH use over the last decade.

So what do you think about this? Is this a big thing to you or not?

I think it is pretty cool, I'm glad he has been able to get it done. I don't care if he used or didn't. I wasn't against the rules until they started testing. So therefore it should be a record.

[AZRaiderH8r]

I was a big NBA fan throughout the Dr. J / Larry Bird / Magic days and again during the Jordan era. But, over the years, I've really gotten tired of the NBA now, and this referee scandal doesn't help. I've started following the Nuggets again since they got 'melo (I'm a big Syracuse fan), and living in AZ forces me to watch the Suns. Overall, I just much prefer the college game.

As for Bonds, I hope that his record lasts as shortly as possible until Arod can break it. It's not just the steroid allegations; he's just never been someone that I admired. I'm starting a grassroots campaign to get ASU to take down his name and number at the baseball stadium!

[lovekeiiy]

To me, steriods or not, it's still a big record to beat. No one will know how many guys used roids in MLB history, but we know some players did. Given that, only eight players in history have broken 600, and three 700. He's earned it.

He's just not a media loving player, so a lot of the media attention has been negative and thus influenced a lot of the public perception of the guy. I'm no Gaints fan (Go Oakland), but I can care less how likable his is or is not. It's all about winning.

Nevermind MLB being a bunch of idiots with this retrotesting crap. Talk about wanting to open a can of worms. What is it going to accomplish? What it they do find players were on roids? It's a no win situation. And since they weren't testing for it back then, apparently they didn't care at that point. So just test now and move on.

[Lord Sam]

Originally Posted by lovekeiiy

Talk about wanting to open a can of worms. What is it going to accomplish? What it they do find players were on roids? It's a no win situation. And since they weren't testing for it back then, apparently they didn't care at that point. So just test now and move on.

True words, nothing can be done about it especially since they didn't make it illegal until a few years ago. I'm interested to see how Bonds does when he comes up for induction into the Hall of Fame. He should, by his numbers, be a unanimous first choice, but I bet it isn't unanimous.

[lovekeiiy]

You know as well as I do, no way Bonds is getting in on the first ballot. He'll be a second ballot. Look at Mark Miguire. This was his first year of eligiblity, and he only got 26% approval for the hall. He admited during his 69 home run year he was taking androstien, which is a testosterone precurser (not a steriod, but makes the body produce more testosterone). It wasn't banned by MLB till a year or two after his big year.

Watching guys like Maguire or Sosa is going to show what's going to happen with Bonds.

I don't even like the 90's being referred to as the steriod time. I'm sure there were players using roids back in the 70's and 80's. It may have been a bit more previlant later, but it makes it sound like that was the only time they were used.

I think they best line heard to on ESPN was by Mike Golic after reports on MLB, NBA, and NFL...."the NHL is starting to look good" LOL.

[Quo]

I'm with AZ. I hope the record doesn't stand long. Not because of steroids really, but just because I can't stand Barry Bonds. He's obviously an unbelievably talented player with or without the 'roids. He's also obviously a total arsehole, with or without the 'roids.

There are always two sides to every story. Some will say the media made Barry Bonds the way he is. Same with Eddie Murray, Gary Sheffield, etc. Personally, I don't think so. If that were true, there'd be a significantly higher number of total jerks in the majors. To me, all those guys just seem like jerks. I think Barry Bonds made his bed with the media years ago, and now he's laying in it. There's certainly no mending the fences now! All media-types that show favor to him are viewed as suck-ups, and when he's nice to the media it's viewed as pandering to the media. Weird situation, and all parties have behaved/continue to behave poorly.

[Lord Sam]

Originally Posted by lovekeiiy

I think they best line heard to on ESPN was by Mike Golic after reports on MLB, NBA, and NFL...."the NHL is starting to look good" LOL.

I heard on ESPN radio last night that the host (can't remember what show it was...Sports Bash?) posed this question: As far as commishioners of the four major sports, which would situation is the best and which is the worst?

Roger Goodel - NFL - Big Problem - increased negative publicity from a handful of your players and how to control it. Current problem, What to do about Michael Vick. Throw him out of the league now? Let justice run its course but maybe you don't look like you did enough?

Bud Selig - MLB - Big Problem - What to do about the steroid era, and how should the league deal with HGH (which is untestable). Current problem, What to do about Barry Bonds? On one hand you still have a steroid investigation going on, but in the meantime, how do you go about recognizing the greatest home run hitter of all time?

David Stern - NBA - Big Problem - The intergreity of the NBA is at stake now that an NBA ref has been taken down by the FBI for fixing the outcomes of game. Current Problem, How do you restore trust in the product that is the NBA?

Gary Bettmen- NHL - Big Problem - Popularity and buzz about your league is at an all-time low since the 2004-2005 lockout and your games are on a channel that few people get. Current Problem, How do you sell your league when popularity is so low?

[D_Litch]

I like this General Sports talk. Stop! Thread Time!