Word: sterne
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...name. The Donaghy scandal could grow; or, just as likely, it could sink into the oblivion of a slow summer news week - with baseball hitting its dog days and even the British Open golf tournament missing the drama of its stellar attraction, Tiger Woods, in serious contention. So Commissioner Stern may have a right to feel confident. Sports fans have short memories...
...Stern outlined the security procedures his league has in place to guard against such violations, including audits of its own auditors. Only the FBI's investigation will reveal how much more the NBA could have done to prevent a referee from betting and passing along confidential information, as Donaghy is expected to admit to doing, according to Stern...
...Stern has reason to be positive. His league is not crippled. Rather it has suffered the equivalent of a pulled groin, an injury that lingers but is usually overcome. Americans generally, but sports fans especially, are a forgive-and-forget bunch, for whom hope always springs eternal for next season, regardless of their team's performance the previous year. Remember how the public disparaged Kobe Bryant when he stood trial for rape in 2003? Guess who had the NBA's best-selling jersey last season...
...Stern's NBA has successfully rebounded from adversity before, and it will likely do so again. The league has seen fan attendance at games rise from 10 million in 1983 to 22 million last season - over a period that also saw Earvin "Magic" Johnson announcing he was HIV-positive, Michael Jordan admitting to gambling in Atlantic City the night before a playoff game, Dennis Rodman kicking a cameraman and Ron Artest brawling with fans in the crowd during a game in Detroit...
...press conference, Stern insisted repeatedly that, to his knowledge, Donaghy is simply a "rogue" referee and not part of any widespread fix among officials. The FBI investigation will shed light on that. If Stern is right, that would separate this scandal from the 1919 Chicago Black Sox or the recent steroid allegations that have dogged baseball - in which the cheating appears to have been widespread...