For the past week or two, the sports media and the blogosphere has been blowing up with reports, unsubstantiated rumours and rampant speculation about a certian NBA referee's alleged gambling on NBA games and links to the mob. David Stern's NBA office has no doubt been in complete damage control mode, on a level never seen by Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson. The media has done nothing but fuel the flames of speculation. "Will this mean the end of the NBA as we know it?... Will fans be able to trust the results of games ever again? ... Was Mark Cuban right after all?"
It's clear that this referee-gambling saga has been blown out of all proportion. The facts as they currently appear are that ONE referee may have attempted to influence the result of a number of games. The last time I checked, this did not mean the downfall of the world or the end of integrity in sports. Bad things happen. The NBA will get past this.
Meanwhile, news suddenly hits the horizon of renewed talks between the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves to bring Kevin Garnett to Boston. You can bet (illegal as it is) that this news brought a small smile to David Stern's face as suddenly a story had emerged to shadow all others. At least for a couple of days anyway...
I hope he sent Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale a bottle of something nice.
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