Week Of Shame
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by Warden
Has there ever been a worse week for the major professional sports than this last one? Don't think so, mis amigos... In no particular order, then, let us count the public relations nightmares facing the commissioners of the three major sports.
The NBA took a 3-point-like dagger to the heart of its integrity this past week when an investigation into game fixing by one of its referees was made public by the FBI. It involves point shaving, or more accurately point enhancing, on the part of Tim Donaghy,who only weeks ago worked a prominent playoff game in the Phoenix-San Antonio series -- which happened to be a game in which a starring Sun (Amare Stoudamire) got in immediate foul trouble. Hmmm...
Donaghy is alleged to have been in cahoots with the mob to fix certain games, usually involving the under/over but sometimes the point spread itself, after the wayward zebra became indebted to the bent-nose crew while incurring large gambling debts. Other equally juicy accusations surround David Stern possibly knowing about the sorry situation for over a year, yet still allowing the corrupt whistle-blower to fix, er, work games anyway this past season. Or was Stern told for the investigation's sake to let the damn thing play out to entrap as many mobsters as possible. Either way, we think this just about wipes that smile off the NBA commissioner's smug mug. I'd, ahem, bet that those plans for a Las Vegas franchise are on hold for now. Good idea having the All-Star weekend there, Dave! Hell, even before this revelation, fans of the sport would alternatively chuckle or shake their heads at the mystifyingly inconsistent nature of officiating in the league. Now nobody will ever look at a suspicious or phantom call the same way again.
The NFL has a similar PR nightmare on its hands, what with one of its marquee players, Atlanta Falcons QB Mike Vick, being indicted on federal charges relating to dog fighting on his Virginia property. The indictment goes into specifics of how Vick and his partners in Bad Newz Kennels ran a gambling ring that took bets on the fights and, even more damning, how Vick & Co. would dispose of dogs who failed to show enough fighting instinct: "executing dogs that didn't perform well by methods such as hanging, drowning, electrocuting, shooting and "slamming at least one dog's body to the ground." Vick, even if he manages to elude conviction and subsequent jail time the way he slithers out of the grasp of onrushing defensive linemen, has already been convicted of animal cruelty in the court of public opinion. That's gonna follow him everywhere he goes.
The Vick fiasco comes on the heels of the scandals involving Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson. It's a given that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will have his hands full keeping the focus on the field during the upcoming season.
Which brings us to Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds clubbed 2 more home runs last week, leaving him just 2 HRs short of tying Hank Aaron's all-time mark of 755. Problem is, nobody can enjoy the chase because of all the steroid allegations overshadowing Bonds. This puts Commissioner Bud Selig in the unenviable position of having to confront a worst-case scenario of publicly congratulating Bonds for breaking a record that few want to see broken. Good luck with all that, Bud.
And speaking of embarrassing, the Tour de France continues among its own allegations of performance-enhancing drugs . As if life without Lance Armstrong wasn't enough of an obstacle, now nobody can enjoy the Tour because the winner will undoubtedly be wearing a yellow jersey of suspicion and doubt, a la Floyd Landis, last year's winner, still resolutely if not all that successfully defending himself a year later against allegations of cheating. Despite constant testing, large numbers of riders still apparently risk detection rather than face the harsh course sans pharmaceutical or chemical enhancement. If everyone isn't doing it already, they might as well start now because fans of the sport just assume you're doping anyway. Another stage, another rider thrown out, another black eye for cycling. First clean blood sample to the finish line wins... C'est la Guerre!
This whole series of sordid events can only help the National Hockey League, the only sport currently not looking at years of scandal. They're smelling like a rose in comparison, not that hockey players are necessarily known for their aroma. Now if only people would actually watch the games...
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