The Donaghy situation - Page 2 - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 06-11-2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaz

The idea that a widespread conspiracy exists in the NBA is as ludicrous as any other silly conspiracy theory. Occam's Razor & the fact that it's nearly impossible to keep large conspiracies secret & all that...

Has it ever been a secret?

Spaz · 06-11-2008, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Has it ever been a secret?

Indeed - Donaghy is the very first 'insider' to make this claim. The idea that the thousands of refs & other officials previously involved in such a conspiracy would not have let slip previous to this makes the possibility of a wide-spread conspiracy highly unlikely.

A limited conspiracy involving only a few individuals and games would be MUCH more likely, but you're still working on the low end of the probability spectrum.

MikeWaters · 06-11-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaz

Indeed - Donaghy is the very first 'insider' to make this claim. The idea that the thousands of refs & other officials previously involved in such a conspiracy would not have let slip previous to this makes the possibility of a wide-spread conspiracy highly unlikely.

A limited conspiracy involving only a few individuals and games would be MUCH more likely, but you're still working on the low end of the probability spectrum.

How about just 12 refs.

That would encompass the last 4 teams. And isn't usually the same guys reffing every year at the end?

Indy Coug · 06-11-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How about just 12 refs.

That would encompass the last 4 teams. And isn't usually the same guys reffing every year at the end?

Do you get bulk discounts from your tinfoil wholesaler?

Spaz · 06-11-2008, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How about just 12 refs.

That would encompass the last 4 teams. And isn't usually the same guys reffing every year at the end?

Were there only 12 refs involved in the Conference Finals? I would think they'd want at least 6 teams of refs...and 7 would be even better.

I find the idea that a MINIMUM of 13 people involved in this sort of conspiracy, and it not getting out, to be very unlikely. Again, throwing a single game might be feasible, but even then it would probably come out.

No, Occam's Razor certainly applies in this case, and the simplest explanation is Human Failure. Conspiracy requires FAR too many unlikely assumptions.

Jeff Lebowski · 06-11-2008, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaz

Were there only 12 refs involved in the Conference Finals? I would think they'd want at least 6 teams of refs...and 7 would be even better.

I find the idea that a MINIMUM of 13 people involved in this sort of conspiracy, and it not getting out, to be very unlikely. Again, throwing a single game might be feasible, but even then it would probably come out.

No, Occam's Razor certainly applies in this case, and the simplest explanation is Human Failure. Conspiracy requires FAR too many unlikely assumptions.

This is a nice straw man you folks are working on. Who says it has to be league-wide and affect the outcome of every game? If pressure or instructions to the refs from league offices altered the outcome of just one game, then that is very wrong and something worth bitching about.

Spaz · 06-11-2008, 07:45 PM

Throw in the fact that Donaghy isn't exactly a reliable source, and I don't think there's a very solid base to argue from.

Spaz · 06-11-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

This is a nice straw man you folks are working on. Who says it has to be league-wide and affect the outcome of every game? If pressure or instructions to the refs from league offices altered the outcome of just one game, then that is very wrong and something worth bitching about.

I agree, if even one game was affected by this sort of conspiracy, it's worth the bitching. My argument is that it's unlikely.

A single ref, for personal reasons, for sure has affected games. No one is denying that. It's a problem in EVERY SINGLE SPORT.

The conspiracy of multiple people planning & enacting the outcome of even a single game is highly unlikely. Indeed, the only 'straw man' that's been worked on in this thread is the one you just posted - I've never once said "a conspiracy affecting only one game is no big deal".

RockyBalboa · 06-11-2008, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaz

Throw in the fact that Donaghy isn't exactly a reliable source, and I don't think there's a very solid base to argue from.

The Government never uses felons as insiders do they? Heaven forbid if they were ever a reliable and proven source in catching others.

creekster · 06-12-2008, 12:12 AM

This is not hard to imagine, and Donaghy's stopry is not that iunlikely. DOnaghy said that the league would direct ref's attention to certain calls to watch for. IOW< the league office says to the refs in the playoffs "watch for Yao ming's moving screens" or "Tim Hardaway's supposed killer cross-over is really a carry (my personal peeve)" or something like that and so the refs all go out and call thos particualr calls very tightly. Maybe they don't throw the game, but in a close game that is enough to put them over the top.

Besides, did you watch the 2002 game 6 between the Kings and the Lakers? It is easy to see a fix there, a much more overt fix than the one DOnaghy is talking about here. That game looked rigged and just about everybody thought so at the time.

06-11-2008, 07:45 PM	#17
Spaz Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,371	Throw in the fact that Donaghy isn't exactly a reliable source, and I don't think there's a very solid base to argue from. __________________ "My days of not respecting you are certainly coming to a middle." -Malcolm Reynolds "It doesn't mean that if we lose a game or when we lose a game people won't then jump on and say the quest is over. Because they will. But they've missed the point." -Bronco Mendenhall on "The Quest"

06-12-2008, 12:12 AM	#20
creekster Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: the far corner of my mind Posts: 8,711	This is not hard to imagine, and Donaghy's stopry is not that iunlikely. DOnaghy said that the league would direct ref's attention to certain calls to watch for. IOW< the league office says to the refs in the playoffs "watch for Yao ming's moving screens" or "Tim Hardaway's supposed killer cross-over is really a carry (my personal peeve)" or something like that and so the refs all go out and call thos particualr calls very tightly. Maybe they don't throw the game, but in a close game that is enough to put them over the top. Besides, did you watch the 2002 game 6 between the Kings and the Lakers? It is easy to see a fix there, a much more overt fix than the one DOnaghy is talking about here. That game looked rigged and just about everybody thought so at the time. __________________ Sorry for th e tpyos.