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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, December 7, 2009

Ref: Bets didn't influence me


Associated Press

NEW YORK — Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy says he refused to make calls to affect games even if it meant he lost money and it angered the mob.

In one game where he bet on San Antonio, he ejected coach Gregg Po-povich midway through the first quarter and the Spurs eventually lost the game. That drew the ire of the mob, which reportedly lost money using his tip.

"I just told them that I wasn't making calls in games to influence the outcome," Donaghy said in an interview on "60 Minutes" that aired last night on CBS. "And I'm not going to be able to obviously predict the winner every night, and they have to accept that's what's going to happen."

Donaghy insisted he made wagers on NBA games based on his knowledge of other officials' biases for and against certain players and teams, and that his officiating was not compromised — a claim that was backed up by the FBI.

"Watching the tapes, we could see there was never anything outlandish where he called a foul or he omitted a foul because he wanted to see a certain team win" retired FBI special agent Philip Scala told the news show. "We never saw that."

CAVS 101, BUCKS 86: Delonte West scored 14 of his season-high 21 points in a 29-0 first-half run as visiting Cleveland won for the 12th time in its last 14 games. Rookie Brandon Jennings led Milwaukee with 24 points.

Lakers 108, Suns 88: Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, leading host Los Angeles to its ninth straight victory. Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and eight rebounds for Phoenix.

Knicks 106, Nets 97: Al Harrington had 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead host New York past New Jersey, which got 26 points from Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Pistons 98, Wizards 94: Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points for host Detroit. Caron Butler had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.

Heat 115, Kings 102: Dwyane Wade had 34 points and 10 assists for visiting Miami. Tyreke Evans scored 30 points for Sacramento.

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