Ignorance is Bliss

After recent allegations about a former NBA referee fixing NBA games have come out, I have become even more paranoid that this is not the first time that this has happened. One thing that I am almost certain about is that games are not fixed by players. In today's day of age, players make way too much money for fixing a game to be worth their while. Add this on to the fact that to be a professional athlete, they have to be competitive by nature to the point of doing whatever it takes to win. I dont think I am being naive here either. Before a couple decades ago I am sure many players threw games all the time. Back when the mob scene was a lot more prominent and players didn't have multi million dollar contracts. The people who are in most control of games are the refs, umps, whatever you want to call them. These guys call the shots, and they are not the ones living in the multi million dollar mansions. I am worried that after these recent allegations, that many more are going to come out in the future. Professional sports will always be tainted from this angle. This is where ignorance is bliss. As a fan, you can only turn the other way and pretend like everything is legitimate in the world of sports. Unfortunately, every time I flip on a sporting event my first thought after a bad call is that the game is fixed. I know that these refs and umps are critiqued with every step they take, every strike and ball they call in baseball, every flag they throw in football, every foul and non call in basketball and every penalty in hockey. However, Tim Donaghy's rating this year went up as a ref! I realize that these refs have their own zones that they focus on in games and its hard for them to critique their fellow refs. Come on people, this is beyond appalling! If one guy is doing this, what are the odds that there aren't more out there doing the same thing. I hope that this one case will put these guys on power trips in their place, but the sad thing is what can possibly be done? Sure the FBI found out about this individual case, but how many cases have gone unnoticed over the years. David Stern claims that this is an "isolated" incident, and that no other refs are involved in the fixing of games. The guy has to say this. You think the usually collected and stern commissioner isnt biting his nails down to the bone right now? The commissioners in all sports should be just as concerned. Last year I went to the Yankees Tigers playoff series at Comerica Park in Detroit. I am a diehard Yankees fan and there was not once instance that I was able to cheer for my team. Sure I give the Tigers credit for shutting down our hitting, but I found it ironic that the umps completely turned that series around. After the Yankees won game one, the always patient yankees hitters started swinging at pitches in the dirt. Was this because every Tigers pitcher was throwing nasty sinkers? No, the umpires were calling strikes that were obviously balls. This was only happening when the Yankees were at bat, and in turn made every Tigers pitcher look like Sandy Koufax in his prime. Right after witnessing the Yankees lose that series I was convinced that sports were fixed by the guys that are making the least money on the field. Is it remotely possible that every game we are watching is in someway fixed? You can't say no anymore. Tim Donaghy was an official for 13 years! So this shit has been going on for well over a decade with only one guy? You are being very naive if you think this is the only situation in which this has happened. This is something that time will never heal. We will find out over the next couple weeks as Donaghy, the selfish prick that he is cooperates with officials to get a lighter sentence in prison who if anybody else comes up in this scandal.