潜在的噩梦
[size=4]在一篇肯定会让David Stern气得浑身发抖的报道中，纽约邮报称今天NBA的一位裁判因涉嫌团伙操控比赛比分而被FBI调查。这篇报道称这名裁判可能在过去2个赛季的执法生涯中一直在参与赌博。对于一个职业运动的联盟来说，这应该是所能经历的最糟糕的事了。我们总在谈论球员的形象问题，比赛的器材问题，或者球员的吸毒问题，但是对比赛的不法操纵才是最致命的。 这是体育运动的“原罪”。也是棒球这项运动要设立“总干事”一职的原因。实际上，有关NBA比赛的赌球，要比美国国家足球联盟，棒球联盟甚至大学篮球联赛都明显的要少的多。赌城有关体育的下注，NBA所占的比例小的可怜。在赌城，赌场一直愿意在特定的时期暂停对NBA比赛的下注，比如上个赛季的全明星赛。赌球和NBA通常都联系不到一起，除非当我们谈到要将一只球队迁往赌城这种事。不过，赌球仍然还是一个大问题。
最近大学篮球比赛中出现过这种操纵比分的事，但是NBA没有过，NBA的职员也从未沾染过这种事。一个大学里的组织后卫赌球是一回事，比赛中能把球员送上罚球线的那个家伙赌球则就是另外一回事了。尤其是在一场48分钟的NBA比赛中，会吹一大堆犯规，而每次吹罚则自动伴随着两次罚球。许多的NBA比赛的最终比分并不是特别接近，分差在5-8分。
回顾今年NBA总决赛的最后两场比赛，马刺都赢得不费吹灰之力。但是要是谈到赌场的点差，两场比赛在最后关头则均存在着决定了输家和赢家的投篮。在第三场比赛，在LeBron James错失了一个本来能追平比分的3分球后，Zydrunas Ilgauskas看起来像是在计时器响之前又命中了一个中投。但这次投篮并没有什么意义，因为骑士队需要的是一个三分。所以它没有被算，裁判也没有去看回放加以辨别。但是在赌城它却不是毫无意义——这场比赛开出的点差是2.5分。在第四场比赛中，在骑士队落后4分的情况下，Damon Jones在哨响之前扔进了一个3分。这对马刺而言并没有什么不同，他们已经跑到中场区去庆祝了；对骑士而言呢，也没什么不同，他们刚刚已经被横扫。但是篮圈允许骑士队稍稍挽回点颜面。嗯，我仅仅只以最后两场NBA比赛作为例子来说明一下。
我记得上个赛季NBA好像平均每场比赛分差在3.5分（不要引用我的这句话，现在这个时候我没法在网上查证它），不过我知道应该接近这个数。所以一个知道点差是多少和知道需要在如何把它搞小的裁判能调动比赛的结果，这可能不会决定最后胜负，但却可以改变赌徒的财运。裁判很容易到做这些而不被发觉，因为NBA的比赛有如许多的犯规和罚球。如果愿意的话，实质上一个裁判可以在每一次进攻时叫一个打手犯规或双方均无持球权时的犯规。尤其是在一场早早决定胜负的比赛里，比如最后12秒差6分球。NBA中这种情况几乎每晚都会发生。
在过去的5年中，我混迹于NBA的更衣室。我可以诚实的说，除了玩牌之外，我从来没有听过任何人提到点差或者在别的什么东西上下注。在这件丑闻发生之前，如果你想听到一个有关NBA的赌博的故事，那也只能是球员在包机上玩牌的时候下了多少多少的钱之类的。作为一个现场采访的记者，我几乎从来不知道点差是多少，我也从来不关心。多年前，我在拉斯维加斯对一些季后赛的比赛下过注，但是自从我在联盟中开始采访以来就再也没干过。唯一和赌球有联系的时候，是在那些比赛日的下午收到一些莫名其妙的邮件或电话，问我某个球员会不会出场。对这种事我感到很犹豫，我也曾顺便和别的作家讨论过。这种潜在的与赌博的联系让我很深感震动。
一旦那名裁判的名字被公布，对其的逮捕被决定并宣布，关于这件事会有很多很多的话题。这次丑闻可能不会像球场暴力那样占据报纸头条，但是对联盟的健康发展危害则更大。[/size] 原文
A potential nightmare
In a story sure to send shivers up David Stern's spine, [url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/07202007/news/columnists/nba_in_a_fix_columnists_murray_weiss.htm][color=#000000]the New York Post is reporting today that an NBA referee is under investigation by the FBI for having links to a mafia-related point shaving scheme[/color][/url]. The report says the referee may have been betting on games he was working over the last two seasons.
This is pretty much the worst thing that can happen to a professional sports league. For all the talk of image issues, equipment issues, and even drug issues, the word "fix" is most deadly. It is sports' original sin, the reason there's a commissioner in baseball. Betting on the NBA is significantly smaller than on the NFL and baseball and even college basketball. It is a small enough percentage for sports books in Vegas that casinos have even been willing to suspend betting on it under certain circumstances, like last season's All-Star Game. So gambling and the NBA often aren't discussed unless it is in the context of moving a team to Vegas. But it is still big business.
In the past there have been college basketball point shaving tales, but never in the NBA and never involving an official. Getting to a college point guard is one thing, getting to the guy that controls putting players on the foul line is another. Especially in a 48-minute NBA game, where there are so many fouls called and each foul in the bonus is an automatic two shots. There are so many NBA games that are not really close that end up being decided by 5-8 points.
Just look at the last two games of the NBA Finals, both were won by the Spurs without too much sweat but there were plays in the final seconds of both that determined winners and losers when it came to the spread. In Game 3, after LeBron James missed a 3-pointer that would've tied the game, Zydrunas Ilgauskas threw in a jump shot that appeared to be before the buzzer. It was meaningless because the Cavs needed three points, so it wasn't counted and wasn't reviewed. But not meaningless in Vegas, where the spread was 2.5 points. In Game 4, with the Cavs down by four points, Damon Jones tossed in 3-pointer at the buzzer. It made no difference to the Spurs, who were out celebrating at midcourt, or the Cavs, who had just been swept. But that hoop allowed the Cavs to cover. Now, those are just examples of the last two NBA games played.
I think the average margin of victory in the NBA last season was something like 3.5 points -- don't quote me on that, I can't find the research at the moment on the net -- but know that it is close. So a referee who is aware of the spread and aware of where he needs it to come down can make calls that may not determine the outcome but can change fortunes. With so many fouls and so many free throws in NBA games, it could so easily be done without notice. An official can call a handcheck foul or a loose ball foul virtually on every possession if he wanted to. Especially if it is a game that is largely decided -- say, a six-point game with 12 seconds to go. This situation happens almost every night in the NBA.
Being around NBA locker rooms for the last five years, I can honestly say that I've never once heard anyone mention a point spread or gambling on anything other than cards. Before this, i'd have said if you wanted a gambling story in the NBA, it would be about how much the players bet on card games when they are on charter flights. As a beat reporter, I am almost never aware of the spreads and I never pay attention to them. I bet on a few playoff games in Vegas years ago, but never since I started covering the league. About the only time I am touched by it is when I get weird e-mails or phone calls the afternoons of games asking me whether a certain player will play or not. That has given me pause, it is something I've discussed in passing with other writers. This potential referee mess gives me a shock.
There will be much, much more on this if the arrests do come down and the name of the official is released. It may not get headlines like brawls do, but this is much more dangerous to the health of the league. 事儿大了，FBI都卷了进来。。。。。
David， take care 卷进去了哈 利益总是会让人做出不冷静的事
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