Thoughts from the annual most boring week in the world of sports…

Swept Under the Rug Story of the Week: Donaghy’s Fave Five

How is Tim Donaghy’s cell phone relationship with fellow ref Scott Foster not a bigger story? Why is the link already lost in the archives of almost every relevant Web site? Is there something more going on? Has David Stern gained control of the media? Are we entering some Fight Club reality where Stern has brain washed all of society to work as one in the name of preserving the league?

I know we have to presume that Foster is innocent until something is proven, but goddamn, Scott!

Here are the facts from the Fox News article (I know, the words "facts" and "Fox News" have no business being together) on the latest findings:

"The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided "picks" to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13."

Back to me: Since day one, David Stern has called this guy a "rogue, isolated criminal." But now, records show that during the very time this "rogue, isolated criminal" was allegedly fixing the NBA, he was also calling another ref before and after all the games like he was his fifth grade girlfriend. And no one’s making a big deal? The NBA can just say, "We’ve investigated this and Scott Foster wasn’t involved," and we all just sit back and say, "Oh, well, OK. Forget it then"?

Like I said, we can’t assume anything. And maybe time will prove me a complete asshole for writing this item. But if Donaghy’s assertions that there were other refs (maybe Foster) involved are correct, then it crushes the NBA. Especially in light of Stern’s 100% promise that Donaghy was a lone rebel and that there was absolutely no chance there were any other issues. If Foster is found guilty, David Stern becomes Roger Clemens. Again, there are a lot of “ifs” in here, but I at least wanted someone to be talking about it.

Note: I don’t normally read Fox News, they just happen to be the ones who broke the story and it came up first on the google search I had to do because the STORY WAS ALREADY ARCHIVED ON THE OTHER SITES!

Loser of the Week: Alex Rodriguez

Yeah, it was fun reading about how no one showed up to A-Rod little All Star Game bash, but more important than that, think about this for second:

Imagine if someone told you today that five years from now Peyton Manning would be one of your favorite QBs in the league, Tony Romo would be NFL Public Enemy #1 and Tom Brady would not only be playing for the Raiders but you also wouldn’t give a crap about anything he was doing.

Not buying it, right?

OK, now let’s imagine we’re back in the summer of ’99; fully immersed in the debate over who’s the best shortstop in the majors.

In Boston, we have Nomar, his popularity is hovering right around Brady’s current level. He’s making a run at .400 every year and we’re all pretty much convinced he’ll finish his career as the greatest hitter who ever lived.

In New York, there’s Derek Jeter. We hate Jeter. He’s already won two World Series, broken our heart every chance he’s had and can makes us cringe with even the stupidest little smirk.

Lastly, there’s A-Rod: An up-and-coming megastar who also happens to be one of the more likable guys in the league.

So you’re walking around one day in 1999, listening to No Scrubs on your Discman and some ghost from the future (for fun let’s pretend it looks like Paul Giamatti but talks like Dikembe Mutombo) appears in front of you:

"Riiich… Riiiiiiiiich!! In 2008, all three of these great shortstops will still be active, but it’s not as you thiiiiiiiink. You will have more respect for Derek Jeter than almost any other player in the league. A-Rod will be the most hated man in the majors. And even though Nomar still plays, you won’t care about him at all. In fact, you won’t even what position he’s playing this year.”

I would have never believed it. Of course, in this scenario, Dikembe Giamatti was talking specifically to me. Maybe there are Bostonians out there who hate Jeter just as much as they did in 1999 or have followed Nomar’s career more closely since he went out west. But you have to admit that the public image of these guys has transformed more over the last 10 years than you ever could have imagined.

In conclusion, A-Rod is a loser.

Note: I used five years for the NFL analogy because football players have shorter life spans.

Note 2: My personal favorite memory of the shortstop debate of the late 90s came during the Home Run Derby of either the 1998 or 2000 All-Star Game. A-Rod was in the booth and when asked his opinion, said something like this:

“Well, the way I look at it. I’m the youngest, Derek’s the richest and Nomar’s the best.”

I remember thinking that was the coolest thing in the world. I would have died for Nomar back then. that one sentence might have made my summer. Then again, I was (am?) a huge loser.

WTF of the Week: Greg Norman is in the lead after two rounds at the British Open

The Shark! If Norman somehow managed to pull this one out, it would be one of the best stories of the year. They’d have to re-tape the ESPYs. Could anything compare to the sport’s premiere choke artist rising from the dead at 53-years-old and taking a major? It would be like The Rookie, Hoosiers, Tin Cup, and the priest’s final round from Caddy Shack all combined into one.

It was always really easy to root for the Shark. Not only did you want him to finally get over the hump, but he just seemed like a real chill. likable guy. I always got the impression that he’d be a great drinking buddy. Even after he choked away the 1996 Masters, I imagine he went back to the hotel bar, got wasted and finished off the night singing Midnight Train on karaoke. So for that reason (and all the other obvious ones), Let’s go, Shark!

Note: I didn’t know that it was the 1996 Masters off the top of my head. I don’t want to give off the impression that I know more about golf than I do.

Winner of the Week: James Posey

When I heard about Posey’s new contract in New Orleans, I wanted to give him a standing ovation (you know, one of those slow, “Sir, you have outdone yourself!” claps that the villains give after the hero figures out how they pulled off the heist). The man wanted four years. I didn’t think anyone in their right mind would give it to him (at the price he was asking). But he got it. He parlayed two months of stellar playoff hoops into a guaranteed $25M from now until 2012. You can’t help but be happy for the guy.

Now let me say this: I love Posey. I wore a Posey t-shirt for almost every game this season. But there is no way in hell I would have been OK with the Celtics giving him a 4 year/$25M deal. It would have been a mistake.

With the PGA Tour taking up a bulk of the cap for the next few years, flexibility is the key. Ainge needs to be able to mix and match. He’s got to find a bunch of parts that maker a better whole and under that philosophy, you can’t ever overpay for a role player. Four years, at that price just didn’t make sense. Not if we’re trying to build a consistent winner. Sure they could have brought Posey back and mortgaged the future in an effort to win it next year, or the year after that, but I’m not down with that. I’ve lived through enough years of the Celtics being a joke. I’m not satisfied with four years of success followed by a trip back to the basement because our cap is all messed up. It’s time to Belichick this team. Everything we do, we do for the purpose of sustaining our dominance. It’s got to be a business. You don’t act on emotion. You don’t break from what you know is right, regardless of how it might be perceived by the fans, or the players.

What makes me feel best about everything I just wrote is that I know Danny Ainge is on the same page. During his one-on-one with Gary Tanguay the other day, Ainge admitted that they didn’t even want to give Posey a third year, never mind a fourth. He knows what’s in front of him. Rajon Rondo’s contract. Perk’s contract. An even more impressive crop of free agents. Danny’s not building a three year wonder. He’s trying to build a dynasty.

Link of the Week:

For a report on Hideo Nomo’s high profile retirement from Major League Baseball, we go to Wicked Weekly’s newest correspondent… this kid. He tells it how it is. He kicks asses and takes names later. Kid, the stage is yours.

Note: During the first half of the 2001 baseball season, I had to follow the Red Sox from Europe—where I was studying for the semester. It was a frustrating yet pretty cool experience, and definitely took the level of my Red Sox obsession up a couple notches. I say this because my No. 1 memory from that time period was Nomo’s no-hitter. I was at an Internet Cafe in Amsterdam, and once I read the back of the packaging to make sure "random Asian pitchers throwing no hitters" wasn’t one of the side effects of the mushrooms, I celebrated like the Sox just won the World Series. I rattled off like 15 different emails to friends at home asking for a better break down of the events. So even if Nomo was a huge bust in Boston, at least he us that.

Prediction for Next Week of the Week: Sox drop four of their next six games.

Kind of interesting that the Red Sox will start the second half of the season in almost identical fashion to the Celtics.

Back in February, the Celtics traveled out West for five games after the break. They started out losing three straight (their first and only three game losing streak of the season) before salvaging the trip with two straight wins against the Clippers and Trailblazers.

The Sox kick off the stretch run with six at the Angels and Mariners. I say they lose four of them.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.