NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 521 "Aliens are playing ball?" (Daily Chapter)

On Wednesday, August 2007, 8, Tim Donaghy appeared in Brooklyn federal court as the NBA's "betting scandal" reached its climax.

Although the verdict in court could not be broadcast live, reporters from all over the United States still gathered in New York. Such scandals are rare in the four major sports leagues.

Everyone knows that competitive sports leagues are involved in gambling, but this is the only case in recent years that has been caught by the FBI with conclusive evidence.

NBA Commissioner David Stern has been feeling overwhelmed recently, with various state senators seizing the opportunity to "fire" at him, and damage to the league's brand is inevitable.

Faced with such a situation, Tim Donaghy, who appeared in court, looked calm.

Donaghy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and transmit betting information in interstate commerce, and nearly all other charges.

Such a straightforward confession saved District Judge Carol Amon a lot of time, and Donaghy was eventually released on bail of $25 in court, awaiting the next verdict.

When Tim Donaghy came out of the courthouse accompanied by his lawyer, the crowd rushed over and asked him all kinds of questions:
"The former county prosecutor of Maricopa County, Arizona, has allegedly consulted with the FBI and the NBA, asking if you misjudged the Suns' game in this year's playoffs?"

"Did the Alliance threaten you physically? Sir, you can tell us the truth!"

"Did you ever deliberately favor a superstar in the games you refereed? Did the New York Knicks benefit from your calls?"

"Sacramento fans jointly reported and demanded a thorough investigation of the Western Conference Finals that year. What exactly happened in that series?"

"."

Questions came one after another. In order to prevent the employer from saying something wrong, the lawyer had to wave his hand to signal, and when the silence came, he spoke loudly:

"We will provide the court with a copy of the information later, we don't want to respond now!"

Judge Carol Ammon hinted that the sentence could be reduced, but they needed to continue to cooperate. Tim Donaghy was hopeful, ruffling his messy black hair, and finally added:
"I will make my experience public. The league should not ask me to reimburse insignificant expenses. This is an act of retaliation against me."

The NBA is demanding that Donaghy be reimbursed for his airfare and meals, free game tickets and other expenses, including $750 for shoes.
Before the confession was complete, the league had already distanced itself from the outside world. Tim Donaghy was naturally unhappy about this. At the request of his lawyer, he didn't say much, but he still added one sentence before getting in the car and leaving:
"I need more attention. I will tell the truth eventually. Maybe I will publish a book in the future."

By the time the parties left, many reporters still felt unsatisfied.

Everyone expects Tim Donaghy to provide more lists of relevant stakeholders, and preferably to dig out a few more "cared for" big stars.

Watching the "collapse of the personality" of a big star is the favorite thing of the spectators. With such emotions, many sports reporters once again "made up stories out of thin air" and guessed who the "beneficiary" is.

Seeing that the betting scandal is still fermenting, many NBA players and referees have spoken out. O'Neal, who has been enjoying a low-key life during the offseason, took the initiative to accept an interview with ESPN in Miami.

Although it was just a phone call, the old Shark was obviously a little angry. He hadn't watched the news for half a month, and his championship was "confiscated?"

During the Sports Center show that night, O'Neal criticized the basketball critics who questioned his championship:
"You think a referee can decide the outcome of a series? Let me tell you, the Lakers are facing Lee! That's like fighting against aliens!"

"I never denied that I always got free throws because that was how dominant I was and they could only stop me from scoring by fouling me."

"What determined the outcome back then was my free throw percentage. I got those chances almost every game, and I finally accomplished what I hadn't been able to accomplish in previous years."

"Those who have never played basketball, or who have only played regular season basketball in the NBA, have no idea what it's like to play against Lee in the finals."

"You should ask those poor guys in San Antonio, they had help and still lost by 40 points."

Michael Wilbon, the guest host of the evening show, was in tears and laughter. In this incident, the Spurs became the biggest victim, and everyone could see that the league wanted to continue the trend of the series.

"Yes, Shaq, we all know about your duel with Lee back then. I think the fans are more concerned about some inside information!"

"Who got taken care of? Tim Donaghy said he got a warning after giving a superstar a technical foul. We want to understand how big the privilege of star players is."

O'Neal didn't think too much about it, and subconsciously directed his spearhead at his "old partner". All these years have passed, and Kobe has continued to emphasize that he is a "champion guard", and the feud between the two continues:
"I don't know, there are too many. Li can get the protection of the referee. You know, many fans go to watch the game just because they like him."

"This kind of care has happened to me before, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. No one wants to see the kind of 'bad boy basketball' that the Pistons played back then."

“For an old-school player like me, I hate it more when players who are not good enough get the attention.

"Mr. 81 points? Boring stats from the regular season. Don't forget that basketball is played by five people. The MVP was eliminated in the first round and the trophy was disgraced. This is what is destroying the development of the league."

"."

Michael Wilbon was almost speechless after hearing this. If the league doesn't create stars, the ratings will continue to decline with just this bunch of "crappy" players. This is the consensus of all basketball commentators now.

When the call ended, O'Neal mocked Kobe's "One Man, One City Award" in a sarcastic tone. The public transaction has become a joke in the circle.

The betting scandal is now over. If you want to hear more about it, you have to wait until the court session in early 08 to get more inside information. Michael Wilbon did not forget to change the subject and gossip about the trade news:

"In addition to the national team, NBA fans can also pay attention to the free market."

"Francis is currently expected to return to Houston to play after finishing his career with the Magic."

"The Trail Blazers sent away Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford, and the Clippers strengthened their inside line through this deal. When they meet in the same city, they will cause more trouble for the Lakers."

"Rookie players Kevin Durant and Jeff Green have officially signed contracts with the SuperSonics. Everyone can look forward to their performance in the new season as the Seattle duo."

At the end of the program, the director also presented a personal interview with Jamal Crawford. Crawford, who played for the Chicago Bulls for two years, was scolded by Chicago fans because he always "imitated Li You's moves" but his efficiency was so low that people could not bear to watch it.

After being sent to the Trail Blazers, Crawford began to degenerate in the harsh basketball environment. He suffered from minor injuries in recent years. Apart from occasionally making four-point shots and appearing in highlights, he did not have much more performance.

"I have always been misunderstood. I didn't deliberately imitate Lee's dribbling. I have always played like this since I was a child."

"Leaving Portland may mean a new life for me. I don't care about the Clippers' situation in the city. Now I just want to train hard."

Jamal Crawford was so aggrieved that he almost cried during the interview. His experience with the Trail Blazers almost ruined him. Fortunately, the nightmare is finally over.

On Thursday, the 9th, no Chinese fans across the ocean paid attention to the NBA's brand crisis, and there were not many related reports. The most discussed topic at the moment was that Yi Jianlian finally signed with the Bucks.

At the same time, the news about the return of "Big Francis" also made Rockets fans quite excited. Although they did not get Rashard Lewis, Francis is also good, which is the "white moonlight" of many old fans.

There were not many broadcasts of the games between the Magic and the Knicks, and under limited viewing conditions, Francis was either sitting on the bench in a suit or being "beaten" by Li You on the court.

"Li You is having fun" is what Zhang Weiping often said when commenting on the match between the two. Many fans were hurt by this.

That morning, to the surprise of all fans, after the official sports media publicly criticized Yao Ming for his marriage talk and being late for vacation, Yao Ming publicly refuted and said that he had given everything for the national team.

Grant Hill, who officially announced his departure from the NBA, started his China trip on this day. To his surprise, he had many fans on the other side of the ocean.

With his outstanding appearance and the absence of bad gossip on and off the court, Hill was given the opportunity to be interviewed by CCTV Sports.

By 2:18 on Friday night the next day, many Chinese fans saw the interview at the Basketball Park, and the championship experience was officially spread to the other side of the ocean.

When talking about what else the Rockets need to pursue the championship, Hill smiled appropriately at the camera and then shared the Knicks' winning experience:
"In the league, winning culture is very important. The Rockets used to be a championship team. They have championship genes. What they have to do now is to activate it."

"Coach Adelman is indeed a good choice. In my opinion, he can unleash Yao's potential!"

"The reason the Knicks keep winning championships is because Lee lets us do what we do best."

"Mutombo is a respectable guy. Although I have only been his teammate for two years, I believe he can inspire the championship gene of the Rockets."

"."

This year, Basketball Park will officially launch the "Yao Yi NBA Column", but the host Liu Xingyu did not ask too much about the relevant news as usual. Instead, he asked more curiously:
"We all want to know how Li You trained for those long three-pointers. The three-pointer near the logo in the finals was incredible!"

Hill, who was wearing a striped shirt, laughed and shook his head when he heard this topic. In the surprised eyes of the host Liu Xingyu, he gave his answer:
"Without deliberate practice, in my opinion, this shooting skill of being able to hit 50% of the three-pointers should be attributed to talent."

"Sometimes I can't imagine that Lee can throw the ball into the basket with just a throw in the half court, and can still throw the ball in with his back to the basket outside the three-point line."

"I have seen more exaggerated shots on the training ground. Young players should not imitate Li. Just do a good job in basic training."

The host Liu Xingyu thought of the ESPN news he had seen recently, and after hearing this answer, he also sighed subconsciously:
"O'Neal is right, he really plays like an alien."

This episode of Basketball Park was a hit, but Hill’s advice was too late.

If he understood how young people play basketball nowadays, he would find that this place is no different from the United States. Blind Chicken Throwing swept this land a few years ago.

On Sunday, the 12th, the New York Times continued to track the betting scandal, the police claimed that Tim Donaghy might be in danger of his life, and the NBA announced that it would hold a press conference next Tuesday.

Li You, who is preparing to leave the UK, is enjoying his last vacation in a private villa in Cheshire. There were no social events or parties that night, and the old mansion, which can only be officially occupied this year, also became quiet.

The green fields and woods outside the window seemed particularly beautiful against the backdrop of the night. Natalie Dormer, wrapped in a bath towel, took a sip of red wine, pointed at the French window, and asked curiously with a drunken look:
"You destroyed most of this place? I swear, if the original owner of the house saw this, he would definitely go crazy!"

This historic house looks like a red brick house from the outside. The gate is some distance away from the main house, so it has good privacy.

In the past, there was only a small window here, and the overly modern decoration looked a bit out of place, but the lighting in the room is much better, and you can see a different view at night.

"So the renovation of this place took a long time. I just want to live comfortably, but I have no interest in maintaining the so-called history."

The weather in the UK was not cold yet, so Li You had no chance to test the remodeled fireplace. He lazily curled up on the sofa in the living room, watching the girl squeeze over with her eyes "glowing", and took the initiative to change the subject:

"Do you know Ingenious? I heard that most of the British celebrities are their clients."

Natalie Dormer put down her glass and whispered in her ear:

"I'm just a small actor, I don't have that much money to invest, but the director of the crew did recommend to us that celebrities have preferential treatment and are said to be able to avoid taxes better!"

The private equity fund Ingenious came into Axe Capital's sight mainly because it participated in Fox's investment.

"Avatar" made them a fortune two years ago, and even Merrill Lynch was jealous. However, the other party's extremely high rate of return and methods of snatching customers made Bobby and others frown.

Rooney was almost poached from Manchester United, but Xiaopang did not disclose any relevant information.

Li You, who was considerate of others, slowly removed the towel while gently controlling the ball, staring into the other's blue eyes, and whispered in his ear:
"Do me a favor, Hollywood will need more money in the future, and Axe Capital would love a win-win situation!"

The sound of giggles and panting soon filled the room. Tonight was another sleepless night.
“It’s safe today!”

(End of this chapter)