Is Stern this evil? Broadcasting rights

[thegrahamcrackr]

I thought a read a statement a couple days ago from the big wigs on the broadcast side who said that they did not know about this incident, but that they don't expect it to have any real impact.

 

[Cheesebeef]

oh, and for the record - if you had asked the question "Is Stern evil?" then you wouldn't be making an accusation, like you claimed, but don't you think that by adding a "THIS", as in "Is Stern this evil?" like the thread asks, that the presumption is already there that you believe he's evil and it goes further to ask if he could be even more evil?

but to answer your question - no. He might be shady and manipulative but show me a good businessman who isn't.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Oh, like "is youjustgotsunsd being an idiot?"

Question marks are accusations when used in certain ways. Yours was.

Fordronken,

Please debate the subject not the poster. Thank you.

 

[fordronken]

Fordronken,

Please debate the subject not the poster. Thank you.

The subject was the point. By his reasoning, I wasn't claiming anything about him, but simply asking a question. That fact that my "question" was considered taking it too far is, in my opinion, the proof of the original point. I certainly don't think ill of him personally in any way.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Fordronken,

Please debate the subject not the poster. Thank you.

But the subject doesn't come back with anything to say!

 

[Chris_Sanders]

But the subject doesn't come back with anything to say!

LOL a valid point but none the less I don't think words like "idiot" or "stupid" encourage reasonable discussion.

 

[Sir Donald]

If the lawyers did their jobs right they put in major language provisions in the contracts for what to do in the event a major betting scandal erupts. That's a big if, however.

This could be a big story if it doesn't break in the morning. I see a lot of dramatic scenarios that could happen.

 

[Sir Donald]

It looks like the NY Post broke the story on 7/20 after talking to an anonymous law enforcement officer and an anonymous NBA source who knew the FBI report was on Stern's desk.

Gee, wonder if he read it right away? It could have been about 24 calendar days after the TV deals were signed before the networks knew about it.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Looks like reports are saying that stern was not allowed to disclose the information to the networks and the networks are accepting that.

I really dont see how lawyers arent having a field day with this.

 

[Sir Donald]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072402631.html

Here it is. Wishful thinking at this point? The media consultants are saying that the networks are standing by the NBA as long as it's only one ref. They want it contained because that will minimize potential damage to the ratings over time.

However, what happens if it gets bigger? Donaghy may not rat out his fellow refs after he goes into the WPP, although he wasn't well liked by them according to some sources, but a mob turncoat would rat out everyone in the NBA who was involved, if any.

Yes, the lawyers are having a field day but a CEO just wants this baby to go away after having their boards approve the deals which they must have just voted on recently. You can bet that they will be appearing at the next board meeting and will be required to give a report on the risks to the new deal they just signed. It's material to their earnings over the next few years.

 

[SASpursfan]

You dont think one tainted ref and the connected incompetency of the audit system will affect viewer statistics, which in turn would affect advertising dollars?

I find that very short-sighted.

I as an avid fan dont really care about this scandal. It doesnt affect my potential to view as many basketball games as possible next year, even the Suns games. And I have been to other forums and have not read from anyone about there intentions to not watch the games next year, only on this board.
Besides that when next years playoffs come around and the casual fan is jumping on their favorite teams bandwagon, do you really think they are gonna stop and think about whether or not to watch the playoffs because of one potentially bad ref. Heck most wont even have heard of this scandal.

I dont see any reason why Stern, if he could, should have paused negotiations. Does TNT or ESPN even care. I havent heard anythng from them. I am sure they are very happy to have gotten the rights over NBC, who im sure would plenty for these rights.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I would counter that the fans who take the time to post on team message boards are a tiny fraction of those who watch the NBA. Very few spend this much time on the league or their respective franchises.

When you see fans on NBA message boards saying they are done with the team than the league is done.

 

[SASpursfan]

I would counter that the fans who take the time to post on team message boards are a tiny fraction of those who watch the NBA. Very few spend this much time on the league or their respective franchises.
quote]

That is true. When I made the comment about the casual fan jumping on their fav. teams bandwagon next year, I was thinking about all the people I know who do this and they probably even remember or know about this scandal.

 

[azirish]

Like most scandals, the key is added information. If more refs are fingered, this scandal could have Black Sox implications. If not, it will fade after a while if it is only about one crooked ref.

For many of us, the problem goes well beyond whether one or two refs are on the take. The real problem is the poor quality of officiating and the inability of the league to address obvious examples of inconsistent calls, refs being out of position, and the lack of transparency in the way they evaluated by the league.

After years of Stern and his minions abusing and fining anyone who questioned the way games have been called, this should be a wakeup call. But if they succeed in turning this into "a single bad apple", then they will continue their business as usual approach that has been turning off so many potential fans.