Hello Celebritys

I was thinking about this the other day and since the decade is coming to an end, there isn’t a better time to post this. I was thinking about the most controversial sports moments of the decade and also some of the biggest scandals of the decade. I think the two go hand and hand, so why not combine them.

Here are some of the things I thought about…Give me your opinion and if you would add something.

MLB Steroid Scandal: This spanned a lot of the decade and was a very big story for the media and sports fans. Congress even had to get involved with this. Some of the biggest players in the game have been linked to steroids this decade. A-Rod, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire…you can go on and on.

Pacers/Pistons Palace Brawl: I remember seeing this and being amazed that this actually happened. SportsCenter kept replaying clips all night of what happened. I will always remember Jermaine O’Neal straight dropping that fan on the sidelines!

New England Patriots Spy Gate: I think this bothered most NFL fans simply because most of us hate the Patriots. Outside of the fines, there were really no consequences for what New England did. They destroyed the tapes and that was pretty much the end of that. I still think more should have come out of this. They should have at least shown the tapes or something.

Tim Donaghy Referee Betting Scandal: This event pretty much confirmed all thoughts NBA fans have been having for years. Most thought the NBA was set up in some form or fashion and then a referee pops up who had been betting on games. Although some of his claims seem a little off, a lot of them seem completely believable.

Auburn Shut out of BCS Title Game in 2004: I still can’t believe this happened and it upsets me to this day and I’m not even an Auburn fan. I don’t really consider this a scandal, but it was VERY controversial. How did the BCS not allow an undefeated SEC team play for the Championship? They were a great team that season and deserved to be in that game.

2006 NBA Finals- Mavs/Heat: This one hits close to home and I probably will never forget this series. No matter what anyone says, there was something fishy going on there and I will always believe Stern set it up for the Mavs to lose. David Stern didn’t want to see Mark Cuban celebrate a championship and that’s the bottom line. The Mavs were up 2-0 and had the series stolen from them by D. Whistle and the referees.

Barry Bonds passing Hank Aaron as Home Run King: There are still people who refuse to acknowledge Barry Bonds as the record holder for the most home runs. Bonds has been linked to steroids for a while now and it seems to bother a lot of people. I personally like Barry Bonds and think he gets too much of a bad rap.

Michael Vick Dog Fighting Ring: Michael Vick was on top of the world and if he hadn’t lied, he probably would still be a good QB in the NFL. He got caught up in a terrible activity and ended up serving time for it. Now he is a shell of his former self and backs up Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia.

I was thinking about this the other day and since the decade is coming to an end, there isn’t a better time to post this. I was thinking about the most controversial sports moments of the decade and also some of the biggest scandals of the decade. I think the two go hand and hand, so why not combine them.

Here are some of the things I thought about…Give me your opinion and if you would add something.

MLB Steroid Scandal: This spanned a lot of the decade and was a very big story for the media and sports fans. Congress even had to get involved with this. Some of the biggest players in the game have been linked to steroids this decade. A-Rod, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire…you can go on and on.

Pacers/Pistons Palace Brawl: I remember seeing this and being amazed that this actually happened. SportsCenter kept replaying clips all night of what happened. I will always remember Jermaine O’Neal straight dropping that fan on the sidelines!

New England Patriots Spy Gate: I think this bothered most NFL fans simply because most of us hate the Patriots. Outside of the fines, there were really no consequences for what New England did. They destroyed the tapes and that was pretty much the end of that. I still think more should have come out of this. They should have at least shown the tapes or something.

Tim Donaghy Referee Betting Scandal: This event pretty much confirmed all thoughts NBA fans have been having for years. Most thought the NBA was set up in some form or fashion and then a referee pops up who had been betting on games. Although some of his claims seem a little off, a lot of them seem completely believable.

Auburn Shut out of BCS Title Game in 2004: I still can’t believe this happened and it upsets me to this day and I’m not even an Auburn fan. I don’t really consider this a scandal, but it was VERY controversial. How did the BCS not allow an undefeated SEC team play for the Championship? They were a great team that season and deserved to be in that game.

2006 NBA Finals- Mavs/Heat: This one hits close to home and I probably will never forget this series. No matter what anyone says, there was something fishy going on there and I will always believe Stern set it up for the Mavs to lose. David Stern didn’t want to see Mark Cuban celebrate a championship and that’s the bottom line. The Mavs were up 2-0 and had the series stolen from them by D. Whistle and the referees.

Barry Bonds passing Hank Aaron as Home Run King: There are still people who refuse to acknowledge Barry Bonds as the record holder for the most home runs. Bonds has been linked to steroids for a while now and it seems to bother a lot of people. I personally like Barry Bonds and think he gets too much of a bad rap.

Michael Vick Dog Fighting Ring: Michael Vick was on top of the world and if he hadn’t lied, he probably would still be a good QB in the NFL. He got caught up in a terrible activity and ended up serving time for it. Now he is a shell of his former self and backs up Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia.

Deadspin.com has a great posting up right now about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s book “Blowing the Whistle.” In the book Donaghy talk about things referees did during games and some of the things he looked for before betting on a game.

Deadspin has excerpts from the book HERE. It is definitely worth the read.

The NBA has come out and said it will investigate the allegations made by Tim Donaghy. Elizabeth Ventura, the NBA's senior vice president of communications, issued the following statement.

"In 2008 Mr. Donaghy's allegations were thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. We are reassured that the U.S. Government completed its investigation finding that the only criminal conduct was that of Mr. Donaghy.

"We take any question regarding the integrity of our game extremely seriously. At the time Mr. Donaghy’s crimes came to light, we appointed Lawrence B. Pedowitz, a former Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's office of the Southern District of New York, to lead a comprehensive independent review of the NBA's officiating program. Mr. Pedowitz's review revealed that the NBA’s core values of neutrality and accountability were not compromised by anyone other than Mr. Donaghy.

"As with all allegations concerning the integrity of our officiating program, these latest assertions by Mr. Donaghy will be turned over to Mr. Pedowitz for a complete review."

I am still not sure what to think about this. On one hand, Donaghy could be saying these things to sell books and get back at the NBA. On the other hand, this could be a Jose Canseco type situation where everyone thinks he is lying, but it actually turns out to be true. Judging by what I have seen from the NBA, especially in the 2006 Finals, I feel like there could be a lot of truths in Tim Donaghy’s allegations.

Deadspin.com has a great posting up right now about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s book “Blowing the Whistle.” In the book Donaghy talk about things referees did during games and some of the things he looked for before betting on a game.

Deadspin has excerpts from the book HERE. It is definitely worth the read.

The NBA has come out and said it will investigate the allegations made by Tim Donaghy. Elizabeth Ventura, the NBA's senior vice president of communications, issued the following statement.

"In 2008 Mr. Donaghy's allegations were thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. We are reassured that the U.S. Government completed its investigation finding that the only criminal conduct was that of Mr. Donaghy.

"We take any question regarding the integrity of our game extremely seriously. At the time Mr. Donaghy’s crimes came to light, we appointed Lawrence B. Pedowitz, a former Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's office of the Southern District of New York, to lead a comprehensive independent review of the NBA's officiating program. Mr. Pedowitz's review revealed that the NBA’s core values of neutrality and accountability were not compromised by anyone other than Mr. Donaghy.

"As with all allegations concerning the integrity of our officiating program, these latest assertions by Mr. Donaghy will be turned over to Mr. Pedowitz for a complete review."

I am still not sure what to think about this. On one hand, Donaghy could be saying these things to sell books and get back at the NBA. On the other hand, this could be a Jose Canseco type situation where everyone thinks he is lying, but it actually turns out to be true. Judging by what I have seen from the NBA, especially in the 2006 Finals, I feel like there could be a lot of truths in Tim Donaghy’s allegations.