...I know its been a while since I've posted. Pretty much since the season ended. While I still read the site every day, I wasn't going to post until after the Finals. I needed to detox. And then this story broke, so much for that idea.

(I have TONS of thoughts on so many posts, which I will respond to over the next bottle of wine...I mean few hours. First, I want to get to some of my thoughts).

After I got past the above initial reaction, I felt something that I did not expect; vindication. I always felt that we got cheated in that game. It wasn't just bad calls, it was something bigger. As my seemingly infinite rants have shown, I hate Laker fans. I often hate Laker fans more than the Lakers themselves. Moving to SoCal will do that to a person. Today was a little different though. The Game 6 argument is over. Several Laker fans actually approached me today with an apologetic tone. They always knew it too, but now they cant avoid it.

People down here had previously admitted that Game 6 consisted of possibly the worst officiating the NBA had ever seen. Now there is a reason. Greed. I dont think the NBA cared who eventually won the series, they just wanted the extra $ a game 7 would bring. No matter how either team played, the Kings were not going to win that game. The fix was in.

I actually thought this to myself hundreds of times, but wouldnt admit it could actually be true. Now I have zero doubt. None. Bill Simmons touched on the situation a little in his article today, and I think it deserves some attention:

I have decided to ignore Tim Donaghy's "accusations" about chicanery with NBA officiating for the same reason I argued we should have ignored Matt Walsh during SpyGate -- if someone's a complete scumbag, then anything he says should be taken with the caveat that a complete scumbag is saying it. Besides, we didn't need Donaghy to tell us something horribly unsettling happened with the officiating for Game 6 of the 2002 Kings-Lakers series. We all watched it and I have written about it at least 10 different times -- along with Game 7 of the Sonics-Suns series in '93, LJ's Four-Point Play in '99 and the Hubert Davis Game, it was one of the four fishiest NBA games since I graduated college. Actually, "fishiest" isn't a strong enough word. The credibility of the sport was briefly compromised.

I will differ with Bill, and many of you here (including the great section214) on one point. Donaghy is a perfect source for this. information Who better to talk about a fixed game, than a referee from the same sport that has admitted to gambling on, and fixing several games. He is the Jose Canseco of the subject. Dirtbag, hell yes. But also the person that I would listen to in this situation. The man really has nothing to gain from these allegations. The situation reminds me of McNamee. When the Clemens story broke, he held many details back, and actually lied to make Clemens seem less guilty. Then Clemens went after him, and McNamee let the truth come out. Why would Donaghy bring this up during his gambling allegations? Now that the NBA is going after him for $1 million, the gloves are off. I for one, am listening.

Another interesting note I dug up online today.  

NBA referee Bob Delaney, one of three referees to work Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, told Bob Ley in an interview for ESPN's "Outside The Lines First Report" that he has never been contacted by NBA or federal investigators concerning allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees in that game intended to assure that series went seven games.

Wouldn't at least talking to the referees from Game 6 be an important part of investigating the situation?  David Stern and the NBA want nothing more than for this story to go away.  They dont want to get to the bottom of anything, they just want it to go away.  Hell, can you imagine in they could prove that the game was fixed?  What then?  The past cannot be changed, so they just want to pretend it never happened.  

This really is a situation that cannot be fixed.  There are only losers here; the Kings were robbed of a championship, and Kings fans had their hearts ripped out.  Hell, I would argue even the Lakers have been hurt by this.  Sure, they got to 3-peat, but a dishonest win just doesnt feel as good.  Plus, if this has happened once, I am sure it has happened other times.  The Suns getting screwed last year also comes to mind.  This really hurts every NBA fan, the honesty of the game is at stake.

All of that said, will I still watch the games?  You better believe it.  Sports are a part of my life, and the Kings (and yes, fellow Kings fans) are part of "sport family".  Things may not be perfect, and bad things happen, but we stick together.  Like I have told seemingly hundreds of people before, "I would rather be a Kings fan and lose, then a Laker fan and win."

Oh yah, the entire 4th quarter of the game can be seen on YouTube, it is broken down over several segments. Some of you sadists out there might want to give it a try.  It's not easy.

Lastly, I've missed talking with all you guys (girls too).  Hell, I even missed coolcat.  Something is wrong with me.