Mad World
No Shenanigans? Wanna Bet?
By Mark Madden

The NBA has chosen a path both tried and true when it comes to its gambling scandal: Deny, deny, deny.

The blueprint: The so-called "Greatest Game Ever Played," the 1958 NFL Championship Game between Baltimore and the New York Giants. It's a testimony to the NFL's power and influence that this game still gets the hype it does with the obvious rarely being mentioned.

I'm not going to accuse. Instead, YOU be the judge.

In overtime, the Colts had second-and-goal at the Giants' 8. In that era, the goal posts were on the goal line, so Baltimore kicker Steve Myhra could have won the title right then with a mere 15-yard field goal. Colts coach Weeb Ewbank had trusted Myhra to tie the game 17-17 by booting a 20-yarder with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Why not kick?

Instead, Baltimore passed-PASSED!-and quarterback Johnny Unitas hit Jim Mutscheller at the Giants' 1. Even more incredibly, it was a sideline route. Said Mutscheller, "If it gets picked off, it's going 99 yards the other way." Third-and-goal. The Colts had to kick now, right? If there's a bad snap, they get another crack.

Instead, Alan Ameche plunged in for the touchdown. Colts 23, Giants 17.

Ewbank and Unitas-both sound football minds-bucked obvious strategy to court total disaster by taking unnecessary risks. Why?

Well, the Colts were favored by between 3½ and 5½ points depending on when you bet and where you bet. Legend (ahem) says that Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom-a well-known high-stakes gambler- wagered $1 million on his team and, when the game went to overtime, sent orders to Ewbank that he was to try to cover the spread, not just win the game.

Seems far-fetched? Maybe. But not quite as far-fetched as throwing on second-and-goal from the 8 when a chip-shot field goal WINS THE NFL CHAMPIONSHIP. Explain that. Imagine if that happened in the Super Bowl now. Imagine the furor that would follow. I just wish Ameche would have been stopped so we could have seen the fourth-down call.

Similar shenanigans-including out-and-out fixes-were said to be fairly regular before the NFL became the altar we all genuflect before. Ex-Steelers quarterback Len Dawson was a frequent target of whispers (and mentioned in a federal probe) before he "reformed" himself and led the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV. Talk about your all-American success story.

So, let's look at what happened in Game 6 of the 2002 NBA Western Conference finals between Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers: LA shot 40 free throws, Sacramento 25. LA had 27 free throws in the fourth quarter, Sacramento nine. When the Kings had a chance to tie the game, Mike Bibby was called for a foul when it appeared as if the Lakers' Kobe Bryant had fouled Bibby.

Crooked referee Tim Donaghy says that game was officiated by two "company men" who realized it would be in the NBA's best interests for the series to go to Game 7. If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

NBA apologists say Donaghy would say anything to lessen his punishment. I say if you want to know about dishonest basketball, go to a bent ref. Didn't Jose Canseco teach us all about steroids?

Do I believe stuff likes this happens all the time? No. But I do believe it happens a lot more than our inexplicably still idealistic view of sports allows us to realize. That's just us being idiots. No big deal.