Many congregation members who still believe the league is fantastic would admit that a standard NBA game seems to go on forever.
Donaghy to jail
Video: Tim Donaghy was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison for his role in the NBA's betting scandal. Hear from his attorney after the decision came down.
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Donaghy gets 15 months in prison
There's plenty of time for fits of brilliance, interludes of mediocrity and at least two from-the-heels momentum swings to insinuate themselves into every showdown.
NBA scandals aren't much different.
So, if you were hoping the announcement of Tim Donaghy's sentence would signal the fade-out sequence for his accompanying referee-betting crisis, you haven't been paying attention. We're just getting started.
Donaghy has been booked for 15 months in the big house; the NBA and those of us who embrace the sport have been sentenced to at least that.
While Tricky Tim presides over the point spread in games that involve McMurphy feeding The Chief down low, the rest of us will have several issues to reconcile. They include Donaghy's alleged revelation that NBA referees fixed a mighty big playoff game in 2002, and crediting the league with strongly encouraging its whistleblowers to manipulate games for the sake of ticket sales and TV ratings.
While the NBA has given the all-clear in regard to its comprehensive investigations into these matters, most of us are miles from satisfied.
For example, the rug has been lifted thanks to news of Donaghy calling refereeing colleague Scott Foster eight more times than Tim called his own bookie. And he called the bookie 126 times. Maybe Foster, who seems to be golden with the league at the moment, has an extensive catalog of killer one-liners.
If public scrutiny leads to referee reform, Donaghy could weasel his way into becoming the Jose Canseco of the NBA