NY judge sentences disgraced NBA ref to 15 months

NEW YORK (AP) -Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday for setting off a gambling scandal that tarnished the league's reputation and raised questions about the integrity of its officiating.

"The NBA, the players and the fans relied on him to perform his job in an honest manner," she said.

Both Stern and the league's officials have said Donaghy made the claims to get a lighter sentence.

Folding his arms but showing no other emotion, the 41-year-old Donaghy apologized to the court. "I brought shame on myself and my family," he said.

The allegations - contained in court papers arguing that Donaghy deserved leniency for voluntarily disclosing the alleged corruption - included one instance claiming referees rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seventh game.

Donaghy's lawyer had asked U.S. District Judge Carol Amon to give his client probation, arguing Donaghy is a pathological gambler. Amon, who could have imposed a sentence of 33 months, gave the former ref credit for cooperating with investigators, but scolded him for disgracing the sport.

"By having this nonpublic information, I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games," he told a judge at the time.

In addition to the prison time, the judge ordered Donaghy to serve three years of supervised release.

The sentencing in Brooklyn federal court culminated a case that hung over the league throughout the season and even into the NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. League commissioner David Stern has repeatedly denied Donaghy's claim that corruption among referees goes beyond him.

Though the papers didn't name the teams involved, only the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series went to seven games during those playoffs. The Lakers went on to win the championship.

"We anticipate that the judge's sentencing decision, together with the changes we have made to our referee operations staff, will enable us to continue with the improvements we are making to our anti-gambling rules, policies and procedures," Stern said Tuesday.

Donaghy pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce for taking payoffs from a professional gambler for inside tips on games.

Donaghy didn't stop there: In June, he marred the NBA finals by making fresh accusations that the league routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results, but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect television ratings.

Utah Jazz Ex-Ute Johnsen glad for exposure

Flash coach Brad Jones helped Johnsen make the decision to leave.

"I understand their roster space is limited," he said. "It's a dream of mine, obviously. I'd love it, if it happened. That would be great. But I'm here mostly for the exposure because, whenever I've played in a summer league, I've always gotten a good job overseas."

Since 2006, Johnsen has played for teams based in Spain, France and Turkey. He has lived on the Mediterranean Coast, in the French countryside and in an upscale, westernized area of Istanbul.

Last year, Johnsen played eight games with the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League because he wanted to prove that he had recovered from a serious rotator cuff injury. With teams reassured, he quickly signed with Galatasaray Cafecrown of Istanbul.

"I would love to be in the NBA," Johnsen said. "Obviously, I'm not making NBA money. But I have enjoyed it. I've had good experiences overseas.'"

"We loved Spain," Johnsen said, "even though the only team that paid me all my money was the one in Turkey. But Spain -- being on the coast -- it was beautiful."

"I liked playing for the Flash and felt bad about leaving," Johnsen said. "It's a good organization. But I got a good offer."

After college, Johnsen played briefly in the NBA with Orlando and Philadelphia. But his career didn't flourish until he went abroad where, by his careful count, he has played at least one game in 21 countries.

And he wants to go back.

Johnsen's career started at Murray High and continued at Utah where, as a freshman, he was a rotation regular on the Andre Miller/Michael Doleac-led team that lost to Kentucky in the national championship game.

Jul. 20--No longer the skinny, wide-eyed hometown hero who starred at the University of Utah and helped the Utes reach the 1998 NCAA championship game, Britton Johnsen is now a man of the world.

One of 17 players on the Jazz's roster at the Rocky Mountain Revue, Johnsen has been up and down the court enough times to know that he probably isn't going to stick with the NBA team he grew up watching.

Magic looks far and wide to find the right NBA draft pick

Twardzik loves the reindeer and evaluating players for the Orlando Magic. The assistant general manager and his scouting staff will be in the spotlight when the Magic pick No. 22 Thursday in the NBA draft.

A typical season is watching more than 100 games, boarding red-eyes and taking naps in rental cars. Twardzik spent all February on the road, his trip starting in Starkville, Miss., and stretching to Istanbul.

On The Spot After some dismal outcomes in recent years with late picks, the Magic need to find a gem in this unpredictable draft. "There's always self-imposed pressure, but that's OK," Twardzik said. Their list of players who could be available at 22 is as long as 10. Who will they pick? Let's check the secretive Twardzik's itinerary for clues: He twice saw Rider forward Jason Thompson. He expects this draft to be deep. "You can get somebody in the 20s who can help you," Twardzik said. Landing a keeper would give him fond memories of that Thanksgiving Day reindeer sausage.

After some dismal outcomes in recent years with late picks, the Magic must find a gem in this draft.

Their list of players who could be available at 22 is as long as 10. Who will they pick?

ORLANDO, Fla. - You haven't lived unless you've been stuck in Anchorage on Thanksgiving, eating at Peggy's Diner, far, far from Orlando. Just another day in the life of an NBA scout at the Great Alaska Shootout.

He expects this draft to be deep. "You can get somebody in the 20s who can help you," Twardzik said.

"You got to have the reindeer sausage," said Dave Twardzik.

Let's check the secretive Twardzik's itinerary for clues: He twice saw Rider forward Jason Thompson.

Glamour job?

A former ABA/NBA point guard, Twardzik, 57, has overseen the Magic's scouting department the past five years. He has five scouts under him: Sam Foggin, Tom Conrad, Bob Staak, Greg Stratton and Rudy D'Amico.

Maggette

Former Clippers stars Elton Brand and Corey Maggette have gone elsewhere - Brand signing with the Philadelphia 76ers and Maggette with the Warriors. But the Clippers brought in Davis and acquired center Marcus Camby from Denver earlier this week.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Clippers continued their busy offseason Thursday, signing restricted free agent swing man Kelenna Azubuike to an offer sheet.

Azubuike, who averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in two seasons with the Warriors, would join former teammate Baron Davis with the Clippers. Davis signed a five-year, $65 million contract earlier this month.

The coach referred to Maggette, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and 2007 first-round draft pick Marco Belinelli, among others.

Dunleavy said current plans call for Azubuike to be the Clippers' backup small forward behind Al Thornton if the Warriors decide not to match.

"Kelenna is a guy who's worked his way up," coach Mike Dunleavy said by telephone from Las Vegas, where the Clippers have a summer league team. "He's very athletic, he's a good shooter, a good defender and a good all-around kid."

Asked whether he expects the Warriors to match the Clippers' offer, Dunleavy said: "You just never know. They've got a lot of players at that position."

The 24-year-old Azubuike, who played at Kentucky, averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 21.4 minutes while playing 81 games for the Golden State Warriors last season. The Warriors have seven days to match the Clippers' three-year offer for about $9 million once they receive a copy of the offer sheet.

"He can play some (shooting guard), he can play some (small forward)," Dunleavy said.

following

Speights received considerable playing time in the Las Vegas summer league, averaging 18.2 points and team-highs with 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in five games.

Speights, a 6-foot-10 forward out of Florida, will earn about $2.6 million in the first two years of the contract. The team holds an option for two additional years.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Marreese Speights, taken by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th overall pick in June's NBA draft, signed with the team on Friday.

Speights declared for the draft following his sophomore year at Florida, during which he averaged 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Gators. He was a reserve on Florida's 2007 NCAA championship team.

Wednesday

Clay Bennett's ownership group has applied for trademarks for six names: Thunder, Energy, Wind, Marshalls, Barons and Bison.

The former Seattle SuperSonics announced on July 2 that they would be moving to Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City television station KOCO has reported that the choice will be Thunder, but Bennett has refused to comment on what the name will be.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Oklahoma City's new NBA franchise has finally set a date to announce its name and team colors.

The team said Wednesday that it would unveil the name and colors simultaneously on its Web site and at a downtown event Sept. 3.

scoreboard

BOSTON (AP) -A fast-moving thunderstorm didn't dampen the Fenway Park fans' spirit for the NBA champion Boston Celtics on Friday night.

Pierce then took the mound to chants of "MVP" before firing a high and hard first pitch that tipped off the glove of leaping catcher Jason Varitek.

Coach Doc Rivers then said "Play ball!" before the Red Sox took the field for their game against St. Louis, which began after a one-hour, 14-minute delay.

After about an hour delay due to the rain, the champions were reintroduced and came running in from center field, with Finals MVP Pierce sliding into the second.

The Red Sox also had their grounds crew cut out a shamrock in the center-field grass prior to the game.

On the center-field scoreboard, a brief video tribute was played before they rode out with Queen's "We are the Champions" playing in the background. The team brought their trophies from this season, 1981, '84 and '86, four of the NBA-leading 17 the franchise has captured.

A few minutes after it was over, a large rainbow was shining in the distance.

With the Red Sox plays wearing green jerseys usually reserved for St. Patrick's Day during spring training in Florida, the Celtics brought the NBA championship trophies from four seasons to Fenway. The players wore their warmups, with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett leading their teammates with pumping fists and waves to a crowd as the rain was pouring and the grounds crew was putting the tarp on the field.

Former Celtics Jo Jo White and Cedrick Maxwell also were in attendance.

Honored during a brief pregame ceremony as heavy rain was falling, the NBA champs - atop three duck boats - entered from center-field and circled Fenway to a standing ovation, a shortened scene from their parade through downtown on Thursday.

maximize

He played in just 27 games since arriving as a second-round pick in 2006. The Magic had until today to either re-sign the 6-foot-10 Augustine to a guaranteed contract of about $800,000 or waive him.

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Magic General Manager Otis Smith said he would like Foyle to return and would speak to his agent, Lon Babby, in the next few days. "Adonal's a big body; he knows how to play," Smith said. "We'll see where it goes."

Smith said even the absence of Augustine's salary "gives us some flexibility; it's a little bit, but it's not a little bit when you're talking about the cap and getting close to the luxury tax. It's the flexibility it gives us. It's more about where we are salary-wise."

Copyright (c) 2008, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.

Brian Schmitz can be reached at bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com.

Augustine's release was not a surprise, considering he seldom played and the club is looking to maximize its budget.

Jul. 30--The Orlando Magic will soon try to re-sign center Adonal Foyle, adding another big man after waiving little-used power forward James Augustine on Tuesday.

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Smith said he wants to add a third point guard and added the club could go with just 14 players. Most teams carry 15. "We tried to do that last year, go with 14, but then Tony [Battie] got hurt," Smith said of Battie, who missed the season.

finishing

For one, Vujacic was sensational, making 7 of 10 buckets, 3 of 5 from 3-point line. When Boston closed the gap to two points on a Garnett inside banker, Vujacic made an open left corner 3-pointer with 1:54 left.

With starting forwards Lamar Odom (4 points) and Pau Gasol (9 points) struggling in the series, the Lakers needed the sweet stroke of the sometimes-erratic Vujacic.

Said Bryant: "He came in and played like a machine."

Bryant was back to being Bryant in the first half with 19 points as the Lakers led 43-37 at intermission. And though the Celtics led 68-66 early in the fourth, Bryant carried them home, scoring 10 fourth-quarter points and finishing 12 of 20.

"They played harder, they drove to the basket, they went to the foul line and they deserved it," Rivers said.

The Lakers put the clamps on Paul Pierce, who struggled through a miserable, foul-plagued night and probably has to credit the Lakers' defense and not his knee. After heroics in the first two games, Pierce looked like he needed a wheelchair again, finishing with six points on horrifying 2-of-14 shooting. Kevin Garnett was 6 of 21. Combined, Pierce and Garnett shot 8 of 35.

And the desperate Lakers found their way back into the NBA finals.

LOS ANGELES - Back at home last night, Kobe Bryant found himself back under fire before Game 3. During the game, however, he found the free-throw line, found his rhythm and found the rim in the fourth quarter.

It left Boston coach Doc Rivers in a lousy mood. He zinged Phil Jackson after the game, sniping, "I'm just surprised he didn't whine about fouls tonight."

Jackson had complained about a 37-10 free-throw discrepancy in Game 2. The Lakers had the bulge last night, 34-22, but Rivers said he wouldn't complain like Jackson.

"Those are shots I live for," Vujacic said.

Bryant scored 36 points and got a big boost off the bench from 3-point specialist Sasha Vujacic, who bagged 20 points as the Lakers took out the Celtics, 87-81. Boston leads the best-of-seven series at 2-1, with Game 4 set for tomorrow night at the celebrity-filled Staples Center.

Jackson gave him a backhanded compliment. "He's a little bit of a rock head," he said. "That's what we call him. He believes in himself very sincerely he's going to make the next one."

impressed

And, if he keeps the pick, Walsh is aware his choice might not be popular with the fans in attendance Thursday at Madison Square Garden. He learned that during his first two drafts with the Indiana Pacers, in 1986 and '87.

Donnie Walsh realizes that is how many people will view his first draft with the Knicks. New York is scheduled to pick sixth Thursday night, likely long after freshmen Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley will be gone.

With Stephon Marbury in the last year of his contract, the Knicks will need a point guard - especially one capable of running new coach Mike D'Antoni's offense. But if Walsh goes for backcourt help, he said it doesn't matter if the player is a combination guard or a true point, such as the one D'Antoni had to run his system in Phoenix.

The Knicks need some, and this is their best chance in a while to get one through the draft. The No. 6 spot is the highest for the Knicks since they picked fifth in 1986, taking Kentucky's Kenny Walker. New York would have had top-10 picks in the last two drafts, but both went to Chicago as payment in the Eddy Curry trade.

"If you can get Steve Nash, let's get him, OK?" Walsh said. "But there are other ways to do what Mike wants than to have to have that. That's the best answer to everything, to have the best point guard in the league, or one of the best. But if that's not available, doesn't mean you can't play his style with other players. There are different ways to play it."

Coming off a 23-59 finish in their seventh straight losing season, the Knicks need help everywhere. Walsh expects plenty of guards to be taken early, and New York could grab one of them. The Knicks worked out guards such as O.J. Mayo of Southern California, Indiana's Eric Gordon, Arizona's Jerryd Bayless, D.J. Augustin of Texas and Russell Westbrook from UCLA.

"My first two years in Indiana I figured that one out," Walsh said, "The first year I got unanimously booed, so it was the whole arena, for taking Chuck Person, who became rookie of the year.

Walsh said previously that a high pick could be packaged with one of the Knicks' high-priced veterans to facilitate a trade, but said it was hard to know if any would become available to him.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -Not top two, so probably too late.

"I think based on the college experience up to now, I could see where people would say that," Walsh said Tuesday. "But I would just caution that that's said every year, something like that, and then a guy like Roy all of a sudden, where did he come from? So there's always going to be guys that are picked later on that turn out to be great players."

And while the Knicks president understands that thought, he won't entirely agree with it. After all, it was only two years ago that Brandon Roy was taken at No. 6, and he followed his rookie of the year campaign by being chosen to the Western Conference All-Star team last season.

"Second year it was Reggie Miller and I realized that there were some cheers, but four-fifths of the arena booed. You know if you're going to pick one guy, there's four groups up there that want you to pick someone else, so you're going to get booed."

Walsh added that he was impressed with the way Italian forward Danilo Gallinari shot the ball in his workout.

rebounding

Allen stayed behind after the team left because his toddler son was undergoing medical tests after feeling ill. The Celtics gave no details of his son's condition at Allen's request.

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) - Celtics coach Doc Rivers expects Ray Allen to play in Game 6 of the NBA finals after the guard skipped the team's shootaround following his overnight flight from Los Angeles.

Boston leads the series 3-2 and can win its first title since 1986 Tuesday night. Allen is second on the team in shooting and rebounding in the finals. The absence of the 280-pound Perkins helped the Lakers' inside game in their 103-98 win Sunday.

Boston center Kendrick Perkins participated in the workout and is likely to play Tuesday night after missing Game 5 against the Lakers with a shoulder injury.

aggressive

"Usually the first half is team ball, second half is usually Kobe takes over the games," Garnett said. "It just looks like they wanted to get the ball to Kobe and him sort of finish it off. ... We were giving Kobe every look we've got in the book, from different matchups to trapping him to a guy on the bottom. We were just making other guys make plays."

But nothing in the transcript really seems all that inflammatory.

Garnett also said the Lakers weren't as aggressive in the in the second half as the first half, an analysis that was repeated by many at Staples Center after Boston rallied from a 24-point deficit to win 97-91 and move within one victory of the NBA title.

His teammates apparently didn't listen.

Reaching into the Celtics' postgame comments for bulletin board material, Jackson cited comments by Kevin Garnett that would probably attract Bryant's interest.

BOTTOMS UP: Kobe Bryant talked about taking a lot of shots, and he meant nothing about basketball.

"They're in the transcripts if you want to read the transcripts," was all the coach would say.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) - Zen-master Phil Jackson was at it again Friday, trying to motivate star Kobe Bryant after the Lakers' unprecedented collapse in Game 4 of the NBA finals.

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Jackson said he didn't think Bryant would be motivated by the news that Paul Pierce wanted to guard him in the second half on Thursday night.

Garnett did say that he was so close to his first championship that he "can taste it"; but he also made the requisite disclaimer that there was more work to be done.

The problem: Jackson wouldn't elaborate.

"That's not going to be as much of an interest point to him as probably what Garnett said," Jackson said. "And that'll probably weigh (more) strongly with Kobe, than that aspect, that Pierce wanted to guard him."

outspoken

He spoke with some of the women and was told horrific tales of being kept for weeks by members of the militia, called the Janjaweed, and being raped every night by 10 to 20 soldiers.

"It's devastating to know of the atrocities Darfur has faced," Nash said. "Using a little of my time to help those in dire need and heighten the awareness of the situation so the innocent in Darfur can have a better life is the least I can do."

"The lack of food, water, shelter. I felt horrible and almost powerless," Newble said. "There's so many people, you want to help everybody, but you can't."

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The children drew pictures of women with babies being shot in the back by soldiers, of helicopters and planes dropping bombs.

Newble knew very little before reading a newspaper account in February 2007, while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was just the beginning for the 33-year-old Detroit native, who learned that China is a major trading partner and a supplier of weapons to the Sudanese government.

Government troops and militia units have been battling rebels opposed to a government they say persecutes the non-Arab population. The militia units, believed to be government-funded, have targeted civilians.

"They watched their family members being shot. They drew what they saw," Newble said. "It was emotional. What helped me keep my emotions under control was the fact that these kids' spirits were still high. I couldn't believe it. Maybe it was because they were excited to see a refreshing face."

Along with Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Tracy McGrady, Matt Barnes and Emeka Okafor, those players have made public service announcements about Darfur that can be seen at the Web site aidstillrequired.org.

"I was surprised at how strong these women were and able to tell their stories," he said. "They want the world to know what's happened to them."

Those pictures and the faces of the children who drew them remain sharp in the mind of Ira Newble, the Los Angeles Lakers forward who visited two refugee camps in Chad last August and heard stories from victims of the deadly conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

Newble has been joined by several NBA players in bringing attention to Darfur, including teammates Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum.

That summer he traveled to Africa to witness the devastation himself. Newble said one camp had about 20,000 refugees, the other about 25,000. There were many more camps in Darfur, some with as many as 100,000 refugees.

Newble, a seldom-used reserve on a Lakers team playing in the NBA finals, has become one of the most outspoken athletes in drawing attention to Darfur. An estimated 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced in the last five years, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

popularity

There were plenty of tough times: March 1, 2000 when Pitino vented after Boston's loss to Toronto on Vince Carter's 3-pointer at the buzzer; last season's 24-58 record; and most of the seasons in between.

All those people will see ads plastered throughout the arena. The team also has sponsorship deals with an airline, a real estate company, a bottled water firm, the state lottery, a doughnut company - and many, many others.

The Celtics missed the playoffs the past two seasons and lost in the first round in the two before those. They were Gotham's first four seasons with the team, but it still managed to increase sponsorships and television ratings even when losing.

"Until you've gone out there and won the games, it's a risk," he said, "and our owners were willing to take that risk and invest in the team."

"Last year it was about us creating demand for the Celtics," team president Rich Gotham said Tuesday before Boston took a 3-2 lead into Game 6 of the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, "and this year there is excess demand."

That helped the club increase player payroll by about 30 percent this season, Gotham said. And that ability to spend - on valuable backups like James Posey and Eddie House as well as stars like Garnett and Allen - finally built a team that could contend for the championship.

But there was no guarantee that spending so much on players would lead to a 17th championship banner.

But last summer Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen did walk through that door - and fans, sponsors and plenty of revenue followed them in.

"We had no shortage of sponsors (last season) where they said, `We're interested,' got close, but didn't necessarily end up in a partnership," Gotham said. "This year they're signed on board, so you can never underestimate the positive halo that winning provides."

Then the Celtics traded for the two All-Stars and, suddenly, potential sponsors who had to think twice before signing on eagerly hopped on the bandwagon, hoping to capitalize on the popularity and success of the team whose winning tradition had been dormant for more than 20 years.

BOSTON (AP) -After one of his many losses as coach of the Boston Celtics, an angry Rick Pitino admonished those who wanted instant success.

"Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans," he said. "Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door."

The club set aside 65 percent of its capacity for season tickets and all were sold. Gotham said that number is expected to increase by about 1,500 next season.