Nerd Alert

delbertshoopman:

Tim Donaghy’s book on being a ref in the NBA… Remember when this dude went to jail for cheating? His book looks like it’s going to be a fun read.

“first foul of the game” bet. While still in the locker room before tip-off, we would make a wager on which of us would call the game’s first foul. That referee would either have to pay the ball boy or pick up the dinner tab for the other two referees. Sometimes, the ante would be $50 a guy. Like the technical foul bet, it was hilarious — only this time we were testing each other’s nerves to see who had the guts to hold out the longest before calling a personal foul. There were occasions when we would hold back for two or three minutes — an eternity in an NBA game — before blowing the whistle. It didn’t matter if bodies were flying all over the place; no fouls were called because no one wanted to lose the bet.

Holy shit.  I understood conduct in general was bad among NBA referees, but these excerpts go beyond what I expected.  I too can’t wait to read this book.