NBA Referees Bet Team Owners that "They Probably Would've Lost Those Games Anyway"

Tim Donaghy, the official accused of colluding results of NBA contests by betting on games he refereed in, has been the focal point of a media firestorm in the last week. In an interesting turn of events Tuesday afternoon, a group of fellow NBA referees has openly announced that they have offered a bet to several NBA owners, declaring that "their teams would have lost those games anyway."

"We don't think that teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves can be angry with us," said NBA official Paul Goldberg. "They are a terrible team and they shouldn't blame points shaving as the reason that they have a losing record."

Tim Donaghy has resigned from the NBA since being accused of altering the outcomes of games by making calls that benefitted teams he had placed bets on. Since the scandal hit the national media, Donaghy has become the black sheep of the sports community, being disowned by the league, the players, and the fans. But with these recent developments, Donaghy was surprised and delighted to discover that he was still being supported by his fellow refs.

"I think it's a great idea, betting against the owners. They've all got money to blow, right? Maybe we could give them 3:1 that they'd lose the games... or maybe drop them 4:1 and then re-place our bet with another bookie at 5.5: 1 that they would WIN the games. And then we could throw calls to make them lose but have a seperate bet that the second bookie's bets would be colluded by a third bet, that we would make with a fourth party at 7:1! Haha, it's genius!"

Donaghy went on to say "Not to imply, of course, that I support betting on games in any way, shape, or form. I'm strictly a slots man."

Some reporters have discovered that Donaghy may have owed bookies and purported mobsters sums in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Donaghy squashed those rumors Tuesday, saying "That is totally false. I've never owned anyone anything. Except for a shit load of money."

Whether or not the NBA owners will accept the wager placed by the refs has yet to be seen. Some coaches and owners have laid in on the subject.

"I'm not going to argue with anyone who says we would've lost a game," said New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas. He then concluded his statement by shouting "Wanna see my 1990 NBA Championship Ring?!?"

The coach of the Golden State Warriors, Don Nelson, had a unique opinion on the situation. "I'm old," he said. "So old, old and fat."

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks had his own take. "I have a couple billion dollars, so whatever they wanna bet is cool with me. I also have Dirk Nowitzki, you know, the league MVP." When asked about the playoff struggles of his team, Cuban replied "Playoffs? You mean, like more games after the regular season? No, I don't know anything about that." He then added "Don Nelson is old and fat."

*This article is a parody of a popular news story. It is not intended to represent an actual Associated Press article. All quotes used in this piece are completely fabricated, and any names are either made up or used in satirical fashion.