gambling

Tim Donaghy, a former NBA referee caught gambling on games he officiated, alleged in a court filing this week that the league "sought to manipulate games using referees to boost ticket sales and television ratings," and in particular conspired to fix game six of the 2002 playoff series between the Lakers and the Kings.

The claim that the NBA fixes its own games is dubious (though not entirely implausible). What's far more likely is that some of the sport's other participants--players, coaches, and referees--shave points now and then. In fact, it's a near certainty. Illicitly changing the course of an entire playoff series--whether it's the league doing it, or freelance hustlers--is almost impossible without being detected, simply because so many variables operate in every game. If an influential player performed poorly enough to throw one game to the opposing team, for instance, he'd likely spend much of the next game on the bench, rendering him useless as a fixer. But point shaving is a more subtle art: Players on the take don't get paid to throw games--they get paid to win by just a little less than they're expected to. MORE

Big Brown is favored to win the Belmont Stakes tomorrow and thereby become the first horse in 30 years to capture the Triple Crown.

Big Brown has secured the endorsements of everyone from Hooter's to UPS. He just can't seem to get anyone else to like him. Capturing the public imagination involves a delicate alchemy for any athlete, human or equine, but Big Brown has failed where predecessors like Barbaro succeeded for reasons both competitive and commercial. It's not just that his rivals in the two previous legs of the circuit have looked like a pack of stray dogs, or that he prevailed each time with only marginal speed. He's also backed by a rogue's gallery of cheats and crooked moneymen who have alienated casual fans and racing professionals alike -- no easy feat in a sport dependent on cheats and crooked moneymen for its vitality.

The card-counting flick topped the box office for the second straight weekend, beating out George Clooney's screwball comedy Leatherheads.

Last weekend, 21 looked like a disappointment, opening to mediocre reviews and an unspectacular $24 million take. But never underestimate the benefits of facing off against weak competition. March and April are never great months at the movies, but this post-writers' strike spring is particularly lackluster, and now that George Clooney has proven yet again that he isn't quite the box office draw that his fawning press coverage suggests he is, 21 looks like it has a chance to spend three straight weeks atop the heap. (All it has to do is beat out Keanu Reeves and Prom Night next weekend.)