by Randy Hill

Donaghy to jail

Video: Tim Donaghy was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison for his role in the NBA's betting scandal. after the decision came down.

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More on Donaghy:

• Hill: Why it might be good for NBA
• 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 — unwittingly performing a public service while in the commission of dastardly acts.

Donaghy used his whistle to influence the point spread and make more loot. Canseco used his anger at watching the market for his bat evaporate (and parallel monetary issues) to become a literary scourge. His desperate but (mostly) credible accusations eventually inspired the current crop of big-league baseball players to limit their performance-enhancing supplements to items still beyond the scope of testing.

Donaghy's life-raft efforts could provoke enterprising sleuths into finding other referees playing fast and loose with point spreads. Sidebar benefits (based on others joining the watchdog club created by Mark Cuban) could include the NBA actually enforcing the rules of the game.

We dream of a day when all post players will be required to execute a nifty maneuver without sliding or changing the pivot foot. Fouls in the closing moments of big games would be called. Superstar protection won't be so stinking obvious or extended to players before they even establish a superstar portfolio.

The scrutiny could become airborne, jump sports and lead to a more consistent MLB strike zone.

It should be noted that loose interpretations of NBA-rule enforcement can be credited to the league, not the referees. The wide majority of NBA refs are solid people with exquisite knowledge of basketball rules and the keen ability to judge the difference between a carry and a legitimately wicked crossover.

They are instructed to put certain rule-bending transgressions into a context that creates a more appealing product.

Their work night does not end when the Fat Lady sings; thanks to laptop technology, there are replays to watch and reports to submit. There are reviews to be issued and judgments made by superiors.

The first wave of referee reform instigated by Donaghy and his sentence-reduction efforts includes the hiring of a former Army general as vice president of ref ops. More seemingly good news: Bernie Fryer and Joe Borgia were pulled up to management jobs and Ronnie Nunn was reassigned after five years as director of officials.

We also stand a decent chance of having the preternatural smirk that attends the face of Commissioner David Stern become a bit less formidable. Instead of reminding witnesses that he's the smartest human in the room, Stern eventually may listen to those who believe there's more to league-building than marketing.

While Donaghy now exists as a double-agent of change in a Bizarro-World context, he has unleashed the porch dogs to join the wild-eyed conspiracy pack.

For his performance, we offer our heartfelt gratitude.

We thank Tim for boosting the shaggy credibility of those who believe Stern and his cronies hosed the Phoenix Suns in 2007, even though the crowd-pleasing Suns would have generated greater TV ratings than the San Antonio Spurs.

We tip our cap to Donaghy for encouraging the same people who believe in San Antonio favoritism to insist that the NBA inappropriately secures success for big-market teams. After watching the Bulls and Knicks, it would be obvious that any such mission statements from Stern have been ignored.

Most importantly, we thank Tim Donaghy for distracting us from the news that another team has hired Ricky Davis.