For once, cable news makes itself useful. Two of the biggest sports stories of the day were not broken by ESPN or any sports entity, but by a cable news organization.
FOX News.com broke a story with potentially large implications. Jana Winter reports that disgraced and soon to be sentenced felon Tim Donaghy made 134 phone calls to fellow NBA ref Scott Foster during the 2006-07 season, “the period during which [Donaghy] has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers.”
The FOX piece includes detailed accounts of when Donaghy called Foster on specific days.
10:34 a.m. ? Donaghy calls Foster.
10:35 a.m. ? Donaghy calls another referee.
10:36 a.m. ? Donaghy calls Martino, the ?middleman? between him and his bookie.
10:39 a.m. ? Donaghy calls Foster.
5:15 p.m. ? Donaghy calls Martino.
5:23 p.m. ? Donaghy calls Martino.
7 p.m. ? Donaghy referees game between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. The Magic win in a rout, 97-68.
8 p.m. ? Foster referees a game between the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. The Grizzlies win 110-104. Foster and Donaghy speak 12 minutes after the game.
11:27 p.m. ? Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fourth time of the day.
11:38 p.m. ? Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fifth time of the day.
In addition to the Donaghy story, Brett Favre will be a guest on the Greta Van Susteren show later tonight. Van Susteren, a Wisconsin native and Packer fan/shareholder, traveled to Mississippi to interview Favre, who will be making his first televised comments since asking for his unconditional release from the Packers over the weekend.
Paraphrasing, Van Susteren told the Associated Press that Favre “said he was ‘never fully committed’ to retiring and felt pressured by the Packers to make a decision. … Favre made it clear he would not return to the Packers if he wasn’t the starter. And while Favre said the Packers asked him for a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, he wants to be released to make sure he ends up on a competitive club.”
On the show itself, Favre says “[t]hem moving on does not bother me … By me retiring March 3rd, I knew that could possibly happen. All I was saying is, you know, I’m thinking about playing again.”
