Tim Donaghy on NBA Fixing, Philip Rivers' Career, and Internet Poison
Philip Rivers put on a clinic in Mexico City, but not the kind that wins football games. After watching him toss four interceptions and gasp for air in the thin altitude, Big Cat is ready to call it. It was the 61st loss by seven or fewer points for Rivers, a Super Bowl era record that feels like a heavy anchor on a Hall of Fame resume.
Philip Rivers' career is over
Philip Rivers is done. D-O-N-E, done. D-E-A-D, dead. It's over. I said to myself, this is sad. And I think it might be over. Because there's something about it that feels different. The arm is just not there. And it just can't. It will never come back.
PFT brought some advanced metrics to the table to explain why Rivers' supposedly decent record in one-score games is actually a total mirage. It’s the classic Rivers experience: move the ball just enough to give fans hope, then throw a back-breaking pick-six that technically makes it a two-possession game.
Philip Rivers' winning record in one-possession games is misleading because he turns them into two-possession games at the end
Philip Rivers actually has a winning record in one possession games. The only way I can think of to explain that is he's had so many fourth quarter drives where he has been trailing by one possession, where he's thrown a pick six or an interception that's led to an easy six points or three points on the other end, which makes the final score a two possession game.
With the 2004 draft class fading away, Big Cat and PFT are looking toward the future of the position. While Rivers is hitting the "dag nabbit" stage of his career, Big Ben is apparently entering his mountain man era. PFT has heard rumblings that the Steelers' QB is committed to a very specific grooming regimen until he's back on the field.
Ben Roethlisberger is growing his beard out until he throws another NFL pass
I heard a rumor that Big Ben... is growing that beard out until he throws another NFL pass. How great would that be to have Ben show up for training camp next year with just a full bush?
Hot Seat/Cool Throne
Hank’s Hot Seat is himself and every other Patriots fan who fell for the Gronk comeback rumors. After weeks of teasing a big announcement, it turns out the greatest tight end of all time is just throwing a party in Miami.
Gronk will not return to the Patriots this season
My hot seat is anyone who actually thought Gronk was coming back to the Patriots. He did a little teaser similar to when he was on this show. It was like, I have a big announcement tomorrow. Turned out he's just doing a party in Miami... he's not coming back to the Patriots this year, which is sad.
Speaking of the Patriots, the guys shifted to the other big retirement/non-retirement saga: Antonio Brown. After AB issued a semicolon-heavy apology to Robert Kraft, the guys are wondering if the door is actually cracked open for a return to Foxborough.
Antonio Brown will return to the Patriots following his apology to Robert Kraft
Did you see that every single Patriot basically liked it? And he used a semicolon, which means there's a chance that someone wrote it for him, which means that it was like, hey, post this apology. And maybe you'll come back... do you guys think it's a coincidence that after the Patriots' offensive performance on Sunday that this all of a sudden comes very early the next week?
In a more serious turn, Big Cat declared that the internet has officially poisoned our brains beyond repair. Between the "OK Boomer" trend and fighting with straw men on Twitter, we’ve reached a point where we aren't even arguing with real people anymore.
The 'OK Boomer' trend is dead because internet users are fighting with straw men
The boomer thing is done. It's too much... there are no baby boomers on Twitter. There's like a few people who write like op-eds in New York Times, but we're really arguing with no one... we have created straw men all around us and we're just whacking at it with a machete.
Tim Donaghy: Inside the NBA Scandal
Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy joined the show to discuss his career, his time in prison, and his new movie *Inside Game*. Donaghy was adamant that the popular perception of him "shaving points" isn't quite right. Instead, he claims he was simply betting based on how the league office wanted games to be called.
NBA games were manipulated by refs based on points of emphasis, not by direct point shaving
Fixing games. I mean, some people think that I went out there and put Shaquille O'Neal to the bench or LeBron James to the bench so that some of these bets won. That's really not what happened. I picked the games based on relationships that existed between referees and players, referees and coaches, and referees and owners, and what took place in the morning meetings with the referees and what was going to be called that night and how a team was going to be put at an advantage or disadvantage.
Donaghy didn't hold back on the league's history of manipulation, specifically calling out the infamous 2002 Western Conference Finals. He alleged that veteran refs like Dick Bavetta were the league's designated "fixers" when a series needed to be extended for ratings and revenue.
Officiating in the 2002 Lakers-Kings series was manipulated to ensure it went to Game 7
Definitely manipulate it when you talk about Dick Bavetta at the in 2002... the famous Lakers Sacramento Game 6. He openly said to a lot of us that he was the NBA's go-to guy. He was put on Game 6s to make sure they went to a Game 7 and that was one of the most fucked up games in the history of the NBA.
Perhaps the most shocking claim from the interview was just how widespread the gambling culture was among the officiating staff. According to Donaghy, once David Stern actually started looking into the problem, he realized he couldn't fire everyone without collapsing the league's ability to function.
55 out of 58 NBA referees were gambling in violation of their contracts
Then [David Stern] did an investigation and found out 55 out of 58 NBA referees were gambling, going to casinos, betting on football, betting on golf, couldn't fire everybody, and immediately started to backtrack that whole thing.
Segments
Carmelo Anthony is back in the NBA with the Trail Blazers and he’s rocking the double-zero. Melo provided a pseudo-intellectual breakdown of why he chose the number, involving infinity symbols and mysticism, which Big Cat promptly shredded. However, the guys did agree on one thing: Luka Doncic is currently breaking the sport of basketball.
Luka Doncic is the best player of all time
Is Luka Doncic the best player of all time? Yes. I think so. I think he's going to be—he's really good. Of all time. He's crazy. 42 point triple double.
To wrap things up, Guys on Chicks featured a listener asking how to handle a sudden breakup where her ex blocked her on every platform. While it feels harsh, Big Cat thinks it might actually be the most well-adjusted move you can make in the digital age.
The 'full block' on social media is the healthiest way to handle a breakup in 2019
I think that the full block on social media for everything is a healthy way to move on. Because if you break up with someone, you're going to go creeping on their stuff... so to go clean slate, I'm just going to like remove everything. I think that's a healthy way to deal with the breakup.
If you're going to get dumped, just make sure you slash at least one tire on your way out for the inconvenience.

