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By Lars, December 16, 2009 12:46 pm

Tiger Woods has been given the award of the Athlete of the Decade.

Despite being hidden away from the media for the past three weeks, Tiger Woods’ name was announced earlier today as the recipient of Athlete of the Decade award. The AP chose Woods for the honor Wednesday because of the top-ranked golfer’s 10 years of dominance on the golf course. Woods won 56 of the 142 votes that AP member editors cast, according to the AP’s Doug Ferguson.

Lance Armtrong, who overcame cancer and won the Tour de France six times in the past decade, was runner-up with 33 votes. Tennis star Roger Federer came in third, with 25 votes.

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By Lars, December 10, 2009 3:46 pm

Where will Jason Bay be playing baseball next year? This is a question that many baseball fans in America have.

The Red Sox outfield sensation is quite the hot item and is currently rumored to be negotiating contracts with the Mets and the Angels. It will be interesting to see which team will fork over the money needed to sign a free agent like Bay.

The Mets are looking to upgrade in left field after using nine different players at the position this season, none of them generating any consistent power. Bay, who has hit at least 21 homers every year since becoming a full-time big leaguer, would provide just that.

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By Art Vandalet, December 9, 2009 12:21 pm

Tim Donaghy made a mess. The NBA referee’s gambling addiction hurt a family, a career, and a reputation. Like Shoeless Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, and Ben Johnson, Donaghy’s infamy will be widespread and possibly long lasting in sports history.

The throwing of major sports games for personal gain troubles fans who, watching for entertainment, expect fair play. People don’t follow sports for the scandal, they watch for the talent. Donaghy violated the trust of NBA fans when, as an official, he bet on NBA games.

In his new book, “Personal Foul,” however, Donaghy claims the infamy for more than himself.

Donaghy claims that he didn’t fix any games because he didn’t have to. His argument is that he simply used his knowledge of NBA politics to guess at the outcomes of games. The insider knowledge of the relationships between and tendencies of the different coaches, players, and referees lead Donaghy to an unheard of 70-80 percent success rate.

Donaghy got in deep. He almost had his kneecaps broken at one point by a prisoner that may have been associated with the mob. By the time it was spiraling out of control, the mob, the FBI, the NBA, and federal prosecutors were involved.

The implications for the NBA are the biggest issue at hand though. If Donaghy’s claims are true, the NBA has a few problems to work out. This book reveals a serious fault in their credibility as a fair and straight forward organization. The assertion that NBA games do not unfold on a level playing field, is enough to make any fan indignant, if not angry.

Clearly, Donaghy shouldn’t have bet on anything associated with the NBA. But he did. The point he makes in his book is that the inner workings of the NBA made it easy. The assertion that NBA referees are not honest brokers has profound resonance and may lead to some changes in NBA policy and politics.