re: How Donaghy fixed NBA games

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You want to get paid, you gotta cover the spread, Battista had told Donaghy. But Battista never used the word "fix." Or "influence" or "manipulate" or in any way discussed the mechanics of fixing.

"There wasn't no need to," Battista has told friends. The whole thing had been merely insinuated, a matter of strong innuendo. "The only mechanics, he had in his hand. He had the fricking whistle."

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According to a court document, Donaghy and Concannon placed their first bet on a game Donaghy was refereeing in March 2003 -- more than four years and four NBA seasons before he was caught.

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"If you looked at the stats," said one gambler in The Office at the time, "you could see he was calling more fouls on the team he bet against and less fouls on the team he bet on. That was obvious."
Said another: "Did I assume he was fixing the games? Yeah, I did. But I didn't give a shite, because it was great information. From 2003 to 2007, we didn't miss a game. Any game that he reffed we had a wager on."

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Normally this meant making a few "head fake" bets. If you think the Celtics are the side that's likely to cover, then you go to market as early in the trading session as possible and put some money on Philly. Do it right and you can drive down the price of Boston. Then later in the day, with the price right, you gobble up all the Boston you can. According to Martino and Battista, after such wagering was complete, Battista, via Martino, would then inform Donaghy of the spread he needed to cover. 

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