Hot Topic Hooptalk

Tim Donaghy plead guilty to betting on basketball and supplying inside information to a pair of gamblers. The former N.B.A. ref could face as much as 25 years in prison, and could cast a doubt and a cloud of suspicion whenever a questionable call is made. Don Imus just settled for a lot of money from CBS, and is already getting a job offer from WABC to return to the airwaves. Given what he said about the Rutgers Woman's basketball team, does he deserve another shot? Did the ref that made that questionable call in a crucial game had a vesting monetary interest in that game? David Thorpe is an analyst for ESPN and is the executive director of the Pro Training Center at the IMG Academies, he'll be giving his take on these issues along with everyone's favorite SportsCenter Anchor, Stuart Scott.

David Thorpe doesn't know how long Donaghy will be in prison for, but believes that he'll be in a relocation program.
"Not a legal expert," Scott said. "I've heard up to 25 (years) but I have no expertise in the field."
Do people want to go after him? I'm wondering whether inmates will go after him for single-handedly tarnishing the integrity of the game. But will conspiracy theorists have a field day when a questionable decides the outcome of a matchup?
"Suspicions will be heightened for a time." Thorpe said. How long will this time be? Will these worries and doubts just go away after a time, or will they linger deeper into next season and beyond? Stuart Scott may not like the idea of people thinking twice when a call is made, but he knows that it will probably happen.
"Unfortunately and unfairly....I think a questionable call some might stop and think."
Scott said that he has to believe what David Stern said, that Donaghy is an isolated rouge criminal.
"If it's as Stern says, one bad apple, there's no realistic reason to question calls."
The SportsCenter anchor expanded this logic to the Michael Vick case.
"No reason to think every QB is going to be charged with a crime because one has been charged. And that doesn't mean he did it."

What does the panel have to say about Don Imus? David Thorpe didn't even know that Imus was gone, but still remembers Imus' terrible comments.
"I didn't know that he was gone." Thorpe said. "But his comments were beyond disgraceful."
Stuart Scott couldn't care less about anything to do with Don Imus.
"To be honest I could care less. I don't wonder if he deserves another shot. If someone wants to give him another shot I'm not losing sleep. If he's blackballed from radio I'm not losing sleep. I don't care to wonder about his future."
While Scott may not care to wonder, millions of Americans care. I know that many people loved Imus in the New York area, including my parents. They're happy that the I-Man will be coming back on the airwaves, but they know that Imus and his cronies should think before they speak. Imus will be on such a short leash, that he'll be canned for anything close to an outlandish or inflammatory statement. The return of Imus and the ongoing referee scandal is just stirring the pot of hot topics and controversy. Only time will tell if the local sports talk radio station will wonder aloud whether there was foul play when their NBA team got hosed, and everyone will be waiting for Imus' next slip-up to jump all over him. This is the era we live in and sports. This is SprungOnSports, just stirring the pot.