The 1980 Olympics featured the greatest moment in not only Winter Olympic hockey history, but also arguably all of hockey history and even all of American sporting history. But was it fixed? We will include excerpts from several articles below...It is our opinion that in the rare cases of sports fixing, for the most part the players are not involved...they don't have to be. All it takes is for selected few coaches or officials or owners to be involved. Now, there may be times players may be involved but for the most part they are not...
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Let us start off by telling you. That Russian hockey team fielded in Lake Placid, was the best hockey team ever assembled. That team could have destroyed any NHL team at the time.....including the Montreal Canadians. This was a hockey "Dream Team" very similar to the one the United States assembled in Basketball that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. For the United States to have defeated this hockey team with nothing but college kids would have been the equal of Lithuania knocking off the U.S. Dream Team in Basketball. IT COULDN'T BE DONE!
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The original Dream Team, the U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, was a phenomenon on and off the court. It mattered not that it dominated the Olympic competition, beating its eight opponents by an average of 44 points. What was important was that the Dream Team, the first U.S. Olympic team to include NBA stars, gave fans a glimpse of basketball at its finest, and an entire world responded.
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Of course we refer to the "Miracle on Ice," whereby a bunch of in-over-their-heads American college kids upset the mighty Soviet Union at their absolute height of their reign as the greatest hockey team of all time. The moment inspired the American people like few other cultural events. To this day, we are not sure who got paid off for the "Miracle On Ice" but we do know that this game was not on the level. Anytime you have a huge underdog like the U.S. team was, it opens the door for fortunes to be made in illegal gambling and thus incentives to fix the game.
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It has and does happen in other sports. Now we have admissions by Tim Donaghy that he influenced the outcome of some of the games he officiated in the NBA. Well as Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise." It certainly looks as if Donaghy made his superiors and most of the management team at the NBA look like a bunch of hick goobers (Gomer's cousin, remember?) for the length of time that he was able to manipulate the system. And the weak link in his scheme? Someone else knew about his gambling.
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Much is being written and discussed by pundits, fans and even the players themselves about the "non" foul of Brent Barry, the non-traveling call on Kobe (pack my bags please, I'm going on a trip) Bryant and well, take your pick of your favorite slash, hack, travel, three second violation (is that even in the officiating handbook for the NBA?).
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Back even when I was much more naive, the thought crossed my mind whether games, any game was fixed. Now, much to my consternation I am finding out that yes...the outcome may indeed be "pre-determined" based on demographics. Who wants to watch a Fiesta Bowl pitting the Podunk Polecats versus the Nowhere Ninnies? All the network execs know...ratings would be down, revenues would be down because ad rates would be down. To what extent is sports soiled? Is Pro Wrestling a sport or entertainment, is it rigged? Was "The Miracle On Ice" all that much a miracle or was it contrived to boost interest in the Olympics? I hate to be cynical but...what have David Stern, Bud Selig or Roger Goodall done to dissuade me?
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The Soviets had humiliated the NHL all stars in 1979. Between 1979 and 1983 the Big Red Machine was never better, seemingly down right unbeatable. Except on February 22nd, 1980.
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The Americans were coached by the brilliant dictator Herb Brooks. Future NHL talent included Neal Broten, Dave Christian, Mark Johnson, Ken Morrow, Mark Pavelich, Jack O'Callahan and Mike Ramsey, some of the greatest American players of all time. But two other names really stick out from this team: flag-draped goaltender Jim Craig and Miracle on Ice goal scorer Mike Eruzione. Let's look at this further:
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Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the Sports Gambling Industry
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As we discussed in our article Winter Olympic Games; a Brief Introduction and Winter Olympic Games; Why are they so Important!, it is again that time of the year when we watch with anticipation the winter installment of the Olympic Games. It’s a fact for many, that the Summer Olympic Games takes much of the cake; on the other hand the Winter Olympic Games have a lot to offer as well.
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The Winter Olympic Games have become a major attraction for sports betting fans from the world over. With the passage of time, the betting system has been modernized as well. Given the presence of the sophisticated online betting websites, it has become even more convenient to get accurate live results as they come in & lay bets from virtually anywhere. Online betting offers a whole new array of advantages over the traditional methods. Bettors have the ability to “back” and “lay” money via a secure online betting exchange.
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The measure of control is higher for to the bettors as “fixed odds” are provided by the website. Odds are available for every fixture in the different winter sports events on almost every possible outcome. These websites are backed up with excellent customer support, in case one has any queries. So if you’re feeling lucky, the Winter Olympics Games might have much to offer you apart from all the entertainment.
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Is Hockey Fixed?
There is a pretty interesting book out there called The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime.
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It looks at how organized crime, particularly Asian gangs, has corrupted the world of soccer at it's highest levels, including European Champions League, Olympic and World Cup matches and tournaments.
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Author Declan Hill explains the structure and mechanics of illegal gambling syndicates, what soccer players and referees do or not do to affect the outcome of their games, why relatively rich and high-status athletes would take money to fix games, and how they get referees on their side.
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Absolutely amazing stuff. Even more mind-blowing: FIFA, soccer's governing body, does nothing about it, and may even be somehow in cahoots with the criminals. A Russian godfather claims to have been seen sitting in the FIFA president's luxury box during World Cup games.
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After reading this book your faith in the purity soccer at every level is completely shaken. You might as well extend that to all of sports. The book also touches on basketball, tennis, cricket, even rowing.
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And we all remember disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy's ties to gambling, even though the NBA has somehow kept that hushed. To me that is a far bigger deal than baseball's Pete Rose.
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Could organized crime be trying to fix hockey matches too?
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Do not kid yourself. If organized crime is match-fixing rowing competitions, they are likely interested in a slice of hockey's big money pie. There is corruption in all facets of life, so why would professional hockey or Olympic hockey be immune?
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There has even been some suspicion about mobster involvement. If you are in Canada you may remember a investigative journalism piece about 9 years ago for CBC's The Fifth Estate that looked at how Russian players associating with known members of the Russian mafia, perhaps forced to do so because of mafia extortion attempts. That Fifth Estate documentary was done by, you guessed it, Declan Hill.
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I could not find that documentary on YouTube, but I found this Declan Hill written article about the Russian mafia's interest in hockey.
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Hill estimates as high as 80% of Russian players have had to deal with the mafia, including Oleg Tverdovsky who had his parents kidnapped and Alexei Zhitnik who was beaten severely. The Mafia also "introduces" themselves to promising junior players as young as 15 or 16, looking to befriend someone they can soon extort.
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Their interest in hockey is not restricted to extorting rich NHL players, insists Hill. Extortion is for low level criminals. Game fixing is where the big boys play for big, big money. But beyond that obvious statement Hill offers nothing to suggest any hint of players being bribed to throw games.
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Instead, he goes on to say the mafia tend to use sports stars to legitimize themselves in the public's eye. If they are seen chumming around with famous sports stars, that is great for business and reputation, particularly mainstream business.
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The Russians, led by Pavel Bure's friend Anzor Kikalishvili, are the only organized criminals publicly associated with hockey, although with the money involved you would have to wonder about North American mobsters, too.
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Historically though, mobsters and gambling have never been far from the NHL, especially at the owner level.
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Most notable were the Norris family. James Norris Sr, long-time owner of the Detroit Red Wings, and his son Jim Norris, who owned the Chicago Blackhawks, had ties to some of the sleaziest swindlers. In the late 1950s the United States senate even investigated the Norris family's relationships with mafia king pins, most notably Frankie Carbo.
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Then there was Big Bill Dwyer, one of biggest bootleggers and mobsters during the prohibition era. He used his illegal monies to buy the New York Americans way back in the 1920s.
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Now let's remember these owners are guilty of suspicious association more than anything. We have absolutely no reason to believe these owner's conspired to fix games. They just had ties to the mob.
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Even without the mob involved, when there is gambling involved there is a possibility of game fixing. And the NHL has had other owners/administrators who were noted gamblers.
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Always quick to defend Jim Norris in particular was none other than Toronto Maple Leafs boss Conn Smythe, one of the most legendary figures in hockey history. He was never afraid to gamble his own money, especially at the race track. He built his empire, the Leafs and Maple Leafs Gardens on winnings.
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His understudy, Frank Selke, also shared his hobbies. Selke of course went on to create the Montreal dynasty of the 1950s.
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Speaking of the storied Montreal Canadiens, they were largely funded by gambling money from 1921 to 1936. Owners Leo Dandurand, Joe Cattarinch and Louis Letourneau operated a casino in Cleveland, Ohio and were also noted racetrack visitors.
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Gambling has also been associated with a few players. Most notable are four players:
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1. Babe Pratt, Toronto's all star defenseman, gambled on NHL games back in the 1940s. He had his suspension eliminated after just 16 days as there was no proof he placed bets on games involving the Leafs.
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2 and 3. Don Gallinger of Boston and Billy Taylor of New York teamed up to gamble on the outcomes of NHL games, including games they were participating in. Both were suspended for life, though they would be pardoned by the NHL some 20 years later.
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4. Back in 2006 retired player/Phoenix assistant coach Rick Tocchet he played some role in a crooked New Jersey cop's small time betting scheme. Though taking bets on hockey never occured, Tocchet pled guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling charges.
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And if you believe Dick Beddoes' book Greatest Hockey Stories, Hall of Famers Sweeney Schriner and Teeder Kennedy were also noted gamblers. And some upset fans accused the great Howie Morenz of taking a bribe after Morenz failed to score in a playoff series against the Montreal Maroons in 1928. The disbelieving fans, some of whom undoubtedly lost money on their own bets, could not believe Morenz did not play better.
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Whenever the name Lake Placid and everyone thinks of Olympic glory and the 1980 Miracle on Ice. 1980 was the second time Lake Placid had hosted the Olympics, and they seemed to be regularly in consideration, especially when there was a lack of candidates interested in hosting the games. That's exactly what happened when the IOC convened in Vienna on October 23, 1974 to chose the 1980 Winter Olympics host city. Lake Placid was the only entry, and no one objected.
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The Americans proved to be poor hosts. Transportation to Lake Placid was poorly organized, with more than 12,000 spectators stranded. Controversy erupted when ticket issuing was completely bumbled. Athlete accommodation was unbelievably bad. The athletes called the Olympic village "the jail," which proved to be very apt. The facilities were turned into a minimum security prison. Fans and tourists had few options of staying in the Olympic city, instead taking accommodation and bus and even helicopter tour packages out of Albany, New York and even Montreal.
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Perhaps worst of all was ABC's mishandling of the coverage. They were vilified for ignoring these aforementioned controversies, but they were never forgiven for the biggest blunder of all. Somehow, they decided not to show the famous Miracle on Ice game live. Instead, the American people had to watch arguably the greatest moment in American sporting history on tape delay, after the fact and with the drama and impact lost forever. Think of this, do you really think that during the height of the cold war that the propaganda in the nation would actually let the Russians win? Also, remember there was a vendetta for the Soviet Union beating the Americans for the first time ever in Olympic competition illegally in basketball in the 1972 Olympics. Once again America, understand how you are being manipulated!!!!
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Current Russian goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who wears Tretiak's No. 20 to honor his boyhood hero, sighed when he was asked about the game, which he said "was quickly forgotten" at home.
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He was only 5 years old in 1980, so he doesn't remember it, and he added that the story of the game has "never been actually told to us."
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We think that says it all!!
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EPH 5:11:DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE UNFRUITFUL DEEDS OF DARKNESS, BUT INSTEAD EXPOSE THEM;
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