We hope we never bring David Stern’s coffee with one too many sugars or collate his Q3 report out of order or, you know, accuse him and his league of game-tampering. If we do, we can pretty much count on spending the rest of our lives earning money to pay back The Commish for our temerity.

We knew the NBA had upped the ante in their civil suit against disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy on Thursday, but the details of the latest cut into Donaghy’s flesh with Stern’s legal knife have just been revealed and they couldn’t be more petty without the Heartbreakers.

To wit, David Stern wants Tim Donaghy to pay the NBA back for all of his meals, complimentary tickets, airfare expenses, and… oh, all the shoes the league gave him over the last three years. Tim, you may want to open your mail for the rest of your life with a flamethrower. Just in case.

Stern doesn’t have as much to lose as it seems on first blush. If Donaghy had proof of 2002’s Western Conference Finals shenanigans, he likely would have dropped it already. Therefore, jabbing Donaghy repeatedly until he shuts up won’t draw out any more information or keep Donaghy in the spotlight longer than necessary; Tim can do that all on his own.

If Donaghy turns out to be correct, the coverup won’t be worse than the “crime” in this case as game-fixing for television ratings would effectively mortally wound the NBA. What’s a few more shots across the bow at that point? Ship’s already sunk.