ESPN reports that Tim Donaghy has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for providing inside tips to gamblers wagering on NBA games.

It’s the same term Donaghy’s buddy James Battista received last week for placing bets on games based on Tim’s illegal tips.

The ex-ref is somewhat fortunate, as he could have faced up to 33 months behind bars. But NEWSDAY follows up that the ruling by Federal Judge Carol Amon “took into account Donaghy’s cooperation in the investigation.”

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Tim Donaghy reached out and touched someone a whole lot of times during his alleged gambling days. And it wasn’t just his bookie getting all the calls - it was another NBA ref.

(Scott Foster [L] was apparently in Tim Donaghy’s five)

FOX NEWS reports that Donaghy had phoned fellow ref Scott Foster 134 times during the 2006-07 season, or about 8 more times than he rang up bookie James Battista: Read more…

Brett Edwards of AOL FANHOUSE dribbles over the story of an NBA fan who was kicked out of a game for making gambling comments to the refs.

As the Clippers hosted the Warriors back on March 19, a courtside fan at Staples Center directed some Vegas-style suggestions to ref Joe Forte, telling him to “make sure the game’s over 218 points.”

It may have been a humorous swipe at former fellow ref Tim Donaghy, but Forte wasn’t laughing.

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