It's sad to think ... and there have been many times where it's true. Get this: my uncle worked for years at the Forum in Montreal. He did a lot of 'tech' stuff for TV, radio, telecommunications, etc. Back in the late 60s and early 70s he said that there was definite manipulation in the outcome of certain games. Back then, you had to have a fair bit of lead time to install direct phone lines to various cites. When the playoffs had started, he said that most of the time there was only one city installed for their upcoming opponent even though the other series had not finished yet!!! He said that you could never really tell who it was making the decisions and where they came from. There was definite "inside" action though.