Djokovic sneaks into fourth round at Indian Wells
Tennis Betting Lines
03/15/2010 - Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 2 Novak Djokovic barely survived his third-round match Monday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters event.
The second-seeded Djokovic outlasted 25th-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) on the hardcourts at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The 2008 Indian Wells titlist Djokovic staved off three match points while trailing 4-5 in the third set here on Day 5.
Djokovic prevailed in 2 hours, 35 minutes with a match-ending inside-out forehand winner.
Up next for Djokovic will be 20th-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic or Argentine Brian Dabul.
Tough Argentine Juan Monaco, seeded 21st here, upset 11th-seeded former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-3.
The men's third round will conclude here on Tuesday, including matches for world No. 1 superstar Roger Federer, fourth-seeded Andy Murray and seventh- seeded Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick. The 16-time major titlist Federer will tangle with 27th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
This week's winner will collect $605,500.
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers on Monday re-signed veteran offensive tackle Mark Tauscher to a two-year contract. The Wisconsin product has spent his entire 10-year career with the Packers, who selected the 6-f
<< Iowa fires hoops coach Lickliter
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Iowa has fired head men's
basketball coach Todd Lickliter.
The school announced the news Monday, and while Iowa athletic director Gary
Barta said he still believes Lickliter is "a trem
<< Power-ful return to IndyCar
Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seven months after suffering back
injuries in a practice crash at Sonoma, CA, Will Power made an impressive
comeback in the IZOD IndyCar Series by winning the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy
300 in Brazil.
Powe
<< Wizards add to midfield depth with signings
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards signed midfielders
Ryan Smith and Igor Kostrov, the Major League Soccer club announced on Monday.
The team also announced that it has signed English midfielder Craig Rocastle.
"We'r
<< Ovechkin suspended two games for "reckless" hit on Campbell
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has
been suspended two games without pay for his hit on Chicago Blackhawks
defenseman Brian Campbell.
The incident, which the NHL called "a reckless hit" in
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants and New York Jets will both host games at their new home, Meadowlands Stadium, on the opening weekend of the 2010 regular season. The Giants will play Sunday afternoon, September 12,
Seahawks ink TE Baker >>
Kirkland, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks on Monday added depth at
the tight end position by signing veteran Chris Baker.
Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 30-year-old Baker spent last season with the P
UConn leads top seeds for women's tourney >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut, Stanford, Tennessee and
Nebraska all earned top seeds for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament,
which begins Saturday at campus sites around the country.
Connecticut (33-0) is t
Stars' Modano out indefinitely >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Stars center Mike Modano will be out
indefinitely after undergoing surgery Monday for an appendectomy.
The 39-year-old Modano did not practice with the team today and is not
expected to play
Broncos release QB Simms >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos on Monday released
quarterback Chris Simms in the wake of the acquisition of Brady Quinn.
On Sunday, the Broncos acquired Quinn from the Browns in exchange for fullback
Peyton Hill
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.