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02/25/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets will aim to make up ground in the Atlantic Division this evening when the teams battle at Continental Airlines Arena.
The Nets are currently second in the Atlantic, five games back of the Raptors, while the Knicks are third in the standings one further game back of the lead. Both clubs are also in striking distance of the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
New Jersey took the first meeting between the two squads this year on January 19 and has won seven of the last eight in the series and 13 of the last 16. The Nets have been successful against the Knicks at home where they have won nine of the last 11.
The Nets moved to 1-1 on their current five-game homestand on Friday after topping the Sacramento Kings, 109-96. Jason Kidd rewarded the club that elected not to trade him at the deadline with a trouble-double. He posted 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the win.
Kidd was playing despite a cracked rib revealed Thursday, which was the NBA's trading deadline.
Vince Carter added 26 points and had 11 rebounds for the Nets, who halted a three-game losing streak. Eddie House notched 20 points, while Marcus Williams added 19 for New Jersey.
The Nets, who are 15-14 at home this season, remain without forward Richard Jefferson, who is still out at least another two weeks because of right ankle surgery.
The Knicks were involved in a tight game on Friday, but emerged as winners over the Bucks.
Channing Frye hit two free throws after a controversial foul on Andrew Bogut with 0.8 seconds remaining, as New York beat Milwaukee, 95-93. Frye's free throws came courtesy of a loose ball foul on Bogut as the two battled for a rebound off a Stephon Marbury miss.
Officials huddled and went to a replay to determine if time was left on the clock. Bogut's left hand barely made contact with Frye, causing the questionable foul call.
Marbury and Jamal Crawford each had 22 points for the Knicks, who posted their second win in three games. Eddy Curry was limited to 10 points, but had 11 rebounds for the Knicks.
New York is 10-18 on the road this season, but will return home to host the Heat on Monday.
On the injury front, forward David Lee (high right ankle sprain) and guard Steve Francis (flu) are both questionable for today's game.
<< Ducks invite Avs to Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to avoid a fourth consecutive
loss tonight, when they welcome the struggling Colorado Avalanche to the Honda
Center.
The Ducks are first in the Pacific Division and second in the Western
Confere
<< Preds ride momentum into Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a dramatic victory, the Nashville Predators will
try to keep the momentum going tonight, when they visit the Columbus Blue
Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
The Predators had a key matchup with the Detroit Red Wings o
<< Timberwolves continue homestand against Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Still in search of the first win on their current five-game
homestand, the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves play host to the Washington
Wizards this afternoon at the Target Center.
Minnesota dropped the opener of the stan
<< Heat continue life without Wade against Cavs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What was once a can't miss game on the NBA schedule has
lost some of its luster as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to
Miami to take on the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat hav
Pacers welcome Artest, Kings to Conseco Fieldhouse >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings resume a four-game road trip this
evening when they head to Indiana to battle the Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Kings have dropped the first two games of the swing, including Friday's
109-96 setbac
Thrashers acquire Tkachuk from Blues >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues traded forward Keith
Tkachuk to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for forward Glen Metropolit and
what could amount to four draft picks.
Tkachuk has played in 61 games this season, racking
Spring Training Preview: AL West >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If I had one word to describe the American League West, it
would be uncertainty.
Every single team in the division has some huge question marks. I can see
all four teams winning the division. On the other hand, I can see
AZ held by 10-man Ajax >>
Alkmaar, Holland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ missed a great opportunity to move
into second place on Sunday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a 10-man Ajax
side at Alkmaarder Hout.
The result leaves the Amsterdam club one point clear of
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
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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.
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