Football Betting

Bulls try to continue strong play at Minnesota

Basketball Betting Lines

12/26/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls are on a roll and will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves this evening at the Target Center.

Chicago is just two games behind Detroit for the lead in the Central Division and has won 13 of its last 15 games overall. On Saturday the Bulls posted a 115-76 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center.

Ben Gordon poured in 23 points and Andres Nocioni had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who rebounded from a 103-92 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday. Thabo Sefolosha and Tyrus Thomas each scored 14 points, while Sefolosha grabbed nine rebounds for Chicago.

The Bulls will try to improve on their 4-9 mark away from Chicago this season.

Meanwhile, Minnesota stopped a four-game losing streak by notching a 78-71 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Kevin Garnett scored 29 points and pulled down 19 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves. Randy Foye was the only other Timberwolves player to register double figures in any offensive category, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.

Minnesota, which is 6-5 at home this season, is seven games off the lead in the Northwest Division. It is also 1-0 against Chicago this season after a 91-81 victory on December 9 at the United Center.

The Timberwolves have won two of three, 12 of 15 and 13 of the last 17 matchups in the series.

Chicago has dropped seven of its last eight trips to Minnesota.


<< Pistons welcome Nets to The Palace
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Detroit Pistons aim for their fifth straight win when they host the New Jersey Nets tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit, which owns a two-game lead over Chicago in the division, ha

<< Grizzlies, Wizards meet at Verizon Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies try and stop a three-game losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. Memphis, the NBA's worst team, suffered a 100-97 loss to the Utah Jazz on Satur

<< Rockets stop off in Indiana
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets hit the road this evening to take on the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Houston will visit Indiana and New Jersey on its brief trip and is 8-8 as the visitor this season. The Rockets have lost t

<< Packers/Bears selected for Sunday night; wild chase for playoffs
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has moved this coming Sunday night's game between Green Bay and the Chicago Bears to 8:15 p.m. (et) as part of the flexible scheduling system. There were other games moved back to later in the afte

<< Jets inch closer to playoffs by edging Dolphins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leon Washington's 64-yard jaunt on a screen pass set up Mike Nugent's winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining, as the New York Jets moved closer to the playoffs with a 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphin

Bucks start road trip in San Antonio >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks open a three-game road trip tonight when they take on the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. Milwaukee has won a season-high four straight games and posted a 115-104 victory over the New Jersey Nets

Trail Blazers visit Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns attempt to get back on the winning track when they host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at US Airways Center. This is the second meeting of the season between the squads. On November 26th, Raja Bell s

Sixers start road trip against Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Philadelphia 76ers start a seven-game road trip, as they visit the Golden State Warriors tonight at ORACLE Arena. This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The Sixers are scheduled to h

Sonics wrap up homestand versus Hornets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle SuperSonics close out a three-game homestand tonight, as they welcome the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets to KeyArena. This is the second meeting of the season between the clubs this season. On December 8th

Mavs try to make in seven straight wins vs. Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks attempt to extend their winning streak to seven games tonight, as they welcome the Charlotte Bobcats to American Airlines Center. Dallas won 12 in a row earlier this season from November 9th to Decem

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

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.

NFL Betting Lines

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