Kuchar takes early lead at BMW Championship
Golf Betting Lines
09/09/2010 - Lemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kuchar fired a seven-under 64 on Thursday to take the early first-round lead at the BMW Championship.
The FedEx Cup leader scorched Cog Hill for an eagle, six birdies and a bogey, building a one-shot lead over Ryan Moore on the same course where he won the 1997 U.S. Amateur.
"I've got good memories of this place, so it continued to go well for me today," said Kuchar, who started the playoffs with a win two weeks ago at The Barclays.
Moore, who is seventh in the playoff standings, birdied seven of his last eight holes for a 65.
Retief Goosen was two shots further back at 67, while Englishmen Justin Rose and Luke Donald led a four-way tie at 68 that included Dustin Johnson and Brian Gay.
Defending champion Tiger Woods was playing in the afternoon wave of tee times and started his round with a double-bogey at the first hole.
Woods, a five-time BMW winner, needs a good finish this week to make the playoff finale in two weeks at the Tour Championship.
Phil Mickelson was also playing in the afternoon. He has yet another chance to pass Woods as No. 1 in the world rankings this week.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Dayton has been selected as the host for the NCAA Tournament's new "First Four" games. In April, the NCAA announced an expansion of the men's basketball tournament to 68 teams for 201
<< Women's Open semis on tap for Friday
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The combatants for the 2010
women's final at the U.S. Open will be decided on Friday, when top-seeded
Caroline Wozniacki meets No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva and second-seeded Kim
Clijste
<< Bills' Mitchell considered doubtful for opener
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell
missed practice Thursday and appears unlikely to play in Sunday's opener
against the Miami Dolphins.
Bills head coach Chan Gailey said Mitchell hurt hi
<< Modano skates for 1st time with Red Wings
DETROIT (AP) - Mike Modano grew up dreaming of skating at Joe Louis Arena as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. He actually did it Thursday morning.The 40-year-old center, who signed a one-year, free agent deal with the Red Wings worth $1.25 million
<< Big win doesn't alter Moore's '1 game' focus
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -If the impact of Boise State's big victory over Virginia Tech ever sinks in to Kellen Moore's brain, don't expect the soft-spoken quarterback to veer from the team's modesty mantra.Like his coach and teammates, Moore simply refuse
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have reportedly given cornerback Charles Woodson a contract extension. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the two sides have agreed to the deal and ESPN.com reports that W
Huber, Bryan capture mixed title at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded team of Americans
Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan captured the 2010 mixed doubles title at the U.S.
Open.
Huber and Bryan beat an unseeded tandem of Czech Kveta Peschke and Pakistan'
In the FCS Huddle: Week 2 Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "For the warrior, the seasons are marked
not by these sweet measures, nor the calendar years themselves, but by
battles," - Xeo, Gates of Fire
For the warriors in the FCS, the season of battle presses forw
Damon, Porcello help Tigers down White Sox >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Damon went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two
runs scored, and Rick Porcello threw eight strong frames as the Tigers handed
the White Sox a third straight loss, 6-3, to close out a four-game series.
Ryan Ra
Durant carries U.S. into semis; Lithuania crushes Argentina >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant poured in 33 points on 11-
of-19 shooting, helping the United Stated grind out an 89-79 victory over
Russia in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Russell Westbrook
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.
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