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09/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Colorado Rockies look to sweep a four-game set from the Cincinnati Reds when the two teams collide tonight in the series finale from Coors Field.
Colorado has won six straight overall and recorded a 9-2 victory last night behind a big performance from shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who ended 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and four RBI. Seth Smith also went deep for the Rockies, who sit 4 1/2 games off the lead in both the NL West and wild card standings.
"We're doing everything well right now," Smith said. "Baseball is hard to put everything together -- pitching, defense and baserunning. We seem to be doing all three well right now."
Jonathan Herrera and Eric Young Jr. finished with two hits and two RBI apiece in a winning effort. Carlos Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a 1-for-3 effort at the plate.
Rockies starter Aaron Cook earned the win, allowing one run, six hits and a walk in five-plus innings before leaving with a non-displaced fracture in his right leg after being hit with a line drive.
The Rockies are perfect so far on a 10-game homestand. They will also host Arizona and San Diego on the residency. Taking the mound for Colorado Thursday will be Jason Hammel, who has won back-to-back starts and three of his last four decisions. In last Saturday's 6-2 victory at the Padres, Hammel limited San Diego to two runs in 6 2/3 innings for the win.
Hammel, who is 10-7 in 25 starts this season, lost to the Reds back on July 16 and is 0-1 in two career starts against them.
Cincinnati has dropped four in a row, but still leads the National League Central Division by six games over St. Louis.
In Wednesday's seven-run setback, Joey Votto recorded three hits and an RBI, while Paul Janish drove in the other run for the Reds, who fell to 1-5 on a seven-game road trip against the Cardinals and Rockies.
"We had another chance to pick up a game, but on the bright side we didn't lose any ground, either, and there's one less game on the schedule," Reds manager Dusty Baker said in reference to St. Louis losing again. "That's not going to continue. We feel fortunate that that's happened, but we've got to win."
The Reds have lost 18 of their last 21 games against Colorado and last won at Coors Field on August 22, 2008. Reds promising rookie Travis Wood draws the start tonight and he's 5-2 with a 3.19 earned run average in 12 starts. He allowed one unearned run over seven innings in a 6-1 win at St. Louis last Saturday to improve to 5-1 in 10 road appearances.
Wood, a left-hander, lost to the Rockies in his only appearance against them back on July 18, when he tossed six innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 defeat.
Colorado's last four-game sweep of Cincinnati occurred from Sept. 7-10 last season.
<< Brady involved in car accident
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was
involved in a car accident Thursday morning in Boston.
The Patriots confirmed the news on their Twitter feed and added that Brady was
not hospitalized and was e
<< Serie A needs Milan to succeed
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In case you haven't noticed, Italian
soccer is not exactly flourishing.
Yes, the national team won the World Cup four years ago, and Serie A side
Inter Milan became the first Italian team to win
<< Saints, Vikes kick off NFL season with championship-level rematch
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints will begin the first title defense in
their 43-year history on Thursday night, when Drew Brees and company host Brett
Favre and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL's 2010 lid-lifter from the Louisiana
Supe
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 9th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
QUARTERFINALS
Russia vs. USA, 11 a.m.
Lithuania vs. Argentina, 2 p.m.
Rangers, Blue Jays conclude set in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Lewis tries to put the breaks on a personal seven-
game losing streak this evening when the Texas Rangers conclude a four-game
series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Lewis hasn't won since Jul
Tigers eye series win over White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers try to play spoiler this afternoon and
go for a series win when they wrap up a four-game set against the playoff
hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.
The White Sox won the first seven gam
Dodgers take losing streak into Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to avoid a season-high sixth
consecutive loss this evening when they open a four-game series against the
Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The Dodgers' playoff chances took a big hit th
NBA opens office in Moscow >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Basketball Association has
opened a new office in Moscow, as announced by deputy commissioner and COO
Adam Silver on Thursday.
Moscow joins the ever-expanding international umbrella ho
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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The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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