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03/01/2010 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs announced on Monday they have released veteran guard Michael Finley.
Finley requested to be waived since his playing time waned upon his return from a sprained ankle in late January. In 25 games this season, the 36-year- old has averaged career-lows of 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds over 15-plus minutes per contest.
"Michael Finley was an outstanding professional during his time with the Spurs," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "Both on and off the court he was great example for all to follow."
Over 15 seasons in the NBA, which has included stints with Phoenix and Dallas, the University of Wisconsin product has averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 1,082 games.
<< Timberwolves waive C Blount
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves waived center
Mark Blount on Monday.
The T'wolves received Blount in a trade with the Miami Heat for Quentin
Richardson last August, but he has not appeared in a game
<< Patrick has much more to learn in NASCAR before her return
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danica-mania in NASCAR is over...for the time
being, anyway.
The Nationwide Series received more attention than ever during the month of
February due to the hype surrounding Danica Patrick's foray into stock
<< Richmond adds Trott and Coleman to coaching staff
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Richmond football coach
Latrell Scott announced the additions of Bob Trott and Roy Coleman to the
coaching staff.
Trott will serve as the defensive coordinator, while Coleman w
<< Skiles and Brooks named top coaches for February
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Skiles of the Milwaukee Bucks and
Scott Brooks from the Oklahoma City Thunder were selected as the NBA's top
coaches for the month of February.
Skiles led Milwaukee to a 10-4 record in the ye
Wagner fires head men's basketball coach Deane >>
Staten Island, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wagner College fired head men's
basketball coach Mike Deane on Monday following a 5-26 season.
In his seven years as head coach of the Seahawks, Deane guided the program to
a 95-113 record.
James, Boozer take February honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and
Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer were named the Eastern and Western Conference
Players of the Month, respectively, for the games played in February.
James led th
Blue Jackets acquire C Moore from Islanders >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired center Greg
Moore from the New York Islanders in exchange for defenseman Dylan Reese.
The trade is pending both players passing a physical.
Moore has spent the season with
Earnhardt Jr. contributes $1M to Victory Junction camp >>
Randleman, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt
Jr., announced on Monday he is donating $1 million to build and maintain The
Dale Jr. Corral and Amphitheater at Victory Junction -- a camp for children
with se
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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