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02/16/2012 - Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elena Delle Donne poured in 42 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading No. 10 Delaware in an 89-79 victory against Hofstra.
Delle Donne made 13-of-24 shots and also blocked six shots for the Blue Hens (23-1, 14-0 CAA), who won their 13th consecutive game. They haven't lost since December 29 against Maryland.
Trumae Lucas added 15 points and seven assists in the victory, while Danielle Parker had 14 points and 11 boards.
Katelyn Loper and Candice Bellocchio both had 21 points for the Pride (17-8, 9-5), who have dropped three of four. Bellocchio also had 10 assists.
<< Almagro, Nalbandian reach quarters in Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion
Nicolas Almagro secured a berth in the quarterfinals at the $475,300 Brasil
Open.
Almagro fought his way past Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 at
this clay
<< St. Louis wins it for Tampa Bay in OT
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis scored a pair of goals,
including the game-winner with 32.8 seconds left in overtime, as the Tampa Bay
Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks, 6-5.
Steven Stamkos had two goals and two assi
<< Hill's shooting leads Ohio State over Indiana
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tayler Hill went 7-for-8 from beyond the arc
and ended with 27 points, leading No. 9 Ohio State to a 75-54 victory over
Indiana.
Amber Stokes had 14 points and seven assists for the Buckeyes (23-3, 10-3
<< Maryland handles Virginia
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tianna Hawkins had a double-double with
a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds, as the eighth-ranked Maryland
Terrapins dominated the Virginia Cavaliers, 73-56.
Alyssa Thomas added 16 points an
Kane leads Jets past Wild in shootout >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evander Kane scored twice in regulation and
the winner in the shootout to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 win over the
Minnesota Wild.
In the fourth round, Dany Heatley was stopped by Chris Mason and
Boozer and Bulls rally over Boston >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer scored 23 points, grabbed 15
rebounds and dished out five assists, and the Chicago Bulls utilized a late
12-0 run to take down the Boston Celtics, 89-80, at United Center.
Luol Deng and
Duke rallies past NC State >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Duke is becoming quite good at this comeback
thing.
Seth Curry scored 26 points and Austin Rivers added 16, including the go-ahead
three-pointer with 2:26 to play, as No.5 Duke rallied from a double-dig
Stars nip Flames in OT >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ribeiro's goal in overtime sent the Stars
to a 3-2 win over the Flames on Thursday.
Adam Burish and Steve Ott scored in regulation while Ribeiro added an assist,
helping the Stars halt a three-game skid.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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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.
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