Henin, Kuznetsova land in Rogers Cup QFs

Tennis Betting Lines

08/17/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Justine Henin, Serbian star Jelena Jankovic and third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova were among Thursday's third-round winners at the $1.34 million Rogers Cup.

Henin rolled past Chinese Shuai Peng 7-5, 6-2 in 1 hour, 48 minutes on the hardcourts at Rexall Centre on the campus of York University. The Belgian star is playing her first tennis since a stunning semifinal loss against France's Marion Bartoli in last month's Wimbledon semifinals.

The diminutive Henin is the reigning French Open champ and U.S. Open runner- up. She captured this Canadian event in 2003 and was the runner-up here in Toronto in 2005.

Up next for the six-time major titlist Henin will be surging Russian Nadia Petrova, a 6-4, 6-1 winner against 10th-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder. Petrova, seeded sixth this week, was last week's Carson runner-up to Serb Ana Ivanovic.

Second-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic had little trouble disposing of No. 13 Sybile Bammer in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Jankovic, a four-time titlist this year, will move on to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano,

Razzano moved into the round of eight by dismissing 11th-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-3.

The former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova waltzed past American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3, 6-2 at this U.S. Open Series event.

Up next for Kuznetsova will be 12th-seeded Tatiana Golovin of France, who advanced by cooling off Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-0. Schiavone was riding a torrid nine-match winning streak, which included her first-ever WTA Tour title, in Austria, last month.

Meanwhile, France's Marion Bartoli outlasted Russian Dinara Safina, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-0, in three sets and will take on Chinese qualifier Zi Yan, who held off Greek Eleni Daniilidou 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5). Yan stunned the world No. 4 Ivanovic here on Wednesday.

Gamingfrenzi Tennis Betting News

<< Raging Rapids rough-up Revs
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids snapped a 10-game winless streak last week after topping defending Major League Soccer Champions Houston 1-0 after an own goal by Dwayne De Rosario. Rapids head coach Fernando C

<< Beck lifts Phish over Chiefs
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Beck scored on a two-point conversion plunge following Patrick Cobbs' seven-yard touchdown run to give the Dolphins an 11-10 victory over the Chiefs in preseason action. Beck, who completed 5-of-6

<< Reid and McNulty share Tradition lead
Sunriver, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Senior PGA Champion Mike Reid and Mark McNulty each fired rounds of six-under-par 66 on Thursday to share the opening-round lead of the Tradition. David Edwards carded a bogey-free, five-un

<< Pirates rally for 10-7 win over Mets
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored as Pittsburgh downed the New York Mets, 10-7, in the finale of a three-game set at PNC Park. Adam LaRoche hit a two-run home run and scored three t

<< Hamels, Phillies down Nationals
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cole Hamels tossed 6 2/3 innings of four- hit ball, striking out six and walking two, as the Phillies took the rubber match of a three-game series with the Nationals, 4-2. Hamels (14-5) labored somew

Packers set to part ways with WR Ferguson >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers are putting veteran wide receiver Robert Ferguson on the trading block, according to head coach Mike McCarthy. Whether the team can work out a deal in the next few days

Buck bangs double to propel Royals past Rangers >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Buck's bases-clearing double highlighted Kansas City's four-run eighth inning in a 6-2 victory over Texas to wrap up a three-game series. With the game knotted at 2-2 starting the eighth

Guillen's slam lifts Detroit past Yanks >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Guillen belted a grand slam in the top of the first inning to set the tone as Detroit coasted to an easy 8-5 win over New York in the opener of a four-game set at Yankee Stadium. Guillen finished 2-f

Lowe, Dodgers shut down Astros >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Lowe hurled seven shutout innings as Los Angeles downed Houston, 6-2, in the finale of a four-game series at Chavez Ravine. Lowe (9-11) allowed just five hits and did not walk a batter for th

Padres top Rockies in wild affair >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Cameron and Pete Laforest each homered during a nine-run bottom of the fifth frame, all runs coming with two outs, as the Padres outlasted the Colorado Rockies, 11-9, to wrap up a three-game set. Lafor

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

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.