Turkey and Slovenia win to reach quarterfinals
Basketball Betting Lines
09/05/2010 - Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Sinan Guler added 18 as Turkey subdued France, 95-77, to advance the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championships.
Turkoglu connected on 6-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three- point territory, for the Turkish squad that shot an impressive 63.6-percent from the floor to remain undefeated in six games in the tournament.
Oguz Savas and Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks each added nine points for the victors, who went on a 10-0 run to start the second half to push their lead to an insurmountable 25.
Boris Diaw, who plays for the Charlotte Bobcats, paced France with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including knocking down 5-of-8 from long distance. Nando De Colo chipped in with 15 points and Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers added 11 in defeat.
Turkey will next face Slovenia, an easy 87-58 winner over Australia earlier in the day, on Wednesday.
Jaka Lakovic made five three-point shots and scored 19 points to lead Slovenia, while Primoz Brezec added 12 points in the win. The victors made 16-of-33 from beyond the arc and shot 50-percent from the floor overall for the game.
Patrick Mills and Joseph Ingles each scored 13 points for Australia, which was 3-2 in group play. Matthew Nielsen added 12 points in a losing cause.
The Aussies shot just 31-percent from the floor and made only 2-of-19 shots from three-point territory.
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his first Nationwide Tour win Sunday at the Mylan Classic.
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<< Cousins' hit lifts Marlins over Braves in extras
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Cousins' pinch-hit single -- his first big
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Florida Marlins got by the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, in the rubber match of a
three-g
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It's the third callup this season for Balester, and over six appearances in
the 2010 campaign, he is 0
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Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stump Mitchell won his coaching debut at Southern University as the Jaguars rallied past Delaware State, 37-27, Sunday afternoon in the sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge at the Citrus Bowl. Corey Cushing
Holliday, Cards take series finale over NL Central-leading Reds >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday belted the game-changing three-
run home run in the sixth inning to lead St. Louis to a much-needed 4-2 win
over Cincinnati in the last of a three-game series.
Holliday finished 2-for-4 whi
Fielder, Wolf help Brewers down Phils >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prince Fielder's three-run homer in the
first inning proved to be all Milwaukee needed, as the Brewers held off the
Phillies, 6-2, to avoid a three-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park.
Rickie Weeks had
Zimmerman, Nats beat up Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-5 and drove in
four runs, as the Washington Nationals handled the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-1, in
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Gordon's homer lifts Royals past Tigers >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gordon hit a go-ahead home run leading
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The blas
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.