The Bulls (24-7) claimed a 121-115 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night to
clinch the conference's best record through games played February 15, giving
Thibodeau the nod for the February 26 contest at the Amway Center in Orlando.
The NBA's reigning Coach of the Year, Thibodeau piloted the Bulls to an NBA-
best 62-20 record last season. Chicago advanced to the Eastern Conference
Finals before losing to the Miami Heat in five games.
Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks will coach the Western Conference.
<< Russell upsets Young at SAP Open
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Russell upset seventh-seeded Donald
Young in straight sets Tuesday in the first round of the $531,000 SAP Open.
Russell, 33, knocked off Young in just under 92 minutes with a 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
victory
<< Young, Wizards top Blazers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Young dropped in a game-high 35 points as
the Washington Wizards posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season
with a 124-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
John Wall added
<< Gasol leads Lakers over Hawks
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pau Gasol had 20 points, doubling up Kobe
Bryant, and the Los Angeles Lakers returned home with an 86-78 win over the
Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.
Bryant had 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting without
<< Flames stay hot against Toronto
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miikka Kiprusoff made 41 saves, backstopping
the Calgary Flames to a convincing 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at
Scotiabank Saddledome.
Calgary's top-line trio of Olli Jokinen, Alex Tanguay and J
<< Red Wings set home winning streak record
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings now hold the NHL record
for most consecutive home wins thanks to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars at
Joe Louis Arena.
The last loss the Red Wings suffered in front of the home c
Golf Course Review - The Greenbrier (Old White TPC) >>
White Sulphur Springs, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS AND STATS: Course
Architects: Charles Blair Macdonald, with Seth Raynor (1914), Lester George
(2001-06, restoration), PGA Tour Design along with McDonald and Sons (2010-11).
Year Opened: April
Baffert goes after another Southwest at Oaklawn >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Bob Baffert has decided to start a
pair of three-year-olds in Oaklawn Park's Southwest Stakes on Monday led by a
Breeders' Cup race winner. The $250,000 mile race is part of the track's
Kentuck
Kings try to stop Lin-sanity from spreading in NYC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the legend of Jeremy Lin grows, so does the confidence
level of the New York Knicks.
Lin continues to work wonders for the Knickerbockers and will lead his team
back to Madison Square Garden tonight in the opener of a f
Nets aim to snap skid vs. Grizzlies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mired in their second six-game losing streak of the season,
the New Jersey Nets look to bounce back tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies
at the Prudential Center.
The Nets, who also dropped six straight games from Dec. 27
Hornets shoot for rare winning streak in Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been a long time since the New Orleans Hornets have
been able to string back-to-back wins together. Tonight, they get a chance to
do just that when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks in the first of a six-game
stretch away f
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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
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