Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
12/25/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers and the defending world champion Miami Heat hook up for the third straight year on Christmas Day, as the teams battle in the only NBA contest of the day at AmericanAirlines Arena.
On Christmas Day in 2004, Dwyane Wade scored four points in overtime to help lift the Heat past Los Angeles, 104-102, at the Staples Center, while Shaquille O'Neal registered 18 points and 17 rebounds to lead Miami to a 97-92 victory over the Lakers on Christmas Day in 2005 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Shaq, who was acquired in a blockbuster deal from the Lakers on July 14, 2004, will not participate in today's game as the All-Star center is sidelined after having surgery on his left knee in November. O'Neal is averaging 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds this season. He last played on November 12th against the Houston Rockets.
O'Neal and superstar Kobe Bryant won three championships together with the Lakers. The 34-year-old O'Neal spent eight seasons with fellow All-Star Bryant and the Lakers,
The Lakers play the fourth of a six-game road trip. They are 2-1 on the swing. Bryant was suffering from a chest cold, but still had 21 points and a season- high 11 assists to lead the Lakers to a 99-95 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Friday at Continental Airlines Arena.
Smush Parker scored 13 points in the win over New Jersey for the Lakers, while Maurice Evans ended with 12 points for LA, which has won two in a row and six of its last nine games overall.
LA is 5-5 on the road this season. The Lakers are scheduled to visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday and the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday in the finale of the current trip.
The Heat conclude a brief two-game homestand. On Saturday, Jason Kapono came up huge off the bench for Miami, scoring a career-high 27 points to lead the Heat to a 105-92 dismantling of the Golden State Warriors.
Wade netted 18 and dished out eight assists in the win over the Warriors for Miami, while veteran center Alonzo Mourning had 14 points and six rebounds for the Heat, who have won three of their last four games overall. Udonis Haslem had 13 points and 10 boards, and Jason Williams finished with 10 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Miami.
Miami is 5-7 at home this season. The Heat will visit Ben Gordon and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at the United Center.
This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The Lakers are scheduled to host the Heat on January 15, 2007 at the Staples Center.
These teams have split the last six contests in this series. The Lakers have lost two straight and three of their last four at Miami.
The Lakers are in second place in the Pacific Division and trail the Phoenix Suns by one game, while the Heat are 3 1/2 games behind division-leading Orlando in the Southeast.
<< NCAA Division I-A Touchdown Passes, Season
57 - Colt Brennan, Hawaii, 200654 - David Klingler, Houston, 199052 - B.J. Symons, Texas Tech, 200347 - Jim McMahon, Brigham Young, 198046 - Andre Ware, Houston, 198946 - Tim Rattay, Louisiana Tech, 199845 - Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech, 2002Copyrigh
<< Brennan breaks TD passing record as Warriors win Hawaii Bowl
Honolulu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan broke the NCAA
single-season touchdown passing record, throwing for five scores, all in the
second half, and a school-record 559 yards, as the Warriors beat Arizona
State,
<< Hawaii's Brennan breaks NCAA single-season TD passing record
Honolulu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hawaii junior quarterback Colt Brennan broke
the NCAA single-season touchdown passing record, throwing his 55th in the
Hawaii Bowl Sunday against Arizona State
Brennan has three touchdown passes in the game, b
<< Chargers rally for win, but Seahawks clinch division
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philip Rivers did it again, rebounding from a
horrid start to lead the Chargers to a comeback victory, 20-17, over Seattle.
Despite the defeat, the Seahawks clinched their third straight NFC West title
by vi
UCLA remains on top of poll; Clemson and Tennessee join Top 25 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the fifth consecutive week, UCLA
remained atop the Associated Press college basketball poll.
The Bruins (11-0) crushed Michigan, 92-55, and also dismantled Sam Houston
State this past week
NFL Inactives (Monday, December 25, 2006) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of the players
placed on the inactive squad for this week's NFL games.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT DALLAS COWBOYS, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
Eagles - RB Ryan Moats, G Max Jean-Gilles, T Pat McCoy
Wade thrives, Heat shut down Kobe >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade had a spectacular Christmas
afternoon, scoring 40 points, dishing out 11 assists and tying a career-high
with four blocked shots, as the Heat rolled to a 101-85 over the Los Angeles
Lakers.
Big Unit going back to Diamondbacks? >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Johnson's days with the New York Yankees
could be numbered.
According to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger, the Yankees are in
discussions with the Diamondbacks to trade Johnson, a five-time
MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse racing . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting