Robredo wins Bastad opener

Tennis Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Tommy Robredo highlighted Tuesday's first-round winners at the Swedish Open.

The fifth-seeded Robredo topped Poland's Michal Przysiezny 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 on the red clay at Bastad Tennis Stadium.

The former top-10 player Robredo captured this event in 2006 and 2008.

Day-2 upsets came when Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas cut down sixth-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3) and Croatian qualifier Franco Skugor surprised seventh-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7).

Other opening-round wins came for Swedish qualifier Ervin Eleskovic, Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev, France's Stephane Robert and Italian Andreas Seppi.

This week's top seed in Swedish star and reigning Bastad champion Robin Soderling. The reigning two-time French Open runner-up will meet wild card and fellow Swede Andreas Vinciguerra in the second round on Wednesday after enjoying a first-round bye this week. Vinciguerra reached back-to-back Bastad finals in 1999 and 2000.

Soderling beat Argentine Juan Monaco in last year's finale here.

In addition to Soderling and Robredo, another former Bastad champion in this week's field is 2007 winner David Ferrer of Spain. Ferrer will face Italian Fabio Fognini in a second-rounder on Wednesday.

Wwwsportsbetting Tennis Betting News

<< Winnipeg's Pierce highlights CFL Players of the Week
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce, Saskatchewan defensive end Brent Hawkins, Toronto kick returner Chad Owens and Montreal safety Etienne Boulay were selected as the CFL's top performers for Week 2

<< Stern advice for James, Gilbert and Jesse
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took the death of a true sports legend, Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, to finally knock LeBron James and the NBA from the top of every sportscast across the country. Conventional wisdom sa

<< Celtics re-sign Ray Allen
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have re-signed guard Ray Allen, the team announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports from last week said Allen agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract. "

<< Flyers sign Carcillo
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers signed left wing Dan Carcillo to a one-year contract on Tuesday. Carcillo, 25, had filed for salary arbitration last week. "We are happy to have Dan under contract for the

<< Birmingham hands O'Connor new deal
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birmingham City striker Garry O'Connor has signed a new short-term contract with Alex McLeish's side. The 27-year-old Scotland international, who has endured an injury-ravaged recent spell with th

This Week in Auto Racing July 16 - 18 >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Sprint Cup Series takes a break this weekend, the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series compete at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. The IZOD IndyCar Series runs on the streets

Clippers sign Willie Warren >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers have signed guard Willie Warren, the team's second-round pick in the 2010 draft. Warren, the 54th overall selection, played two seasons at Oklahoma before entering the draft

Palermo makes offer for Liverpool's Lucas >>
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva could be on his way to Italy after Palermo made an offer for the Brazilian. The Serie A side are reported to have tabled a bid in the region of six million euros for t

Leverkusen signs striker Jorgensen >>
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayer Leverkusen has completed the signing of striker Nicolai Jorgensen from Danish side AB. The 19-year-old has earned himself a five-year deal with the Bundesliga club after impressing on a

Kohlschreiber exits Stuttgart >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded German favorite Philipp Kohlschreiber was an opening-round upset victim Tuesday at the Mercedes Cup tennis event. German Florian Mayer upended his compatriot Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2 on

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


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.