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09/05/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span each drove in a pair of runs and Minnesota survived a ninth-inning scare to take a 6-5 decision over Texas in the finale of a three-game series from Target Field.
Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy also collected an RBI each for the Twins, who swept the set from the AL West leaders and have won eight of their last 10 games.
Nick Blackburn (9-9) allowed six hits and two runs over seven solid innings, fanning four with three walks for Minnesota, which maintained its 3 1/2 game lead over Chicago in the AL Central after the White Sox topped Boston.
Matt Capps earned his ninth save despite allowing two runs to score and being charged with a run on three hits while recording the final out of the game.
Matt Treanor drove in two while Julio Borbon, Cristian Guzman and Vladimir Guerrero added RBI hits in the ninth for the Rangers, who slid to their sixth loss in eight outings.
C.J. Wilson (14-6) was tagged in the loss for seven hits and six runs, striking out five but walking four over 5 1/3 frames.
Jon Rauch turned in a scoreless eighth but allowed an RBI double from Borbon with two down in the ninth and departed with a runner on second.
Capps was called upon but Guzman hit a run-scoring single for a 6-4 game. Young followed with a base hit and David Murphy walked to load the bases. Guerrero then sent a ball up the middle. It was fielded by Hudson behind second base and he threw to third behind Young, who was trying to go back to the base.
Although Guzman scored to make it a one-run game, Young was called out due to runners interference -- incidental contact with Texas' third-base coach -- while rounding the bag.
Cudddyer's two-run double in the first staked the Twins to the lead, then the Rangers countered in their next at-bat with a Treanor two-run single.
Minnesota got a run back in the home second as Hardy and Matt Tolbert both walked, Jason Repko beat out a bunt single and Span's sacrifice fly plated the go-ahead run.
The home team put up three more runs in the sixth. Jason Kubel and Delmon Young stroked back-to-back singles then a Hardy hit plated one run. Repko walked two batters later to load the bases then Span also walked to force in a run and chase Wilson.
Michael Kirkman then allowed a sac fly from Hudson to make it 6-2 before retiring Joe Mauer on a fly out.
Blackburn finished his performance by sending the Rangers down in order in the sixth then working around a Guzman double in the seventh.
Game Notes
Minnesota won seven of the 10 meetings with Texas this season, including a perfect 6-0 mark at home...The Rangers announced Sunday that outfielder Josh Hamilton will be out for an undetermined period of time while recovering from a bruised left ribcage suffered on Saturday...Both clubs are in action on Monday as the Twins stay home to host Kansas City while the Rangers head to Toronto to start a four-game set.
<< Texans release veteran LB Clark
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans released veteran linebacker
Danny Clark on Sunday.
He had signed with the team as a free agent in May.
Clark spent the 2007 season with the Texans and recorded 51 tackles and one
inter
<< Dolphins place CB Allen on injured reserve
DAVIE (AP) - Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen was placed on injured reserve Sunday, ending any hope the 10th-year player had of returning from mid-August knee surgery in a move that removes the most seasoned player from a young secondary.Coach T
<< Orioles Tillman makes start after recall
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles recalled pitcher Chris
Tillman from Triple-A Norfolk to start Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay
Rays.
The right-hander went 5 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs on si
<< Day takes 1-shot lead at Deutsche Bank
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australia's Jason Day fired a five-under 66 on
Sunday to take a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker after the third round of
the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Chasing his second win of the season, and looking to ma
Schulz hangs on to win First Tee Open >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champions Tour rookie Ted Schulz earned
his first win in 19 years Sunday by shooting a two-under 70 in the final round
of the First Tee Open.
Schultz picked up a birdie at the 17th hole and finished at 14-
Happ strong again as Astros down Arizona >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence's three-run home run in the first
inning stood up as the deciding hit as Houston held off Arizona, 3-2, to wrap
up a three-game set.
Pence finished 2-for-4 and Jeff Keppinger added a hit and a ru
Riders nip reeling Bombers >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Cates scored twice on the ground as the
Saskatchewan Roughriders took down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 27-23, in a
Labour Day contest from Mosaic Stadium.
Darian Durant went 22-of-34 with 301 ya
Titans waive Blount, build practice squad >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans waived running back
LeGarrette Blount on Sunday as they made a number of moves.
The Titans waived linebacker Stanford Keglar in addition to Blount, who signed
with the club as an
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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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.
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