2010 World Basketball Championship update - August 28th

Basketball Betting Lines

08/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -

Group C: Greece vs. China, 9 a.m. (Ankara)

Final: Greece 89 China 81

Group D: New Zealand vs. Lithuania, 9 a.m. (Izmir)

Final: Lithuania 92 New Zealand 79

Group A: Australia vs. Jordan, 9:30 a.m. (Kayseri)

Group B: Tunisia vs. Slovenia, 9:30 a.m. (Istanbul)

Group C: Russia vs. Puerto Rico, 11:30 a.m. (Ankara)

Group D: Canada vs. Lebanon, 11:30 a.m. (Izmir)

Group A: Angola vs. Spain, 12 p.m. (Kayseri)

Group B: USA vs. Croatia, 12 p.m. (Istanbul)

Group C: Ivory Coast vs. Turkey, 2 p.m. (Ankara)

Group D: France vs. Spain, 2 p.m. (Izmir)

Group A: Germany vs. Argentina, 2:30 p.m. (Kayseri)

Group B: Iran vs. Brazil, 2:30 p.m. (Istanbul)

Wwmsnbc Basketball Betting News

<< Cards try to make it two straight wins in Washington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals will try move closer towards a playoff berth tonight in the third test of a four-game series against the homestanding Washington Nationals. The Cardinals are one game off the wild card l

<< First-place Reds aim to continue mastery of Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Cincinnati Reds can make it 12 wins in 15 games with the Chicago Cubs tonight, when the clubs meet for the second of three weekend games at Great American Ball Park. On Friday, Jay Bruce slammed a c

<< Mets, Astros go at it again in New York
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets will attempt to make it two straight wins and improve to 15 games over .500 at home tonight, when they meet the Houston Astros in the middle test of a three-game series at Citi Field. The Mets won Frida

<< Struggling Braves try to snap skid vs. Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of 14-game winners square off this evening at Turner Field, where the suddenly-slumping Atlanta Braves will host the NL East-rival Florida Marlins in the second portion of a three-game series. Atlanta has lost fo

<< Capuano leads Brewers into second test with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former staff ace Chris Capuano makes his third start of the season tonight, when the Milwaukee Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle game of three over the weekend at Miller Park. Alcides Escobar's two-run tri

Francesco leads Edoardo in battle of Molinaris >>
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francesco Molinari shot a four-under 68 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over his older brother Edoardo after the third round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Francesco Molinari f

AL Central: Desperate times for White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With each loss, each mounting injury, the odds against the Chicago White Sox overtaking the American League Central crown grow increasingly longer. At the moment, the White Sox are 3 1/2 games behind

Snyder takes long road to 76ers >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Quin Snyder was in a basketball nowhere land. He rode the bus on those three-movie road trips on the NBDL circuit where everyone in a uniform believed they were one big break away from a look at the big time.He was several years a

F MacArthur signs 1-year deal with Maple Leafs >>
TORONTO (AP) -Forward Clarke MacArthur has signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.The team announced the deal with the unrestricted free agent Saturday.MacArthur had 16 goals and 19 assists last season between the Buffalo Sabres and

Nebraska's Pelini mum on starting quarterback >>
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has hinted he's picked a starting quarterback, but he isn't saying who got the nod.Pelini said after Saturday's practice that the coaching staff has a plan for the position. But everyone else will have to

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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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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