Butler, Royals down Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

08/14/2007 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Butler knocked in a pair of runs and his replacement Ross Gload added a two-run triple, as the Kansas City Royals topped the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Kauffman Stadium.

Odalis Perez (7-11) picked up the win after giving up two runs and eight hits over five innings of work. Kansas City's bullpen took care of the rest, pitching four innings of one-hit ball.

Mark Teahen homered and scored twice for the Royals, who earned a series split with Toronto.

Alex Rios and Curtis Thigpen each knocked in a run for the Blue Jays, who had won three of four.

Toronto starter Jesse Litsch (4-5) was tagged for five runs -- two earned -- on six hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Teahen's solo shot in the first gave Kansas City the early lead, but Frank Thomas doubled to the start the second and scored on Thigpen's single to tie the game.

Reed Johnson then led off the third with a double and scored on Rios' double to give Toronto a brief lead, but the Royals answered with a pair of runs in the home half of the inning to take the lead.

Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill couldn't handle Tony Pena's ground ball to start the third, allowing Pena to reach safely. David DeJesus followed with a walk before Pena was caught stealing.

Esteban German, though, followed with a single to put runners on the corners and Teahen reached base on an error by first baseman Lyle Overbay as DeJesus scored to tie the game. Butler's subsequent groundout was enough to plate German with the go-ahead run.

Butler's bases-loaded single in the fifth gave Kansas City a 4-2 advantage and Gload's two-out, two-run triple off reliever Brian Tallet in the seventh made it a four-run game.

Game Notes

Johnson finished 3-for-5 with two doubles...Toronto outhit Kansas City, 9-7...Litsch had gone 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his previous three starts...Attendance was 14,845.

Www3sex Baseball Betting News

<< Berdych, Ljubicic winners in openers at Mason
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Ivan Ljubicic were first round winners at the $2.45 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters -- the seventh of nine ATP Masters Series events this year. Berdych downed Benjamin Becke

<< Rivera falters in ninth, but Yanks rally past O's
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Jeter picked up Mariano Rivera, hitting a slow roller in the perfect spot to score Melky Cabrera with the winning run in the ninth, as the Yankees took a frantic 7-6 victory over Baltimore to begin a three-g

<< Ellis and Stewart help A's down Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Ellis homered and Shannon Stewart had four hits and scored three times as the Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Comerica Park. Marco Scutaro had three RBI

<< Raiders head coach Kiffin hospitalized
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin is currently hospitalized with what a team official reports is a viral infection. "He had a temperature and went to the hospital for observation," R

<< Stover shines as Ravens trounce Eagles in preseason opener
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Stover hit five field goals as the Baltimore Ravens crushed the Philadelphia Eagles, 29-3, in the preseason opener for both teams at M&T Bank Stadium. Steve McNair played in just one series,

Broncos edge 49ers in preseason opener >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Ramsey and Jay Cutler each led scoring drives as the Denver Broncos defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 17-13, in the pre-season opener for both clubs. Cutler played just two series, but

Dodgers bring up Hillenbrand >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers purchased the contract of infielder Shea Hillenbrand from Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday. Hillenbrand was designated for assignment by the Angels on June 29 after hitting

Oswalt paces Astros over struggling Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt continued his stellar pitching with eight solid innings and Jason Lane hit a two-run home run as the Houston Astros defeated the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1, in the opener of a four-ga

Sexson's HR in ninth lifts Mariners past Twins >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richie Sexson started the scoring and ended it, belting a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to pace Seattle past Minnesota, 4-3, in the opening contest of a three-game set at Safeco Field. Matt Gu

Report: Bonds hires lawyers >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds has reportedly hired legal council to aggressively pursue those who make false statements about his alleged steroid use and tax evasion. The Oakland Tribune's w

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.

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.