Mavericks' Mbenga has surgery

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks center D.J. Mbenga underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament.

The 7-foot Mbenga, who suffered the injury in the team's 113-97 win over Memphis on February 7, will be out the rest of the season. He averaged 0.8 points over 21 games.

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<< Browns' Wright signs one-year extension
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns signed running back Jason Wright to a one-year contract extension Tuesday. He is now signed through the 2008 season. Last year he carried the ball 62 times for a total of 189 yards and

<< Cowboys make Garrett offensive coordinator
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Garrett, who was added to the coaching staff of the Dallas Cowboys last month, was named the team's offensive coordinator on Tuesday. Garrett, who had spent the previous two seasons as the qu

<< Tampa Devil Rays
Agreed to terms with pitchers Tim Corcoran, Edwin Jackson, Jeff Ridgway, Chris Seddon, Brian Stokes, Jon Switzer and Mitch Talboton, outfielder Elijah Dukes, and catcher Dioner Navarro on one-year contracts.

<< Phillips signs long-term deal with Chargers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers signed linebacker Shaun Phillips to a six-year contract on Tuesday. Phillips, in his third year with the Chargers and first as a full-time starter, recorded a career-high

<< Zambrano, Cubs agree to one-year deal
Mesa, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs and starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth a reported $12.4 million on Tuesday. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the deal w

Haas, Fish cruise in first round at Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded German Tommy Has and fourth- seeded American Mardy Fish had no trouble in their first round matches at the $665,000 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Haas, who defeated Swede Robin Soderl

Horna upsets Nalbandian in Buenos Aires >>
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peru's Luis Horna, who came into this week ranked 50th in the world, picked off top seed David Nalbandian in his home country at the $445,000 Copa Telmex tennis event. Horna scored a 6-4, 6-3

Oh, what a Neitzel: MSU upsets No. 1 Wisconsin >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Neitzel scored 11 of his 28 points during a game-clinching run in the final minutes, as Michigan State downed top-ranked Wisconsin, 64-55, at the Breslin Center. Neitzel, who hit 10-of-17 shot

Providence knocks off No. 22 West Virginia >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Alexander missed a wide open three for a tie with 14.5 seconds left then Herbert Hill iced the tournament resume- building victory with a breakaway slam, as Providence downed No. 22 West Virgini

Thrashers storm past Hurricanes >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Hedberg made 33 saves to lead the Atlanta Thrashers to a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in a big Southeast Division battle at RBC Center. Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist and Ilya

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.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

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