Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/16/2010 - Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Garrigus fired a seven-under 65 on Friday to join first-round leader Matt Bettencourt in a share of first after the second round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Garrigus and Bettencourt, who bogeyed his last two for a four-under 68, are knotted atop the leaderboard at 10-under 134 at the Montreux Golf & Country Club.
John Mallinger managed a five-under 67 and is alone in third at minus-eight.
Bob Heintz (68), Bill Lunde (68), John Merrick (68) and Kevin Stadler (67) are tied for fourth place at seven-under 137.
They are chasing a pair of co-leaders, both of whom have never won on the PGA Tour. This week provides a great chance for someone to break through for a first victory since the best players in the world are at St. Andrews for the British Open Championship.
Garrigus came very close to that maiden title earlier this year.
He famously held a three-shot lead on the 72nd hole of the St. Jude Classic, but made a disastrous triple-bogey, then lost a playoff to Lee Westwood.
When asked if it served as a learning experience, Garrigus responded, "Absolutely."
He broke into red figures at the second when he tapped in a short putt. Garrigus hit a spectacular second as the wind came up, much like it did this morning at St. Andrews.
"I kind of thought, 'Oh, it's kind of like the British Open,'" joked Garrigus. "The guys in the morning got no wind, and we're out here in the elements."
Garrigus braved those elements and continued his fine form with birdies at three and four. He played steady golf around the turn with a good save at nine and a narrowly missed birdie chance at the 10th.
Garrigus got up and down for a birdie from over the green at the par-five 11th. He knocked his tee ball to a foot to set up the easy birdie at the par- three 12th.
Garrigus once again left himself with a foot-long birdie putt, this time at the 15th. He missed a three-foot birdie chance at 16, but sank a 20-footer for birdie at the 17th. He got into the clubhouse at 10-under, then found himself tied for first when Bettencourt fumbled down the stretch.
"It was just one of those days that nothing was going wrong," said Garrigus. "I didn't make any bad swings. Not one bad swing today. It was great. Had a great day. Just one of those days, you know."
Bettencourt appeared headed toward one of those days as well.
He started on the 10th tee Friday and eagled the par-five 11th when he chipped in from off the green. Two holes later, Bettencourt stiffed his approach to a foot and kicked in the short birdie putt. He made it two in a row with a four- footer at No. 14.
Birdies at the second and fourth gave Bettencourt a fairly commanding lead. Garrigus started his run with late birdies, but Bettencourt came back to the field.
At the par-four eighth, Bettencourt landed in a bunker with his second, and the caddies in the group in front didn't rake the trap. He couldn't get on the green with his third and walked off with a bogey. Bettencourt bogeyed the par- five ninth when his four-foot save attempt stayed above ground.
"I'm fine. I'm just frustrated right now," said Bettencourt. "I don't need to work on anything. I just need to keep playing the way I'm playing and everything will be fine."
Chad Campbell, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 93, shot a three- under 69 and is tied for eighth place with Chris DiMarco, who had a one-under 71 on Friday. The pair is knotted at minus-six.
Tournament host Scott McCarron (69) and Todd Fischer (70) share 10th at five- under 139.
NOTES: Defending champion John Rollins shot an even-par 72 and is tied for 33rd at one-under par...The 36-hole cut fell at three-over 147 and 71 players made it to the weekend...Keith Clearwater, Parker McLachlin, Andrew McLardy and Jerod Turner withdrew on Friday.
<< Strasburg, Nats open second half on winning note
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Willingham hit a three-run double in the top
of the sixth inning, and the Washington Nationals beat Florida 4-0 in the
opener of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium.
Washington rookie phenom Steph
<< Reds open second half by edging Rockies
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bronson Arroyo pitched into the eighth
inning and Orlando Cabrera drove in two runs, as the surprising Cincinnati
Reds opened the second half of the season with a 3-2 win over Colorado at
Great A
<< Glenn shines as Tiger-Cats batter Bombers
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Glenn threw for 336 yards and three
touchdowns to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 28-7 victory over the Winnipeg
Blue Bombers at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
DeAndra' Cobb scored on both a rush and a rece
<< Romero bounces back to pitch Jays past Orioles
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Romero tossed seven solid innings en
route to his first victory in exactly one month, as the Toronto Blue Jays held
off the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set at Camden
Yards.
Wolf helps Brewers down Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Wolf picked up a rare win against
Atlanta, backed by two RBI apiece from sluggers Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder
in a 9-3 Brewers win at Turner Field.
Wolf (7-8) turned in six-plus solid frames,
Kouzmanoff, Gonzalez help A's top Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in two runs and Gio
Gonzalez tossed seven innings of one-run ball, as the Oakland Athletics
handled the Kansas City Royals, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game series at
Kauffma
Mauer helps Twins hold off White Sox >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Mauer had two hits, including a big
two-run single in the eighth inning, as the Minnesota Twins held on for a 7-4
win over the Chicago White Sox in the continuation of a four-game series.
Francisco
Truck race at Gateway postponed due to power outage >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A power outage at Gateway International Raceway
just outside St. Louis forced NASCAR to postpone the 200-mile Camping World
Truck Series race until 1:30 p.m. (et) Saturday.
Shortly after Kevin Harvick won
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting