02/08/2010 -
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that
midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi will be absent for six weeks with ankle ligament
damage.
The South Africa international limped out of Saturday's draw with Bolton and
scans have confirmed a ligament problem.
Andrew Johnson, Paul Konchesky, Clint Dempsey and John Pantsil are also still
sidelined, but midfielder Simon Davies and striker Bobby Zamora could return
for Tuesday night's visit of Burnley to Craven Cottage.
"Bobby is fine and has recovered from his sickness and will be back in
contention, as is Simon Davies," confirmed Hodgson.
"The game at Bolton was once again an expensive game for us because we got a
point but have lost another player as Dikgacoi will be out for five to six
weeks."
Dikgacoi has made 10 appearances for the Cottagers this season.
<< Wigan releases Edman from contract
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan have released defender Erik Edman from
his contract.
Edman, 31, was out of contract at the DW Stadium at the end of the current
season but the two parties have reached a mutual agreement to term
<< Stoke's Fuller arrested
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City have confirmed that
striker Ricardo Fuller was arrested on suspicion of assault following an
incident at a nightclub.
The 30-year-old Jamaica international was detained in
<< Bolton's Cahill could miss remainder of season
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton central defender Gary Cahill is set
to miss the rest of the season due to a blot clot in his arm.
The 24-year-old, who is on the fringes of the England senior squad, missed the
weekend draw with Ful
<< Coyotes hope to rebound against visiting Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling in their last trip to the ice, the Phoenix
Coyotes will be seeking a bounce-back performance when they return to
Jobing.com Arena tonight to take on an Edmonton Oilers squad trying to avoid
setting a franchise
<< Streaking Kings try to continue mastery of rival Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will be aiming to extend a franchise-
record winning streak tonight. If recent history is any indication, the
Anaheim Ducks may not be posing much of a problem towards achieving that feat.
The Kings s
City waits on Bellamy injury news >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City are waiting to discover
how long Craig Bellamy faces on the sidelines after the striker suffered a
knee injury during the 2-1 defeat at Hull City.
The 30-year-old Wales internation
Kostner to remain at Wolfsburg through season >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caretaker manager Lorenz-Gunter Kostner
will remain in charge at German champions Wolfsburg until the end of the
season.
Kostner took charge of the Wolves a couple of weeks ago when Armin Veh
Lisicki rolls in Pattaya opener >>
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Sabine Lisicki
highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis
event.
The German Lisicki was pasting Akgul Amanmuradova 6-0 when the Uzbekista
Patrick given green light for Daytona Nationwide race >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar series star Danica Patrick will
continue to be in the spotlight during Speedweeks at Daytona International
Speedway.
Patrick announced on Monday she will make her Nationwide Series debu
Ovechkin heads NHL's Three Stars >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin and
Nicklas Backstrom, along with newly minted Maple Leaf goaltender Jean
Sebastien Giguere, have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending
Februar
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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