Crosby, Pens win battle of young stars

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a battle of two of the game's top young stars, it was Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins getting the best of this installment, downing Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Mellon Arena.

Crosby finished with only an assist and Ovechkin went without a point for a bit of an anticlimactic outcome to the anticipated duel.

Instead it was Mark Recchi, Evgeni Malkin and Maxime Talbot scoring for the red-hot Penguins, who have registered a point in 16 straight games and have won six in a row. Jocelyn Thibault made 29 saves in victory.

Richard Zednik and Alexander Semin had the goals for Washington, which has dropped three straight. Brent Johnson finished with 23 stops.

The home team established a 1-0 lead 5:59 into the contest, as Sergei Gonchar's shot from the point was redirected by Recchi in front before slipping past Johnson for the power-play tally.

Washington scored in similar fashion just over a minute later to even the contest. With his team on the attack, Jeff Schultz ripped a shot from the point that caromed off Zednik and in with 12:56 to play in the opening frame.

Pittsburgh, though, countered with two unanswered goals to gain command.

With time running down in the second stanza, Malkin flew behind the net and then dished the puck to Gonchar, who fed it right back to Malkin in the right circle. The rookie center finished off the sequence with a one-timer to give his team a 2-1 advantage.

The Penguins made it a two-goal game 1:10 into the third on a one-timer by Talbot from the left circle.

The Capitals had a great chance to climb within one when Semin drew a penalty shot with 5:56 to play after being taken down from behind, but his backhand attempt rang off the post.

He made amends with 44 seconds remaining and his goalie pulled, when the left winger tucked a shot through the five-hole from the slot to make it 3-2. Thibault, though, was able to keep the Capitals off the board the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Penguins have been dominant at home as of late. The team has won eight in a row at the Igloo and own an 18-8-4 record as the host this season...Ovechkin edged out Crosby for last year's Calder Trophy honoring the NHL's top rookie...Pittsburgh has taken all three meetings with Washington this season and has won seven of the last eight games in this series.

Wwwsexsex Hockey Betting News

<< Lens loses ground on Lyon
Monaco, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a scoreless draw at Monaco on Sunday, Lens lost ground on French Ligue 1 leaders Lyon. The team now sits 13 points behind the leaders who seem to well on their way to their sixth consecutive league

<< Hossa leads Rangers past Blackhawks
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcel Hossa's late first-period goal was the difference, as the New York Rangers edged the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden. Martin Straka also tallied for the Rangers, who have won

<< Streak snapped; Watson wins in Florida
Lutz, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Watson entered Sunday's final round of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am two strokes behind co-leaders Wayne Levi and Andy Bean. Watson was also staring at an 0-for-93 career record in Florida. That's righ

<< Stewart leads '500' after 150 laps
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite falling all the way back to 40th place on lap 82, Tony Stewart is leading the 2007 Daytona 500 after 150 of 200 scheduled laps. The No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet is 0.165 seconds ahead of second-place K

<< Gearlds, Boilermakers top Badgers
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katie Gearlds poured in 41 points on 13-of-20 shooting to lead Purdue past Wisconsin, 69-60, on Sunday. FahKara Malone notched 10 points and seven assists for the Boilermakers (23-5, 12-2 Big Ten), who won thei

Barca falls to Valencia, now tied with Sevilla at top >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia vaulted into the top three with a 2-1 home win against leaders Barcelona on Sunday in Spanish La Liga action. Goals by Miguel Angulo and David Silva just after the break gave the home squad

Tu tops Harkleroad in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meilen Tu defeated Ashley Harkleroad in a battle between two Americans in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Tu took care of Harkleroad in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in just over a

Harvick edges Martin to win 2007 Daytona 500 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500. The No.29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver took the checkered flag just ahead of second-place Mark Martin as a caution flag came to end the race. The

No. 15 Baylor beats Texas >>
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Latara Darrett scored 17 points, as No. 15 Baylor beat Texas, 71-56, on Sunday. Angela Tisdale scored 12 points for the Lady Bears (23-4, 10-3 Big 12), who won their fourth straight. Bernice Mosby and Jhas

No. 11 Georgia downs Auburn >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janese Hardrick scored 20 points to lead No. 11 Georgia past Auburn, 62-55, on Sunday. Tasha Humphrey netted 14 points for Georgia (23-5, 10-3 Southeastern), which won its fourth straight. Christy Marshall ad

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.