Diop, Kamara help Wizards rout Revs

Soccer Betting Lines

08/21/2010 - Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birahim Diop scored two goals and assisted on another as the Kansas City Wizards cruised to a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday.

Diop scored twice in the opening 27 minutes before the Revolution pulled a goal back through Kenny Mansally before halftime. However, Kei Kamara - who assisted on both Diop's goals - scored one himself in the 65th minute before Jack Jewsbury capped the scoring in the 69th.

New England has now lost two straight games following a four-game unbeaten run, while the Wizards have been defeated just once in their last six matches.

Ryan Smith had a shot stopped at close range by New England goalkeeper Matt Reis in the opening 10 minutes, but he couldn't prevent Diop from breaking in alone on goal after a good through ball from Kamara and finding the bottom- left corner of the net.

Kamara then set up another goal with a lofted cross to the back post that was headed home by Diop before a deflected effort from Mansally found its was past goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen to reduce the deficit to one goal for the Revs.

Diop returned the favor in the second half with a pass to Kamara that was redirected past Reis, while Revs defender Emmanuel Osei did his keeper no favors with a poor backpass that led to Jewsbury rolling the ball into an empty net.

Wwwbaymeadows Soccer Betting News

<< Bucs rally to down Chiefs; Freeman hurts thumb
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Carpenter completed 8-of-11 passes for 79 yards and the game-winning touchdown to lead Tampa Bay to a 20-15 come-from- behind win over Kansas City at Raymond James Stadium. Buccaneers starting quarterback Jo

<< Ching's hat trick helps Dynamo snap 10-game skid
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Ching scored a hat trick and the Houston Dynamo edged the Chicago Fire in a seven-goal thriller Saturday night, 4-3, at Robertson Stadium to snap a 10-game winless skid in Major League Soccer. Ching scor

<< Miyazato still in front at Safeway Classic
North Plains, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato posted a five-under 67 on Saturday to stay atop the leaderboard after the second round of the Safeway Classic. Miyazato, the first-round leader of this 54-hole event, finished two round

<< Three-for-three: Kyle Busch sweeps Bristol week
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR to win all three of its national touring series races on the same week after taking Saturday's IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch, who won

<< Shea helps Dallas slip past Chivas
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brek Shea's goal in the 71st minute helped FC Dallas extend its unbeaten streak to 11 games on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park as the Hoops downed Chivas USA, 1-0. Shea scored his fifth goal of the season from a

Lowrie homer leads Red Sox past Jays in 11 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jed Lowrie led off the bottom of the 11th inning with the game-winning homer, as Boston outlasted Toronto, 5-4, in the middle test of a three-game set from Fenway Park. Lowrie crushed a Casey Janssen (4-2) off

Enright and Upton carry DBacks past Rockies >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Enright pitched into the seventh inning and Justin Upton finally got the best of Ubaldo Jimenez by hitting the go- ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, as Arizona topped Colorado, 3-1, at Chase F

Daniel leads Saints over Texans >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Daniel completed 15-of-21 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, leading the New Orleans Saints to a 38-20 preseason victory over the Houston Texans. Daniel also threw an interception in r

Longtime Pistons PR director Dobek passes away >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Dobek, who served in the Detroit Pistons organization for 29 years up until this past May, passed away at the age of 51. The Detroit Free Press reported Dobek's death, but cited no reason for his

Folk, Jets edge Panthers >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Folk booted three field goals to lead New York to a 9-3 win over Carolina at Bank of America Stadium. Mark Sanchez completed 5-of-10 passes for 12 yards and Joe McKnight carried 11 times for 28 yards

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.