Bard's suspension reduced to two games

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2007 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Padres catcher Josh Bard had his three-game suspension reduced to two games on Thursday.

Bard received the initial suspension after he made contact with umpire Ed Rapauno in the 11th inning of San Diego's 4-2 win over Pittsburgh on May 31. After having a home run reversed to a double, Bard charged the field to argue the call.

Bard began serving his suspension Thursday against the Phillies. Michael Barrett will take over the catching duties in his absence.

Bard is batting .260 with three home runs and 23 RBI.

Wwwfreekobe Baseball Betting News

<< Boston's Beckett eyes win No. 13 vs. White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett tries to become the second 13-game winner in the majors this evening when the Boston Red Sox continue their four-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. Beckett has dropped two of his

<< Bennett hopeful for arena solution to avoid moving Sonics
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SuperSonics owner Clayton Bennett said on Thursday he wants to have a solution for a new arena in order to keep the team in Seattle. Bennett, who purchased the team and the WNBA's Storm, issued a call to

<< Cubs resume impressive homestand vs. D'backs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs are enjoying a very successful homestand and will hope that trend continues this afternoon with the opener of a three- game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. The Cubs swept a t

<< Pirates try for more success against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh hasn't had much success this season, except for when it plays against Houston. The struggling Pirates shoot for their seventh straight win versus the Astros this year in the opener of a three-game series at PNC

<< Mussina, Yankees begin set with Devil Rays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Mussina attempts to extend an impressive streak of home supremacy over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when the New York Yankees hurler starts tonight's opener of a four-game series between the American League East foes. Si

MLS All-Stars top Scottish champions 2-0 >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of Major League's Soccer's newest stars, Colombians Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Toja, each scored first half goals against Scottish Premier League Power, Celtic FC, to lead the North American league'

Sabathia gets win No. 13 as Indians edge Rangers >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore homered and drove in a pair of runs, and C.C. Sabathia picked up his major league leading 13th win as Cleveland bested Texas, 7-5, in the opener of a four-game set. Trot Nixon and Ben

Pierzynski, White Sox edge Red Sox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Pierzynski had three hits and knocked in three runs, and Paul Konerko homered, as the White Sox topped the Boston Red Sox, 4-2, in a game that started nearly two hours late due to rain. Javier Vazquez

Blake survives to reach Countrywide quarterfinals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed James Blake needed three sets to oust fellow American Paul Goldstein in the second round of the Countrywide Classic on Thursday. After Blake cruised to an easy first set win, Goldstein

Delgado, Mets outlast Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado hit one of three New York home runs, and the Mets overcame 19 Los Angeles hits to beat the Dodgers, 13-9, in the opener of a four-game series. Delgado and Ramon Castro hit consecut

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.