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04/10/2009 - Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After struggling to a one-over 73 on Thursday, Phil Mickelson bounced back with a four-under 68 Friday to move into share of 11th at three-under-par 141 after two rounds of the Masters.
Mickelson was well off the pace after opening with that 73. His comeback started with a birdie on the second. He gave that shot back with a bogey on the par-three sixth.
He stumbled to another bogey on the par-four 11th to dip to plus-two and was in danger of missing the cut. However, Mickelson flew up the leaderboard from there.
After making birdie on 12 to get back to the cut line, Mickelson nearly holed his approach at the par-five 13th. He kicked in a short eagle putt to jump to minus-one.
"When that one went in, that gave me a little bit of momentum," said Mickelson of his birdie putt on 12. "I hit a great drive on 13 and knocked down that pin."
Mickelson knocked his second over the green at the par-five 15th. He hit a stellar flop shot within a few feet of the hole. The two-time Masters champion tapped in for birdie.
At the closing hole, Mickelson drained a birdie effort from just inside 20 feet to finish at minus-three, six back of the leaders.
"I feel like I put myself within six shots of the lead, a spot where a good round tomorrow can get me into contention on Sunday," Mickelson said.
Mickelson, who has two wins this season, improved his driving on Friday hitting 10 fairways after only hitting six on Thursday.
<< Weeks leads Brewers' ninth-inning comeback over Cubs
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks doubled home the tying run in
the ninth, took third on a ball in the dirt and scored the winning run on an
infield hit with a head-first slide just ahead of the tag to give Milwaukee a
thrilling 4-3
<< Pirates/Reds postponed
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday's game between the Pittsburgh
Pirates and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park was postponed because
of rain.
A makeup date has not been announced.
Pittsburgh's Jeff Karstens and Cincinnati
<< Colorado rocks Hamels, Phils in home opener
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins' first hit of the season -- a
two-run homer -- highlighted a five-run third inning, as the Colorado Rockies
defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3, in the home opener at Coors Field.
Ryan
<< Pettitte has strong outing as Yanks top Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Pettitte scattered three hits and one
run through seven innings, as the New York Yankees topped Kansas City, 4-1, in
the opener of a three-game set.
Pettitte (1-0) held his foes in check with six
Chase Field to host 2011 MLB All-Star Game >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks,
will host the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
MLB has called a news conference for Saturday afternoon when an official
announcement is expected from
Dodgers' Kuroda placed on DL >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Hiroki
Kuroda on the 15-day disabled list Friday due to a strained left oblique
muscle.
Kuroda pitched on Opening Day for the Dodgers, earning the win after allow
Petrova sneaks into MPS semis, Wozniacki breezes in >>
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova
barely won her quarterfinal match Friday at the inaugural MPS Group
Championships.
The world No. 10 Petrova had to come from behind to best seve
Cavs wrap up East's top seed in Philadelphia >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 27, dished out 10
assists and Cleveland hit 12-of-23 shots from beyond the arc to help clinch
homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 102-92
triumph
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.
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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
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Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
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