Biffle snaps winless streak at Pocono

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/01/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Biffle ended a near two-year winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series by taking Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Biffle was not a factor for most of the race, but came on strong in the late- stages. He took the lead from Sam Hornish Jr. just after the final restart with 21 laps remaining, and then finished 3.5 seconds ahead of second-place Tony Stewart for his 15th career Cup win, but his first since September 2008 at Dover, which was 64 races ago.

Carl Edwards finished third, while Kevin Harvick, the current points leader, and Denny Hamlin, who had won the last two races at Pocono, rounded out the top-five.

Biffle gave Ford its first win in the series this year.

The 500-mile race at Pocono was marred by two rain delays and a violent crash involving Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch with 36 laps remaining. Both drivers were not injured.

Wwwharley-davidson Autoracing Betting News

<< Reds option Fisher
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds optioned pitcher Carlos Fisher to Triple-A Louisville after Sunday's win over Atlanta. The right-hander was 1-1 with a 6.89 earned run average in 13 relief outings. The move is

<< Tulowitzki helps Rockies complete sweep of Cubs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Tulowitzki drove in two runs as the Colorado Rockies completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs with an 8-7 win. Jonathan Herrera drove in a run and scored twice while Dexter Fowler added two

<< Lookin At Lucky nails down Haskell win
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky got away from the field at the top of the stretch on his way to capturing Sunday's $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Lookin At Lucky, ridden by Marti

<< Piller shoots 64 to win Cox Classic
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Piller fired a seven-under 64 on Sunday to win the Cox Classic by two shots. Piller finished 72 holes on the Champions Run course with a 23-under 261, beating Dicky Pride for his second victory of the seas

<< Wow! Appleby shoots 59 to win Greenbrier
White Sulphur Springs, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuart Appleby shot a 59 Sunday to win The Greenbrier Classic, becoming only the fifth player in PGA Tour history to reach golf's magic number. What did history look like? A dead-accurate 11-foot

Weaver outduels Lee in Angels win over Rangers >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver worked seven strong innings and set a franchise record with his performance, as the LA Angels of Anaheim dumped Texas, 4-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Angel Stadium

Rockies' Fowler injured in game against Cubs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler was injured in the ninth inning of Colorado's 8-7 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Holding a two-run lead and with a man on third and one out, Fowler mad

Padres rough up Johnson, avoid Marlins sweep >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Hairston Jr. capped a three-run bottom of the sixth with a two-run double, as the San Diego Padres avoided a three- game sweep with a 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins. Yorvit Torrealba went 3-for-4

Langer beats Couples to win U.S. Senior Open >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer shot a three-under 67 on Sunday to beat Fred Couples by three shots and win the U.S. Senior Open. Langer finished 72 holes at Sahalee with an eight-under 272 to capture his second consecutive ma

Royals P Meche opts against surgery, will head to bullpen >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Royals right-hander Gil Meche has decided against season-ending surgery and will instead head to the bullpen for the remainder of the year. Meche, who Royals manager Ned Yost said last Tuesday was

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.