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01/17/2007 - Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, led by SEC Player of the Year hopeful Chris Lofton, invade Auburn tonight for a battle with the Tigers.
Tennessee had a streak of nine consecutive wins before losing its last two games by three combined points. After losing to Vanderbilt on a last-second shot last Wednesday, the Vols dropped a 68-66 decision at Ohio State on Saturday in a non-conference clash of national heavyweights. Tennessee has only played three true road games to date, and two of those have resulted in defeat.
All 11 of Auburn's wins have come at home, an obvious reason for the club to be confident tonight. The Tigers have lost their last two games overall, however, and they are coming off a heart-breaking 65-63 setback to LSU on Saturday.
Tennessee owns a commanding 66-35 lead in the all-time series with Auburn, including seven victories in the last nine meetings with the Tigers.
It is hard to find another player in the nation who means as much to his team as Chris Lofton does to Tennessee. Lofton has been the team's leading scorer in 13 of the team's 17 games to date. He is averaging 22.5 ppg on the strength of his 51.5 percent shooting from the field, including 46.4 percent from three- point range, and he is an 80.7 percent free throw shooter as well. JaJuan Smith is averaging 14.1 ppg for Tennessee, and Duke Crews adds 10.2 ppg to the mix. Lofton managed 21 points against Ohio State despite constant hounding by Buckeye defenders. The Vols connected on only 38.6 percent of their field goal attempts in that clash and were outscored 18-5 from the foul line. A 46-30 rebounding advantage also hurt the cause.
Auburn does not possess a single player who can be considered a star, but the fact that five players average double figures in scoring speaks to the team's offensive balance. Rasheem Barrett leads the group with 12.8 ppg, and Korvotney Barber (12.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 40 blocks) is close behind. Frank Tolbert checks in with 11.5 ppg, while Josh Dollard and Quan Prowell are contributing 11.0 ppg apiece. Dollard leads the team in rebounding as well with 7.2 rpg. Barrett scored 18 points for Auburn in the narrow loss to LSU, while Prowell pitched in 12 points and Dollard tallied 11 points. The Tigers were held to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor, including a 5-of-18 effort from three-point range.
<< Vandy aims for upset of 'Bama
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vanderbilt Commodores hope to thrill the
Nashville crowd with an upset of the 10th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide this
evening in an SEC tilt.
Alabama opened league play with an ugly 88-61 loss to
<< Surging Hokies take on Seminoles in Sunshine State
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams sitting at opposite ends of
the ACC landscape get together in Tallahassee this evening, as the red-hot
23rd-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, take on the Florida State Seminoles in
league
<< Red-hot Badgers play host to Boilermakers
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of 13 straight games, the second-
ranked Wisconsin Badgers play host to the Purdue Boilermakers this evening
in Big Ten action from the Kohl Center in Madison.
Bo Ryan's squad has been a pi
<< Top-25 battle in the ACC
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Their reign atop the national polls was
short-lived, now the fourth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels must find a way
to bounce back from a devastating loss, as they invade Littlejohn Coliseum,
for a b
Buckeyes host Wildcats in Big Ten action >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten
Conference standings meet in Columbus tonight, as the Northwestern Wildcats
come calling on the seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Northwestern started
Irish and Wildcats meet in Big East clash >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish
are a perfect 13-0 at home, but must go on the road this evening, as they
take on the Villanova Wildcats in Big East action from the Pavilion.
Mike Brey's s
Brazil on top to open 2007 >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings for the
month of January were released on Wednesday, with Brazil maintaining their
28-point edge over second-place Italy, and not much else changing from the
last ra
Bruins try to hand reeling Sabres another loss >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will try to halt their longest losing
streak of the season tonight, when they welcome the Boston Bruins to HSBC
Arena for the finale of a home-and-home series.
The Sabres, who lead the Eastern Co
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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