Safina will skip Dubai

Tennis Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina will miss next week's WTA Tour event in Dubai because of a back injury.

The currently world No. 2 star was forced to retire from her fourth-round match at last month's Australian Open because of the nagging ailment, which started plaguing her in the latter stages of last season.

"Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this year because of the back injury that's been bothering me since the end of last season," Safina said on her website.

The 23-year-old French Open runner-up Safina hopes to return to action some time next month.

Wwwteamtalk Tennis Betting News

<< Kansas still No. 1, Syracuse slides up to No. 2
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas remained the top team in the latest Associated Press men's college basketball poll, while Syracuse moved up one spot to No. 2. The Jayhawks (22-1) regained the top spot last week after spending

<< Ovechkin heads NHL's Three Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, along with newly minted Maple Leaf goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere, have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Februar

<< Patrick given green light for Daytona Nationwide race
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar series star Danica Patrick will continue to be in the spotlight during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. Patrick announced on Monday she will make her Nationwide Series debu

<< Lisicki rolls in Pattaya opener
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Sabine Lisicki highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis event. The German Lisicki was pasting Akgul Amanmuradova 6-0 when the Uzbekista

<< Kostner to remain at Wolfsburg through season
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caretaker manager Lorenz-Gunter Kostner will remain in charge at German champions Wolfsburg until the end of the season. Kostner took charge of the Wolves a couple of weeks ago when Armin Veh

Connecticut continues to top women's poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut remained a unanimous choice as the top-ranked team in women's college basketball, as the Associated Press released its latest poll Monday. The Huskies (23-0) enter the week with a 62-gam

Gainey stepping down as Canadiens GM >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey will reportedly step down from his post, as the team has scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. (et). According to a report by TSN Canada, assistant general

Stricker up to second in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker's victory on Sunday at the Northern Trust Open moved the American to second in this week's world rankings. Tiger Woods remained in first, followed by Stricker, who was third last

Vesnina, Szavay advance in France >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Elena Vesnina and Hungarian Agnes Szavay were Monday's first-round winners at the $700,000 Open GDF Suez tennis tournament. The Russian Vesnina vaulted past Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6

Clippers' Kaman to replace injured Roy in All-Star Game >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman was named the replacement for injured Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy Monday for the NBA All-Star Game to be held February 14 in Dallas. Kaman, a sevent

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.

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.