Pironkova, Kanepi win Palermo openers

Tennis Betting Lines

07/12/2010 - Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi were among Monday's opening-round winners at the $220,000 Palermo International tennis tournament.

The fourth-seeded Pironkova, of Bulgaria, got past Italian wild card Anna Floris 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), while the fifth-seeded Kanepi, of Estonia, defeated Paraguayan veteran Rossana de los Rios 7-5, 6-4 on the red clay at Country Time Club. Pironkova's second-round opponent will be 36-year-old American Jill Craybas.

Craybas fought her way past Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, while another first-round result saw Colombia's Mariana Duque Marino handle Slovakian Zuzana Kucova 6-4, 6-0.

Sixth-seeded Peng Shaui pulled out of the draw here on Monday, citing a left ankle injury.

This week's top seeds are Italian favorite Flavia Pennetta, last week's Bastad titlist Aravane Rezai and another Italian, Sara Errani.

Wwwvegasinsider Tennis Betting News

<< All-Star controversy: Beltre or Young?
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American League manager Joe Girardi didn't hesitate when asked about Boston third baseman Adrian Beltre's status for Tuesday's All-Star Game. Girardi said Beltre, who injured his left hamstring d

<< NCAA Tournament to begin with "First Four" games
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Division I Men's Basketball Committee revealed its format for the newly expanded 68-team field in the NCAA Tournament on Monday. Beginning next March, eight teams will play early during th

<< Knicks officially sign PG Felton
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks made it official on Monday by signing free agent guard Raymond Felton. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the New York Daily News previously reported its a three-year d

<< Ducks sign LW Green
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks added some depth to the forward position by signing left wing Josh Green to a one-year contract on Monday. The 32-year-old spent last season with Modo of the Swedish Elite League wh

<< Knicks still have cap space, but future is now
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -Enough talk about the salary cap. The New York Knicks think they can win now.New York introduced new additions Raymond Felton, Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike and Ronny Turiaf on Monday. Not quite the same as showing off Le

Red Stars earn first win over Sky Blue FC >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars used forward Ella Masar's fourth goal in four games to top the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer champion Sky Blue FC, 2-0, on Saturday at Toyota Park. It was Chicago's first ever win ag

Haslem stays home; Heat now with five players >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udonis Haslem has opted to stay in Miami, giving the Heat a grand total of five players on their roster. Haslem was an unrestricted free agent that, according to the Miami Herald, was offered larger deals by th

Del Bosque tips Spain to dominate >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delighted coach Vicente del Bosque believes Spain can dominate world football for many years to come after their first- ever World Cup final victory. Andres Iniesta's extra-time goal proved decisive

Schweinsteiger plays down exit talk >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich and Germany midfield ace Bastian Schweinsteiger has admitted that he would like to try his luck abroad at some point in the future, but has played down talk of an imminent transfer. The

Doyle happy with Wolves stay >>
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolverhampton Wanderers' star striker Kevin Doyle has again moved to play down speculation linking him with a move away from Molineux this summer. The 26-year-old Republic of Ireland frontman

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.