Butler at the top of the Horizon again

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard went 12-of-14 from the free throw line in a 20-point effort, and 18th-ranked Butler used a big second half to down Loyola-Chicago, 62-47, and clinch a share of the Horizon League title.

Willie Veasley added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-4, 14-0 Horizon), who clinched at least a share of their fourth straight league title with their 13th consecutive victory. Butler will go for the outright championship against Youngstown State on Thursday.

Geoff McCammon and Walt Gibler had nine points apiece to lead the Ramblers (13-11, 4-10), who have lost six of seven. Courtney Stanley and Terrance Hill each added eight points in defeat.

Back-to-back baskets by Ronald Nored and Howard at the end of the first half had Butler down by two, 26-24, at halftime, but the Bulldogs roared in front in the second half.

A pair of Howard free throws early on tied the game at 29 and began a 7-0 run that ended with Veasley's three-pointer for a 34-29 advantage with 16 minutes left.

The lead ballooned to 43-33 after Gordon Hayward made two consecutive layups with 11 1/2 minutes to go, and Loyola-Chicago never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

The margin remained at 10, 51-41, with just under six minutes remaining, but Butler went on a 10-2 run to put the game away. Howard had six of the points, including two free throws to end the spurt with an 18-point lead and only 2 1/2 minutes to play.

The Ramblers jumped out quickly to a 13-4 lead after an Andy Polka jumper just past the seven-minute mark, but an 8-0 burst by Butler, capped by Shawn Vanzant's two free throws, had the hosts within 19-18.

The visitors pushed their advantage to 23-18 before a late charge by the Bulldogs had the margin at two points at halftime.

Game Notes

Butler went 16-of-18 from the free throw line for the game, while Loyola- Chicago went 9-of-14...The Bulldogs beat the Ramblers, 48-47, on January 21.

Footballventure NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Danica, have at it and have a good time
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR officials originally set the theme for this year's Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway last month when they told Sprint Cup Series drivers, "boys, have at it and have a good time." Officials s

<< Cardinals avoid arbitration with Schumaker
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals avoided salary arbitration with Skip Schumaker, agreeing to terms with the second baseman on a two-year contract. The 30-year-old Schumaker became the first Cardinal since

<< Montanes eases into second round at Brasil Open
Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Albert Montanes was a first-round winner at the $500,000 Brasil Open on Monday. The Spaniard needed just under 1 1/2 hours to dispose of German Simon Greul 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) on the red

<< Devils D Salmela leaves game on stretcher
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey Devils defenseman Anssi Salmela left Monday's game against Philadelphia on a stretcher early in the second period. Salmela, who rejoined the Devils from the Thrashers in the Ilya Kovalchuk d

<< Saints' Super Bowl victory most watched event in TV history
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Approximately 106.5 million people tuned in to watch Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts, making it the most watched event in television history. The ga

Reynolds leads Villanova past West Virginia in Big East showdown >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scottie Reynolds scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, as No. 4 Villanova handed fifth-ranked West Virginia an 82-75 defeat in a Big East showdown at WVU Coliseum. The Wildcats (21-2, 10-1 Bi

Cliff Lee undergoes foot surgery >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners lefty Cliff Lee underwent surgery last Friday to remove a bone spur in his left foot. Lee, who was acquired from Philadelphia in December, is not expected to be ready for workouts wh

Sharks use Clowe's third period goal to beat Leafs >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryane Clowe's goal in the third period lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Dan Boyle and Joe Pavelski each had a goal for the Sharks, who have won f

Richards caps Flyers' comeback win over Devils >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Richards tallied the game-deciding power-play goal late in the third period, as Philadelphia recovered from a two-goal deficit to top New Jersey, 3-2, at Wachovia Center. James van Riemsdyk a

Duke uses balanced attack to dismantle UNC >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Keturah Jackson and Bridgette Mitchell each scored 12 points in a balanced attack for eighth-ranked Duke, which crushed 18th-ranked North Carolina, 79-51 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Krystal Thomas added

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.