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07/28/2010 - Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ellis is like any other player on Canada's junior national baseball team - following his passion by playing the sport he loves.
What's different about him and the rest of Team Canada's 18-and-unders is that they're chasing a dream very few people their age will ever experience.
So when the 18-year-old pitcher from Surrey, B.C. was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 35th round of the 2010 MLB Draft in June, Ellis accomplished something far from the norm of his peers.
He remembers following the draft online before going to school that day and how it sunk in later that night that his dream of making it to the major leagues was very much alive.
"I was sitting down and it hit me that I have an opportunity to still play pro ball and it doesn't really matter what round I get selected, but where I end up," said Ellis at the junior national team's workouts in Toronto earlier this month.
Where he is now is in Thunder Bay, Ont. representing his country and competing for a world title against the best young baseball players on the planet.
"It's special being able to play for your country," said Ellis, after throwing four scoreless innings in a 9-2 win over Panama at the Worlds on Tuesday night. "I've never had a chance to do that in a tournament like this."
Ellis, who has experienced the perils and spoils of being a star pitcher in his hometown of Surrey, said nothing's quite like donning the red and white on an international stage.
"I've played in a few national tournaments but compared to this, it's a whole new level," he said prior to arriving in Thunder Bay.
He's experienced that other level too, joining teammate and Texas Rangers' first round pick Kellin Deglan at the Seattle Mariners' pre-draft training camp prior to being selected by the Padres.
For a pitcher whose strengths lay in his ability to command the strike zone and keep hitters off balance with breaking pitches, Ellis said it was a little overwhelming to be in an environment where six-foot-five, 230-pound college players were a dime a dozen.
"It really was humbling knowing the kind of competition you're getting into, the guys you're competing for spots with," he said. "I know that I don't have the body type to be the 95-98 miles per hour fastball guy that strikes everybody out.
"I try to be efficient and stay within myself."
At six-foot-one and 180 pounds, Ellis said he focuses on fooling hitters with off-speed pitches rather than blowing them away with heat.
The right-hander's arsenal includes a slider he's been working on since spring training in Florida, one he said back-doors on righties and cuts in on lefties.
With a fastball topping out in the 88-90 miles per hour range, Ellis is constantly trying to figure out ways to maximize his strengths on the mound.
"I want to get a little bit better throwing to both sides of the plate with all my pitches," he said, describing the benefit of working with guys such as pitching coach and former major league pitcher Paul Quantrill. "We have really good coaches with a lot of good insight and professional experience."
Ellis knows locating his pitches will be key in a tournament like the Worlds, where Padres' scouts are sure to be in attendance as he tries to pitch his way into a major league contract.
Should the Padres choose not to sign him before the August 15 deadline, Ellis will attend Florida International in Miami, a Division I school where he expects to compete for a spot in the starting rotation.
<< Talbot adds heat to Winter Classic
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thank goodness the NHL still has a few
guys like Max Talbot.
Today's athletes are generally so concerned with image that they are constantly
guarding themselves against saying something controversial. If y
<< Royals demote Marte, call up Bullington
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals optioned reliever
Victor Marte to and recalled pitcher Bryan Bullington from Triple-A Omaha
Wednesday.
This will be Bullington's second stint with the big league club this s
<< Raul completes Schalke switch
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid legend Raul has
confirmed the new chapter in his career by joining Bundesliga side Schalke.
The 33-year-old striker has agreed to a two-year contract with Schalke after
officia
<< McGowan joins St Mirren on loan
Paisley, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St Mirren have signed striker Paul
McGowan on a season-long loan deal from SPL side Celtic.
The 22-year-old has made just a handful of starts for the Bhoys to date and
has previously been loaned
CFL East: Blue Bombers dominant with Jyles at the helm >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East division took full advantage of
home cooking last week, as Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg all won within their
friendly confines. Hamilton was the lone East team to fall, as touchdowns in
their match
PGA Championship Hole-By-Hole Preview >>
Haven, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
HOLE ONE - Par 4 - 408 yards: Bending from right to left, the opening hole on
the Straits Course gives the player his first glimpse of mighty Lake Michigan,
not to mention the myriad bunkers strewn across the cours
Sochaux adds Maiga from Le Mans >>
Montbeliard, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sochaux completed the signing of Mali
international striker Modibo Maiga from Le Mans on Wednesday.
Maiga scored seven goals in 32 appearances for Le Mans last season, but after
the club was relega
Pironkova knocked out in Istanbul >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana
Pironkova was a second-round upset victim Wednesday at the $220,000 Istanbul
Cup hardcourt tennis event.
Russian-born Aussie Anastasia Rodionova upended the fi
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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.
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