Busch outruns Edwards for ORP win

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Clermont, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch put on a dominating performance, but had to hold off a furious challenge from Carl Edwards during a green- white-checkered finish to win Saturday's Kroger 200 Nationwide Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

An incident involving Joe Nemechek in the closing laps set up the two-lap overtime finish. Edwards made several attempts to pass Busch for the lead, but came up 0.2 seconds short of winning at ORP for the second year in a row.

Last weekend at St. Louis, Edwards and rival Brad Keselowski battled for the lead during a two-lap sprint to the finish. Edwards picked up the win after he nudged Keselowski from behind and spun him into the wall coming out of the final turn of the last lap.

Earlier this week, NASCAR penalized Edwards with a 60-point loss, fined him $25,000 and placed him on probation until December 31 for aggressive driving.

Edwards made it a clean finish this time.

"That was a good race to get out of the way," Edwards said. "That was a lot of fun. I'm glad it ended up the way it did."

Busch, who led 144 of 201 laps, claimed his eighth victory of the season and the 38th of his Nationwide career. He also won at ORP for the third time, which placed him in a tie with Morgan Shepherd for most wins here in NASCAR's second-tier series.

"It was a good, clean, hard-fought battle, and when you treat people with respect, that's what you get -- you get respect back," Busch said.

Aric Almirola finished an impressive third in his first start in the No.88 car for JR Motorsports. Trevor Bayne, the pole sitter, and Reed Sorenson rounded out the top-five. Bayne also started on the pole and finished third at St. Louis.

With his second-place finish, Edwards slightly trimmed Keselowski's points lead. Keselowski now holds a 205-point advantage after finishing eighth.

Edwards and Keselowski raced side-by-side for position in the opening laps and then again shortly after the half-way point.

"It was good, hard short-track racing, and this is what it's all about," Keselowski said.

NASCAR also placed Keselowski on probation for the remainder of the year for his actions on the track at St. Louis.

Casinoplauer Autoracing Betting News

<< Braun hits game-winner as Brewers edge Nationals
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun drove in Rickie Weeks with the game-winning run in the ninth inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Washington Nationals, 4-3, in the middle test of a three-game series. Braun and Ji

<< Orioles' Tatum leaves with hand injury
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles catcher Craig Tatum left Saturday's 7-2 loss to Minnesota with a right hand injury. In the top of the seventh inning with the Twins' Jason Repko at the plate, Tatum was hit on the t

<< Conrad's slam during eight-run eighth helps Braves cook Fish
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad hit his second career grand slam during an eight-run eighth inning, as the Atlanta Braves rallied past the Florida Marlins, 10-5, in the second test of a three-game set between these two NL

<< Blue Jays edge Tigers, who lose Ordonez, Guillen
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista knocked in two runs to back a solid outing from Shaun Marcum as Toronto clipped Detroit, 3-2, in the second of a four-game set from Comerica Park. Vernon Wells drove in the other for the

<< Rays finally end long losing streak in Cleveland
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist's replay-reviewed three-run homer began a stretch of six unanswered runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays finally snapped their losing streak in Cleveland with a 6-3 win over the Indians. Carlos Pena als

Padres rock Pirates in Matos' return >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everth Cabrera and Oscar Salazar each drove in two runs and Mat Latos was solid in his return from the disabled list, as the San Diego Padres dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2, in the second test of a th

Uribe hits grand slam as Giants rout D-Backs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Uribe hit his fourth career grand slam and Aubrey Huff stayed hot, helping the San Francisco Giants to a 10-4 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks. In Friday's contest, Huff went 3-for-5 with two home runs

Giants sign LB Bulluck >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have signed veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bulluck, who was originally drafted 30th overall by the Titans in t

Angels top Rangers to break out of slide >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ervin Santana was on top of his game in eight solid innings on the hill, as the LA Angels of Anaheim pulled out a much- needed 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers in the third meeting of a four-game series

RSL, Chivas USA battle to draw >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA battled to a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night. Ned Grabavoy and Jose Padilla scored second-half goals just four minutes apart for thei

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.

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.