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06/09/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman had three-hits, including an RBI single in the top of the ninth to lift the Houston Astros over the Chicago White Sox, 3-2, in the second of a three-game interleague series at U.S. Cellular Field.
Adam Everett opened the ninth with a single off Bobby Jenks (2-2). Orlando Palmeiro lined out, but Mark Loretta punched a base hit to right field before Berkman's single to center scored Everett and broke a 2-2 tie.
The three-hit performance was a highlight in an otherwise tumultuous week for Berkman, who is appealing a suspension by Major League Baseball for his outburst following an ejection on Tuesday against Colorado. He was ejected again Friday night in the top of the fourth inning after arguing a called third strike.
Chad Qualls (5-3), who got the final out of the eighth, also came back for the ninth, striking out Rob Mackowiak with a runner on third to end the game.
Eric Munson homered for the Astros, who have won two straight. Houston starter Jason Jennings, bidding for his first win with the team, took a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning before Chicago eventually tied the game. Jennings departed with an official line of one run on six hits, with a walk and six strikeouts over seven-plus innings.
Jon Garland gave up a run and eight hits in seven innings for the White Sox, who have dropped five straight and 11 of their last 13 games overall. Jim Thome added a two-run double.
Munson's leadoff homer in the top of the third gave the Astros a 1-0 lead.
The White Sox, meanwhile, had at least a runner on in every inning through the fourth, before back-to-back, one-out singles by Luis Terrero and Josh Fields in the fifth. Mackowiak and Tadahito Iguchi both flied out to end the inning, however, as the Sox continued to struggle with runners in scoring position.
Houston tacked on a run in the eighth, loading the bases against reliever Bret Prinz. Loretta drew a leadoff walk, Berkman doubled, and Prinz intentionally walked Carlos Lee before he was replaced by Boone Logan. Luke Scott grounded into a force out, with Iguchi cutting down the lead runner at the plate, but Mike Lamb's sacrifice fly plated Berkman for a 2-0 edge.
Chicago then managed to scrape two together in the eighth. Fields started things with a leadoff single, chasing Jennings, and Mackowiak was hit by a pitch from reliever Trever Miller. Iguchi's sacrifice bunt moved the runners, and Thome followed with a two-run double to make it a 2-2 game.
Game Notes
White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball for his inappropriate actions during the bottom of the eighth inning of Thursday's game against the New York Yankees. Pierzynski appealed, and the suspension will be held in abeyance until the process is complete....Houston improved to 81-73 all-time in interleague play, while the White Sox fell to 101-79 versus the NL.
<< Rangers' Teixeira placed on DL
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed first baseman Mark
Teixeira on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained left quadriceps,
after he had left Friday's 9-6 victory over Milwaukee, snapping a streak of 507
consec
<< Girl Power: Rags to Riches wins Belmont
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rags to Riches became the first filly to win the
Belmont Stakes in 102 years, edging Preakness winner Curlin by a head.
Riden by John Velazquez, Rags to Riches finished in an unofficial time of two
minutes, 28.7
<< Scott leads by three shots at St. Jude
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Scott shot a two-under 68 Saturday to take
a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the Stanford St. Jude
Championship.
Scott was at nine-under 201 and looking for his second win of the season aft
<< Wilson on pole at PIR
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Doornbos won Saturday's second Champ
Car qualifying session, but Justin Wilson's time on Friday was faster and he
will start on the pole for Sunday's Grand Prix of Portland.
Qualifying in the middl
Donovan makes history as U.S. men win >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landon Donovan moved into sole possession of
first place on United States' all-time points list in a 2-0 win over Trinidad
& Tobago in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday.
Donovan assisted on the second goal
Navarro returns to Devil Rays >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro was back with
the Devil Rays Saturday, a night after being taken off the field on a
stretcher following being hit in the throat by a low pitch.
Navarro was taken to Broward Genera
Weaver activated from 15-day DL >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners activated pitcher
Jeff Weaver from the 15-day disabled list Saturday, prior to their
interleague matchup with the San Diego Padres, in which Weaver is expected to
start.
Rookie Min leads LPGA Championship >>
Havre de Grace, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Na On Min was making just her sixth
start on the LPGA Tour.
Sunday, she'll carry a lead into the final round at her first major.
Min, a rookie from South Korea, fired a seven-under 65 Saturday at
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.
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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
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