Harvick on pole for Richmond Nationwide race

Autoracing Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for Friday's Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Nationwide Series race after edging fellow Sprint Cup competitor Clint Bowyer in Friday's qualifying at Richmond International Raceway.

Harvick posted a lap of 123.990 m.p.h. around the 0.75-mile oval for his third pole of the season and the 22nd of his Nationwide career. He has won four races at Richmond, which is one less of Mark Martin's track record of five victories.

Bowyer missed the pole position by 0.018 seconds.

Brad Keselowski, the current points leader, qualified third, followed by Carl Edwards, who trails Keselowski by 332 points with nine races to go. Edwards is the defending race winner.

Virginia-native Denny Hamlin completed the top-five.

Kyle Busch, who will attempt to win his record 11th Nationwide race this season, qualified sixth. Parker Kligerman took the seventh spot, followed by Trevor Bayne, Jason Leffler and Paul Menard.

Danny Efland was the only driver who failed to qualify.

The 250-mile Nationwide race at Richmond will be the third of four races for the series' new car this year. It also will be the first event the car runs on a short track. The race is schedule to start just after 7:30 p.m. (et).

Wwcbssportsline Autoracing Betting News

<< Tigers' Guillen to undergo knee surgery
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers announced on Friday that infielder Carlos Guillen will undergo surgery on his left knee. In a statement, the club said Guillen was examined by Dr. Russ Warren at the Hospital for Specia

<< Phillies SS Rollins out of lineup
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was held out of Friday's lineup to open a three-game weekend series against the Mets while dealing with tightness in his right hamstring. Rollins left Wednesd

<< Tennessee disciplines Pearl amid NCAA probe
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee has reportedly come down hard on the men's basketball program, most notably head coach Bruce Pearl for providing false and misleading information to the NCAA. The university

<< New QBs look to put best foot forward in Rams-Cardinals tilt
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of new quarterback eras will begin at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday afternoon, when Sam Bradford leads the St. Louis Rams into battle against Derek Anderson and the Arizona Cardinals. To be sure, while Bradford ca

<< Falcons hope to take advantage of Steelers' uncertainty
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons enter the 2010 NFL season brimming with optimism, while uncertainty surrounds the Pittsburgh Steelers in the aftermath of an offseason filled with trials and tribulations. It's also a time for opportuni

Avs bring back Mueller with two-year deal >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche signed restricted free agent Peter Mueller to a two-year contract on Friday. The Avs acquired Mueller at the trade deadline last year, and the forward had more goals (nine) and points

Kosier, Colombo out for opener >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys will be without two starters in their offensive line for the season-opener, as left guard Kyle Kosier and right tackle Marc Colombo are listed as out on the team's injury report

McNabb questionable for Redskins' opener >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donovan McNabb is listed as questionable for his debut as quarterback of the Redskins while dealing with a sprained ankle. However, all signs point to McNabb taking the field Sunday night at home again

Colts' O-line could be without starters Saturday, Johnson >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts may be without two of their starters along the offensive line on Sunday with both center Jeff Saturday and tackle Charlie Johnson questionable. Saturday had knee surgery Augu

Coyotes re-sign Hanzal >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed center Martin Hanzal to a two-year contract on Friday. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not released. Last season with Phoenix he appeared in 81

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


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.