A-Rod struck with liner in batting practice

Baseball Betting Lines

08/07/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was reportedly struck by a Lance Berkman line drive in batting practice and limped off the field.

According to the New York Post, he was tended to by a team trainer before exiting the field. His status for Saturday's game against the Red Sox is unknown.

Rodriguez recently hit his 600th career home run and is batting .263 with 17 homers and 88 RBI in 102 games this season for New York.

Wwwnelottery Baseball Betting News

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Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds placed relief pitcher Russ Springer on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained left hip. The team replaced him on the roster with pitcher Carlos Fisher, recalling him from Triple

<< Mets make several moves, promote two prospects
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets shook up their roster on Saturday, releasing infielder Alex Cora, optioning outfielder Jesus Feliciano to the minors and promoting two prospects to the major league club. Outfielder Fer

<< Wozniacki, Zakopalova to battle for Copenhagen title
Copenhagen, Denmark (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Danish favorite Caroline Wozniacki will face off against Czech Klara Zakopalova in the final of the $220,000 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open after each won her respective semifinal match o

<< Ambrose grabs Nationwide pole at Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose will start on the pole for Saturday's Zippo 200 Nationwide Series race after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Watkins Glen International. Ambrose, who has won the last two Natio

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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fading Detroit Tigers aim to snap out of their current funk tonight, as they resume a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Comerica Park. Last night, Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer to back se

Woods on pace for historically bad finish >>
Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods shot a five-over 75 on Saturday and is now 11-over par through three rounds of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Woods, a seven-time winner of this championship, is in 78th place out of 80 player

Edwards tops in qualifying at Watkins Glen >>
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards claimed his first Sprint Cup Series pole in two years by winning Saturday's qualifying for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Edwards turned a

Red Sox ink Delgado to minor league deal >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox agreed to a minor league contract with former New York Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado. Delgado has yet to play this season while he recovers from offseason hip surgery. He tried

Baghdatis advances to final in D.C. >>
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Nets sign F May >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have agreed to a one- year, non-guaranteed contract with forward Scott May, according to the New York Post. Charlotte made May the 13th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft af

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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

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

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