Americans sweep opening singles in France

Tennis Betting Lines

02/06/2010 - Lievin, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Melanie Oudin won singles matches Saturday to give the United States a commanding 2-0 lead in their Fed Cup quarterfinal against France.

Mattek-Sands earned a 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 win over Alize Cornet in the first of the day's singles rubbers. Oudin, who gained notoriety last year with a run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals, then polished off Pauline Parmentier, 6-4, 6-4.

The Americans need just one victory on Sunday to advance to the semifinals.

Oudin will have the first opportunity in the opening reverse singles match against Cornet. Mattek-Sands is then scheduled to face Parmentier.

Should the Frenchwomen manage to sweep both matches, the decisive doubles would pit Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber against the French tandem of Julie Coin and Stephanie Cohen-Aloro.

The Americans have captured the Fed Cup 17 times, but last won it in 2000, and last year finished as the runner-up to Italy. The team is playing without its top two stars in Serena and Venus Williams.

France has won just once in 11 all-time meetings with the U.S. in Fed Cup play, but the triumph came in the last matchup at the 2003 final.

The USA-France winner will face the Russia-Serbia victor in the semifinals.

Wwwnelottery Tennis Betting News

<< DC blizzard forces Wizards/Hawks postponement
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday's game between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards was postponed because of heavy snow in the nation's capital. A makeup date has not yet been scheduled. Both teams were unable to

<< Red Wings trade Leino to Flyers for Tollefsen
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings traded forward Ville Leino to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a 2011 fifth round draft pick on Saturday. Leino, who came to Detroit from the F

<< Top seeds knocked out in Johannesburg
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Feliciano Lopez of Spain and France's Stephane Robert were semifinal winners Saturday, eliminating the top seeds, at the SA Tennis Open. Lopez, the third seed, rallied from a set down to p

<< Czechs and Germans even in Fed Cup
Brno, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld each won matches Saturday as the two nations split the opening singles rubbers in their Fed Cup quarterfinal. Groenefeld gave the

<< Avs try to regain swagger in home test vs. Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche have struggled since posting their longest winning streak of the season, a trend they will try to reverse tonight in the opener of a four-game homestand versus the Edmonton Oilers at Pepsi Center. T

Mariners take another chance on Bedard >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have signed oft-injured left-hander Erik Bedard to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2011. Bedard was acquired by the Mariners from Baltimore prior to the 2008 season, but

Hull stuns City; United owns top spot >>
Hull, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Jozy Altidore scored his first EPL goal, and Hull City followed up its surprising draw against Chelsea with its first win since November, 2-1 over Manchester City on Saturday at KC Stadium. Hull

Strong second half propels West Virginia past St. John's >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Da'Sean Butler led all scorers with 33 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists, as sixth-ranked West Virginia used a huge second half to earn a 79-60 win over St. John's in a Big East matchup at

Hoyas send 'Nova to first Big East loss >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Freeman scored 25 points and Jason Clark added 24, as seventh-ranked Georgetown handed No. 2 Villanova its first conference loss of the season with a 103-90 victory at the Verizon

Bayern blasts Wolfsburg to pull even with Bayer >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arjen Robben, Daniel van Buyten and Franck Ribery scored, and Bayern Munich extended its winning streak to eight games to move level with Bayer Leverkusen atop the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over Wo

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.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.