Argentina leads World Cup
Golf Betting Lines
12/08/2006 - Saint James, Barbados (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angel Cabrera and Andres Romero of Argentina combined to shoot a four-under 67 on Friday to move their country to the top of the leaderboard after two rounds of the World Golf Championships - Barbados World Cup.
Argentina stands at 11-under-par 131 at the Country Club Course at Sandy Lane Resort. It is three shots clear of the field after Friday's foursomes, or alternate-shot, format.
Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren got Scotland into a share of second place after a four-under 67. The German pair of Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem posted a two-under 69 and joined Scotland and Sweden, represented by Carl Petterssen and Henrik Stenson, which shot a one-under 70 on Friday.
South Africa, anchored by Rory Sabbatini and Richard Sterne, shared the opening-round lead with Argentina and Sweden, but only managed an even-par 71 on Friday. It is tied for fifth place with Spain. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano teamed for a five-under 66 in the second round.
Much like Thursday's first round of four-balls, or better-ball, 30 mile per hour winds greeted the players at the Country Club Course. Ten of the 24 teams managed to break par, but it was the pair from Argentina that survived best on Friday.
Argentina got to eight-under par for the championship with a birdie at the par-four third. The duo combined to birdie the par-five sixth, then Cabrera sank a 30-foot birdie putt at the seventh to reach 10-under par and move one clear of the field.
Argentina parred the next two holes, then Romero tapped in a short birdie putt at the 10th to get to minus-11. The tandem played steady golf the rest of the way, but did have some chances coming into the clubhouse.
The team had an 18-foot birdie putt at 13, but Cabrera came up short. Romero reached the green in two at the par-five 15th, but the duo three-putted for a par.
Argentina's next great look at birdie came at the par-three closing hole at the Country Club Course. Romero hit a beautiful tee ball to 25 feet, but Cabrera missed the birdie putt.
Despite eight consecutive pars to close the round, Argentina managed to grab a comfortable cushion. Its solid play, coupled with some back-nine errors by its closest competitors, allowed for the three-shot lead.
Sweden held the lead, but fell at seven when Petterssen missed an eight-foot par putt. Stenson and Petterssen birdied No. 9, but bogeyed the 10th, then things went downhill further.
The pair bogeyed 13, got one back at the 16th, but bogeyed the last when Petterssen hit the team's tee ball 65 feet past the hole. Sweden three-putted from there for a bogey.
Germany collected four birdies on the front side, but bogeyed 14 and 17.
South Africa tallied a pair of birdies at one and six, but parred the next five around the turn. Back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13, and another at the last halted South Africa's charge.
That left Argentina, with its back-nine pars atop the leaderboard by three.
If Argentina goes to the winner's circle on Sunday afternoon, it will mark the first win for the country since the inaugural World Cup in 1953.
Cabrera was involved with Argentina's best finish in recent memory in 2000. At Buenos Aires Golf Club in Argentina, he and Eduardo Romero went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked American pair of Tiger Woods and David Duval before ultimately losing by three.
"Am I surprised to be leading? No, why? We are not surprised to be there," said Cabrera.
"I wasn't surprised because I knew we were playing very solid and things were going okay," said Romero. "It's a pity we made a three-putt on the 15th and only made par but it was a bogey-free round and that is good when you play this format."
The English pair of Luke Donald and David Howell teamed for a one-under 70 on Friday. England is alone in seventh place at minus-six, one shot better than Mexico, which shot a three-under 68,
Italy (70) and South Korea (72) are knotted in ninth place at four-under-par 138.
The United States of America team of Stewart Cink and J.J. Henry, a duo that went undefeated at this year's Ryder Cup, struggled on Friday. The tandem only managed a two-over 73 and is alone in 11th at minus-three.
Defending champion Wales, represented once again by Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge, was even worse than the Americans on Friday. Dodd and Dredge combined for a four-over 75 and are part of a group tied for 12th place at two-under- par 140.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
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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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.