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Bieksa, Canucks edge KingsHockey Betting Lines02/23/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Bieksa scored the game-winning goal to lead the Vancouver Canucks over the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, at Staples Center. Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden also tallied, and Markus Naslund had a pair of helpers for the Canucks, who have won six straight games. Roberto Luongo made 31 saves for Vancouver. John Zeiler and Lubomir Visnovsky scored for the Kings, who have dropped three of their last five contests. Mathieu Garon surrendered three goals on 30 shots faced for Los Angeles. With the game tied at 2-2 in the third, Josh Green fed Naslund in the right corner. Naslund then found some empty ice before moving towards the net and flipping the puck into the slot, where Bieksa corraled the disc and flipped it into the top corner of the net with 3:56 left in the game. The tally came on just the third shot Vancouver could muster in the stanza, as Los Angeles dominated in shots on goal, which stood at 13-4 at the time of the tally. "We were doing a relatively good job cycling, especially Naslund's line," said Bieksa. "They were doing a good job all game keeping the puck down low. I just saw an opening and it was a great read by Naslund to find me in the slot and get a quick shot on net." The Kings pulled Garon in favor of an extra attacker with less than a minute remaining, but couldn't convert on the man-advantage. Los Angeles opened the scoring 10 minutes in, as Zeiler collected his first career NHL goal. Vancouver had a chance at the other end, but Garon blocked a shot by Daniel Sedin and the Kings stormed the other way in a two-on-two rush. Tom Kostopoulos was quickly cut off by a pair of defensemen, but not before getting the puck to Zeiler, who was left all alone to take the pass and beat Luongo through the five-hole to make it 1-0. Morrison netted the equalizer on the man-advantage with 3:48 remaining in the first period. Sami Salo sent a slap shot wide of the net and the puck ricocheted off the end-boards and right to Morrison, who wristed the disc into a wide open net to make it 1-1 heading to the second. The Canucks jumped out to a 2-1 edge in the middle stanza, as Linden used a burst of speed to cross the blue line before cutting through the defense and snapping the puck past Garon off the inside of the far post at 1:34. The Kings once again evened things up with a power-play marker, however, as Michael Cammalleri kicked the puck through the crease, where it caromed off a bunch of skates and right to Visnovsky, who flipped the disc over a diving Luongo with five minutes remaining in the period. "I didn't think it was a well played game, especially with us taking way too many penalties, but it's another win and you have to be happy with that," said Naslund. "We do have a lot of confidence right now. I think it's a good sign when you're winning even when you're not playing your best." Game Notes Vancouver was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Los Angeles converted on just one of its eight chances...It was the 12th time this season the Canucks have had to kill eight or more power plays in a game...Vancouver is 11-1-1 on the road since December 26.
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Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Idaho State Board of Education voted Thursday to approve a new contract for Boise State football coach Chris Petersen, who led the Broncos to an undefeated record and a thrilling Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahom
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to tie a franchise record for consecutive home victories tonight against an Edmonton Oilers club that has had its share of problems on the road. Detroit has ripped off 13 straight
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 millionIn 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. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs. |
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