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09/16/2007 - Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany received a little dose of reality on Friday when it was held to a 0-0 draw by England after winning the opening game of the tournament 11-0 against Argentina.
The Germans looked unstoppable in pounding the helpless South American team, but they were brought back to Earth by an England side that played them to a very even game.
The draw prevented Germany from booking a spot in the knockout round, but they should have no problem taking care of that on Monday against Japan.
The Japanese have been a very disappointing team so far despite the fact that they have taken four points from two games.
Japan needed two free kick goals from Aya Miyama, including one at the final whistle, to earn a draw with England, and then got a gift goal in the 91st minute against Argentina when the keeper spilled a bad rebound that was tapped home by Yuki Nagasato.
Star midfielder Homare Sawa has had a terrible tournament to this point, but somehow Japan still has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.
Japan's attack has lacked creativity, which is what Sawa provides in the middle of the field. She has failed to have any impact on either game, but if Japan is to have any chance of a taking a point from Germany, that must change.
The fact that Argentina held the Asian club without a goal for over 90 minutes is a bad sign, and Japan does not figure to have the talent in attack to crack Germany's strong back line.
Outside of Sawa, there is no player who is capable of making an individual play to change the game. The only hope is for Japan to draw a free kick near the box and hope that Miyama can beat German keeper Nadine Angerer, who has looked shaky at times.
Japan has not played poorly defensively to this point, but Birgit Prinz, Sandra Smisek and Kerstin Garefrekes will certainly put them to the test.
Japan allowed England's Kelly Smith to get free for two goals, and Prinz has to be thinking about the next goal that will put her in first place on the all-time goals list in World Cup history.
She will have a good chance to set that record against Japan, which does not have the ability to shut down such a balanced attack.
Japan has been a part of all five World Cups with its appearance this year. However, it has only moved on past the group stage once, and don't expect that to happen this year either.
There is not enough talent or creativity on this Japan side to overcome such a technically strong team, and Germany will advance as expected with a good chance to defend its World Cup title.
<< Garrard leads Jaguars to comeback win over Falcons
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Garrard threw for 272 yards and a
touchdown as the Jaguars edged Atlanta, 13-7, at Jacksonville Municipal
Stadium.
Garrard completed 17-of-25 passes and added 20 rushing yards for the
<< Texans' Johnson leaves game
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson
left Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers early in the fourth quarter.
Johnson hauled in a 10-yard pass from Matt Schaub and was immediately drilled
by Ca
<< Winless England has eyes on quarterfinals
Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England advanced to the quarterfinals in
its only other appearance in the Women's World Cup in 1995. The team is in a
great position to do so once again Monday despite the fact it has failed to
win eit
<< Rennes pulls within point of top spot
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Etienne Didot scored his second goal of
the season as Rennes defeated Lorient, 1-0, on Sunday to climb within one
point of the top spot in France's Ligue 1.
Didot scored in the 35th minute, which
Garcia, Bucs earn surprising rout of Saints >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Garcia threw for 243 yards and two
touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the New Orleans Saints,
31-14, in a divisional matchup at Raymond James Stadium.
Garcia completed 10-of-16
Colts hold off Titans in final minute >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peyton Manning threw for 312 yards with a
touchdown, but had to watch from the sideline as the Indianapolis defense
stopped a potential last-minute drive from Vince Young, as the Colts held on
for a 2
Udinese deals Juventus first loss of season >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udinese gave Juventus its first loss of the
season on Sunday at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino as Antonio Di Natale scored
the lone goal in a 1-0 win.
It was a nice way to rebound from a 5-0 loss to promote
Gore scores twice as Nedney's late FG leads 49ers past Rams >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just days after losing his mother, Frank Gore
rushed for a pair of touchdowns to guide the San Francisco 49ers past the St.
Louis Rams, 17-16, in an NFC West showdown.
Joe Nedney hit the game-deciding fiel
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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