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07/17/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emilio Renteria and Brian Carroll scored and the Columbus Crew bounced back from a mid-week loss to beat Red Bull New York, 2-0, on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
Renteria scored in the 20th minute and Carroll scored in the 48th, as the Crew snapped the Red Bulls' five-match unbeaten streak and opened a five-point lead in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.
Columbus (9-3-4) was upset by the Kansas City Wizards, 1-0, at home Wednesday, but returned to form in a game featuring the top two teams in the East for its seventh win in nine MLS home matches.
New York (8-6-2) was without recent addition Thierry Henry, who attended the match but was not on the roster. Henry is expected to debut on Thursday in an exhibition against English club Tottenham.
Columbus dominated nearly the entire match and the Crew turned a turnover from New York's Juan Pablo Angel into the opener in the 20th minute.
Adam Moffat took the ball from Angel near midfield, then passed to Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Schelotto turned and, from the edge of the midfield circle, slid a through ball between two New York defenders to Renteria.
Renteria took the ball just inside the area and then fired off the fingertips of Red Bulls goalie Bouna Coundoul for his third goal of the season.
New York responded with its first shot four minutes later, but Columbus goalie William Hesmer turned Dane Richards' hard shot from 12 yards around the right post.
Renteria nearly put the Crew in front by two goals, as another turnover helped him get in alone on Coundoul again. Renteria finished well to the bottom left, but the 28th-minute effort was called back for offsides.
New York finished the half with shots on goal from Seth Stammler and Tim Ream, but Hesmer easily saved both. Emmanuel Ekpo ended the half with another one- on-one chance against Coundoul for Columbus, but the New York goalie made his third save of the opening 45 minutes.
New York coach Hans Backe made two changes at halftime, but Columbus was still in control of the match early after the break and doubled its lead within five minutes.
Carroll ran onto a busted free kick just outside the area and struck a curving ball through traffic, off the fingertips of Coundoul and inside the right post in the 48th minute for his first goal of the season.
Renteria put an open header from seven yards well over the bar in the 66th off a cross from Shaun Francis, as Columbus wasted a chance to seal its ninth win.
Ekpo nearly created the third goal in the 75th when he challenged for a cross, but after a collision with Coundoul, the ball rolled wide of the right post.
Columbus' near perfect performance ended with captain Frankie Hejduk being red carded in the 89th minute. He kicked New York's Carl Robinson to get the card, and will miss the Crew's next match against the Houston Dynamo on July 24.
Hesmer made one last save with Columbus down to 10 men and finished with five for his seventh shutout of the year.
New York returns to MLS play July 31 at the Houston Dynamo, when Henry should make his league debut.
<< Brignac belts two homers as Rays top Yankees
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reid Brignac notched his first career multi-homer
game, blasting two and driving in a career-high five in the Rays' 10-5 win
over the Yankees in the second of three games.
Brignac had just three career hom
<< Wainwright strong as Cards blank Dodgers
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skip Schumaker's run-scoring double in the
fourth inning backed Adam Wainwright's solid performance on the mound, as the
St. Louis Cardinals snuck past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0, in a pitchers'
duel at
<< Tournament host McCarron leads Reno-Tahoe Open
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tournament host Scott McCarron posted a five-under
67 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Reno-
Tahoe Open.
McCarron finished 54 holes at 10-under 206 and is one stroke ahead at M
<< Reds shuffle roster to make room for Volquez
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds officially activated
right-hander Edinson Volquez to make his season debut against the Rockies
Saturday.
Volquez, who had been out because of both Tommy John surgery and a 50
Johnson, Paulino lift Marlins in shutout of Nats >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronny Paulino hit a two-run single in the bottom
of the second inning, and the Florida Marlins posted a 2-0 victory over
Washington in the second test of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium.
Florida
Pavano tosses another complete game in Twins' win over ChiSox >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pavano threw his fourth complete
game of the season, outpitching Mark Buehrle to lead the Minnesota Twins to a
3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Target Field.
Pavano (11-6), who had ne
Bautista's homer pushes Blue Jays over Orioles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer in the
top of the eighth inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays over the Baltimore
Orioles, 3-2, in the second test of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Fred Lewis h
Hart and Fielder lead Brewers over Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Hart's three-run double punctuated a
five-run seventh inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers doubled up the Atlanta
Braves, 6-3, in the third test of a four-game series at Turner Field.
Prince Field
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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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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