Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/08/2007 -
Playing hurt has never bothered Allen Iverson. Playing poorly is a different story.
And now Iverson might not play at all for a few days.
The Denver Nuggets lost again Wednesday night, but the news out of the locker room was the more troubling part. After Iverson struggled to a 9-for-21 night, he said he could be headed back to the bench until his injured ankle allows him to play at full speed - the only way he knows.
``I can't help us out there like this,'' Iverson said. ``I tried as hard as I can tonight, but it just wasn't me. I couldn't move the way I wanted to move and I couldn't get to the basket the way I normally do. I felt at times like I had to settle for jumpers because I couldn't get there all the way. Rather than hurt my team, I am going to re-evaluate the situation. I can't play if I feel like this.''
Another injury is the last thing the Nuggets need, with center Marcus Camby already missing Denver's 114-112 overtime loss to New Orleans with a strained groin.
The injury outlook is much better for Miami. The Heat won their fifth in a row, extending Boston's franchise-record losing streak to 16 games with a 91-79 victory over the Celtics.
After playing most of the season without Shaquille O'Neal and dealing with occasional injuries to Dwyane Wade and Jason Williams, the Heat are enjoying a strong stretch that has pulled them within 4 1/2 games of first-place Washington in the Southeast Division.
``We are defending champs, so we've got some talent. And if we get healthy and guys get together and get in decent shape, then we're a pretty good team,'' Heat coach Ron Rothstein said. ``We didn't exactly beat them with our effort, we beat them with our talent.''
In other games, it was: New Jersey 87, Atlanta 85; Toronto 113, Orlando 103; Seattle 103, Indiana 102; San Antonio 110, Washington 83; Philadelphia 92, Charlotte 83; Cleveland 94, the Los Angeles Clippers 77; Minnesota 121, Golden State 93; and Dallas 113, Memphis 97.
At Boston, Wade had 30 points and nine assists as Miami went on a 19-2 run to erase a 12-point, first-quarter deficit. O'Neal scored nine points while playing 25 minutes as he recovers from knee surgery.
``That's a team who's very hungry to get a win, and the world champions come in and you expect nothing but the best from them early on. So they came out the way we expected,'' Wade said. ``We just had to weather the storm.''
Adding injury to insult, the Celtics lost Wally Szczerbiak to a sprained ankle. They're already without leading scorer Paul Pierce because of an elbow injury that has landed him in the hospital with an infection.
After missing four games, Iverson acknowledged he returned too soon to help the struggling Nuggets. He scored 22 points, but wasn't good enough to help Denver avoid a seventh loss in eight games after Desmond Mason's basket at the overtime buzzer.
``I don't want this bothering me for the rest of the season,'' Iverson said. ``My speed is a big part of my game and when I can't move by people the way I want to I know something is wrong.''Mavericks 113, Grizzlies 97
Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 of his 38 points in the first quarter, and Dallas matched a franchise record with its 16th consecutive home victory.
Pau Gasol had 29 points and Mike Miller 21 with five 3-pointers for Memphis, which lost for the sixth time in seven games and dropped to 3-21 on the road.Spurs 110, Wizards 83
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan scored 20 points apiece for San Antonio. The visiting Spurs never trailed, shot 62 percent in the first half and led by double digits for all but the first 4:05 of the game.
Gilbert Arenas scored 29 points but made only 10 of 24 shots for the Wizards, who fell to 1-3 since Antawn Jamison was sidelined with a knee injury.Nets 87, Hawks 85
At Atlanta, Vince Carter made the go-ahead layup with 7.6 seconds remaining, grabbed a critical rebound on Atlanta's final possession, and New Jersey stopped a four-game losing streak.
Josh Smith led Atlanta with 20 points, but fouled out midway through the fourth.Raptors 113, Magic 103
At Toronto, Chris Bosh scored a career-high 41 points and outplayed Dwight Howard in a matchup of All-Star big men as the Raptors won their season-high fourth straight.
Bosh also had eight rebounds for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors, who have won nine of 11. Howard had 32 points on 13-for-14 shooting for the Magic, who have lost 11 of 14 to fall to .500 (25-25) for the first time since early November.SuperSonics 103, Pacers 102
Ray Allen scored 33 points and rookie Andre Brown made the go-ahead basket with 23 seconds remaining as Seattle snapped a 15-game road losing streak.
Jamaal Tinsley, who received a smattering of boos after he was allegedly involved in a bar scuffle after Monday night's game against Golden State, led Indiana with 25 points.76ers 92, Bobcats 83
At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala scored 27 points as the 76ers won for the seventh time in 11 games.
Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor each scored 16 points for the Bobcats. Charlotte (18-31) now has only two fewer losses than the Eastern Conference rival Sixers (17-33).Cavaliers 94, Clippers 77
At Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 points with a season-high 16 rebounds, Larry Hughes scored 15 points and the Cavaliers hardly needed LeBron James in an easy victory.
Elton Brand led Los Angeles with 21 points and Shaun Livingston added 19 for the Clippers, who have dropped three in a row.Timberwolves 121, Warriors 93
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak with its biggest margin of victory this season.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Signing Day impact could be felt soon at some schools
Judging the results of national signing day used to take a few years as even top players struggled to get playing time as freshmen.A look at the last few national champions shows times have changed. Whether it was Reggie Bush or Dwayne Jarrett at So
<< For Brewster, recruiting starts at home
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -When he was hired three weeks ago at Minnesota, Tim Brewster vowed to start bringing big-time recruits to flyover country.He didn't have to look very far to start making good on the promise.One of the top recruits of his first clas
<< NCAA Div. II Basketball Regional Rankings
1. West Liberty State 17-2 16-22. California, Pa. 14-4 14-33. Limestone 14-3 9-34. Millersville 13-3 12-35. Barton 15-4 13-16. Wheeling Jesuit 13-5 13-57. West Virginia State 13-4 8-48. District of Columbia 10-5 9-29. Alderson-Broaddus 14-4 12-310.
<< NCAA Div. III Basketball Regional Rankings
1. Ramapo 16-5 15-32. Stevens Institute 17-4 17-43. Manhattanville 16-5 15-54. Richard Stockton 15-7 12-55. New Jersey City 14-7 13-6EAST1. St. Lawrence 18-3 17-32. Brockport St. 16-4 15-43. Utica 17-3 16-34. NYU 16-4 14-45. Rochester 15-5 15-4GREAT
Wednesday's Major College Basketball Scores >>
Albany, N.Y. 71, Maine 55Colgate 54, Lafayette 51Delaware 78, UNC Wilmington 69Duquesne 111, La Salle 105Navy 70, Lehigh 65Northeastern 65, Towson 55Pittsburgh 60, West Virginia 47St. John's 66, South Florida 62Temple 109, St. Bonaventure 70Wisconsi
Wednesday's College Basketball Scores >>
Albany, N.Y. 71, Maine 55Albright 70, Widener 66Babson 82, Wheaton, Mass. 72Bethany,W.Va. 80, Waynesburg 68Bloomfield 76, Sciences, Pa. 67CCNY 76, Brooklyn 43Clarion 62, Indiana, Pa. 60Clark U. 55, Coast Guard 53Colgate 54, Lafayette 51DeSales 81, F
Garrett Reid was on heroin at time of accident, police say >>
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (AP) -The 23-year-old son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid tested positive for heroin after he caused a traffic accident last week that left another motorist injured, police said Thursday.Garrett Reid, the oldest son of t
Arroyo and Reds agree to $25 million, 2-year extension through 2010 >>
CINCINNATI (AP) -Right-hander Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds agreed Thursday to a $25 million, two-year contract extension through 2010.Arroyo's previous contract contains $8,075,000 in remaining guaranteed salary: $4,125,000 this year and $
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting