Hewitt wins; Berdych, Ljubicic bow out at Rogers Masters

Tennis Betting Lines

08/07/2007 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt posted a first-round win, while 10th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and 11th seeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic came up a Day-2 losers at the $2.45 million Rogers Masters -- the sixth of nine Masters Series events this year.

The Australian Hewitt, unseeded this week, held off his fellow former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, of Spain, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 on the hardcourts at Uniprix Stadium. The veteran Hewitt is a two-time major titlist, while Ferrero is a former French Open champ.

Dutch qualifier Robin Haase ousted Berdych in 6-4, 7-5 fashion, while American qualifier Wayne Odesnik dumped Ljubicic, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5). 15th-seeded Guillermo Canas, of Argentina, was also sent home early, by France's Paul- Henri Mathieu, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.

Mikhail Youzhny, the 14th seed from Russia, topped France's Sebastien Grosjean, 6-2, 6-4.

Spaniard David Ferrer, the 16th seed, avoided an upset by dousing Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 6-1.

Gritty Argentine David Nalbandian advanced by handling Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla 6-4, 6-3. The 2002 Wimbledon runner-up and 2003 Montreal finalist Nalbandian will battle Ferrer in the second round here.

Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini ousted Canadian Peter Polansky, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).

Additional opening-round wins came for Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, American qualifier Michael Russell, Canadian Frank Dancevic and Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty.

The start of Monday's play was delayed by rain.

The great Roger Federer captured last year's Rogers Masters in Toronto by beating Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the final. This event alternates between Montreal and Toronto each year.

This week's top seeds are the reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion Federer and reigning French Open titlist Rafael Nadal. Federer also captured this Canadian event in 2004, while Nadal was the winner in 2005 in Montreal.

The top-23 players in the world are all on hand this week.

Foorball365 Tennis Betting News

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

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.

NFL Betting Lines

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