Zusi re-signs with Sporting

Soccer Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi has signed a new contract with the club, it was announced on Wednesday, although terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 25-year-old Zusi is coming off of a breakout campaign that saw him net five goals with nine assists in 35 appearances last term.

"I am thrilled to stay with Sporting Kansas City," Zusi said. "The culture, fans, atmosphere and organization are top-notch and our objectives are the same, to win championships. I know we will all work hard on and off the field and commit ourselves to reach our goals."

Zusi's fine form for Sporting also led to the midfielder receiving his first two caps for the U.S. national team, which included Zusi scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 defeat of Panama.

Wwwlgims Soccer Betting News

<< Line of Scrimmage: Combine questions have a need for speed
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Class was back in session for prospective graduates into the football profession when the world's most celebrated college job fair, the NFL Scouting Combine, got underway Wednesday, even though this year's tw

<< Hawks' Johnson to miss All-Star Game
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson will miss All-Star weekend because of tendinitis in his left knee, the team said Wednesday. Johnson, who is averaging 17.6 points per game, was selected to the All-Star game as a reserve

<< Coyotes obtain Vermette from Jackets
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday acquired center Antoine Vermette from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a pair of draft picks and goaltender Curtis McElhinney. A three-time 20-goal scorer, Ver

<< Nets' Williams has successful surgery, will miss season
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey forward Shawne Williams had successful left foot surgery on Wednesday, the Nets announced in a release. He will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 season. The surgery was performed by Dr

<< The Sixth Man: Lakers' strife was predictable
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expectations in the NBA are often measured on a sliding scale. Most clubs would consider a 19-13 record that placed them a game behind the division leaders with two days to go before the All-Star break a s

Catania tops Siena to ease relegation worries >>
Siena, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francesco Lodi's first-half penalty kick handed Catania a 1-0 win at Siena on Wednesday that lifts the visitors nine points clear of the relegation zone. Wins have been scarce for both clubs in rece

Detriot Tigers >>
Agreed to terms with pitchers Matt Hoffman, Andy Oliver and Adam Wilk, infielder Hernan Perez and outfielder Andy Dirks.

Tsonga wins Marseille opener >>
Marseille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the Open 13 tennis event. The 2009 Marseille titlist trounced fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-2 on the i

Ivy power Penn to play two CAA teams >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn will play a difficult non-conference schedule to try to set up a run for the Ivy League football title this year. Penn announced its 10-game schedule on Wednesday and will play five home games and fiv

Report: Temple in talks to join Big East >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Temple is reportedly in talks to join the Big East in all sports as early as next season, which would give the conference 13 teams in football and 18 in basketball. A planned move could be completed this

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

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.