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03/07/2010 - Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm.
The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalbandian captured the fifth and deciding rubber by handling Vinciguerra in 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 fashion at Kungliga Tennis Hall. Nalbandian, who prevailed in 2 hours, 35 minutes on Day 3, replaced Eduardo Schwank for the final rubber, while Vinciguerra moved in for Joachim Johansson.
This marks only Nalbandian's second event this year after returning to action following hip surgery last year.
Earlier Sunday, French Open runner-up Robin Soderling pulled the hosts even by besting Argentine Leonardo Mayer 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, setting the stage for the Nalbandian-Vinciguerra decider.
The Argentines will face Russia in the quarterfinals in July.
Argentina grabbed a 2-1 series lead here on Saturday when its doubles tandem of Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballos doused a Swedish duo of Soderling and Robert Lindstedt 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).
In Friday's opening singles here, Soderling handled Schwank 6-1, 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 before Mayer pulled Argentina even with a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over the 6-foot-6 Johansson.
Tito Vazquez captained Argentina on the indoor hardcourt here, while former Swedish star Thomas Enqvist led the home team.
Sweden owns seven Davis Cup titles, while Argentina has never hoisted the coveted chalice.
<< Boonchu Ruangkit claims European Seniors event
Brunei (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boonchu Ruangkit defeated Frankie Minoza in a
playoff Sunday to claim the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters.
Ruangkit and Minoza closed with five-under 66s to finish at 14-under-par 199.
Ruangkit won with a pa
<< Croatia rips Ecuador 5-0 in Davis Cup first-rounder
Varazdin, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia put the finishing touches Sunday
on a 5-0 sweep of visiting Ecuador in a best-of-five Davis Cup first-round
matchup.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Day 3, Antonio Veic vaulted past Julio-C
<< Twente climbs to top of Eredivisie
Waalwijk, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenneth Perez scored midway through
the second half and Twente moved atop the Dutch Eredivisie with a 1-0 win over
last-place RKC Waalwijk at Mandemakers Stadion on Sunday.
PSV Eindhoven dropped it
<< Ferrer sends two-time champs into Davis Cup quarters
Logrono, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ferrer whipped Stanislas Wawrinka
in Sunday's first reverse singles match, sending Spain into the Davis Cup
quarterfinals with a first-round victory over Switzerland. The two-time
defendi
Czechs settle for 4-1 Davis Cup victory over Belgians >>
Bree, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic wound up with a 4-1
victory over host Belgium in a first-round Davis Cup tie in Bree.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Sunday, Steve Darcis got Belgium on the
scoreboard with a
Jaguars sign Kampman >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have
signed defensive end Aaron Kampman, the team announced Sunday. Terms and
length of the deal were not disclosed.
Kampman had spent all eight of his NFL seaso
Nurnberg hands Leverkusen first loss >>
Nurnberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored twice in
the closing minutes of the first half, Mikael Tavares added a goal 10 minutes
after the break, and Nurnberg held on to hand Bayer Leverkusen its first loss
of the
Keane's double leads Celtic over Falkirk >>
Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Keane scored a goal in each half
and Celtic defeated Falkirk 2-0 on Sunday at Falkirk Stadium for its first win
over the struggling club in three matches this season.
Celtic settled for draws in
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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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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