Pelini says he might relent on media lockdown
NCAA Football Betting Lines
08/18/2010 -
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Nebraska coach Bo Pelini's hard line with the media on Wednesday morning seemed to be softening by nightfall.
Irritated by some media members' reporting methods, Pelini announced he was cutting off access to players and coaches for three days.
But in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday night, the mercurial third-year coach said he might relent and allow access before Saturday.
Practices under Pelini have always been closed, except for the first 15 minutes most days. Interviews are conducted after practices.
Pelini said he wanted to send a message to the media because he's miffed that reporters did an end-around to break news of a season-ending injury to linebacker Sean Fisher.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals have released safety Aaron Rouse. The 26-year-old played in 14 games, eight as a starter, last season for the New York Giants and compiled 52 tackles and one sack. He was orig
<< Richard, Padres continue to roll in win over Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard allowed just one run in 6 2/3
strong innings, leading the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago
Cubs in the third of four games at Wrigley Field.
Richard (11-5) yielded seven h
<< VCU extends Smart's contract
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaka Smart, the head men's basketball coach
at Virginia Commonwealth University, received a two-year contract extension on
Wednesday.
In his first season on the job, Smart led the Rams to a 27-9 record, o
<< Bills safety Byrd out indefinitely with groin injury
Pittsford, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd is out
indefinitely after having surgery to repair a nagging groin injury.
Byrd's rookie season in 2009 was cut short by the problem. He was felled after
racking up 45
<< NASCAR releases 2011 schedules for top three series
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR on Wednesday officially released
its 2011 schedule for all three of its national touring series. As expected,
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Sprint
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and last week's Canadian Masters titlist Andy Murray were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Mas
UConn backup QB Endres suspended indefinitely >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall
announced he has indefinitely suspended junior quarterback Cody Endres and
sophomore offensive guard Erik Kuraczea for violating school policy.
Edsall did no
Rollins keeps Phils rolling vs. Giants >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Rollins' three-run homer capped a
four-run fourth inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies widened the gap in the
NL Wild Card race with an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Rollins fell a d
Tuiasosopo keys Mariners over O's for second straight night >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo clubbed
a three-run homer and made a spectacular diving catch to preserve the lead in
the eighth inning, as Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, in the rubber
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Uggla, Johnson get Marlins past reeling Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla homered in support of Josh
Johnson, who worked eight effective innings to lead Florida past Pittsburgh,
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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
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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