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06/16/2007 - Byron, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time Nationwide Tour winner Jay Delsing posted a four-under 68 Friday to move one stroke clear of the field after two rounds of the Showdown at Somerby.
Delsing, who was one of five first-round leaders, completed 36 holes at 11- under-par 133.
Lee Williamson (64) and Jeremy Anderson (66) share second place at minus-10. Seven more players at tied for fourth at nine-under-par 135.
Delsing started on the back nine Friday and birdied the first two holes he played to move to minus-nine.
He collected birdies on 15 and 18 to make the turn at 11-under. Delsing, a former member of the PGA Tour, birdied the first before running into trouble.
Delsing tripped to back-to-back bogeys from the second at Somerby Golf Club to slide to minus-10. He got one stroke back with a birdie on the par-five fourth.
The 46-year-old Delsing parred the final five holes to grab the 36-hole lead for the fifth time in his Nationwide Tour career.
"I know what I've got to do, I've got to get myself as low as I can," Delsing admitted. "There's still so much golf left. I just want to be the one leading on Sunday."
Williamson dropped in birdies on the second and third, but gave both of those strokes back with a double-bogey on the fifth. He made the turn at minus-three thanks to a birdie on the seventh.
The 27-year-old, who has missed the cut in four of his last six starts, caught fire around the turn. He eagled the par-five 11th and followed with a birdie on 12.
Williamson's lone mistake on the back came at the par-three 13th, where he stumbled to a bogey. He bounced right back with a birdie on 14 and an eagle on the short par-four 15th. Williamson closed with his third eagle of the back nine at the 18th to end in a share of second.
"I've never had three eagles in a competitive round," stated Williamson. "I'm not sure if I've ever had two."
Anderson climbed the leaderboard with three birdies on the front nine, to turn in seven-under. After a birdie on 10, Anderson bogeyed No. 11. He posted three birdies over the final five holes to end at 10-under.
Chris Riley, a former American Ryder Cupper, carded a four-under 68 to end in a share of fourth. He was joined at minus-nine by Chris Anderson, Richard Johnson, Tim O'Neal, Mark Brooks, Greg Chalmers and Esteban Toledo. Six players are one shot back at minus-eight.
The cut line fell at four-under-par 140 with 69 players moving on to the weekend. Among those missing the weekend were Carlos Franco, Jason Buha, former Masters champion Larry Mize and two-time PGA Tour winner Len Mattiace.
<< Cabrera leads U.S. Open; Mickelson cut
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angel Cabrera stuck his final approach shot
within inches and made birdie, knocking 19 players out of the U.S. Open by
himself.
Oakmont took care of the rest.
Cabrera shot a one-over 71 Friday to t
<< Big Unit to miss start
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Randy
Johnson will miss his scheduled start against Baltimore Saturday due to lower
back pain.
Johnson is off to a 4-2 record with a 3.52 ERA in his return seas
<< Yankees' Damon scratched from lineup
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees designated hitter Johnny Damon
was scratched from the team's lineup Friday against the New York Mets with an
abdominal strain.
Damon was set to leadoff for the Yankees.
Center fielder Melk
<< Bruins axe Lewis
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After just one season behind the bench, the
Boston Bruins fired head coach Dave Lewis on Friday.
The Bruins also relieved associate coach Marc Habscheid of his duties. Both
are expected to be reassigned
Ninth-inning rally helps Braves down Indians >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yunel Escobar hit a two-run double off C.C.
Sabathia in the ninth inning as the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 5-4 victory
over the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game interleague set.
Casey Bl
Blue Jays bash Nationals >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus homered and finished with three RBI
to guide the Toronto Blue Jays past the Washington Nationals, 7-2, in the
opener of a three-game interleague set at Rogers Centre.
Adam Lind added a two-ru
Red Sox rout Giants; Bonds homerless in first game at Fenway >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Pedroia went 5-for-5, including a two-run
homer, and collected a career-high five RBI, as Boston rocked San Francisco,
10-2, in the opener of a three-game interleague set at Fenway Park.
Julian Tavarez
Rice, UNC win in first day of CWS >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rice and North Carolina both came back from early
deficits to secure wins in the first day of play at the College World Series.
Aaron Luna went 2-for-4, homered, drove in three runs and scored three as the
Rice
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.
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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