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08/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the St. Louis Cardinals manage to hold on and win their second straight National League Central title, they may very well point to Tuesday as being the turning point in their season.
And, they will have Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips to thank for that.
Phillips took an under the radar race and put it on the national stage with these comments to a Reds writer: "I'd play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is b--ch and moan about everything, all of them, they're little b---es, all of 'em.
"I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals."
Of course, his comments came with his Reds two games ahead in the standings and shortly before the two teams engaged in an important three-game set at Great American Ball Park.
St. Louis may not have been aware of Phillips' remarks before the start of Monday night's opener, but rest assured the Cards were well aware of them heading into Tuesday's tilt when a full-fledged brawl with Phillips as the catalyst broke out before a pitch was even thrown.
As if the comments weren't enough motivation for the Cardinals, the brawl seemed to energize Tony La Russa's club, who rolled to an 8-4 win that night, before completing the three-game sweep with a 6-1 win on Wednesday to move one game ahead of the Reds in the division with a little over a month and half to play.
For those keeping score, the Reds were outscored 21-8 in the series and managed a whopping nine hits in 19 2/3 innings off three St. Louis starters.
"It certainly added fuel to our fire, when you've got guys opening their mouth saying stupid stuff," said St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright, who won Wednesday's finale. "But we only use that in a positive way. It's very unprofessional to fire back. Just go out there and win the game on the field, not off the field. That's what we did this series."
Well done Mr. Phillips.
I have to admit I am tired of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. We needed some bad blood elsewhere in the league. A St. Louis-Cincinnati rivalry is good for baseball, especially since it looks like they are going to be trading places with each other atop the Central standings from here on out.
It's obvious the two managers despise each other. La Russa and Dusty Baker have had run-ins in the past. Tensions within the division is a good thing.
By the way make sure to mark September 4-6 on your calendars as these two teams will meet again for the final time in the regular season in a three-game series at Busch Stadium.
The Reds have not finished above .500 since 2000 and have not played in the postseason since five years before that. There was no need to rattle the Cardinals' cage.
Now is this sweep going to be the death knell to the Reds' postseason hopes?
No not by a long shot. In fact when it is all said and done I think they are going to wind up winning the wild card in the National League. Take a look at the schedules the rest of the way. The loser of the Central battle most certainly has the upper hand, considering the majority of their schedule the rest of the way comes against their own division, featuring the likes of the Houstons, Pittsburghs and Milwaukees of the world. Not to mention games against Arizona and Colorado.
Now, of course, the Cardinals play essentially the same teams down the stretch, so neither team really has an advantage in that regard. Bottom line is both teams are still in pretty good shape to reach the postseason.
To Phillips' credit he stood behind his words and even his teammates were kind of behind him, chalking it up to "Brandon being Brandon". I understand what he was trying to do, but it may have backfired on him, as it appears to have fired up the wrong team.
<< Thorn joins Sixers as club president
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rod Thorn wasn't out of work long, as the
former New Jersey Nets president has landed the same role with the
Philadelphia 76ers.
Thorn spent 10 years as team president and general manager o
<< American defender Lichaj signs new deal at Villa
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American defender Eric Lichaj signed a
new three-year contract with Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Lichaj joined Aston Villa in 2007, but has yet to break into the first team.
He spent parts of the last t
<< Liverpool acquires Poulsen from Juventus
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool acquired Danish midfielder
Christian Poulsen from Juventus on Thursday and signed him to a three-year
contract.
Poulsen, 30, cost Liverpool about $7 million. The defensive midfielde
<< Dodgers send Kershaw to the hill in finale with Phillies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Dodgers plan on leaving the City of Brotherly Love
with a series win over Philadelphia this evening, starting pitcher Clayton
Kershaw may have to do something he's never done before.
Kershaw is scheduled to pitch in
Portugal's Carvalho completes move to Real >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricardo Carvalho passed his physical at Real
Madrid on Thursday and officially signed a two-year contract with the Spanish
giants.
Carvalho played under Real coach Jose Mourinho at Porto and Chelsea, and jo
Dortmund's Dede out 3-4 weeks with ankle injury >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund left back Dede tore a
ligament in his right ankle in training this week and will miss the start of
the Bundesliga season.
Dede will be sidelined three to four weeks. Dortmund opens
Braves' Jones could be done for season >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones
reportedly has a torn ACL in his left knee.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted Jones' agent as saying an MRI exam
revealed the severity of the injury.
Seattle Seahawks 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks are out to prove that they're ready to
regain a division they dominated for the middle part of this decade. They will
do so with a head coach who is out to prove he belongs in the big show.
The Seahaw
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 San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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