Clijsters, Venus roll into quarterfinals in New York

Tennis Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams each recorded straight-set victories in fourth-round play Sunday at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Clijsters needed just 59 minutes to post a 6-2 ,6-1 win over former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic to advance into her fourth straight quarterfinal here, albeit in sporadic years starting in 2003.

The Belgian took advantage of Ivanovic's poor second serve, winning 76 percent of the points on her opponents lesser serve.

The two-time U.S. Open champ won seven straight games to move to 4-0 in the second set before cruising to the finish line. She won 70 of the 115 points played in the match.

Next up for Clijsters will be either fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur or 12th- seeded Russian Elena Dementieva, who face off later Sunday. Clijsters figures to have a good chance to advance to the semis, as she has a 3-0 lifetime record against Stosur while winning 11 of 14 matches in her career against Dementieva.

Williams, the No. 3 seed, took down 16th-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to secure her spot in the quarters.

Williams, the last woman to win back-to-back US Open titles when she triumphed here in 2000 and 2001, improved to 6-0 in her career versus Peer, including four wins this year.

The American fired six aces past Peer to improver her career record here to 58-9. Williams will next do battle with reigning French Open champ and sixth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, who dominated 20th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-0.

Schiavone is through to the quarters here for the first time since 2003, while Pavlyuchenkova's best career run in a Grand Slam tournament came to a screeching halt.

Schiavone has an 0-7 career record against Williams.

Wespeakjive Tennis Betting News

<< Defense comes up big for Mountaineers
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -West Virginia is accustomed to scoring in bunches. What stood out after the season opener was an effort unseen from its defense in quite some time.The Mountaineers earned their first home shutout win in 13 years on Saturday,

<< Veteran coach Jack Crowe leads JSU to huge victory
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -Jack Crowe has been coaching football for 40 years, but even he was at a loss to describe how Jacksonville State pulled off the unthinkable with a 49-48 double-overtime victory over Mississippi on Saturday.Not only was it undoubt

<< With Hampton out, Robinson shines for No. 9 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -The anticipation for Iowa sophomore running back Jewel Hampton's return from knee surgery and a one-game suspension has reached a fevered pitch in Iowa City.Meanwhile, Adam Robinson keeps moving the chains.Robinson, an unherald

<< No. 5 Texas' new running game unimpressive
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -Texas spent the offseason loading up a new power running game that was going to get tough yards and first downs when they need it.The Longhorns still have some work to do.By the numbers, Texas was able to grind out 197 yards on 4

<< Bomar, Pascoe among 7 on Giants practice squad
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Quarterback Rhett Bomar is back with the New York Giants.Bomar, who threw more passes than any other Giant this preseason, was among seven players signed to the team's practice squad on Sunday.The Giants say they also si

Verdasco moves on to fourth round at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fernando Verdasco was a third-round winner Sunday at the U.S. Open. The eighth-seeded Spaniard dispatched Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Verdasco was a quarter-finalist here l

Frogs overcome Fiesta flashback to beat Oregon St. >>
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Andy Dalton and the TCU Horned Frogs can now start looking forward to trying to make another BCS run.The sixth-ranked Frogs survived a tough opening test, beating No. 24 Oregon State 30-21 Saturday night in their first game si

Nats recall P Balester >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals recalled right- hander Collin Balester from Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. It's the third callup this season for Balester, and over six appearances in the 2010 campaign, he is 0

Cousins' hit lifts Marlins over Braves in extras >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Cousins' pinch-hit single -- his first big league hit -- in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Emilio Bonifacio, as the Florida Marlins got by the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-g

Kisner gets 1st win at Mylan Classic >>
Canonsburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kisner shot a four-under 67 to capture his first Nationwide Tour win Sunday at the Mylan Classic. A former All-American at the University of Georgia, Kisner finished four rounds on the Southpointe cour

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.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

MySportsbook is a large, publicly traded company with strong financial backing. You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.