Bolden solid in debut as Penn State dominates Youngstown State
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/04/2010 - University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - True freshman quarterback Rob Bolden threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, leading Penn State to a 44-14 rout of Youngstown State in the 2010 opener for both schools.
Bolden, who won a three-way quarterback competition for the Nittany Lions (1-0), completed 20-of-29 passes and was picked off once, as PSU improved to 38-7 in season openers under the ageless Joe Paterno, who has returned for his 45th season at the helm of Penn State.
Paterno, the all-time winningest coach in FBS history, added victory No. 395 in his 527th game with the Nittany Lions.
Brett Bracket set career-highs with eight catches, 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Derrick Moye had five receptions for 61 yards. Chaz Powell added a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the win.
Kurt Hess completed 21-of-25 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns for Youngstown State (0-1), which finished 6-5 last year in the FCS' Missouri Valley Conference. Dominuique Barnes had 11 receptions for 134 yards, including an 80-yard score in the first quarter.
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have released 21 players as part of their Saturday "cut-down-day" maneuvers. Atlanta waived or released tight end Robbie Agnone, wide receiver Troy Bergeron, safety Eric Brock, wide r
<< Wozniacki, Sharapova roll; Jankovic exits U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded 2009 runner-up Caroline
Wozniacki and former champion Maria Sharapova were easy third-round winners,
while former finalist Jelena Jankovic went by way of the upset Saturday at
the U.S. Open.
<< Jankovic exits U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former runner-up Jelena Jankovic was
a third-round upset victim Saturday at the U.S. Open.
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi stunned the former world No. 1 Jankovic
6-2, 7-6 (7-1) at the USTA Bil
<< Serbia edges Croatia to reach World Championship quarters
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aleksandar Rasic's free throw with one
second left gave Serbia a 73-72 victory over Croatia and berth in the
quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship.
The Serbs led by seven during the fou
<< Soderling reaches fourth round in Flushing
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time French Open runner-up
Robin Soderling was an easy third-round winner Saturday at the U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Soderling whipped Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on
Day 6 at the US
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced on Saturday that rookie and top overall pick Sam Bradford will be the team's starting quarterback in Week 1 against Arizona. Bradford is one of three quarterbacks on th
Robinson rushes for three TDs as Iowa wins opener >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three
touchdowns, leading ninth-ranked Iowa in a 37-7 rout of Eastern Illinois to
open each school's 2010 season.
Robinson received 24 carries for the Hawkeyes (1-0
Florida begins life after Tebow with win over Miami-Ohio >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janoris Jenkins returned an interception 67
yards for a touchdown in the first half and Jeffery Demps rumbled 72 yards for
a score in the fourth quarter, as fourth-ranked Florida began life without Tim
Tebow a
Cardinals release Leinart, reduce roster to 53 >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals have officially released
quarterback Matt Leinart, as part of a group of Saturday moves to pare their
roster to the 53-player maximum.
Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and No.
20th-ranked FSU routs Samford >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christian Ponder threw for 167 yards and
four touchdowns in just one half of action, as 20th-ranked Florida State began
the post-Bobby Bowden era with a 59-6 rout of Samford at Doak Campbell
Stadium
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.