Lions president Lewand suspended, fined
Football Betting Lines
07/30/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand has been given a 30-day suspension and $100,000 fine following his drunken-driving arrest last month.
Lewand was arrested June 25 after a charity golf tournament in northern Michigan, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.21. After the arrest, Lewand released a statement saying he was "deeply sorry" and would take full responsibility.
Lewand's suspension will begin August 25, when there is a league meeting in Atlanta. He will not be permitted to represent the Lions at that meeting, and will not be allowed to be at the team's facilities or attend games for the duration of the suspension. Lewand also cannot represent the Lions publicly, save for specific community service activities.
Lewand needs to submit a plan for community service and is already undergoing treatment.
Lewand, who was named team president in December 2008, will be allowed to return to work September 24.
White Sulphur Springs, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Overton fired an eight-under 62 on Friday to take four-shot lead midway through The Greenbrier Classic. Chasing his first PGA Tour win, Overton had eight birdies in a flawless round and fini
<< Padres option Cunningham to Portland
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres on Friday optioned
outfielder Aaron Cunningham to Triple-A Portland.
Cunningham was batting .312 with a home run and 13 RBI in 30 games this season
for the Padres.
The outfielde
<< Cards agree to terms with Blair
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals on Friday agreed to
terms with pitcher Seth Blair.
Blair, who was the club's supplemental first round pick, 46th overall, in last
month's draft, will report to Single-A Batavia in th
<< Isles acquire D Wisniewski from Ducks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks traded newly signed
defenseman James Wisniewski to the New York Islanders for a conditional third-
round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Earlier Friday, the 26-year-old Wisniews
<< A's sign first-round selection Choice
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have signed their top
pick of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, outfielder Michael Choice, to a
minor league contract.
Choice was taken 10th overall in the first round.
He was
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks on Friday signed defenseman Nick Leddy to a three-year contract. Leddy came over from Minnesota on February 12 in the trade that sent Cam Barker to the Wild. He was taken 16
Detroit P Galarraga leaves game >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers starter Armando Galarraga left
Friday's game with the Boston Red Sox due to an apparent right ankle injury.
Galarraga was struck by a line drive off the bat of Boston's Kevin Youkilis
with two o
Habs sign last year's top pick Leblanc >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed
forward Louis Leblanc, their first round draft choice in 2009, to a three-year
contract.
Leblanc was the 18th overall choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
The
Thompson joined by Chappell in Cox Classic lead >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson carded a six-under 65 Friday to
remain tied for the lead after 36 holes of the Cox Classic.
Thompson, who shared the first-round lead with Steven Bowditch, finished two
rounds at 14-under-pa
Braves P Medlen leaves game >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Kris Medlen left
Friday's start against Cincinnati with a right forearm contusion after being
hit by a pitch in the sixth inning.
Medlen was plunked by the Reds' Johnny Cueto i
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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