Cougars set to pounce on Horned Frogs

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2010 - Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clinging to first place in the Mountain West Conference standings, the 12th-ranked BYU Cougars try to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the member schools as they host the TCU Horned Frogs tonight at the Marriott Center in Provo.

BYU, played twice last week and in the first outing suffered its first league defeat of 2009-10 with a 76-72 setback to nationally-ranked New Mexico on the road. Three days later, the Cougars redeemed themselves with an 82-69 victory over Utah at home, running their record to a perfect 12-0 in their own building and 6-1 in conference.

As for the Horned Frogs, who are tied with Wyoming for sixth place in the league standings at just 2-5, they are trying to halt a season-high three-game slide on the road tonight. The squad took on New Mexico on Saturday at home and was handed a 72-57 loss.

At one point in this series the Horned Frogs put together a three-game win streak against BYU, but that was finished more than a decade ago and since then the Cougars have captured 10 consecutive victories over TCU. Last season, BYU posted a 73-61 win in this building in January and then logged a 79-63 triumph down in Fort Worth as well.

The schools will complete their regular-season series this year the first week of March at TCU.

Ronnie Moss exploded for a career-high 30 points, shooting not only 12-of-17 from the field but also 5-of-7 behind the three-point line for the Horned Frogs on Saturday as he logged the 600th point of his career, but it wasn't nearly enough as he and TCU bowed to New Mexico on the road. Moss, who is sixth in the nation in assists with almost six and a half per contest, handed out eight of the unit's 11 assists in the outing. Zvonko Buljan was the only other double-digit scorer for the program, posting 11 points for a team that was outscored at the free-throw line, 20-2, and turned the ball over 16 times. Moss has been trying to keep it all together for the Horned Frogs this season, leading the team and ranking among the league leaders in scoring with his 14.5 ppg, even though he is shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor at the moment. Zvonko Buljan and Edvinas Ruzgas account for 13.3 and 12.4 ppg, respectively, the former collecting a team-best nine rebounds per game and the latter having made good on 42.5 percent of his three-point tries as the Frogs hit on only 33.4 percent out on the perimeter.

Once again it was the Jimmer Fredette show for the Cougars over the weekend as he tallied a game-high 36 points in the win over Utah at home. Fredette, who now holds the BYU record for the most points ever scored against a Utah program, connected on 4-of-5 beyond the arc and 11-of-23 from the floor overall, while Tyler Haws added 15 points to the offensive attack for BYU. Named the Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday for the fourth time, Fredette is now posting a lofty 21.2 ppg and is even shooting better behind the three-point line (.484) than he is the field (.474) through 21 appearances. Fredette has not only made good on almost 90 percent of his free- throw tries (122-of-136), he has also found opportunity to hand out a team- best 104 assists, benefiting the likes of Haws (12.3 ppg) and Jackson Emery (12.0 ppg) who have been filling the gap left by Jonathan Tavernari (9.7 ppg) who has gone from being one of the leading performers in the MWC a year ago to barely shooting 40 percent from the floor and coming off the bench now for a group that is converting 49.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent out on the perimeter.

Wwwdenverpost NCAA Basketball Betting News


<< Orange play host to Friars in Big East affair
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Syracuse Orange will try to continue their winning ways tonight, as they entertain the Providence Friars in a Big East clash at the Carrier Dome. After starting the season unranked, Syracuse h

<< Seton Hall seeks upset of Big East leader Villanova
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big East Conference foes collide tonight, as the second-ranked Villanova Wildcats host the Seton Hall Pirates at The Pavilion. Seton Hall is a solid 12-7 overall, but that record is overshadowed a bit by a 3

<< Rebels take on Wildcats in pivotal SEC battle
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels have the unenviable task of battling the now fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington this evening in a top-25 SEC tussle. Ole Miss carried a three-game win streak into Sun

<< Wildcats invade Lincoln to take on Cornhuskers
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats head out to the road for two straight games, starting tonight in Lincoln, when they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Big 12 action at the Devaney Center. The Wildcats ar

<< Spartans and Badgers meet in Big Ten tussle
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Michigan State Spartans will attempt to remain perfect in Big Ten play when they pay a visit to the 16th- ranked Wisconsin Badgers, who are undefeated at home this season. Michigan State is rid

Magic try to stay hot at home vs. Bucks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic shoot for their sixth straight win at home tonight, when they play host to the Milwaukee Bucks at Amway Arena. Orlando will also entertain Washington on the short residency and owns a solid 18-4 reco

Raptors pay a visit to Pacers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors will try to extend their winning streak to a season high six straight games when they close out a home-and-home series against the Indiana Pacers this evening at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Raptors made i

Maple Leafs host Devils following roster shakeup >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Dion Phaneuf are expected to make their Maple Leafs debut tonight as Toronto welcomes the first-place New Jersey Devils to Air Canada Centre for the opener of a home-and-home series. The Maple Le

Cavs go for ninth straight win vs. Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers hope to extend their season-high winning streak to nine games when they continue a seven-game homestand Tuesday versus the Memphis Grizzlies at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers opened the resi

Lightning try to avoid third consecutive loss against Thrashers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to avoid a three-game losing streak when they visit the Atlanta Thrashers for tonight's Southeast Division clash at Philips Arena. The Lightning, who are one point behind Atlanta for third

You've come to the right place if you're searching for a great legal online sportsbook ! The sportsbooks featured on this page accept sports wagers for the NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, NCAA, Tennis, Soccer, Auto-Racing, Golf, Boxing, Horseracing, and many more. Using the information displayed on this page, you'll be able to make a wise-decision when selecting an online sportsbook and wagering service.

If you've never wagered at an online sportsbook before, you will find the process of starting to be straightforward. First, you choose a sportsbook from the list provided below. We feature the top sportsbooks on the web, with rankings based on company size, reputation, security, web site usability, and payment options. Once you've chosen the betting site that's right for you, the next step is online registration. You'll need to provide some basic information to create your account and receive a username and password. At this time, you'll also select a payment option. The books reviewed accept Visa, Mastercard, BankWire, and several others. Once you have an account created with the Sportsbook, you're ready to start wagering. You'll want to get familiar with their website and contact their Customer Service department if you have any questions.

Also, make sure you read the terms and conditions, which is usually located at the bottom of the homepage. The terms and conditions will outline all of the rules and regulations for the sportsbook. Once you are comfortable with the website and fully understand all of the rules, you are ready to start betting on your favorite sports teams or even on some hot current events!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.