Real Madrid held to scoreless draw by Olympiakos

Soccer Betting Lines

11/06/2007 - Athens, Greece (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olympiakos goalie Antonis Nikopolidis made five saves in a 0-0 draw with Real Madrid in Group C of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Real Madrid couldn't solve the veteran goalie and also hit the frame twice in the disappointing result.

Iker Casillas only had to make one save for Real Madrid (2-0-2), which holds a three-point edge on Lazio and Olympiakos.

Lazio and Olympiakos meet on Nov. 28 when the group returns to action. Real Madrid visits Werder Bremen, which is last in the group, on Nov. 28.

Wiwin Soccer Betting News

<< Werder Bremen drops rematch with Lazio
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommaso Rocchi scored two goals as Lazio edged Werder Bremen, 2-1, on Tuesday in Group C of the Champions League. Rocchi, who had his first goal off his own missed penalty kick, scored in the 57th and 68th mi

<< Rocchi double leads Lazio to key win
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommaso Rocchi scored two goals as Lazio edged Werder Bremen, 2-1, on Tuesday in Group C of the Champions League. Rocchi, who had his first goal off his own missed penalty kick, scored in the 57th and 68th mi

<< It's all about defense in Tennessee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I couldn't tell if that was the 1985 Chicago Bears defense or the 2007 version of the Tennessee Titans in Sunday's 20-7 bashing of the Carolina Panthers at LP Field. The Titans took advantage of their stingy defense to win

<< Colts will rebound in Cali, for sure
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The looks on the faces of the Indianapolis Colts after Sunday's setback to the New England Patriots said it all. This team is not accustomed to losing. The Colts are also not used to practicing on Mondays this time of year

<< Broncos Become an Embarrassment
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On Sunday in Detroit the Denver Broncos lost a football game, a starting quarterback, and a whole lot of respect and credibility. The first item in this list of disgraces is done and over with; the Broncos lost 44-7, their se

Browns' Bentley to remain on PUP list >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns announced that center LeCharles Bentley will remain on the team's physically unable to perform list. The move means Bentley is ineligible to practice with the team or play for the rema

McGeady leads Celtic to Champions win >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aidan McGeady scored in the 45th minute as Celtic edged Benfica, 1-0, on Tuesday in Group D of the Champions League. Celtic (2-2-0) sits second in the group with six points, three behind first- place

Benfica last in Group D of Champions League >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aidan McGeady scored in the 45th minute as Celtic edged Benfica, 1-0, on Tuesday in Group D of the Champions League. Celtic (2-2-0) sits second in the group with six points, three behind first- place

AC Milan rolls over Shakhtar Donetsk >>
Donetsk, Ukraine (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Filippo Inzaghi scored twice and Kaka had one goal as AC Milan rolled to a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday in Group D of the Champions League. Inzaghi, who entered in the 63rd minute, scored i

Lowell highlights six more filing for free agency >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third baseman and reigning World Series MVP Mike Lowell highlighted a group of six players that filed for free agency on Tuesday. Lowell hit a career-best .324 for the Boston Red Sox in 2007, clubbin

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

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