RSL equals longest home undefeated streak with win over N.Y.

Soccer Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake earned a 1-0 victory over Red Bull New York on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium to equal the longest home undefeated streak in Major League Soccer history at 22 games.

Fabian Espindola scored the game's only goal in the fourth minute as RSL moves within a point of Columbus and Los Angeles for the Supporter's Shield.

New York (11-8-4) falls seven points off the pace in the Eastern table, but still has a 10-point cushion on the third-placed team.

Espindola got things going early for RSL when he deked past central defender Tim ream after running onto a long ball from Kyle Beckerman. Espindola was then able to push a shot past New York goalkeeper Greg Sutton and in for his sixth goal of the season.

New York has a number of chances, especially in the first half, to equalize, but were unable to beat goalkeeper Nick Rimando and the RSL defense.

Striker Juan Pablo Angel had a close header in the 12 that was tipped over by Rimando, as well as two chances just before the hour mark. The first being another close range header saved by Rimando, the second being the ensuing rebound, that was cleared off the goal line by Beckerman.

New York will aim to rebound when it hosts Colorado on Saturday, while RSL (12-4-7) is at Seattle on Thursday in its next MLS fixture.

Wwdaum Soccer Betting News

<< Rams finish cuts; Adeyanju, Carpenter, Null all chopped
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams pared their roster to the 53-player maximum on Saturday, releasing 16 players to complete their "cut- down day" moves. Excised were defensive end Victor Adeyanju, wide receiver Danario A

<< Dalton leads TCU past Oregon State
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Dalton threw a touchdown and ran two in, including the go-ahead score in the third quarter, as sixth-ranked TCU downed No. 24 Oregon State, 30-21. Dalton went 17-for-27 with 175 yards and two interce

<< Cummings brace leads Rapids past Goats
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rapids' striker Omar Cummings scored two goals and helped set up another to lead his team to a 3-0 win over Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night. After the two teams b

<< Lee's eighth-inning HR pushes Astros past D'Backs
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee hit the game-winning three-run home run in the eighth inning and drove in four to lead Houston to a 6-5 come-from- behind win over Arizona in the middle meeting of a three-game series. Lee finished

<< Lions Release CB Bly, 19 more
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cornerback Dre' Bly was among the players released by the Detroit Lions on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-player NFL maximum. Bly, an 11-year NFL veteran who returned to Detroit in the offs

No. 21 LSU escapes late charge from Yates, No. 18 UNC >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - T.J. Yates led 18th-ranked North Carolina to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and nearly a third on the final play of the game, but it wasn't enough for the short-handed Tar Heels, as No. 21 LSU barely

Talbot gets elusive win as Indians edge Mariners >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mitch Talbot pitched into the seventh inning and won for the first time since late June, as the Indians held off the Seattle Mariners, 4-2, in the third installment of a four-game series. Talbot (9-1

Giants rally past Dodgers, close gap with Padres >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Uribe hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to cap San Francisco's comeback, as the Giants edged the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4, in the middle test of a three-game series. The Giants trailed by four

Runnin' over Rebels: Badgers win on strong ground game >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Clay ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns, as 12th-ranked Wisconsin used its ground game to take a resounding 41-21 win over UNLV in the teams' season-opener. Clay picked up right where he lef

Ishikawa wins playoff in Japan >>
Yamanashi, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryo Ishikawa knocked off Shunsuke Sonoda in a playoff Sunday to repeat as champion at the Fujisankei Classic. Ishikawa closed with a one-under 70, while Sonoda posted a four-under 67. They finished at ni

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.