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03/05/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The long-awaited return of Sean Avery is on tap tonight in Uniondale, as the controversial forward is expected to suit up for the Rangers when they visit the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum for another battle between the NHL's New York teams.
The Rangers claimed Avery off re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, officially completing a move that had been rumored for weeks. The Stars had placed the embattled forward on re-entry waivers Monday, after Avery had not suited up for the club since his inappropriate comments in Calgary on December 2 eventually led to a league-imposed six-game suspension.
Avery had been playing for the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford since Dallas placed him on regular waivers on February 7 and assigned him to the club three days later. Dallas does not have its own AHL affiliate.
The 28-year-old Avery spent 86 games over parts of two seasons with the Rangers from 2006-08, scoring 23 goals with 53 points and racking up 212 penalty minutes. With the feisty winger in the lineup, the Rangers sported a 50-20-16 mark. Avery was also a key postseason performer, logging five goals and 12 points in 18 playoff games for New York.
However, Avery left Broadway this summer to a sign a four-year, $15.5 million deal with the Stars. Avery logged three goals and seven assists in 23 games with Dallas this season. The Rangers are now responsible for exactly half of the big contract Avery signed with Dallas.
The Rangers didn't stop with the waiver claim, however, as they also acquired a pair of players at Wednesday's trade deadline, getting forward Nik Antropov from Toronto and nabbing defenseman Derek Morris from Phoenix.
Antropov, who had 21 goals and 25 assists in 63 contests with the Leafs this season, was picked up for a second-round draft pick and a conditional draft pick. For Morris, however, the Rangers had to give up defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and forwards Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes. Morris had five goals and seven assists in 57 games with Phoenix this year.
The roster overhaul comes a little over a week after the Rangers fired head coach Tom Renney and replaced him with John Tortorella. The Blueshirts, who are tied with Pittsburgh for the final two postseason berths in the Eastern Conference, are 1-1-1 since the coaching change
The Rangers ended a four-game losing streak their last time out, as they pounded visiting Colorado by a 6-1 score on Saturday. Scott Gomez posted a goal and two assists to lead the way for the Blueshirts at Madison Square Garden.
Nikolai Zherdev, Chris Drury and Markus Naslund each posted a goal and one helper for the Rangers, who posted a season-high for goals in a single game. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots for his first win in five starts.
The Rangers, who are just 13-14-4 as the guest this year, will play four of their first five games of March on the road, but will return to MSG for their next game this Sunday against Boston.
The Islanders, who are last in the NHL with 47 points, made just one move at the deadline as they sent veteran winger Bill Guerin to Pittsburgh for a conditional draft pick.
Guerin signed a two-year deal with New York in the summer of 2007 and was named captain of the Islanders prior to the start of the 2007-08 campaign. The 38-year-old has 16 goals and 36 points in 61 games this season after recording 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) a year ago.
The Isles come into tonight's test riding a two-game winning streak and will try for three straight victories for the first time since a four-game streak from January 21-February 3.
After posting a 2-0 win over visiting Buffalo on Saturday, the Islanders notched another home victory by defeating Colorado on Monday. Yann Danis needed to make just 20 saves to help the Islanders to the 4-2 decision over Avalanche.
Jeff Tambellini had a goal and an assist while Bruno Gervais, Dean McAmmond and Jesse Joensuu each had a goal for the Islanders.
The Isles, who are 14-13-5 as the host this year, are playing the fourth test of a season-high six-game homestand tonight.
The Rangers have taken four of the five meetings with the Isles this season and have won six of eight and seven of 10 in the series against their geographical rival. The Blueshirts have also won four in a row and six of nine at the Coliseum.
<< Blazers, Nuggets battle for Northwest bragging rights
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two top teams in the Northwest Division stage a battle
for first place in the Rocky Mountains tonight when the Denver Nuggets play
host to the streaking Portland Trail Blazers at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets have
<< Mavs try to keep owner happy in New Orleans
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks responded to their outspoken owner's
harsh criticism in a big way on Wednesday and will now hope to beat a
Southwest Division rival for the second straight night when they arrive in the
Big Eas
<< Stanford visits No. 21 Arizona State
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils and the
Stanford Cardinal, both out of the Pac-10 Conference, are set to do battle in
Tempe this evening.
Stanford had a great deal of success against non-conference oppon
<< Wildats and Friars mix it up in Big East action
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 11th-ranked Villanova Wildcats welcome
the Providence Friars to town for the second meeting of the season between the
Big East Conference rivals. Villanova squeaked by Providence in a 94-91 final
back on Feb
Maple Leafs visit struggling Caps >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs may be well behind the Washington
Capitals in the Eastern Conference standings, but they're the ones that have
been playing like a playoff-caliber team as of late.
Toronto will attempt to earn at le
Red-hot Preds host Blue Jackets in key matchup >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will try to extend their longest
winning streak of the season in tonight's battle with Columbus at the Sommet
Center, where they haven't lost to the Blue Jackets in nearly three years.
The Predators
Cowboys release S Williams >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys are apparently continuing to
tinker with their roster, as veteran safety Roy Williams has reportedly been
released.
The Dallas Morning News reported the move Thursday morning, citing a
Line of Scrimmage: T.O. Circus On the Road Again >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Honestly, that should be it.
After reportedly being cut by the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday night, Terrell
Owens and his brand of biological warfare should be gone from the National
Football League, never t
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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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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