Titans file lawsuit against Kiffin, USC
Football Betting Lines
07/26/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans have filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern California and head coach Lane Kiffin in the wake of the hiring flap surrounding Kennedy Pola.
On Saturday, USC announced the hiring of Pola as offensive coordinator. Pola was also hired to be the Titans' running backs coach in January, and the lawsuit contends the university and Kiffin "maliciously" interfered with the contract that was already in place.
The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, cites breach of contract and stated, in part, "as a result of USC and Kiffin's tortuous conduct, Tennessee (Titans) football has been damaged in an amount proven at trial."
Almost immediately following the announcement by USC on Saturday, Fisher, a former USC player, fired away at Kiffin, saying there was "a lack of professionalism" and that he was "disappointed in Kiffin's approach."
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers signed their 2010 second-round pick, defensive end Mike Neal Monday. Terms of the contract were not released. Selected 56th overall, the 6-foot-3, 294-pound Neal started 23 of
<< Coyotes re-sign winger Picard
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed left wing
Alexandre Picard to a one-year contract.
As per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced.
Picard was acquired by the Coyotes from Columbus on March 3 bu
<< Mets' C Barajas disabled, INF Hessman recalled
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have placed catcher Rod
Barajas on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 25, with a strained
left oblique.
The veteran receiver was injured in the sixth inning of Saturday'
<< Angels option Bell, call up Kohn
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have optioned
right-hander Trevor Bell to Triple-A Salt Lake and purchased the contract of
pitcher Michael Kohn to take his place on the roster.
Bell started Sunday's game
<< Orioles' Wigginton has suspension reduced, drops appeal
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton had
his three-game suspension reduced by one game, Major League Baseball announced
on Monday.
Wigginton, who agreed to drop his appeal, was originally slapped with
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drexel University has placed three male students, including basketball players Jamie Harris and Kevin Phillip, on interim suspension pending the outcome of a police investigation into a robbery
Martinez back in Red Sox lineup >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated catcher Victor
Martinez from the 15-day disabled list Monday after a month-long absence.
Martinez broke his left thumb during a June 27 game against the Giants when a
foul tip
Cavs deal West, Telfair to T'Wolves for Sessions, Hollins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded guards
Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair to the Minnesota Timberwolves for guard
Ramon Sessions, center Ryan Hollins and a 2013 second-round draft pick.
West avera
Yankees rally past Tribe; A-Rod stuck on 599 >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Granderson hit a go-ahead two-run
homer in the eighth inning and the Yankees took the first of four consecutive
meetings with the Cleveland Indians, 3-2, at Progressive Field.
Nick Swisher added
Blue Jays continue domination of O's >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer and Aaron
Hill added a two-run shot and knocked in three, as the Toronto Blue Jays
earned a 9-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the first of a three-game set
at Roge
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.