Mavs recall first-round pick Ager

Basketball Betting Lines

02/15/2007 -

DALLAS (AP) -The Dallas Mavericks recalled rookie guard Maurice Ager from their developmental team Thursday.

Ager, the team's first-round pick out of Michigan State, has played in 19 games for the Mavericks, averaging 1.3 points in 3.7 minutes a game. He's averaging 14 points and three assists for the Fort Worth developmental team.

The move comes a day after the Mavs learned forward Devean George would miss Thursday's game at Houston with a sprained right knee.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwflalottery Basketball Betting News

<< South Carolina hires Frank Beamer's son
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -South Carolina added another big college football name to its staff Wednesday, hiring Shane Beamer, the son of Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said his newest assistant will coach outside lineback

<< Bonds' first day of workouts remains unclear
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Even if Barry Bonds shows up on time to spring training Monday, he likely won't practice with the team until he signs his contract.The San Francisco slugger is not on the Giants' 40-man roster, which currently stands at 39 af

<< Amaechi says Hardaway comments show need for more talk about gays in sports
Former NBA center John Amaechi, who disclosed last week he's gay, said anti-gay comments by another retired player ``demonstrate the need to continue the conversation.''Retired Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on a radio show Wednesday that he hat

<< With every Pac-10 loss
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona State coach Herb Sendek wore an all-black sweatsuit to his news conference this week. The outfit reflected ASU's season, but not Sendek's mood.He's remained upbeat even as his Sun Devils (6-18, 0-13 Pac-10) try to avoid b

<< Knight reprimanded for comment about officiating
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -Texas Tech coach Bob Knight was reprimanded by the Big 12 Conference for comments about officiating in a double-overtime loss at Oklahoma State.After Saturday's 93-91 defeat, Knight said a call on a charge was ``horrendous'' and

NBA All-Star Game MVPs >>
2006 - LeBron James, Cleveland2005 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia2004 - Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers2003 - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota2002 - Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers2001 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia2000 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio; and Shaquille O'Neal, LA

NBA All-Star Game Results >>
2006-East 122, West 1202005-East 125, West 1152004-West 136, East 1322003-West 155, East 145, 2OT2002-West 135, East 1202001-East 111, West 1102000-West 137, East 1261999-No game.1998-East 135, West 1141997-East 132, West 1201996-East 129, West 1181

Torre to Bernie: We want you >>
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Joe Torre spoke to Bernie Williams and the message from the New York Yankees manager was clear: Come to spring training.Williams, feeling slighted by the only major league team he's played for, has thus far refused to accept a mino

Blank looking for new revenue, not new QB, for Falcons >>
ATLANTA (AP) -Arthur Blank is looking for new revenue - and possibly a new stadium - for the Atlanta Falcons.Not a new starting quarterback.February marks the five-year anniversary of Blank's purchase of the team. ``There have been a lot of ups and

Trial of Saints' Jammal Brown postponed >>
COVINGTON, La. (AP) -The domestic abuse trial of New Orleans Saints player Jammal Brown was postponed after a judge ruled prosecutors cannot use recordings of his wife's statements to investigators or calls to 911.State District Judge Martin Coady r

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.