Monty selects vice captains for Ryder Cup

Golf Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - Wentworth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has selected Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley as his vice captains for this year's team.

The 2010 Ryder Cup will be staged October 1-3 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.

Bjorn, Clarke and McGinley have a combined 10 Ryder Cup appearances among them.

"The Ryder Cup is about passion, commitment and will to win, and all three men I have named today as my vice captains possess these qualities in abundance," Montgomerie said Tuesday.

"Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley are vastly experienced players who have the respect and admiration of everyone in golf. They have all been part of successful European Ryder Cup teams in the past and know the players who will be part of my team at Celtic Manor in October as well as anyone.

"I am delighted to have them by my side as we head to Wales and I know they will be of invaluable assistance to me and everyone associated with the team as we aim to regain the Ryder Cup."

Bjorn has twice been a European Ryder Cup team member, playing on the winning squad in both 1997 and 2002. He was the first player from Denmark to play on a Ryder Cup team and previously served as an assistant to Bernhard Langer at the 2004 Ryder Cup.

Clarke has played in the Ryder Cup five times and was part of winning teams in 1997, 2002, 2004 and 2006. He has a record of 10-7-3 in his 20 Ryder Cup matches.

McGinley holed the winning putt for the European team at the Belfry in 2002 and was also part of winning squads in both 2004 and 2006.

Roolingstone Golf Betting News

<< Miller expecting plenty of open looks with Heat
MIAMI (AP) -With just about every Miami Heat acquisition this summer, another recruiting story seems to emerge.Dwyane Wade helped lure LeBron James and Chris Bosh. James played a big role in talking Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mike Miller into coming to

<< Giants subdue Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Schierholtz's two-run homer in the fourth inning proved to be the difference, as the San Francisco Giants held off the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2, in the opener of a three-game series between these t

<< Diamondbacks pummel light-hitting Mets
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Reynolds tripled in a run as part of a big first inning and belted a three-run homer in the sixth, carrying Arizona to a 13-2 blowout win over the New York Mets. Chris Young had three hits and scored th

<< Rios' HR helps White Sox get past Mariners
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rios clubbed a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly, as the Chicago White Sox defeated Seattle, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Safeco Field. Omar Vizquel went 2-for-4 with a walk a

<< Beltre, Dice-K pace Red Sox over A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre went 3-for-4 with a home run and Daisuke Matsuzaka threw into the seventh inning, as the Boston Red Sox cooled off the Oakland Athletics with a 2-1 victory in the opener of a three-game series.

Line of Scrimmage: NFL GameChangers '10: Specialists >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Belichick has achieved considerable success during his 10-season stint as head coach of the New England Patriots, but for those with the time or wherewithal to look at his resume' with a magnifying glass

NHL veteran Keane won't return to Manitoba >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time NHL forward Mike Keane won't return to the Manitoba Moose for the 2010-11 season. Manitoba, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, announced it won't renew the 43-year-

Cardinals seek seventh straight victory in clash with Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home runs are not easy to hit, but the St. Louis Cardinals made it their job in last night's win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The NL Central-leading Cardinals will try to go deep again Tuesday in the second installment of

Mets hope to find their road game in Arizona >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The road hasn't been too kind for the New York Mets and last night's embarrassing loss in Arizona was proof. The Mets will try to regroup on their 11-game, three-city tour out west tonight in the second portion of a three-gam

Dodgers' Kershaw goes for 10th win versus Lincecum-led Giants >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers young starter Clayton Kershaw has never reached double digits in wins and will get a chance tonight against the NL West-rival San Francisco Giants in the continuation of a three-game series from Chavez Rav

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.