LeBron, Cavs make a stop in Milwaukee

Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers face a familiar foe tonight, when they pay a visit to the Central Division-rival Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.

The Cavaliers, who have ripped off six straight wins overall, are unbeaten in the past six matchups with Milwaukee, including both meetings this season. They have won 14 of the last 17 matchups between the teams and three in a row as the visitor.

These two teams will meet again March 31 at Quicken Loans Arena, where Milwaukee has dropped four straight and 12 of 13 contests.

Cleveland continued to cruise atop the Eastern Conference with a 99-92 triumph versus Detroit on Friday, as James finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the close call. Antawn Jamison added 17 points and Anderson Varejao contributed 16 and 10 rebounds in the win.

"LeBron did a good job of keeping us in it, and when he hit the bench, we needed someone to come out and give us a spark," Jamison said.

The Cavs still have the NBA's best record at 49-14 and will try to extend their road winning streak to four games tonight. They are 22-10 as the guest in 2009-10.

Milwaukee is currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and has won two straight and eight of its last nine games. In Friday's 102-74 victory at Washington, Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Carlos Delfino also had 19 points and John Salmons ended with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bucks, who played tremendous defense for the win.

"We were very focused, kept them under 20 points in the quarters," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "Our defense was active, the ball movement was great again. We played like we had something to play for. It was a great effort for us."

The Bucks will open a four-game homestand Saturday versus the Cavs, Celtics, Jazz and Pacers, and are 19-9 as the host this season. They are unbeaten in the previous three games at the Bradley Center.

Actionwager Basketball Betting News

<< Suns try to set on Pacers in the desert
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns hope to get back on the winning track Saturday when they resume a season-long seven-game homestand against the lowly Indiana Pacers at US Airways Center. The Suns dropped the opener of the residen

<< Stars begin huge road trip with matinee in Pittsburgh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars start up what could be termed as a make- or-break road trip this afternoon, when the struggling playoff hopefuls visit Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena to battle the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins. Dall

<< 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mid-American Conference was a tug-of- war from start to finish and the fireworks continued all the way down to the final regular-season game on Friday. Kent State and Akron battled for the right to the

<< Tar Heels try to salvage season in bout with hated Blue Devils
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a game that often times decides the ACC title, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils will close out their regular seasons against one another yet again. Although the usual hype does not surround t

<< Louisville closes Freedom Hall against top-ranked Syracuse
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An extremely emotional Louisville squad will welcome the top-ranked Syracuse Orange to Freedom Hall this afternoon for a Big East clash. The Cardinals will be closing out the regular season as well as ending

Grizzlies hope to solve home woes vs. Spurs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies are probably the only team in the NBA that doesn't want to play on the home floor right now. The Grizzlies have lost seven straight in front of the home crowd as they get ready to host the San Anto

Rockets open trek in Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets kick off a three-game road trip tonight in the Twin Cities, hoping to win their 11th straight game over the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves haven't beaten Houston since a 103-99 overtime

Mavs try to push win streak to 11 in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Dallas Mavericks will try to stretch their season-high winning streak to 11 games tonight, when they open a short road trip against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. The Mavs will also visit Min

Nets begin road swing at New York >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After losing all three games on a recent homestand, the New Jersey Nets kick off a five-game road trip tonight against the local rival New York Knicks at historic Madison Square Garden. New Jersey will also make stops in M

Hawks, Heat get together in south Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southeast Division rivals meet in Miami Saturday night as the Heat play host to the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat, who are currently holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are coming off th

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your baseball sportsbook needs.

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.