Scola sizzles as Rockets cut down Nets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola poured in a career-high 44 points on 20-of-25 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the Houston Rockets got past the New Jersey Nets, 116-108, at the Toyota Center.

Scola topped his previous career-high of 30 for the Rockets, who have won three of their last four games.

Kevin Martin chipped in with 20 and Aaron Brooks posted 18 and seven assists as Houston has now won eight straight against the Nets.

Courtney Lee paced New Jersey with 24 points, while Brook Lopez posted a double-double with 22 and 10 as the Nets (7-59) dropped their four straight. They need to win three of their final 16 games to eclipse the NBA-worst 9-73 the 76ers posted in 1972-73.

Wwwentertaindom Basketball Betting News

<< Smith leads Nuggets' fourth-quarter charge in win over Memphis
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.R. Smith scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, as the Denver Nuggets used a huge final period to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, 125-108. Smith made 11-of-16 field goals, including a 7-for-10

<< Knicks pound Dallas to snap Mavs' 13-game win streak
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points and the New York Knicks were an efficient 16-of-30 from beyond the arc, helping them snap Dallas' 13-game winning streak with a resounding 128-94 victory at America

<< Arkansas-Pine Bluff wins SWAC title for first NCAA bid
Bossier City, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tavaris Washington had 14 points and five rebounds as the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions took home the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title with a 50-38 win over Texas Southern, giving

<< Kessel helps Leafs edge Edmonton
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Kessel scored two goals and dished out an assist, as the Toronto Maple Leafs outlasted the Edmonton Oilers, 6-4, in a matchup between two teams in the basement in the NHL standings. Tyler Bozak had a

<< Hawks use proficient shooting to beat Pistons
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson finished with 26 points, as the Atlanta Hawks used an efficient offensive performance to take a 112-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Josh Smith added 18 points and a career-high 11 assis

Spurs crush Clippers...again >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Bonner had a team-high 21 points, as the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 118-88 win, their 16th consecutive victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Spurs also completed the series sweep for the

Butler's layup helps West Virginia take first Big East title >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Da'Sean Butler provided the final theatrics of the Big East Tournament, pouring home a layup with 4.2 seconds remaining to give seventh-ranked West Virginia a thrilling 60-58 win over 22nd-ranked Georget

New Mexico State wins WAC >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jahmar Young scored a team-high 19 points, and third-seeded New Mexico State captured the WAC Tournament championship with a 69-63 victory over top-seeded and defending champion Utah State. Troy Gillenwater

Houston Baptist takes inaugural Great West title >>
Orem, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Thomas scored 24 points and South Dakota earned a postseason trip with a 91-86 victory over Houston Baptist in the championship game of the inaugural Great West Conference Tournament. Kendall Cutle

Canucks rip Senators in return home >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikael Samuelsson scored twice, as the Vancouver Canucks returned home to GM Place with a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. The Canucks were forced to play 14 straight games on the road, spannin

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

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

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