Flyers, Bruins look to continue good play of late

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams that have shown improved play in recent weeks will get together this evening at the Wachovia Center, where the Boston Bruins resume a long road trip with a showdown against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Although both clubs are on the outside looking in of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, with the Flyers well out of the postseason chase, each enters tonight's game with victories in three of its last four contests.

Philadelphia finally got its first win without Peter Forsberg in the lineup on Saturday, a 5-3 decision over the rival New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Simon Gagne and Geoff Sanderson each had a goal and an assist to lead the way.

The Flyers traded star center Forsberg to the Nashville Predators on Thursday in exchange for right wing Scottie Upshall, 19-year-old defense prospect Ryan Parent and a pair of 2007 draft choices. Upshall made a good impression with his new team, scoring a power-play goal in the third period during his Philly debut.

Philadelphia had gone 0-13-3 in the games the oft-injured Forsberg had missed this season, then was dealt a 4-2 loss to Toronto on the night of the big trade.

Antero Niittymaki made 40 saves for the Flyers, who still have a league-low 40 points on the season.

Philadelphia did suffer a significant injury on Saturday, as right wing Mike Knuble fractured his right cheekbone and orbital bone in a scary collision with New York's Brendan Shanahan during the third period. Knuble, who ranks second on the team in goals (22) and points (43), will be sidelined indefinitely.

Gagne has scored a goal in five consecutive games and has amassed 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) during that stretch.

Boston outlasted the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres in a thrilling shootout in its most recent outing. Petr Tenkrat's goal in the eighth round proved to be the difference as the Bruins came away with a 4-3 victory Saturday at HSBC Arena.

Tim Thomas stopped all eight Buffalo skaters he faced during the deciding phase and finished with 22 saves in regulation for Boston, which won for the fifth time in its last seven games. Shean Donovan and Marc Savard each registered a goal and an assist on the evening.

The Bruins are currently eight points behind Montreal and Toronto for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston will be playing the third installment of a six-game road trip, which began with a loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday, and owns an 11-14-2 record away from home.

The Flyers are a dismal 5-16-7 at the Wachovia Center this season but have won two of their last three home games.

Boston earned a 4-3 triumph over Philadelphia in Beantown back in January and has taken the last two meetings in this series.

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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.

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