Ducks beat Sharks; Selanne inches closer to milestone

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teemu Selanne posted a goal and one assist and crept closer to becoming the NHL's all-time leading Finnish goal scorer, as Anaheim topped San Jose, 4-2, at Honda Center.

Selanne posted his 599th career goal, two away from tying him with Hall-of- Famer Jari Kurri for most-ever by a native Finn. Kurri netted 601 scores in 17 seasons with Edmonton, Los Angeles, the New York Rangers, Anaheim and Colorado. In addition, the 39-year-old's next score will make him the 18th player in league history to reach 600.

Corey Perry, Lubomir Visnovsky and Bobby Ryan also lit the lamp for the Ducks, who halted a five-game losing skid. Jonas Hiller stopped 31 shots for the win.

Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn provided the offense for the Sharks, who have lost two straight since winning three in a row.

Evgeni Nabokov yielded three goals on 32 shots in the setback.

Selanne put the Ducks ahead by a 2-0 count at 7:40 of the first period, when his quick short-side wrister off a dish from Saku Koivu resulted in his 20th goal of the season and got him one closer to Kurri's record.

Visnovsky made it 3-0 with 55 seconds to play in the first, when his knuckler from the point got through an unscreened Nabokov.

In the second period, the Ducks provided Selanne with multiple chances for his milestone marker, but Nabokov shut the door on all three registered shots.

Thornton's power-play deflection got the Sharks on the board at 9:06 of the third, but Hiller managed to turn aside the San Jose attack.

Nabokov went to the bench for an extra skater with 1:24 to play and Ryan hit the empty net seconds later. The San Jose net was empty once more when Kent Huskins provided a shot which McGinn tipped with his leg past Hiller to make it 4-2 with 56 seconds on the clock.

San Jose failed to make a further dent in its deficit, however.

Perry followed up an unsuccessful Ryan rush by chipping the loose puck over a prone Nabokov 3:27 after the opening faceoff.

Game Notes

Selanne has recorded 15 seasons of 20-or-more goals, with nine of them coming with the Anaheim franchise...San Jose did take five of six games in the season series...Prior to the game, the Sharks assigned defenseman Jason Demers to Worcester of the American Hockey League.

Gamingcliub Hockey Betting News

<< No. 2 Stanford wins Pac-10 title by downing UCLA
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tournament MVP Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 2 Stanford downed 23rd-ranked UCLA, 70-46, in the championship game of the Pac-10 conference. Jayne Appel added 15 points and

<< Westbrook, Durant lead Thunder over Jazz
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Westbrook poured in 30 points and dished out 11 assists, as the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the Utah Jazz, 119-111. Kevin Durant added 35 points for the Thunder, who have won five in a row

<< North Carolina among NIT field
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Illinois, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State were anointed as the top seeds for the 32-team 2010 National Invitation Tournament. The field was revealed Sunday night, approximately three ho

<< Wild stop surging Blues
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu netted a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild notched a 4-2 win over the streaking St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center. Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen both had a goal and an

<< Wade carries Heat over Sixers
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade poured in 38 points on 14-of-25 shooting, pacing Miami to a 104-91 wire-to-wire victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Udonis Haslem added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Carlos Arroyo chipped in

Evans, Kings cruise past lowly Timberwolves >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyreke Evans came just shy of a triple double, finishing with 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings routed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 114-100, at ARCO Arena. Donte

Blazers continue playoff push with win over Raptors >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Batum made 5-of-6 from three-point land, en route to 22 points, leading Portland to a 109-98 win over Toronto. LaMarcus Aldridge also provided 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and Brandon Roy sc

Ducks' Selanne, Getzlaf injured >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks forwards Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf both suffered injuries on Sunday in a win against San Jose and will be re-evaluated on Monday. Selanne, who scored career goal No. 599 in the victory, suf

Report: Blackhawks D Campbell out for regular season after Ovie hit >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell will reportedly miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a broken collarbone when Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin hit him from behind in Sund

Sedin twins lead Canucks past Flames >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twin brothers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin each registered a goal and an assist, as the Canucks scored three times in the opening period and turned back the Calgary Flames, 3-1, for their sixth win in eight g

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.