Blazers steal one from Warriors

Basketball Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford made the game-winning free throws in the final minute, as the Trail Blazers survived a seesaw battle with the Warriors, 93-91, at Oracle Arena.

Gerald Wallace chipped in 24 points, Nicolas Batum had 17 and Crawford finished with 14 for Portland, which snapped a two-game losing streak despite being without injured All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge.

"They were not going to lose this game," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "Our execution was pretty good coming down the stretch."

David Lee posted 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead Golden State, which was looking for a fourth straight win.

Two Stephen Curry free throws gave the Warriors a 90-88 lead, but Crawford answered at the other end with a three-pointer with 1:03 remaining.

Nate Robinson had a chance to give Golden State the lead again, but made just 1-of-2 from the foul line for his 21st point. It was the first of three errors for the reserve guard in the final minute.

Crawford was fouled with 43.7 seconds on the clock and sank both free throws, proving to be the difference.

After Robinson missed a floater, Crawford hit the back of the rim on a pullup jumper from the foul line, giving the Warriors another shot to tie or take the lead. The hosts called timeout with six seconds left to draw up a final play.

They put the ball in the hands of Robinson, who split two defenders at the top of the key but lost control of the ball and failed to get a pass off as the buzzer sounded.

"We had a couple of chances," Lee said. "It was a battle of wills, and they made more plays in the end."

The Warriors controlled things early, leading 27-20 at the end of the first quarter. Portland responded with seven offensive rebounds in the second frame, leading to 12 points and a 57-54 lead at the break.

Both teams struggled from the field in the third quarter, which ended with the visitors clinging to a 72-70 advantage. The margin never reached higher than five in the fourth.

Game Notes

Aldridge sprained his left ankle in Portland's 124-109 home loss to Washington on Tuesday...The Warriors had won four straight over the Blazers, including a 101-93 win in Oakland on January 25...Marcus Camby posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Portland...Curry had eight points and eight assists in the loss.

Hitboz Basketball Betting News

<< Luongo strong as Canucks top Avs
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Luongo made 29 saves to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. David Booth, Alexandre Burrows and Jannik Hansen all scored for the Canucks, who have w

<< Connolly lifts Leafs to OT win over Oilers
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Connolly scored the game-winning goal just 1:39 into the overtime period, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Joffrey Lupul collected the disc in the

<< Loyola Marymount hands Saint Mary's rare home defeat
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Viney dropped in a team-high 17 points while Anthony Ireland added 16 with seven assists as Loyola Marymount handed No. 21 Saint Mary's its first home loss in almost a year with a 75-60 decisio

<< Hawks edge Suns behind Smith's big night
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks held off a run in the final minute to best the Phoenix Suns, 101-99, at US Airways Center. Willie Green added 20 points, Jeff Te

<< T'Wolves keep Bobcats on the skids
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love posted 30 points and 18 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 21 and 11, as the Timberwolves sent the spiraling Bobcats to a 16th straight defeat in a 102-90 decision at Target Center. The Bobca

New Mexico downs No. 13 San Diego State >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kendall Williams had 21 points, Drew Gordon scored 17 with 17 rebounds and New Mexico beat No. 13 San Diego State, 77-67, on Wednesday night to take sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Confere

Clippers continue dominance of Wizards >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin had 23 points and 15 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Washington Wizards for the seventh time in a row, 102-84, on Wednesday night. Caron Butler added 21 points and Chris Paul s

Roddick survives scare in San Jose; Monfils withdraws >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Roddick was taken to three sets by fellow American Denis Kudla Wednesday before ultimately prevailing 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in second-round action at the $531,000 SAP Open. Third-seeded Milos

Miyazato tops crowded leaderboard in Thailand >>
Chonburi, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato posted a five-under 67 on Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Honda LPGA Thailand. Miyazato, the 2010 winner, won last year at the Evian Masters. She has seven

Canizares, Whiteford share lead in India >>
New Delhi, India (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alejandro Canizares and Peter Whiteford posted matching rounds of six-under 66 Thursday to share the lead after the first round of the Avantha Masters. Canizares' lone tour win was at the 2006 Russian Open

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.