Caps aim for consecutive wins in test with Flyers

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will try to post back-to-back wins for the first time in nearly two weeks when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for tonight's Eastern Conference showdown at the Wachovia Center.

The Capitals are first in the Southeast Division and third in the East with 88 points, but had lost four straight games prior to Tuesday's overtime victory in Nashville. Washington has a 10-point lead over Carolina for the division lead and is just one point behind New Jersey for the conference's second seed.

After earning a point in Sunday's shootout loss to Pittsburgh, the Caps were able to record a close win two days later in the Music City. Sergei Fedorov's tally 2:20 into OT was the difference, as Washington edged the Predators, 2-1, at Sommet Center.

Nicklas Backstrom scored the regulation goal for the Capitals and Jose Theodore stopped 27-of-28 shots to earn the victory, his 25th of the season.

Alex Ovechkin posted an assist to extend his point streak to eight games. Alexander Semin pushed his point streak to seven games with an assist, but had his goal-scoring run snapped at six.

The Caps are 16-12-4 as the guest this year and have won four straight and five of their last six road games. Washington will head home for Saturday's game against Carolina, but will then head back out on a five-game road trip.

Philadelphia is currently fourth in the East with 82 points and holds a three- point edge over Montreal in the conference standings. The Flyers have won two straight and three of their last four outings and are coming off Tuesday's home win over Buffalo.

Scott Hartnell recorded four points on two goals and two assists, and Jeff Carter also scored twice, as the Flyers used a four-goal third period to best Buffalo, 5-2, at the Wachovia Center.

Mike Richards had the other score and both Joffrey Lupul and Kimmo Timonen contributed two assists for the Flyers. Martin Biron made 27 stops for his 21st win of the season and improved to 5-2-1 against his former team.

The Flyers, who are 20-9-4 as the host this year, are playing the fourth segment of a five-game homestand tonight. Philly will complete the residency Saturday in the opener of a home-and-home series against the rival New York Rangers.

Philadelphia has taken two of three from the Caps this season and tonight's tilt will cap the season series. Washington has won seven of 11 overall in the series, but the Flyers have picked up a win in four of the last seven encounters. Philadelphia also halted a four-game home losing streak in the series with a 7-1 victory on December 20.

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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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