Huskies set record for longest consecutive top ranking
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/01/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut was again a unanimous choice as the top-ranked women's basketball team in the nation, claiming the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll for a record 37th consecutive week.
The Huskies (21-0), riding a 60-game winning streak, topped the old record of 36 straight weeks set by Louisiana Tech from 1980-82. UConn received all 40 first-place votes and a total of 1,000 points from a nationwide media panel.
Connecticut's win streak, each game of which has been a double-digit triumph, is the second-longest in women's basketball history. The Huskies also own the top mark of 70 straight wins from 2001-03.
Stanford again remained second and Notre Dame third. Both teams have just one loss -- both falling to UConn.
Nebraska (19-0), the only other unbeaten team in the nation, moved up two spots to fourth and is followed by Tennessee, Duke, Xavier, Ohio State, North Carolina and Oklahoma State. Ohio State was 1-2 last week and dropped four spots from fourth, while Oklahoma State climbed five places into the top 10 with wins over Missouri and then-No. 8 Texas A&M.
The second 10 consists of West Virginia, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, Baylor, Florida State, Texas, Georgetown, LSU and Kentucky. Texas A&M lost twice last week and fell four spots, while Georgia also dropped a pair of games last week and tumbled five spots from ninth.
Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Gonzaga and St. John's are the last five teams ranked this week.
Kentucky, Gonzaga and St. John's are newcomers to the poll, replacing TCU, Virginia and Penn State.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan, Ottawa Senators goaltender Brian Elliott and Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending January 31.
<< Bills bring back DeHaven
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey
has hired three assistant coaches, bringing back Bruce DeHaven to run the
club's special teams.
DeHaven previously spent 13 seasons as Buffalo's special
<< Crespo happy to return to Parma
Parma, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Argentina striker Hernan Crespo is
delighted to have been given the chance to finish his career in Italy with
Parma.
The 34-year-old has joined Parma from Genoa, having started his career
<< Hitzlsperger swaps Stuttgart for Lazio
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazio have sealed the signing of Germany
midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, after he agreed to end his contract with
Stuttgart.
The 27-year-old's deal with his Bundesliga employers was due to run unt
<< Cassano to remain with Sampdoria
Genoa, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sampdoria and Italy forward Antonio Cassano
has rejected the chance to leave Genoa to join Fiorentina.
The 27-year-old admitted that he was tempted to move on, before being swayed
by the reaction of the c
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City have landed Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson for an undisclosed fee on transfer deadline day. The England Under-21 international had been linked with a move to Eastlands
Kansas moves back to the top of the poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas is again the top team in men's college
basketball, ascending to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll for the
second time this season.
The Jayhawks (20-1) were the top team in the country in th
Begovic swaps Pompey for Stoke City >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City have landed goalkeeper
Asmir Begovic from Premier League rivals Portsmouth.
The Potters, who were involved in a protracted but ultimately fruitless deal
to sign Begovic's teammate, D
Hornets' Paul likely to need knee surgery >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul
had his injured left knee examined by team doctors and will likely need
surgery.
Hornets coach Jeff Bower said the team is still reviewing the test results
Revs re-sign pair of veterans, rookie draft pick >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution re-signed
midfielder Mauricio Castro and goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, the Major League
Soccer club announced on Monday.
"We're pleased to bring Mauricio and Bobby back,"
NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
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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