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07/15/2010 - Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Poland international Artur Boruc has left Celtic after passing a medical and signing a two-year deal with Fiorentina.
A brief statement from the Serie A side read: "Fiorentina announces it has completed the permanent transfer of Artur Boruc after a successful medical from Glasgow Celtic."
The 30-year-old, who joined Celtic from Legia Warsaw five years ago, made more than 150 appearances for the Bhoys.
Neil Lennon's side set off for a pre-season tour to North America on Monday with Lukasz Zaluska and Dominic Cervi vying for the number one jersey.
Boruc struggled with form and fitness during recent seasons and came under pressure from compatriot Zaluska during Tony Mowbray's ill-fated spell as manager last season.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< United defender Namoff suspends career
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United announced Thursday defender
Bryan Namoff has suspended his playing career due to lingering effects from a
concussion suffered last season, but he hopes to play again.
"I don't want to rule
<< Chile's Sanchez to stay at Udinese
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udinese president Giampaolo Pozzo has insisted
that Alexis Sanchez will not be leaving the club this summer.
The Chile international excelled during this summer's World Cup finals and,
despite Real Madrid,
<< Guardiola agrees to new deal with Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has extended
his stay at Camp Nou for another season.
The former Spain international midfielder, who has claimed seven trophies in
two years at the club, has signed on th
<< Dudek signs new deal with Real Madrid
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Liverpool and Poland goalkeeper Jerzy
Dudek has signed a new contract with La Liga giants Real Madrid.
The gloveman, who won the Champions League final with the Merseysiders in
2005, has signed
Tomasulo fires 62 for Chiquita Classic lead >>
Maineville, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Tomasulo continued his spectacular run
of golf with a 10-under 62 on Thursday for the first-round lead of the
inaugural Chiquita Classic.
Tomasulo won last week's Wayne Gretzky Classic after th
Phillies reinstate Durbin from DL >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Durbin, a workhorse in the Philadelphia
bullpen, was reinstated from the disabled list on Thursday.
The right-hander went on the disabled list with a hamstring injury in late
June after compiling
Wigan adds goalkeeper Al Habsi on loan >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has
added to his goalkeeping options by signing Bolton Wanderers shot-stopper Ali
Al Habsi on a season-long loan deal.
The 28-year-old Oman international has spent t
Stuttgart denies Khedira deal >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart has dismissed renewed rumors
from the Spanish media linking German midfielder Sami Khedira with an imminent
move to Real Madrid.
The 23-year-old still has another year of his current contrac
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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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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