Tomasulo fires 62 for Chiquita Classic lead

Golf Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - 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 three straight birdies to end his final round gave him another 10-under par score. It was a 61 and it was vaulted him from 97th to ninth on the Nationwide Tour money list.

"It felt a lot like last Sunday," acknowledged Tomasulo. "I've never shot back-to-back rounds this low. I felt the momentum like this before. I just want to keep playing right now. I don't want to stop."

Tommy Gainey, who is fifth on the Nationwide Tour money list, shot an eight- under 64 and is second at the TPC River's Bend.

David McKenzie, Jesse Hutchins, Troy Kelly, Peter Gustafsson, Jason Gore and Justin Smith are knotted in third place at seven-under 65.

They are all chasing the hottest player on tour.

Tomasulo parred his first three holes, then caught fire. He birdied the next four in a row, but found trouble off the tee at the par-five eighth. Tomasulo hit a bad hybrid-club shot and ended up three-putting for bogey from close to 70 feet.

"I got a little excited and hit a bad tee shot on eight," admitted Tomasulo. "I calmed myself down and went on a good little run there."

Tomasulo birdied Nos. 9 and 10, then eagled the par-five 11th to get to seven- under par for the championship. He parred his next two and joined Gainey in first with a birdie at the par-four 14th.

Tomasulo birdied 16 and 17 to get to 10-under par. He had 12 feet for birdie at the par-five closing hole, but the putt stayed above ground.

"It feels great right now. I'm on a high," said Tomasulo. "I'm playing well, I'm seeing my lines really well. It gives me great momentum. I feel great over all my clubs and I want to keep trying to knock it close."

Brad Elder, Brice Garnett, Ron Whittaker, John Kimbell, Colt Knost and Chris Nallen are tied for ninth place at minus-six.

NOTES: Tomasulo's 62 was a new course record at TPC River's Bend...Of the 156 players in the field, 123 shot par or better in Thursday's first round...Chris Kirk, the leading money winner this year on the Nationwide Tour, shot a five- under 67 and is tied for 15th.

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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.

NFL Betting Lines

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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.