Sadler tops Kahne for Pocono truck pole

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elliott Sadler won the pole position for Saturday's inaugural Pocono Mountains 125 Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway.

Sadler, the last driver to make his qualifying attempt in the 38-truck field, knocked his fellow Sprint Cup Series competitor Kasey Kahne from the top spot after posting a lap of 162.602 m.p.h. He claimed his first career truck pole in his seventh start.

"It was tough, and it was fun," Sadler said. "I got a little free through there, but [turn] three was fast."

The series revised its qualifying format for Pocono, with Friday's practice speeds determining the qualifying order. The slowest truck went first, and the fastest, which was Sadler, came out last. Trucks were released in 25-second increments.

Kahne, driving the No.18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, will try to remain undefeated in the series. Busch is in Iowa for Saturday's Nationwide Series race there. Kahne won in each of his two career truck starts, which came at the tail end of the 2004 season.

Denny Hamlin, another Sprint Cup regular, qualified third, followed by Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola.

Todd Bodine, the current points leader, Justin Lofton, Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton and Mike Skinner completed the top-10.

Bodine holds a 177-point advantage over Almirola.

Michelle Theriault and Jerick Johnson failed to qualify.

The 125-mile race at Pocono is scheduled to start shortly after 1:00 p.m. (et).

Sprotsillustrated Autoracing Betting News

<< Indians activate Wood off DL
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians on Saturday activated pitcher Kerry Wood from the 15-day disabled list. Wood last pitched on July 11 before landing on the DL with a blister on his right index finger. It was the

<< Bucs agree to terms with McCoy, Penn
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and first-round draft pick Gerald McCoy have agreed to terms. McCoy, a defensive tackle from Oklahoma selected with the third overall pick of April's draft, reportedly agreed to a fi

<< Rays get Qualls from Diamondbacks
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired reliever Chad Qualls from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for a player to be named later. The right-handed Qualls has posted an 8.29 earned run average, t

<< Power-swinging Marlins resume series with Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even a trip to spacious Petco Park couldn't derail the Marlins' power train. Florida seeks a sixth straight victory at the Padres' home park as it continues a three-game set tonight with San Diego. The Marlins got home run

<< Rockies hope to break out bats against vs. Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Colorado Rockies can make it three straight in suddenly potent offensive style tonight when the Chicago Cubs head to Coors Field for the second of three games. Colorado, which had lost eight straight before Thursd

Arizona, Pittsburgh in 5-player trade >>
NEW YORK (AP) -The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded catcher Chris Snyder, minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Bobby Crosby, outfielder Ryan Church and right-hander D.J. Carrasco.Copyright © 2005

Almagro to face Gasquet for Gstaad crown >>
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Almagro of Spain and France's Richard Gasquet were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Swiss Open Gstaad. The second-seeded Almagro earned a 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3 v

Fisher stumbles but still leads Irish Open >>
Killarney, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Fisher played his last 11 holes in four-over par Saturday, but still managed an even-par 71 and held on to first place after the third round of the Irish Open. Fisher, who fired a tournament-record-

Indians scratch Westbrook >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have scratched pitcher Jake Westbrook from Saturday's scheduled start against Toronto. The MLB Network said Westbrook is on the verge of being traded and reports it could be a three-way de

Tseng maintains lead at Women's British Open >>
South Port, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yani Tseng eagled the final hole Saturday en route to her third straight four-under 68 and a four-shot lead after the third round of the Women's British Open. Tseng finished 54 holes at 12-un

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.