Barca offers Eto'o new contract
Soccer Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Confusion surrounds Manchester City's hopes of signing Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o after the Cameroon international's agent confirmed that the 28-year-old had been offered the chance to extend his stay at the Camp Nou.
City reportedly offered Barca $42 million for Eto'o who they are keen to land on a lucrative two-year contract.
However, according to Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles, the Champions League winners have now offered his client a new contract.
"On June 2, the club called a meeting and I was told by Barca sporting director Txiki Begiristain and director of football Raul Sanllehi that, due to a technical decision, Samuel does not feature in the club's plans next season," Mesalles said.
"We then had another meeting and I was told once again that Samuel was not in their plans for next season. [Barcelona boss Pep] Guardiola said at the end of the season that he was delighted with Samuel, so I don't know what has changed.
"My mistake was to not verify this information and we need to find out what the coach wants, because he is the one who ultimately decides.
"I don't know if everything changed in the space of an afternoon, I don't know if they really want Samuel to stay of if they just want to make money out of him.
"He would be delighted to stay if they want him and we will study their offer if it is serious, but if they don't want him we will do all we can to help Samuel find a new club.
"We have not sat down to speak to Manchester City, but they have made Barcelona an offer.
"In theory he wants to play in the Champions League, but if Manchester City have an offer accepted, we would be delighted to go there."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh has played down reports of a bust-up with AC Milan target Edin Dzeko. Dzeko, who has told the Italian media that he is being forced to stay at Wolfsburg against his wish
<< Kyiv makes offer for Shevchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ukraine international Andriy Shevchenko has
been handed the chance to return to his homeland by Dynamo Kyiv.
The 32-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge just over three years ago from AC
Milan but has fa
<< WPS All-Stars to play Swedish champions
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Women's Professional Soccer announced
Tuesday that Swedish Champions Umea IK will play in the WPS All-Star Game on
Aug. 30.
The game is being played eight days following the WPS Championship, feat
<< L.A. acquires Shaner from Sky Blue FC
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional
Soccer acquired defender Christie Shaner from Sky Blue FC on Tuesday.
Los Angeles sent Sky Blue a third-round pick in the 2010 WPS draft. Shaner will
fill the
<< Subotic signs five-year deal with Dortmund
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic
has ended speculation over his future by signing a new five-year contract with
the Bundesliga club.
The 20-year-old had been linked with a move away from German
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian striker Luca Toni has pledged his future to Bayern Munich, following rumors of a possible return to his homeland. The 32-year-old faces increased competition for places following the arrivals o
Buddies bring in Gallacher >>
Paisley, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Mirren has completed the signing of
experienced goalkeeper Paul Gallacher on a two-year contract from Dunfermline
Athletic.
The 29-year-old Scotland international has spent the last two seasons
Phillies' Bastardo lands on DL with shoulder strain >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed left-handed
pitcher Antonio Bastardo on the 15-day disabled list with a left posterior
shoulder stain.
Bastardo suffered the injury on June 25 versus the Tampa Bay Ra
Pirates get Milledge, Hanrahan from Nats in four-player deal >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired outfielder
Lastings Milledge and right-handed pitcher Joel Hanrahan from Washington in a
four-player deal on Tuesday.
In return, the Pirates gave up outfielder Nyjer Mor
Sol's Marta wins WPS Player of Week >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles forward Marta was selected Women's
Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 14 on Tuesday after scoring
three goals to lead the WPS-leading Sol to wins over the Saint Louis Athletica
and
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.