Devils hold off Flyers for 6-4 win

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurtis Foster scored two power-play goals and collected an assist, as the New Jersey Devils fended off a valiant comeback effort by the Philadelphia Flyers to escape the Wells Fargo Center with a 6-4 win Saturday afternoon.

When Foster struck on another two-man advantage, his tally gave the visitors a 6-0 cushion. And the contest hadn't even reached the midway point.

New Jersey goaltender Johan Hedberg made 17 saves through the first two periods, but was beaten four times on 24 shots in the third. Ultimately, the Flyers rally fell short.

Ilya Kovalchuk registered a goal and two assists for the Devils, who have won three in a row after going into the All-Star break with three consecutive losses.

Sergei Bobrovsky surrendered six New Jersey goals on 23 shots and was replaced by Ilya Bryzgalov in the second period. Bryzgalov finished with eight saves -- he needed to make only one in the third -- for Philadelphia, which had gained at least a point in its previous five games (3-0-2).

Wayne Simmonds put the Flyers on the board 3:58 into the third and they scored their next three goals in a 4:08 span to create doubt in the game's outcome.

After Jaromir Jagr notched his first goal since December 29 at Pittsburgh, Claude Giroux scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from the slot. Jakub Voracek buried a rebound at 13:31, and the Flyers relentless pressure led to New Jersey defenseman Andy Greene tripping Jagr with 23 seconds remaining.

But the Devils overcame a flurry with Bryzgalov on the bench.

New Jersey was scoreless in 14 power-play chances in three previous meetings this season against the Flyers, but snapped its drought on a two-man advantage as Patrik Elias fed Foster for a one-timer at the 3:05 mark of the first period.

Later in the frame, the Devils appeared to catch a break with the Flyers on a power play as no whistle blew when Dainius Zubrus knocked down Giroux at the point. The non-call led to an odd-man rush, and Kovalchuk wound up scoring New Jersey's NHL-leading 12th short-handed goal with 57 seconds remaining.

Zubrus lit the lamp with just 0.4 seconds remaining to give New Jersey a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.

To make matters worse for Philadelphia, Scott Hartnell took a high-sticking penalty just as Zubrus scored, and Devils captain Zach Parise banged home his own rebound for a power-play goal 38 seconds into the second period.

Alexei Ponikarovsky beat Bobrovsky 59 seconds later, and Foster put New Jersey up 6-0 at 8:22 of the middle stanza.

Game Notes

Ponikarovsky registered his 300th career point with the secondary assist on Zubrus' goal...New Jersey was 4-for-7 on man advantage and now has scored a power-play goal in a season-high four consecutive games...The Flyers were 1- for-7 on the power play. They have at least one power-play goal in six straight...The Devils have won their last three games in Philadelphia.

Wwwthomsoninvest Hockey Betting News

<< Pens edge Bruins for ninth win in 10 games
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Boston Bruins, 2-1, at TD Garden. Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke tallied goals for the Penguins, winners in nine of their last 10 ga

<< No. 6 Baylor holds off Oklahoma State
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11 rebounds as No. 6 Baylor survived to take a 64-60 win over Oklahoma State. Pierre Jackson scored 16 points while Quincy Acy added 11 points and 12 rebounds

<< Boynton helps Florida down Vanderbilt
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Boynton scored 18 points, as No. 12 Florida earned a 73-65 win over No. 25 Vanderbilt in Saturday's hard-fought SEC showdown. Bradley Beal added 16 points and seven rebounds while Erving Walker

<< Irish down No. 15 Marquette for fourth straight win
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pat Connaughton drained five three-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points, as Notre Dame earned its fourth straight win and snapped Marquette's seven-game winning streak with a 76-59 victory over th

<< Florida State holds off Virginia
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Okaro White scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench as No. 21 Florida State held off 16th-ranked Virginia to earn a 58-55 victory at Tucker Center. Xavier Gibson added 10 points

Youzhny to face Lacko for Zagreb crown >>
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikhail Youzhny and Lukas Lacko were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Zagreb Indoors tennis tournament. The third-seeded Youzhny eased into the title match with a 6-3

Capitals shutout Canadiens on road >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves to record his third shutout of the season, as the Washington Capitals snapped a four-game road skid with a 3-0 victory over Montreal. Dennis Wideman, Matt Hendricks and Alexan

U.S. takes a 2-0 lead over Belarus at Fed Cup >>
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americans Christina McHale and Serena Williams were both winners on Saturday to give the U.S. a 2-0 advantage over Belarus in a Fed Cup World Group II matchup. This is the first-ever Fed Cup meetin

Ohio State tops Wisconsin to remain atop Big Ten >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Sullinger had 24 points and 10 rebounds, as No. 3 Ohio State edged No. 19 Wisconsin, 58-52, in a matchup of Big Ten elites. The Buckeyes (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten) entered Saturday just a half game ahead

PSG tops Evian to maintain lead in Ligue 1 >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG maintained its three-point lead atop Ligue 1 on Saturday with a vital 3-1 win over Evian at the Parc des Princes. It was a resilient performance from the home side, as Evian took the lead just before

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.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.