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09/15/2007 - Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lisa DeVanna came on as a second-half substitute and rescued a point for Australia as she scored in the 83rd minute to give the Matildas a 1-1 draw with Norway on Saturday.
Ragnhild Gulbrandsen scored five minutes into the game for Norway, but the Scandinavians could not hold off the rugged Australians and ensure advancement into the next round.
The group will now be decided on the final day, with Australia and Norway tied atop the group with four points and Canada right behind those two with three.
Ghana, meanwhile, has been eliminated after dropping its first two games and will finish up its World Cup campaign on Wednesday against Norway, which should have no problem in taking care of the African club.
Australia will take on Canada on Wednesday in a game that will decide the second team to go through. The Aussies need only a draw while Canada must produce a win to move on.
Norway picked up where it left off against Canada in the opening game, when the team scored twice in the second half for a comeback win. The Norwegians came out strong and scored on their first chance of the match.
Melissa Wiik took a pass on the right and dribbled through the middle of the field toward goal. She then slid a perfect pass to Gulbrandsen inside the area, and the striker turned it past keeper Melissa Barbieri and into the lower left corner.
It looked as though Norway would overpower the Matildas, but Australia was not unnerved by the early goal.
Cheryl Salisbury got her head to a corner but put the ball over the net, and four minutes later, Collette McCallum carried the ball to the end line on the left and drove a cross through traffic that rolled across the face of goal. There was nobody on the other end, but Australia began to show its quality.
McCallum in particular was giving the Norway defense trouble, and a big giveaway in the 23rd minute nearly handed McCallum the equalizer. A poorly handled pass in the back allowed McCallum to collect a loose ball near the box. However, Norway keeper Bente Nordby came off her line and McCallum fired her shot into the keeper.
Norway nearly doubled its lead minutes later when Camilla Huse curled a shot from the edge of the area that narrowly missed the right post, but Australia looked good at the end of the first half.
McCallum continued to create in the offensive third, providing nice passing and a hard shot from the left that forced Nordby to punch the ball away.
The early part of the second half was a back-and-forth affair with Australia claiming the first good opportunity of the half. DeVanna came off the bench and scored twice against Ghana in the opener, and she once again provided a spark for the Matildas.
DeVanna dribbled into the box and laid a pass off to Dianne Alagich on the left, giving Alagich a great look at goal. However, she was let down by the shot, which squirted well wide of the far post.
Norway's Lene Mykjaland then drilled the post with a driven shot minutes later, and DeVanna dashed through the midfield and found herself one-on-one with the keeper. Nordby came to the edge of the box and DeVanna rolled a shot around the keeper toward the right corner. However, it hit the post and stayed out, denying Australia the equalizer by inches.
Australia kept pressing while Norway looked like a team that was just trying to hang on.
DeVanna would get another chance to equalize in the 83rd minute, and this time she capitalized. After taking a pass from midfield, DeVanna turned with the ball and took on a defender. She cut the ball back to get room at the edge of the area and fired a perfect left-footed shot into the upper right corner past a diving Nordby.
Salisbury sent a header wide in the 90th minute that would have given Australia all three points, but it is still a great result for a team that has never advanced past the group stage in three previous World Cups.
<< Robredo, Gonzalez advance to China Open final
Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Robredo and Fernando Gonzalez will
meet in Sunday's final after each took care of business in Saturday's
semifinals at the $500,000 China Open.
Robredo nipped German wild card Nicolas K
<< Another late rally for Europe keeps it close
Halmstad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th hole doomed the Americans.
Two European teams won the 18th hole to earn crucial halves in the first two
matches of Saturday's foursomes matches at the Solheim Cup.
In the foursomes, each tea
<< New mom Davenport moves into Bali final
Bali, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lindsay Davenport continued her remarkable
ride in Bali on Saturday, cruising past Italian Sara Errani, 6-1, 6-3, in
semifinal action at the $225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
The three-time
<< Denmark overcomes distractions to top New Zealand
Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katrine Pedersen scored and set up a goal as
Denmark, playing with its coach in the stands because of a suspension, topped
New Zealand, 2-0, on Saturday.
Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller was suspended two games
Rangers try to halt skid versus A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers try to put the brakes on a four-game
losing streak this afternoon when they play the third contest of a four-game
set against the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
Texas continued to fall further away
Pirates continue road trip in Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates kicked off their 10-game road trip
in a good way and will try for another win tonight when they continue a three-
game series with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Jose Bautista put the Pira
Butler uses safety, field goals to beat St. Joseph's 11-8 >>
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Butler held St. Joseph's (Ind.) to negative three rushing yards and scored a safety and three field goals to squeak past their Division II foe 11-8 on Saturday.Senior Derek North led the Bulldogs to their first 3-0 start since 199
Cleveland's Carmona takes on Royals shooting for 17th win >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fausto Carmona goes for win No. 17 this evening when the
Cleveland Indians continue their three-game series against the Kansas City
Royals at Jacobs Field.
Carmona has been a pleasant surprise for the AL Central-leading In
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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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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