Devils double up Rangers

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was one of six different goal-scorers, as New Jersey doubled up the New York Rangers, 6-3, at Prudential Center.

Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Travis Zajac and Rob Niedermayer each had a goal and an assist for New Jersey, while Zach Parise and Bryce Salvador also lit the lamp.

Dainius Zubrus, Andy Greene and Mike Mottau each collected two helpers for the Devils, who returned from a 1-3-0 road trip to play their first home game since a 5-2 triumph over Nashville on February 12.

Martin Brodeur made 16 saves on 19 shots to earn the win, which pulls New Jersey to within three points of first-place Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division.

Vinny Prospal, Erik Christensen and Brandon Prust scored for the Rangers, who are winless in four straight (0-2-2) and remain three points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

New York starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was relieved by Alex Auld late in the second period after allowing five goals on just 17 shots. Auld recorded nine saves the rest of the way.

Langenbrunner drifted through the low slot and redirected Mottau's shot past Lundqvist for a 4-3 New Jersey edge with 6:54 to play in the second period.

Rolston gave New Jersey its first two-goal cushion when his shot was deflected by Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi between the pads of Lundqvist with 4:41 remaining in the middle stanza.

Zajac beat Auld with a wicked slap shot to seal the win with 3:39 left in regulation.

Niedermayer jumped on a rebound in the high slot for a 1-0 Devils lead at 4:16 of the first period.

Propsal netted the equalizer 57 seconds later. Olli Jokinen slipped the puck to Marian Gaborik cutting through the middle, and he quickly dished to Prospal at the far post for an easy tap-in.

New Jersey regained the lead when Salvador's one-timer from the right point deflected in off a Rangers player's stick with 1:43 to play in the opening frame.

Christensen evened things up at the five-minute mark of the second period. The Devils then led for the third time in the game when Parise buried a loose puck to Lundqvist's left for a power-play tally at 8:38.

Once again, New York had a rebuttal, tying the game just 37 seconds on a goal by Prust.

Game Notes

Langenbrunner reached the 600-point plateau with the secondary assist on Salvador's goal...Zajac has 21 goals this season, a new personal best...Prust appeared in his 100th NHL game...New Jersey has won three of the five meetings with the Rangers this season...The Devils improved to 21-9-1 as the host, while New York fell to 15-14-3 on the road.

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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.

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