Smith remains in front at Fort Smith Classic

Golf Betting Lines

06/18/2010 - Fort Smith, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan J. Smith managed only an even-par 70 on Friday, but it was enough for him to keep his lead after two rounds of the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club.

Smith completed 36 holes at nine-under-par 131, which is three strokes off the tourney's 36-hole record.

Zack Miller bogeyed his final hole to finish one back at minus-eight. He carded his second straight four-under 66.

David McKenzie (64) and Matt Davidson (69) are tied for third at seven-under- par 133.

Two-time major champion John Daly (68) is one of eight players tied for fifth at minus-six.

Smith played the back nine first on Friday and posted his first birdie on the par-four 13th. That went with eight pars on his opening nine as he turned in 10-under.

On the front nine, Smith stumbled to a bogey on the first. He atoned for that mistake with a birdie on the second, but stumbled to another bogey on the fifth. He parred out to end at minus-nine.

"I think the hardest thing in golf is to back up a really low round," said Smith of his nine-under 61 on Thursday. "I didn't hit the ball nearly as well today, but I fought to stay around par."

Miller faltered to a double-bogey on the par-five 11th, but he came back with birdies on 12 and 14.

"That hole I've picked out to attack and I just haven't taken advantage of it," Miller said of the 11th. "I put my tee shot so far right I was in the adjacent fairway. I was in the trees and tried to get too aggressive. Three shots and three trees later I finally got it by the green. I flubbed my chip shot and made double. I hit seven mediocre to terrible shots so I totally deserved it."

After back-to-back birdies from the 16th, Miller headed to the front nine at six-under.

The 26-year-old birdied the par-five fifth. He moved into a share of the lead with birdies on the sixth and seventh. However, Miller tripped to a bogey on the par-four ninth, his last, to end one back.

Daly was joined in fifth place at six-under-par 134 by 2001 champion Jay Delsing (68), Dave Schultz (65), Camilo Benedetti (65), Josh Broadaway (65), Fabian Gomez (66), Chris Kirk (69) and Matthew Borchert (67).

NOTES: Jason Enloe, the defending champion, posted a three-under 67 and is tied for 19th at minus-four...The cut line fell at one-under-par 139 with 67 players making the cut...Among those who missed the cut were Martin Piller and Justin Hicks, who are both in the top 10 on the money list.

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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.

NFL Betting Lines

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