Eagles capture NCAA championship

Chockey Betting Lines

04/12/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan Gerbe posted two goals and two assists to help the Boston College Eagles capture their third NCAA championship with a 4-1 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Ben Smith registered a goal and two assists for the Eagles, who captured their first title since 2001. Boston College was making its third straight appearance in the championship game. Last year, the Eagles lost to Michigan State, 3-1. In 2006, Boston College fell to Wisconsin, 2-1.

John Muse made 20 saves to earn the victory.

Kevin Deeth netted the lone goal for the Fighting Irish, who reached the title game for the first time in the program's 40-year history. Jordan Pearce allowed four goals on 23 shots in defeat.

Following a defensive first period in which scoring chances were kept at a premium, the Eagles got on the board at the 2:23 mark of the second. Off the cycle, Brian Gibbons sent a backhand pass from the goal line for Gerbe, who ripped a shot from the bottom of the left circle high over the glove of Pearce.

Boston College grabbed a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal. Notre Dame's Ryan Thang was called for interference and the Eagles quickly went to work. Gerbe threaded a pass to Smith, whose laser from the slot sailed wide of the net and bounced off the end boards. Gerbe jumped on the loose puck at the right side of the goal and stuffed it past Pearce at 5:37 of the second.

Another goal with the man-advantage, gave the Eagles a commanding 3-0 lead in the second. Joe Whitney rifled a slap shot from the high slot that deflected off the right skate of Notre Dame defenseman Teddy Ruth and beat Pearce on the stick side at 8:11.

The Fighting Irish responded less than a minute later, as they took advantage of a poor line change by BC. Deeth gathered a cross-ice feed from Kyle Lawson and fired a shot from the left circle that found room in the far side of the net at 9:07.

Notre Dame appeared to narrow the deficit to 3-2 at 4:56 of the third period. Originally ruled a goal by the official, the play underwent a lengthy review and the footage revealed that Lawson used a distinct kicking motion to propel the puck into the net.

Shortly after the disallowed tally, Gerbe made a backhand pass between his legs to get the puck out front to Smith, whose shot eluded Pearce at 5:31.

Notre Dame threw everything it had left at Muse, but couldn't mount a comeback, and, as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Eagles players spilled off the bench to celebrate their victory.

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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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