Geoffrion wins 2010 Hobey Baker Award

Chockey Betting Lines

04/09/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Executive Committee announced Friday that University of Wisconsin forward Blake Geoffrion was named the 30th winner of college hockey's most prestigious individual honor.

Named after a legendary Princeton hockey player who died in World War I, the award recognizes strength of character in players both on and off the ice.

Geoffrion, a 22-year-old senior and grandson of Montreal Canadiens Hall-of- Famer Bernie Geoffrion, is the first player in the storied history of the Badgers program to win the award.

Entering Saturday's NCAA final, he has posted 28 goals and 50 points in 39 games, which includes 19 goals and 34 points in 25 Western Collegiate Hockey Association contests.

He is also the first player from the WCHA to win since forward Ryan Duncan was named the top collegiate player in 2007 as a sophomore.

A pair of Hockey East players, senior forward Bobby Butler of New Hampshire and sophomore forward Gustav Nyquist, were the other two finalists.

Boston University defenseman Matt Gilroy took home the award last season.

Xportsbook Chockey Betting News

<< Zenyatta ties record with Apple Blossom win
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Undefeated champion Zenyatta successfully extended her career winning streak to a record-tying 16 races by capturing Friday's $500,000 Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park. The champion mare eq

<< Poulter, Westwood in front; Woods in third at Augusta
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Englishmen Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood are knotted atop the leaderboard after Friday's second round of The Masters at Augusta National. Poulter (68) and Westwood (69) are tied at eight-under 136. Ti

<< VCU's Sanders declares for draft
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - VCU forward Larry Sanders has announced he will skip his final year of eligibility to enter the 2010 NBA Draft. Additionally, Sanders will hire an agent, formally ending any chance he could opt out of the

<< Eclipse Award winner Personal Ensign dies
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion mare Personal Ensign died Thursday of natural causes at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. The 1988 Eclipse Award winner was undefeated in 13 career starts for $1,679,880. "Personal Ensign wa

<< Watson stumbles, still in the hunt
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than one year ago, Tom Watson nearly shocked the best players in the world by winning the British Open. He missed a par putt on the 72nd hole that would have given him the title, then was out-pl

Wozniacki cruises into MPS Group SFs >>
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki easily advanced to the semifinals Friday at the $220,000 MPS Group Championships tennis event. Wozniacik had little trouble with Russia's Anastasia P

Rowand lifts Giants over Braves in 13th >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edgar Renteria hit a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning before Aaron Rowand's infield single plated the winning run in the 13th, as the Giants rallied past the Braves, 5-4, in a maratho

Allmendinger claims first Sprint Cup pole at Phoenix >>
Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Allmendinger will start on the pole for the first time in his Sprint Cup Series career after winning Friday's qualifying for the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway. Allmendin

Ovechkin scores 50th, takes NHL points lead >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin took over the goal-scoring and points lead with his pair of markers and an assist as the Washington Capitals took a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers at Verizon Center. Ovechkin now has 50

Magic rout Knicks >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter and Dwight Howard each poured in 25 points, and the Orlando Magic handled the New York Knicks, 118-103, at Amway Arena. Howard added 13 rebounds for his league-leading 61st double-double

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.