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Lakers win 16th NBA title; Jackson could returnBasketball Betting Lines06/18/2010 - LOS ANGELES (AP) -With his record 11th NBA championship secured, Phil Jackson was evasive about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers. He's in the final year of his contract, with no word about a possible extension. He had said that if the Lakers won their second straight title, it would improve his chances of returning. He turns 65 in September. ``It does improve my chances,'' Jackson said after the Lakers' 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. ``That's a wonderful thing. That's as much as I'll talk about it.'' During the trophy presentation, Jackson said he would take some time to mull his future and decide in a week. Kobe Bryant publicly appealed for Jackson to come back while accepting his finals MVP award for the second consecutive year. ``He knows how bad I want him back. I've told him that,'' he said. ``I've been openly blunt about that and told him how much I want him back. Let's go for it again. Let's go for it again.'' --- CELEBRATING A TITLE: The Lakers will celebrate their 16th NBA title with a parade on Monday. The players and their families will board a customized float at Staples Center and wind their way two miles down South Figueroa Street toward the campus of Southern California, ending at the school's Galen Center. Players will interact with fans from the float that will be equipped with audio. Lakers officials said that will help mitigate anticipated pedestrian and traffic congestion, while also relieving security, sanitation and other public services that were required last year. In 2009, the privately funded parade and rally attended by more than 95,000 people was held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Although the Lakers said they're hosting the parade, it wasn't immediately clear who is footing the bill this year. --- ARTEST CONFESSES: When Ron Artest played for the Indiana Pacers for parts of five seasons, he admitted he didn't always give his best effort. Having won his first NBA title, Artest expressed regret for his subpar performances and attitude while with the Pacers. ``When I was younger, I bailed out on my Indiana team,'' he said Thursday night. ``I feel sometimes like a coward when I see those guys, because it's like, 'Man, I'm on the Lakers and I had a chance to win with you guys,' and I feel almost like a coward.'' Artest's colorful career has been filled with second chances. He was suspended for 73 games after charging into the stands and throwing punches when a fan threw beer on him during a game in Detroit in 2004. --- SAD FACES: As jubilant as the Lakers' locker room was, it was just the opposite in the Celtics' room. ``There were a lot of tears. A lot of tears,'' Ray Allen said. ``This is probably one of the hardest feelings that I've felt in my lifetime.'' Emotions churned for Glen Davis, who finished with six points and nine rebounds in nearly 21 minutes. ``I feel like I wanted to cry. I feel like I wanted to be mad,'' he said. ``I'm just trying to get in a positive mind and think it's going to help me as a player. I'm blessed. Most guys don't have the chance that I've had being able to play in the finals twice in three years. Hopefully next year we can be that same team and go back.'' --- FREE AGENT MUSINGS: With superstar free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hitting the market on July 1, there's a possibility that two of them could end up on the same team. ``I don't want to think about that,'' Kobe Bryant said. ``I don't want to think about playing against both of them at the same time. I want to enjoy this for a little bit.'' --- BRIEF BREAK: The longest possible NBA finals means the shortest possible turnaround until the draft. There will be only a week between the time David Stern hands out the Larry O'Brien trophy in Los Angeles and calls the name of the No. 1 pick, likely Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall, next Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. ``It's scary to know that the draft is close,'' Boston coach Doc Rivers said before Game 6. ``I hadn't thought about that at all.'' Rivers said Thursday he only found out the other day that Boston has the 19th pick. To help get everyone ready, NBA TV will run draft preview shows Saturday (Eastern Conference) and Sunday (West). Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank will join the studio team to break down each team's needs.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Rowdy revelers crowd streets after Lakers win
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Crowds of rowdy revelers poured into the streets around Staples Center after Game 7 of the NBA finals on Thursday night, rocking cars, setting bonfires and throwing rocks and bottles at officers.Nine people had been arrested for pu
<< Rowdy revelers surrounding cars after Lakers win
<< Bryant, Jackson champions again; Lakers down Boston to claim NBA title
<< LA police declare unlawful assembly
<< Artest comes up big for Lakers in Game 7 win
U.S. Open First Round News & Notes >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You will read a lot about how Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson failed to make a birdie Thursday during the first round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. It was the first time in their professional careers th
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 millionIn 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. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs. American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6 The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines. Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada! We do know the 24 finalists however. Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. "Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed. Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. "I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community." Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) And the others: Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far. MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). Last two contestants will be? 1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10) 2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17) 2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10) MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines. |
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