Jacksonville's McGregor shines in all-star game

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/23/2012 - Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - He might have played at a non-scholarship program, but Jacksonville University quarterback Josh McGregor showed quite a bit to the scholarship players in the first Battle of Florida All-Star game Saturday in Boca Raton.

Better yet, pro scouts took notice, too.

McGregor led three scoring drive in the first quarter, finished 11 of 12 for 123 yards and rushed for a touchdown while leading the North team to a 51-3 romp over the South. He was named his team's most valuable player.

"It's weird," said McGregor, who also caught a 7-yard pass in his one quarter of work. "I was MVP from a small school (Belle Glades Day) in my high school all-star game and now in college."

The game featured NFL Draft-eligible players who were either born in Florida or played high school or college football in the state. Representatives from 29 NFL teams, four Canadian Football League and one Arena Football League team scouted the game.

Kerwin Bell, McGregor's head coach at Jacksonville, which plays in the non- scholarship Pioneer Football League, was the North's offensive coordinator. The head coach was Bobby Bowden, the legendary former Florida State mentor.

McGregor, from Royal Palm Beach, Fla., ended his career 23rd on the all-time FCS list with 11,230 passing yards and was sixth in touchdown passes with 111.

Another one of the highlights for the North came from Appalachian State's DeAndre Presley, the quarterback-turned-defensive-back. He returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Gmable NCAA Football Betting News

<< Blazers limp home to face Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers are coming off a rough road trip but at least they have the Sacramento Kings next on the docket. The two Western Conference inhabitants will clash tonight in Rip City. Portland defeated the Kings

<< Short-handed Mavs host surging Suns
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki is battling a sore right knee and will need some time off to get back to last season's championship form. The Dallas Mavericks were able to win without him Saturday in New Orleans and

<< Spurs seek road success in NOLA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio's struggles on the road this season have been well documented and the team hopes to change that perspective tonight against the New Orleans Hornets in the Big Easy. The Spurs are just 1-6 away from the Alamo Ci

<< Chicago hopes to remain Bull-ish at home vs. Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The banged-up Chicago Bulls look to stay perfect at home when they entertain the New Jersey Nets tonight from the United Center. The Bulls have been plagued by injuries this season and reigning MVP Derrick Rose is one of t

<< Djokovic, Murray land in Aussie quarters
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who lost in the last two finals in Melbourne, were a pair of fourth-round winners Monday at the Australian Open. The world No. 1 Djokovic was

McHale guides Rockets into Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin McHale returns to Minnesota Monday as his streaking Houston Rockets visit an improved Timberwolves team. McHale, who twice left his front-office position with the Timberwolves as vice president of basketball ope

Streaking Grizzlies kick off road trip vs. Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Memphis Grizzlies will kick off a four-game western road trip tonight against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. Memphis has ripped off a season-high six straight wins and will also visit the Trail Blaz

Islanders open home-and-home set with Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders will try to post their longest winning streak in nearly a year when they visit the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Air Canada Centre for the opener of a home-and-home series. The Islanders,

Jets hit the road without Kane to battle Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Jets have already had a rough January and now the club will begin a six-game road trip tonight without its leading goal- scorer. The Jets will try to overcome the loss of Evander Kane and a 7-12-4 road record

Bucks hope to keep momentum going vs. Hawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee hopes to build on its most impressive win of the season when it hosts an Atlanta team that continues to play surprisingly well without star big man Al Horford. After beginning the season 0-8 away from Bradley

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.

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.