Azarenka rallies her way into Aussie Open semis

Tennis Betting Lines

01/23/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victoria Azarenka overcame a letdown in the first-set tiebreaker to upend Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7 (0-7), 6-0, 6-2 in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Azarenka, seeded third, will play in her second Grand Slam semifinal against either top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki or reigning champion Kim Clijsters, who are currently playing at Rod Laver Arena.

There were eight breaks of serve in the first set alone between Azarenka and the eighth-seeded Radwanska, who won all seven points in a surprisingly quick tiebreaker.

Azarenka bounced back from losing her first set of the tournament quite swimmingly, goose-egging the Pole in a 26-minute second set.

The Belarusian kept the momentum in her favor and controlled the final set to improve to 7-3 against Radwanska, who has yet to reach a major semifinal.

Azarenka still has a chance at reaching the World No. 1 ranking by the end of the week.

Starlck Tennis Betting News

<< No illusion: Magic score 56 in blowout loss to Celtics
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics kicked their cold streak against winning teams by beating one that has never played so bad. Paul Pierce had 19 points and seven assists Monday night and the Celtics raced past the Magic,

<< Fisher leads Nashville over Columbus
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Fisher scored twice and Pekka Rinne made 25 saves as Nashville continued its home dominance over Columbus with a 4-1 victory at Bridgestone Arena. Patric Hornqvist and Matt Halischuk also tallied fo

<< Fished leads Nashville over Columbus
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Fisher scored twice and Pekka Rinne made 25 saves as Nashville continued its home dominance over Columbus with a 4-1 victory at Bridgestone Arena. Patric Hornqvist and Matt Halischuk also tallied fo

<< Bulls blow past Nets in Rose's return
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose returned with a vengeance as he scored 22 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds as the Chicago Bulls topped the New Jersey Nets, 110-95, at United Center. The Bulls got

<< Hawks pull out win in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith's three-pointer with 41.9 seconds left in the game put Atlanta on top for good in a back-and-forth, 97-92 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Smith finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in

Spurs top Hornets on Duncan's shot >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan has some life left in his 35- year-old legs after all, hitting a one-handed fallaway at the foul line with 1.4 seconds remaining to lift the Spurs over the Hornets, 104-102. Carl Landry's

Lowry and Martin lift Rockets over T'Wolves >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Lowry posted his second career triple- double while Kevin Martin finished with 31 points, and the Rockets downed the Timberwolves, 107-92, for their seventh consecutive victory. Lowry totaled 16 poi

Former Phillies broadcaster Musser dies >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time Philadelphia broadcaster Andy Musser has passed away at the age of 74. The Daily News reported that Musser died at his home on Sunday. Musser was an integral part of the Phillies televis

West-leading Thunder roll over Pistons >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to score 68 of Oklahoma City's points, as the Western Conference-leading Thunder dominated the lowly Detroit Pistons, 99-79. Harden and

Marion leads Mavericks past Suns >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Marion scored 29 points against his former team and the Dallas Mavericks won their second game in a row without Dirk Nowitzki, beating the Phoenix Suns, 93-87, on Monday night. The Mavericks started

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.