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09/20/2007 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hispanic stars were on display Thursday night when the Chicago Fire traveled to Frisco to take on FC Dallas in a Major League Soccer match.
The Hoops featured the likes of Brazilian Denilson, Colombian Juan Toja and Guatemalan Carlos Ruiz while the Fire featured Mexican Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Costa Rican Paulo Wanchope, but it was a couple of Americans that had the biggest impact for over 90 minutes of the match.
Fire forward turned midfielder Chris Rolfe created numerous offensive chances before scoring an impressive goal in the 56th minute while old warhorse defender Chris Armas was instrumental in shutting down the high-powered Hoops attack from his defensive midfield role for much of the game.
But in the end, it was one of the Hispanic stars that stole the show when former MLS MVP Ruiz scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute to steal a share of the points from the Fire in a 1-1 contest.
The loss of the two points is heartbreaking for the Fire (8-10-7), who are struggling to get into the MLS Cup playoffs. They are in the eighth and final spot by just two points over the Colorado Rapids with the same number of games played ahead of a match against league-leaders D.C. United on Sunday. Colorado plays at Real Salt Lake - which is second to last in the league - Saturday.
The game started with the Hoops pressuring the Fire behind the strong play of Denilson. In his third game since signing with the club as a designated player, the team seemed to be trying to funnel its offense through him while having Toja drop into a more defensive role in the midfield.
The Fire didn't have a legitimate chance until Wanchope got behind the defense in the 13th minute, but defender Clarence Goodson got back to deny a shot or a pass to a wide open Chad Barrett at the top of the six-yard box.
In 17th minute, Ruiz capped off a Dallas buildup with a shot over the goal. The play started with Chris Gbandi at left back and ended with a Denilson dummy in the box to give Ruiz a clear shot that he put well over the goal from about 15 yards.
Arturo Alvarez showed his skill in the 19th minute when he cut between two Fire defenders before firing a shot from about 15 yards on Matt Pickens, but the Chicago goalkeeper did well to punch the ball away as Abe Thompson was charging for the rebound.
Rolfe had his best chance of the first half when he took control of the ball from about 25 yards out at the top of the box, turned inside and fired a hard shot with his left foot. Hoops goalkeeper Dario Sala did well to dive to his right to knock away the shot with his right hand while at full extension. The ball deflected off Sala then hit the crossbar and was cleared by the defense.
Ten minutes after the break, Chicago had another quality chance when Bruno Menezes fired a hard shot from the top of the box after a failed clearance attempt on a corner kick. Sala, who made four saves in the game, again stopped the shot while at full extension to keep the game scoreless.
Less than a minute later, however, Rolfe was able to score his fifth goal of the season and first since May 12 after suffering a severe ankle injury early in the season. The Ohio native took control of the ball on the left flank, cut inside, took two touches and unleashed a rocket with his right foot that found the far post side netting from about 35-yards out.
The Fire went into a defensive shell about 10 minutes later, bringing in the likes of Bakary Soumare and Diego Gutierrez to play in the middle with Armas to try to close out the game.
The strategy seemed like it was going to work until Ruiz scored his seventh goal of the season and third in the past two games to tie at one.
After a ball from the defensive third was skipped at the top of the box by Goodson - who was pushing up from his defensive position - to Ruiz at the top of the area, he cooly took a ouch around a charging Pickens and past the defense before firing a shot into the back of the net.
The goal was Ruiz's second stoppage time equalizer of the season after doing the same thing in a 2-2 tie at Real Salt Lake in the opening weekend of the season.
Dallas (12-9-4) will be back in action Sunday at Los Angeles while the Fire host D.C. the same day.
<< Braves down Brewers as Milwaukee falls further in NL Central
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chipper Jones knocked in a pair of runs and
former Brewer Jeff Bennett pitched into the sixth inning in his first major
league start, as the Atlanta Braves edged Milwaukee, 3-1, in the opener of a
four-ga
<< Texas repeats at Men's State Team Championship
The Woodlands, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trip Kuehne fired a five-under 67 on
Thursday and Texas successfully defended its 2005 title at the Men's State
Team Championship.
Terrence Miskell (72) and Jonathan Mathias (75) joined Kuehne
<< Arizona wins Women's State Team Championship
The Woodlands, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona won the Women's State Team
Championship on Thursday behind Thuhashini Selvaratnam's one-under 71 in the
third and final round.
Kayla Mortellaro had a two-over 74 and Judy Miller added
<< Bucks match Heat offer sheet, re-sign Bell
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks matched the Miami
Heat's offer sheet to Charlie Bell on Thursday, signing the guard to a multi-
year contract.
The Heat made a five-year, $18 million offer on Monday, accordi
'Canes crush No. 20 Texas A&M >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Wright threw for 275 yards and two
touchdowns, and Graig Cooper ran for a score and caught another, as Miami-
Florida blitzed No. 20 Texas A&M, 34-17, at the Orange Bowl.
In the Hurricanes' f
Towles sets Houston record with 8 RBI as Astros crush Cards >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie catcher J.R. Towles went 4-for-4 --
including a two-run homer -- and set a club record with eight RBI as the
Houston Astros decimated the St. Louis Cardinals, 18-1, in the start of a
four-ga
Orioles beat Rangers in 10 innings >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Roberts' three-run home run highlighted
a five-run 10th inning as the Baltimore Orioles downed the Texas Rangers, 6-3,
in the opener of a four-game set at Rangers Ball Park.
Melvin Mora went 2-for-5 w
Columbus look to rebound in Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew make their first-ever trip to
Toronto Saturday in an effort to get the bad taste out of their mouths from
their most recent Major League Soccer fixture.
Columbus, which is three points ou
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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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