Wilshere suffers another injury setback

Soccer Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere will spend further time on the sidelines after developing a stress fracture in his right foot.

The 20-year-old has been out of action since June after suffering an ankle injury in England's 2-2 draw with Switzerland which required surgery in September.

The stress fracture is in the same foot as Wilshere's previous surgery, but the club confirmed that he has not yet been ruled out for the season.

"The club can confirm Jack Wilshere has a small stress fracture to his right foot, however it is not accurate to state he has been ruled out for the remainder of the season," read a club statement.

"The injury is in a different area to his previous surgery, and it will be reassessed in around two weeks time by our medical team and medical experts who have worked together throughout Jack's recovery."

Wilshere enjoyed a breakout season for the Gunners last term, appearing in 35 league games, and his absence has left a big void in the Arsenal midfield.

Flalotttery Soccer Betting News

<< Penguins claim F O'Reilly off re-entry waivers
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed forward Cal O'Reilly off of re-entry waivers from the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday. The 25-year-old has registered two goals and four assists in 27 combined games with Nashvi

<< Isles center Tavares named top NHL player for January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Islanders center John Tavares has been named the NHL's First Star for the month of January. Tavares led the league in points last month with nine goals and 13 assists while registering a plu

<< No arguing with Patriots' (tight) end results
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the 2007 NFL season, the New England Patriots reached the Super Bowl on the strength of an extraordinarily explosive offense that contained a record-setting quarterback, a wide receiver with over 100 catches and another wi

<< Hannover's Pogatetz hit with three-match ban
Hannover, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hannover defender Emanuel Pogatetz has been handed a three-match ban by the German Football Federation (DFB) for punching Nurnberg's Philipp Wollscheid. The incident occurred in last Friday's 1-

<< Nets pick up G Bogans
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seeking to bolster its defensive performance, the New Jersey Nets signed 6-foot-5 free agent guard Keith Bogans on Wednesday. Per team policy, contract terms were not disclosed. "Keith will

Newcastle's Cabaye handed three-match ban >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye has failed in his appeal to the English Football Association over a violent conduct charge stemming from Saturday's FA Cup loss to Brighton and Hove Albion,

Pirates ink veteran hurler Cruz to minor league deal >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday signed pitcher Juan Cruz to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 33-year-old right-hander went 5-0 with a 3.88 earned run average

Martinuccio joins Villarreal on loan >>
Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villarreal has signed forward Alejandro Martinuccio on a six-month loan from Brazilian side Fluminense, it was announced on Wednesday. The two clubs just beat the transfer deadline to push the

Buddle makes Galaxy return >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy announced Wednesday that it has signed Edson Buddle on a free transfer after the American striker spent one season in Germany with FC Ingolstadt. Buddle previously featured for the

Alpha goes after first in Withers >>
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alpha, winner of the Count Fleet Stakes, heads a field of seven for Saturday's $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct. The 1 1/16-mile event is part of the track's stakes series for three-year-olds leading

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.