NHLPA files grievance against NHL over Kovalchuk

Hockey Betting Lines

07/26/2010 -

TORONTO (AP) -The National Hockey League Players' Association has filed a grievance over the league's rejection of the contract between Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils.

The league rejected the landmark 17-year, $102 million contract last week, saying the longest deal in league history violated its salary cap.

The union disputed that belief in its grievance Monday. It said that under the collective bargaining agreement, the union and Kovalchuk are entitled to an expedited resolution.

The players association said it would have no further comment until the matter has been resolved by an arbitrator.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Cbaaportsline Hockey Betting News

<< CP3 summit in New Orleans
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets have prepared for their scheduled sit-down with All-Star guard Chris Paul by fending off the latest flurry of trade calls received from teams salivating over adding the game's best pur

<< Two giants might actually meet
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A few weeks ago, at the post position draw for the Delaware Handicap, the discussion around the table was about the hoped- for meeting between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Since neither champion was ente

<< Canucks sign LW Raymond to two-year deal
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks on Monday avoided arbitration with Mason Raymond, signing the left winger to a two-year contract. Raymond, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in 2009-10, setting personal bes

<< Blackpool striker Clarke might miss entire season
Blackpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackpool striker Billy Clarke looks set to miss the entire season following knee ligament surgery. Clarke, 22, injured his knee during the Seasiders' opening preseason friendly against Tiverton Town ea

<< Browns sign second-round pick Hardesty
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have signed rookie running back Montario Hardesty to a multi-year contract. The Browns selected the Tennessee product in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 draft and expect him t

This Week in Golf - July 29th through August 1st >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England - The women remain in Europe this week for the fourth and final major of their season, the Women's British Open. Catriona Matthew was th

Gasquet rolls; Robredo exits Gstaad >>
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former top-10 Frenchman Richard Gasquet reached the second round, while fifth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo came up a first-round loser Monday at the Swiss Open. The seventh-seeded Gasquet grounded U

Inter Milan brass taking massive gamble with Balotelli sale >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With reports surfacing that Inter Milan are prepared to transfer Mario Balotelli to Manchester City for a fee in the range of 30 million Euros, the young star's tumultuous time with the club seems to be at an

Lightning name Tod Leiweke CEO >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Lightning chairman and governor Jeff Vinik announced Monday that Tod Leiweke has been named the team's chief executive officer. Officially, Leiweke becomes the CEO of Tampa Bay Sports and Ent

NHLPA files grievance on behalf of Kovalchuk >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk's free agency saga took another turn on Monday when the NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on behalf of the Russian superstar who had his 17-year, $102 million contract with New Jersey

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.

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.