Cogliano's natural hat trick leads Ducks over Coyotes

Hockey Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew Cogliano netted a natural hat trick in the second period for the first three-goal game of his career, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday.

Teemu Selanne also scored and Nick Bonino added a pair of assists. Jonas Hiller stopped 25-of-26 shots for the Ducks, who have won six of their last seven contests.

Ray Whitney scored and Mike Smith was tagged for three goals on 18 shots before being yanked in the second period. Jason LaBarbera stopped all 11 shots he saw for the Coyotes, who have lost four of their last five.

Phoenix struck first at 7:39 of the first period off of a defensive zone turnover by the Ducks.

Selanne held the puck along the right wing and looked to start the breakout, but he lost it to Martin Hanzal in the slot. Hanzal found Radim Vrbata at the right point and the gritty forward then found a cutting Whitney, who deflected Vrbata's pass in behind Hiller.

Cogliano took over in the second period for Anaheim.

His first goal came at 6:59 when Matt Beleskey out-hustled his checker behind the net and spotted Cogliano, who stuffed it home from in front.

Cogliano's second goal occurred at 10:07 when he collected a loose puck in the defensive zone and raced up the left wing on the rush. He gained the blue line with speed a fired a wrist shot on net from a sharp angle that somehow beat Smith to the short side.

The hat trick-clinching tally came at 13:50 when Bonino pushed the puck past the defense and ahead to Cogliano, who went in on net and slid a backhander through the legs of Smith to cap a dominant second period.

Ryan Getzlaf and Niklas Hagman were whistled for penalties late in the second period, giving the Coyotes a two-man advantage, but they were unable to score and Selanne added an empty netter with 1:06 left in regulation to cap the scoring.

Game Notes

Tuesday marked the 100th meeting all-time between the Pacific Division rivals...Smith dropped to 5-3-1 in his career against Anaheim...Phoenix failed to score on three power-play chances, while Anaheim was 1-for-3 with the man advantage...Anaheim will face the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, while the Coyotes will host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday...Phoenix dropped to 11-1-1 when Hanzal records an assist.

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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

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.