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09/03/2010 - Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landon Donovan and manager Bruce Arena both agreed after last week's loss to the Kansas City Wizards that the Los Angeles Galaxy were "outcompeted."
Davy Arnaud had a goal and an assist to lead K.C. to a 2-0 victory at The Home Depot Center, handing the Galaxy (13-5-4) their second home loss this season.
"I think that we got outcompeted. All this was about tonight was fighting and scrapping and we lost that fight. I think that was the difference in the game; they played harder," Arena said.
"I think we were outcompeted. It has to be clear that the next time we step on the field each and every player has to have a better effort," Donovan said.
L.A. returns to MLS action Saturday against the Chicago Fire and Donovan feels the Galaxy need to rebound from their embarrassing performance at Toyota Park this weekend.
"We don't mind playing well and competing well and giving up a goal at some point and losing a game. That's not the issue. The issue is, you don't want to get outcompeted, especially on your home field," Donovan said.
"That's a little embarrassing and we can't let that happen."
Since starting the season on a 12-game unbeaten streak, including 10 wins, the Galaxy are just 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. L.A. has lost three of its last four, although the lone victory was at Red Bull New York.
L.A.'s grip on the top record in MLS could slip away this week, as Columbus is just two points back entering its game against D.C. United. L.A. defender Todd Dunivant felt it was important to revert back to early-season form soon.
"We have to be more of a scrappy team, a blue-collar team. We've gotten away from that. I think that we've listened too much to the hype of being in first place and gotten a little complacent," Dunivant said.
Arena will be without Chris Birchall due to yellow card accumulation, but L.A. is in much better shape than Chicago in that category, as the Fire's Freddie Ljungberg is also out through accumulated cards.
The Fire are also without midfielder Marco Pappa and defender Deris Umanzor, who are with the Guatemala and El Salvador national teams, respectively.
Although L.A. maintains a firm grip on a playoff spot, Chicago (6-7-6) faces a battle to reach the postseason. The Fire have lost two straight, but also have an edge on the rest of MLS because they have played the fewest matches at 19.
Chicago's clash against L.A., the first of six in September for the Fire, also marks the first match for veteran Brian McBride since he announced Friday he plans to retire at the end of the season.
<< Twins promote P Fox, two others
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have purchased the
contract of pitcher Matt Fox from Triple-A Rochester.
The right-hander is slated to start Friday's series opener against the Texas
Rangers. It will be his major
<< Carpenter tops Power for first IndyCar pole at Kentucky
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ed Carpenter earned his first pole in the IZOD
IndyCar Series after edging points leader Will Power in Friday's qualifying
for the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
Carpenter, making just his thir
<< Rangers activate Nippert from DL
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers made a series of roster
moves on Friday, including activating pitcher Dustin Nippert from the 15-day
disabled list.
Nippert landed on the DL on July 20, one day after he was struck i
<< Red Bulls hope to end RSL's home streak
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York travels to take on Real Salt
Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night in Major League Soccer action.
Both teams are in second place in their respective conference tables, with RSL
holding
Rapids not taking Chivas for granted >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids will continue their
playoff push on Saturday when they host Western Conference cellar-dwellars,
Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Colorado enters the weekend in fifth p
Granderson, Yanks win seventh straight >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Granderson doubled twice and drove in
three runs, as New York beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3, in the opener of a
three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Brett Gardner hit an RBI triple and scored
NCAA reverses decision; Masoli to play for Ole Miss in 2010 >>
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will
be able to play for the Ole Miss Rebels this season after the NCAA overturned
a previous decision that stated the signal-caller must sit out a year.
Masoli enro
Diamondbacks bring up veteran P Hampton >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks purchased the contract
of 15-season veteran Mike Hampton on Friday from Triple-A Reno.
Hampton was signed by the club on August 21 after making 21 starts for Houston
last season, going
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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