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06/03/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Worried that his young star forward was playing tight in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette gave Claude Giroux a key bit of advice prior to Game 3.
Apparently it worked, because after playing two of his worst games of the playoffs in Games 1 and 2 in Chicago, Giroux exploded Wednesday night in Philadelphia, scoring the game-winner in a thrilling overtime game while adding two assists. The victory was huge for Philadelphia, which trimmed Chicago's edge in the series to 2-1, and for Giroux's confidence as well.
"We talked about just having some fun tonight, come out and letting everything roll," said Laviolette.
Giroux certainly received the message and he was able to torch the Blackhawks' defense for three points en route to claiming First Star status. The game- winning goal came after Giroux slid behind the Chicago defense and he was wide open in front of the net to redirect Matt Carle's pass behind Antti Niemi.
It's something that the Flyers have seen Giroux do quite frequently over the last two years, that is, dominate a playoff game.
In fact, the 22-year-old is averaging nearly a point a game for his career in the postseason, notching 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 26 playoff contests. Most of that damage, 20 points of it to be exact, has been done this year, but Giroux was possibly Philly's best postseason player last year when the Flyers were bounced out in the first round by Pittsburgh.
However, Giroux was anything but dominant in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. He went without a point in Chicago and was also a minus in both games -- the only two times in this postseason that his rating wasn't even or above.
Sensing the importance of the Game 3 contest, Laviolette met with Giroux prior to Wednesday's battle and he obviously pushed all the right buttons.
"I think he loosened up a bit," said Laviolette. "You have to remember, it's the Stanley Cup Finals...At this point of the year, you know what you have to do in order to be successful. There's a lot of work. There's a lot of intensity. There's a lot of competitiveness in the battles. In the same sense, if you tighten it up too much, you seize up a little bit."
Giroux, who is primarily centering the third line with wingers Arron Asham and Daniel Carcillo, is a key for the Flyers going forward in this series. His line has been the second-best unit for Philadelphia in the Cup Finals, behind only the second line of Danny Briere, Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell.
"Our line didn't play very well in Chicago," said Giroux after his Game 3 heroics. "Actually me and Ash and Carcillo, we talked together and we wanted to have a big game for our team. Anytime you're not producing or playing well, you are just going to keep it simple and go back just working hard. I think we did that, and we tried to win as many battles as we could."
Between the Briere and Giroux lines, the Flyers are making up for the struggling first unit of captain Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne. If Philly can get the Richards line going as well, it may be able to pull off yet another series comeback.
HAVE HAWKS HAD ENOUGH OF PRONGER?
A great deal of talk following Game 3, of course, centered around Flyers top defenseman and all-around lightning rod Chris Pronger.
Anybody who has seen Pronger in action during press conferences knows he loves the spotlight, and his physical play in this series has once again made him the center of attention.
And that's without even mentioning Pronger's stealing the game pucks before the home team could pick them up after the first two tests of the series. But, while Pronger's thievery at the United Center was nothing more than a cheap mind game, his play during the games in this series has been nothing short of masterful.
The former Norris and Hart Trophy winner has focused primarily on manhandling immense Chicago forward Dustin Byfuglien, but he also delivered big hits on Byfuglien's linemates Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in Game 3 as well.
Pronger's rough style of play is clearly frustrating the Hawks, and you'd know why if you saw the Flyers big blueliner get away with more than a few cross- checks on Byfuglien in Game 3. As is often the case, the referee missed Pronger's whacks, but saw the Byfuglien's retaliation slash, a penalty that resulted in a power-play goal for Philadelphia in the second period.
When asked about whether or not he and the Flyers were getting underneath Chicago's skin, Pronger bristled, "I don't know. There was a lot of talk coming from their side of the ice. We were just busy playing the game."
It's clear that Pronger has succeeded so far in getting Chicago's goat. As long as the Blackhawks are worried about stolen game pucks and uncalled penalties, the ringleader of Flyers' circus act is doing his job.
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Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Suzuki hit a pair of homers and drove in
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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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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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