Rock takes lead before storms overtake South Africa
Golf Betting Lines
01/13/2012 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Rock shot a four-under 67 on the West Course in his second round to grab a one-stroke lead as storms washed out Friday's play at the Joburg Open.
After a four-hour delay on Thursday prevented the first round from being completed at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, thunderstorms came through again on Friday and disrupted play further. The first round was completed Friday morning, but second-round play is far from finished.
The round was halted at 7:37 a.m. (et) and eventually called for the day and will resume at 11:45 p.m. (et) with several players yet to tee off. Saturday's weather calls for a chance of more thunderstorms, so it remains to be seen whether the tournament will see 72 holes.
Rock followed his impressive seven-under 65 on the more difficult par-72 East Course with a four-under on the par-71 West Course to total 11-under 132. He's looking to build off his first European Tour victory last year at the Italian Open, but may be caught by the time the cut is made.
Right behind him are Jbe Kruger and Branden Grace, both of whom shot 67s on the East Course and five-under 66s on the West Course Friday to get to 10- under 133. Michiel Bothma (66) sits tied for fourth at nine-under with George Coetzee, who is the top player out on the course at minus-nine with 12 holes remaining.
First-round leaders Damien McGrane and Jamie Elson can still retain that title with good second rounds; McGrane sits at seven-under through three holes on the East Course, while Elson has yet to tee off on the same course.
Although Rock leads, he bucked the trend of the East playing more difficult by posting a worse score on the West Course.
Rock started his tournament on Thursday with an eagle, and began Friday's second round with an eagle at the second hole to quickly get to nine-under. He bogeyed the eighth before a birdie at the ninth kept him at that number around the turn.
A bogey at No. 12 dropped Rock to eight-under, but he followed with three consecutive birdies to move atop the leaderboard. Grace would have finished at 11-under as well, but a bogey at the last dropped him one behind.
Two-time defending champion Charl Schwartzel completed 36 holes at three-under 140 after a three-under 68 on the West Course, but still has a lot of ground to make up if he's to become the sixth European Tour player to win the same tournament three years in a row.
NOTES: Currently, Sunday's forecast calls for no precipitation...South African Retief Goosen is seven-under through six holes of his second round on the East Course.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
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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