Cabrera leads U.S. Open; Mickelson cut

Golf Betting Lines

06/16/2007 - Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angel Cabrera stuck his final approach shot within inches and made birdie, knocking 19 players out of the U.S. Open by himself.

Oakmont took care of the rest.

Cabrera shot a one-over 71 Friday to take the lead in what was shaping up to be one of the most difficult U.S. Opens ever, finishing his second round with a birdie on Oakmont's ninth hole to get to even-par 140 overall.

The low 60 scores and ties make the cut, as well as anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Cabrera's closing birdie meant all the players at 11-over par missed the weekend.

Phil Mickelson, at 11-over exactly, was among them.

"Carnage," he called the round after shooting a 77.

Bubba Watson had a one-over 71 and was alone in second place at one-over 141. Stephen Ames was one of just two players to shoot under par Friday, carding a one-under 69 to join Aaron Baddeley (70), Justin Rose (71) and Niclas Fasth (71) in third place at two-over 142.

If Oakmont showed its teeth Thursday, it was downright scowling Friday.

Paul Casey hit 13 of 14 fairways and shot a four-under 66 in a morning tee time for the best round of the day -- one of the best rounds of his career, the Englishman said.

But it wasn't an accurate forecast of things to come.

By 5:33 p.m. local time, when Cabrera made a five-foot bogey putt at his 12th hole, there were no players left under par. Cabrera bogeyed his 14th hole at 6:10 p.m., then got back to even-par with his closing birdie at 7:13 p.m.

So, for 63 minutes near the end of the round no one was even playing Oakmont to a push.

The scoring average soared to nearly 77.

"I'll venture to guess that 99 percent of the members can't play this golf course very well or finish in severe conditions," said world No. 3 Jim Furyk, who safely made the cut.

"But they're proud of that fact and that's what this place is about."

Tiger Woods wasn't proud of his round, but a four-over 74 was enough to keep him safe from repeating his missed cut at Winged Foot last year. He was at five-over 145 and tied for 13th place.

"You just really had to keep your patience," Woods said. "The way I hit the golf ball, I could have easily shot myself out of the tournament. But I was able to hang in there."

Cabrera was the first-round leader at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, his only other overnight lead at a major championship.

"This tournament really motivates you," Cabrera, an Argentine, said through a translator in a TV interview after his round. "You play with a lot of intensity out there."

Watson's posted a career-best finish at the Houston Open in April, where he was runner-up. His length helped him Friday in places like the 313-yard 17th, a par four where he almost reached the green with his tee shot.

He chipped within three feet there for his last birdie, but wasn't expecting Oakmont to get any easier Saturday -- especially with the added pressure of playing in the final group.

"It's going to be just as hard as it was today," said Watson, who missed the cut in his only other U.S. Open in 2004.

While no one avoided the "How hard was it?" question Friday, Mickelson had one of the funniest answers -- especially from someone who played the tough four- hole stretch from No. 7 at six-over par.

"It's easier than I've seen it, the greens have slowed up and I don't know what we're doing," Mickelson laughed.

Lefty had made 30 consecutive major cuts since missing the weekend at the 1999 British Open, which ranked as the longest such active streak at the four major championships.

His injured left wrist was still affecting his play, but Mickelson wasn't making any excuses.

"It's fine. It's sore, but it's fine," he said.

Furyk played with Mickelson and had a 75 to keep himself safe from the cut line six-over 146. He had back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes, from 18 and 20 feet respectively.

On the rest of the course, the 2003 U.S. Open champion made seven bogeys and nine pars.

"I don't concern myself with whether the USGA is playing fair or not anymore, I just play it and try to figure out how to get it in the hole," Furyk said of the course.

The third member of the Mickelson-Furyk group, Adam Scott, opened with a triple-bogey at No. 1 and shot an 82. Looking to shake criticism of his play in the majors, the young Australian missed the cut by a mile at 18-over par.

The scores from that trio -- the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 golfers in the world -- made Casey's morning 66 look like an anomaly.

And it was.

"That's probably one of the best rounds I've played in my professional career," said Casey, who equaled his best round at a major and was alone in seventh place at three-over 143.

It was 23 shots better than the worst score turned in Friday.

Englishman Sam Walker, who has missed the cut in nine of his last 10 European Tour starts, carded an 89 in a round that included just four pars and no birdies.

Mickelson and Scott weren't the only big names to miss the cut.

That list also included Justin Leonard, Luke Donald, Trevor Immelman, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Davis Love III, Henrik Stenson, Colin Montgomerie and two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen.

"The tournament starts on Saturday," Cabrera said. "Everyone who makes the cut has a chance. You just have to see what happens."

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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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