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06/23/2009 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record: 11-7. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-14, to Calgary in Grey Cup Championship. Stadium - Percival Molson Stadium. Capacity - 20,202. Colors: Red, blue, silver, white, and black
Since 2000, the Montreal Alouettes have made six appearances in the Grey Cup Championship Game, but five times the club was sent away empty handed. Last season, the club finished 11-7 during the regular season, the only Eastern Division team to post a winning record. The Alouettes reached the title tilt only to be defeated by Calgary in a 22-14 final.
So what does the 2009 season have in store for Marc Trestman's squad? Well, there aren't many new faces in the fold, but some consider that to be a good thing. After all, there is enough talent on the roster to put the team back in the championship race.
Of course, it all starts with veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who completed 69.2 percent of his passes in 2008 for 5,633 yards with 43 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions. He is thrilled to have Jamal Richardson back in the fold, as the talented receiver tallied 98 receptions for 1,287 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago. Some though Richardson might be playing in the NFL this season, but his return to the Alouettes cements them as a serious Grey Cup contender.
There are other dangerous weapons on the offensive side of the football, such as tailback Avon Coburne and wideout Ben Cahoon. Coburne rushed for 950 yards and six touchdowns on only 145 carries a year ago, and he also caught 66 passes for 616 yards and two more scores. As for Cahoon, he had a team-high 107 receptions for 1,231 yards and seven scores, proving more than capable of moving the chains with clutch catches.
Montreal did a good job of locking up Anwar Stewart and Mark Estelle, rather than allowing those players to find new homes. T.J. Hill led the club with 84 tackles last season, while Keron Williams posted 10 sacks. This is not an elite defense, but there is obviously enough talent in place to complement the explosive offense.
What can be expected by fans is another successful season, a first-place finish in the East and a likely return to the Grey Cup title game. Still, expect the team to come up just short once again.
Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Finish: First
<< 2009 CFL Western Preview - British Columbia Lions
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record
- 12-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-18, to Calgary in divison finals. Stadium -
B.C. Place. Capacity - 29,706. Colors - Orange, black and silver
Last season, had
<< Roddick, del Potro reach second round at Big W
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time runner-up Andy Roddick and
fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro were a pair of first-round
winners Tuesday at Wimbledon.
The sixth-seeded Roddick hiccupped in the third set in an othe
<< 2009 CFL Western Preview - Saskatchewan Roughriders
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record -
12-6. Playoff Result: Lost, 33-12, to British Columbia in the West Division
semifinals. Stadium - Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. Capacity - 30,945.
Colors - Gree
<< 2009 CFL Western Preview - Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record
- 10-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 36-26, to Montreal in division final. Stadium -
Commonwealth Stadium. Capacity - 60,081. Colors - Green, gold, black and white
De
2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Winnipeg Blue Bombers >>
Winnipeg, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record:
8-10. Playoff Result: Lost, 29-21, to Edmonton in division semifinals. Stadium
- Canada Inns Stadium. Capacity - 29,533. Colors: Blue and Gold
The good news f
Red Wings part ways with Chelios >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will not re-sign
veteran defenseman Chris Chelios, ending his nearly decade-long run with the
team.
The Detroit News reported that Red Wings general manager Ken Holland met wit
Safina, Venus win Wimbledon openers >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Dinara Safina and two-
time defending champion Venus Williams were a pair of straight-set
victors in opening-round action Tuesday at the Wimbledon Championships.
The French Open and
Bulls midfielder Richards called up by Jamaica >>
Secaucus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards has
been called up by the Jamaican national team for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup and
will miss time with the Red Bulls starting July 1.
The Red Bulls have only one ma
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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