Coroner: Wheldon died of blunt head trauma
Autoracing Betting Lines
10/17/2011 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon died of blunt head trauma sustained in Sunday's fiery 15-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Clark County Coroner's office said.
Results of an autopsy performed on the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former series champion were released Monday.
The corner's office ruled Wheldon's death accidental and said the driver was pronounced dead at 1:54 p.m.
Wheldon was killed after his car became airborne, hit the outside wall and burst into flames early on in the scheduled 300-mile race. He was airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, but died of his injuries.
The wreck, which sent several other drivers to the hospital, left broken cars and pieces of flaming metal scattered about the track in a scene that one driver likened to a war movie.
After learning that Wheldon had died, officials canceled the race and drivers made a five-lap tribute around the 1.5-mile track.
Wheldon, who was 33, had started from the rear of the field as the only driver eligible to split a $5 million bonus with a lucky fan if he could have won the race.
The coroner's office said in a news release that it would work closely with race officials, safety equipment personnel and the physicians who attended to Wheldon to fully review the case in an effort to help increase safety for other drivers.
Wheldon is survived by his wife, Susie, and two young sons, Sebastian and Oliver.
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank and Jamie McCourt have settled their divorce and she has relinquished an ownership claim of the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a report. Jamie McCourt will get around $130 million in the
<< NFL Inactives (Monday, October 17, 2011)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive
players for tonight's game.
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT NEW YORK JETS, 8:30 P.M. (ET)
Dolphins - RB Steve Slaton, S Chris Clemons, LB Ikaika Alama-Francis, T Will
Barker, C Rya
<< NBA and players set to meet with mediator
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The federal mediator who sat with the NFL and
its players during their labor dispute will try to push opposing sides of the
NBA lockout closer together in the latest bid to save the season.
George Cohen, who
<< Seahawks place CB Trufant on IR
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks placed veteran cornerback
Marcus Trufant on injured reserve Monday.
Trufant has not played since suffering a back injury in a Week 4 loss to the
Falcons.
The longest tenured Seattle
<< NFL won't fine coaches Schwartz, Harbaugh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL will not fine Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz or
San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh for their altercation after Sunday's
game.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tweeted Monday that there was no basis for a fine
becau
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Jones scored the game winner 1:11 into overtime as Colorado finished a five-game road trip without a blemish thanks to a 3-2 win over Toronto. After opening the season at home with a loss to Detroit,
Inside the CFL: Call to the Hall >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Damon Allen knew the question was coming.
The Cal State Fullerton product played 23 years in the Canadian Football
League, with stops in Edmonton, Ottawa, Hamilton, Memphis, BC and Toronto.
Allen is a
Vanderbilt's Ezeli suspended six games >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli has been
suspended for the first six games of the season for accepting improper
benefits.
An internal compliance review by the university uncovered that the s
Panthers ruin home opener for slumping Tampa >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss scored twice and
had two assists, while Brian Campbell added four assists as the Florida
Panthers defeated the Lightning, 7-4, in the home opener for Tampa Bay.
Tomas Kope
Jets defeat Pens, win first game of season >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Wellwood's goal in the opening seconds of
the contest helped the Winnipeg Jets earn their first victory of the season
with a 2-1 decision over the Pittsburgh Penguins at MTS Centre.
Tanner Glass notch
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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