05/09/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to match a franchise record by winning their seventh straight home game this evening when they kick off a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Tropicana Field.
Tampa, which is 10-7 in its ball park this season, last won seven straight at home from June 9-26, 2004.
The Rays won in dramatic fashion on Thursday in Toronto, as Dioner Navarro's grand slam highlighted a five-run 13th inning to help Tampa pull out an 8-3 win at Rogers Centre.
Troy Percival, the Angels' all-time saves leader, blew his first save of the season for the Rays, as he served up a game-tying two-run homer to Vernon Wells. It was his first runs allowed this season.
J.P. Howell (1-0) got the victory after throwing three scoreless innings of relief.
Despite Thursday's big win Tampa will be more than happy to return to St. Petersburg, after going just 4-5 on its recent nine-game road trip.
Hoping to keep the Rays on the right track this evening will be right-hander James Shields, who will be trying to bounce back from a horrific outing in his last trip to the hill. Shields was tagged with the loss on Saturday in Boston, as the Red Sox battered him for seven runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings, dropping him to 3-2 on the season, while raising his earned run average to 3.80.
Shields has faced the Angels four times and is 2-1 against them with a 3.55 ERA.
Los Angeles will counter with righty Jon Garland, who is 4-3 with a 5.08 ERA. Garland won for the third time in his last four starts on Saturday, as he held Baltimore to a run and three hits in eight innings.
Garland is an impressive 5-1 lifetime against the Rays with a 3.43 ERA in nine starts. He is also 3-0 with a 2.62 ERA in five starts at the Trop.
The Angels were denied a sweep in their three-game series with the Kansas City Royals, falling 9-4 in Wednesday's finale. The loss halted a four-game winning streak for Los Angeles, which is tied with the Oakland Athletics for first place in the AL West.
LA won six of eight from the Rays last season and is 13-4 against them since the start of the 2006 season.
<< Yankees give Igawa another chance at Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kei Igawa gets another shot this evening when the New York
Yankees play the opener of a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers at
Comerica Park.
Igawa was a huge bust for the Yankees last season after the team
<< Keystone Clash: Pens host Flyers in Game 1 of East finals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of cross-state rivals will begin the Eastern
Conference finals tonight, as the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins host the
sixth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series at
Mellon Arena.
What
<< Jazz need a win in Game 3 versus Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz resume their Western
Conference semifinal series tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, as the clubs
square off in Game 3 of the set.
Game 4 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Su
<< White Sox start trip at Safeco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox start up a 10-game road trip with
tonight's visit to Seattle's Safeco Field, where the club will begin a three-
game series with the badly-struggling Seattle Mariners.
Seattle has dropped eight of it
Dodgers open series with Astros in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to get back on the winning
track this evening when they begin a three-game series with the Houston Astros
at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles enters this series on the heels of getting routed b
Braves take hot streak into Pittsburgh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves will try to stay unbeaten this month as
they open a seven-game road trip with tonight's first of four straight games
against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Atlanta is coming off a perfect six
Marlins try to keep up season success against Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL East-leading Florida Marlins will try to extend
their current winning streak to a season-high five games tonight, when they
begin a seven-game road trip with the first of three straight meetings with
Washing
Reeling Brewers return home to face Central-leading Cards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers are back at home after a lengthy road
trip, and they will try to stop a six-game slide tonight in the first of four
straight games versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.
Milwaukee went 2-7 o
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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