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02/12/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place San Jose Sharks will make the first stop on their longest road trip of the season tonight, as they visit the St. Louis Blues in a Western Conference showdown at Scottrade Center.
The Sharks lead the Pacific Division by three points over Los Angeles and they'll try to hold onto that advantage while they pick their way through a nine-game swing that starts tonight in the Gateway City and ends Feb. 26 in Minnesota. San Jose is 12-7-4 as the road team this year compared to an 18-9-2 home record.
San Jose ended a two-game slide and won for the fourth time in six games Friday night against visiting Chicago. Benn Ferriero's goal early in the third period proved to be the winner, as the Sharks notched a 5-3 win over the struggling Blackhawks at HP Pavilion.
Justin Braun, Dan Boyle, Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn also tallied goals for the Sharks, while Antti Niemi stopped 30-of-33 shots for the win.
"We have got to find ways to be a little more consistent," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "You could see the desperation in both teams, which are good games to play in, especially when we're winning."
The Sharks will not face a single Pacific Division foe during its road trip, but will have five tests against teams from the Western Conference.
St. Louis will try to improve to 3-0 against the Sharks this year after posting a win at home and one in San Jose during the season series. The clubs have split the six meetings overall and St. Louis has won two of the last three on its home ice.
The Blues have won three straight overall and are three behind Detroit for first place in the Central Division and the Western Conference.
St. Louis has recorded its last two victories after regulation and is coming off Saturday's overtime win over visiting Colorado. The dramatic victory over the Avalanche improved St. Louis' record at home this year to 23-3-4 and the Blues have gained a point in a club-record 18 straight home games (15-0-3).
Carlo Colaiacovo scored the first goal since the opening period with 1:42 to play in overtime, sending St. Louis to the 3-2 victory over Colorado.
"I had a lot of chances tonight. I've been getting a lot of chances lately. I'm just happy that one finally went in and it didn't take my stick to put it in," said Colaiacovo, who admitted that he felt the puck glance off his elbow after a wrist shot by Patrik Berglund.
Brian Elliott stopped 17 shots for St. Louis, which also received a pair of assists from T.J. Oshie.
Jason Arnott is not expected to play tonight for the Blues after sitting out the last four games with a bruised left shoulder. Matt D'Agostini will also miss a third straight game since sustaining a blow to the head on Tuesday against Ottawa.
However, the Blues could get forward Andy McDonald back today. McDonald, who had 50 points in 58 games for the Blues last year, has been out since suffering a concussion on Oct. 13 in Dallas.
<< Kings end road trip in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will try to end a rough road trip on
a positive note when they visit the rival Dallas Stars for today's Pacific
Division battle at American Airlines Center.
The Kings are 1-3-1 so far on a six-game sw
<< Ducks try to bounce back in Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to rebound from a loss tonight,
when they play the second test of an eight-game road trip against the Columbus
Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
The Ducks became the 19th straight opponent to los
<< Isles, Panthers clash at the Coliseum
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Florida Panthers will try to post their
first three-game winning streak since early December when they visit the New
York Islanders for today's clash at Nassau Coliseum.
Florida, which leads Washington by t
<< U.S. finishes off Davis Cup sweep of host Swiss
Fribourg, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States had already
clinched a victory over host Switzerland in their best-of-five Davis Cup tie
before capping off the weekend on Sunday with two more singles wins in a 5-0
sweep i
Last-place Novara stuns Inter at San Siro >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unfortunately for last-place Novara, it does
not play Inter Milan again this season.
Andrea Caracciolo scored in the 56th minute Sunday and Novara won for just the
third time in Serie A this season - and the
Host Czechs whip Italians 4-1 in Davis Cup >>
Ostrava, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Czech Republic advanced
to the Davis Cup quarterfinals with an easy 4-1 victory over Italy this week.
The Czechs had already clinched the best-of-five tie with a doubles victory in
Ostra
Liverpool's Suarez makes a bad situation worse >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City's continued rise to prominence, Chelsea's
sudden decline and Tottenham's blistering form have each been major storylines
in the 2011-12 English Premier League season.
Yet racism has emerged as the hot-butto
Argentina tops Germany 4-1 to reach Davis Cup quarters >>
Bamberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentina settled for a 4-1 victory over
host Germany in a best-of-five opening-round Davis Cup matchup.
The 2011 runner-up Argentines will host Croatia in a quarterfinal in April.
Argentina clinched
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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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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