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Twins continue set with RoyalsBaseball Betting Lines09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capturing a second straight American League Central title may be the Minnesota Twins' main objective, but judging by the team's performance at Target Field this season, having home-field advantage for the opening round of the playoffs would be a big deal as well. The first-place Twins will try to move a step closer towards accomplishing both goals in tonight's middle test of a three-game series with the visiting Kansas City Royals. Minnesota maintained its 3 1/2-game advantage on the determined Chicago White Sox for the Central's top spot with Monday's 5-4 decision over the Royals. The win was the Twins' fourth in a row and ninth in their last 11 contests, and improved Ron Gardenhire's squad to an outstanding 46-23 at Target Field this season. The Twins have now won 17 of their past 20 games at the first-year ballpark and are in excellent position to start the postseason at home if they can hold off the White Sox for the division crown. With both the top team and the wild card likely to come out of the AL East, Minnesota currently owns a 5 1/2-game lead on West front-runner Texas for the No. 2 seed for the upcoming playoffs. Jason Kubel snapped a 2-2 tie in Monday's matchup with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning, with Jim Thome belting a solo shot two batters later to give the Twins a three-run cushion. The long ball was the 585th of Thome's storied career, moving the veteran slugger one away from catching Frank Robinson for eighth place on baseball's all-time list. Thome's homer also proved to be an important one, as the Royals scored twice in the top of the sixth to pull within 5-4. They would get no closer, however, as relievers Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain and Matt Capps kept Kansas City off the board over the final three frames to come out on top. Capps threw a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his 10th save since joining Minnesota in a trade with Washington just prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline. "It's been a lot of fun," Capps said about his time with the Twins. "Hopefully, we keep playing good baseball and it remains fun." Brayan Pena finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for Kansas City, losers of four of its five games. Starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan (2-5) was hung with the defeat after allowing five runs, including the pivotal homers to Kubel and Thome, over 4 2/3 innings of work. "Two pitches changed the whole game," O'Sullivan said afterward. The Royals hope to fair better tonight behind Brian Bannister in the right- hander's return from a month-long stint on the disabled list due to shoulder tendinitis. Bannister had been struggling mightily prior to being shelved on August 3, losing five straight starts and going 1-7 with a brutal 7.96 earned run average over a 10-game stretch beginning in mid-June. One of those setbacks came against the Twins in Kansas City on July 28, when he was reached for five runs and 11 hits over six innings. The 29-year-old, who tossed 3 1/3 scoreless frames in his final rehab assignment for Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday, did throw 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball to beat Minnesota on April 25 and is 4-5 with a 4.36 ERA over 12 lifetime starts against the Twins. Minnesota counters with Francisco Liriano, who'll putting his unbeaten second- half record on the line in tonight's tilt. In nine starts since the All-Star break, the tough left-hander has compiled a 6-0 mark along with a sensational 2.17 ERA and allowed only a single home run in a span of 58 innings. Liriano didn't come up with a victory his last time out, although he certainly deserved one after limiting Detroit to five hits and striking out seven batters over seven shutout innings on Wednesday. He exited the game with a 1-0 lead, but the Tigers would tie it against the Minnesota bullpen later on. The Dominican native also fired seven scoreless frames in a July 26 encounter at Kansas City, this time gaining the win in a 19-1 Twins' rout. The effort moved Liriano to 4-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 10 career appearances (seven starts) against the Royals. In 13 starts at Target Field, where he hasn't lost since June 28, Liriano is 6-3 with an impressive 2.51 ERA. The 26-year-old will be trying to pitch the Twins to a fifth consecutive win over Kansas City. Minnesota has gone 10-3 against the Royals so far this season and has prevailed in five of the seven games between the teams held in Minneapolis.
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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attemptTerrell 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 To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your VISA Sportsbook needs. |
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