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10/03/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit's Justin Verlander and New York's CC Sabathia square off once again this evening when the American League Division Series shifts to Comerica Park for a pivotal Game 3.
The two aces started Friday's Game 1, but rain caused a suspension, leaving both Verlander and Sabathia's outings cut short. Verlander gave up a run and threw 25 pitches in his inning of work, while Sabathia tossed 27 pitches and allowed a solo home run in his two innings of action.
"I think it's going to be a big game no matter what, whether it's Game 1 in Yankee Stadium or Game 3 in Detroit," Verlander said. "Obviously, there will probably be more publicity now in Game 3 because of what occurred and all of the news that encompassed it with me and CC facing off again. ... Either way, it's going to be an exciting game."
Verlander, who is vying to become the league's first pitcher to take home MVP honors since Roger Clemens in 1986, will be trying to pitch Detroit to a series lead after the Tigers evened things up with a 5-3 win on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI and even stole a base for Detroit, which bounced back from a 9-3 loss in the first game, despite a shaky outing from closer Jose Valverde in the ninth.
Valverde, perfect in 49 save opportunities in the regular season, entered the ninth with a four-run lead and immediately surrendered a home run to Nick Swisher.
A rare triple by Jorge Posada and a walk by Russell Martin proceeded Andruw Jones' sacrifice fly, cutting New York's deficit to 5-3. Derek Jeter went down swinging, but Curtis Granderson kept the inning alive by working a walk.
Granderson's at-bat was extended after catcher Alex Avila slipped on rain- soaked on- deck circle tracking his foul ball near the visitors' dugout.
Robinson Cano, who drove in six runs in Saturday's suspended opener, ended the rally by grounding out weakly to second, effectively snapping the Yankees' seven-game win streak in the ALDS.
"We had our shot. Our guys continued to play hard," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's the best of three now."
Max Scherzer (1-0) did his best Verlander impression in his first postseason start, as he took a no-hitter into the sixth and struck out five. The 15-game winner wound up allowing two hits and four walks and was pulled after putting the first two hitters on in the seventh.
Tonight it will be Verlander, who put forth one of the best years ever by a Tigers starter and won the league's pitching Triple Crown, going 24-5 with a 2.40 earned run average and 250 strikeouts.
Verlander finished the year strong, winning 12 straight starts before earning a no-decision in his final outing on Friday.
The hard-throwing righty, though, earned two no-decisions against the Yankees this season and is a mere 4-3 lifetime against them with a 3.97 ERA in 10 starts. The Yanks are also the only team that Verlander faced twice and did not beat.
Sabathia, meanwhile, fell a win short of becoming the first Yankees starter to post back-to-back 20-win seasons since Tommy John back in 1979-80, but ended the year 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA.
"They're all big games at this point in the season," Sabathia said. "I'll just try to go out and get off to a good start, pound the strike zone and hopefully pitch well."
Sabathia is no stranger to the Tigers, having faced them 32 times over the course of his career and posting a 15-12 mark to go along with a 4.54 ERA.
"It's a big park and they have a good lineup and some big hitters," Sabathia said. "I don't change my approach park to park."
The Tigers, who beat the Yankees in four games in the 2006 ALDS after losing Game 1, also took four of seven from the Yanks during this season after the two teams split the eight-game season series a year ago.
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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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