Wolski, Budaj help Avs to shootout win over Red Wings
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12/28/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wojtek Wolski scored the only goal of the shootout, and Colorado goaltender Peter Budaj made 41 saves to help the Avalanche log a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Avs have won both matchups with the Red Wings this season, having picked up a win December 15 in Detroit, and started to swing the series momentum their way after the 2007-08 campaign. Detroit swept Colorado in last season's conference semifinals after winning all four regular-season games.
Ryan Smyth and John-Michael Liles each notched a goal and an assist while Ruslan Salei scored his first of the season for the Avalanche, who have won three of four. Colorado played for the first time without the team's leading scorer in Paul Stastny, who was struck with a puck in Tuesday's win over Phoenix and suffered a broken forearm.
Although no official timetable for his return has been revealed, Stastny, who has 31 points on the year, is expected to be sidelined until at least late January.
"It's a big win for us and it was a great atmosphere. The fans sure take it (Detroit) seriously," Budaj said of the fierce rivalry. "I was able to see the puck well today."
Tomas Holmstrom had a goal and two assists while Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk also lit the lamp for the Red Wings, who had a three-game winning streak halted Friday in Nashville and dropped consecutive games for the third time this season.
Mikael Samuelsson contributed two assists and Ty Conklin stopped 29-of-32 shots in starting for the fifth straight game in place of Chris Osgood, who is battling a groin strain.
Red Wings rearguard Nicklas Lidstrom sat out the contest after taking a puck off his ankle in the Nashville game.
In the shootout, Wolski faked backhand and switched back to the forehand to score into an empty net in either team's first attempt, and Datsyuk came back to hit the post on a hard wrister for Detroit. Marek Svatos was turned back on a rising wrister for the Avs, but Budaj smothered Henrik Zetterberg's forehand offering. Milan Hejduk had a chance to win it but fired into the pads of Conklin. The game was then up to Budaj, who also squeezed the pads together to stop Jiri Hudler's attempt to go five-hole, sealing the Colorado win.
"Sometimes you shoot as hard as you can and it just hits their stick," Zetterberg said, speaking about the shootout. "We had a lot of special teams work tonight and were able to come back (in the second period)."
The Avalanche came out on fire and scored three times on the power play over the first 20 minutes. Salei's goal started things, as the puck pinballed its way through the slot off a pair of Detroit players into the net at 5:32.
Smyth's tally came just after the midway point after Hejduk's shot sailed wide, with the carom coming right to Smyth, camped to the right of the net, for the goal. Liles then directed a slap shot through Smyth's screen and past Conklin later in the period.
"We tried to get some shots through -- we were passing up a lot of those shots before. The biggest thing was we were able to find some lanes," Liles said.
Detroit quickly erased a three-goal deficit and tied the game with three in the middle frame. Datsyuk was able to put back a rebound off his own shot for a power-play goal with 5:54 remaining, after Budaj lost sight of the puck. Holmstrom then set up a screen and tipped a Samuelsson offering from the high slot just over 1 1/2 minutes later with the man-advantage.
Franzen brought the Red Wings all the way back after receiving a cross-ice pass from Brian Rafalski, one-timing a shot below the right circle from a wide angle to beat Budaj on the short side.
Budaj had to make 17 saves over the next 25 minutes to send the game to a shootout while Conklin faced only seven shots between the third period and overtime -- but turned each back.
Game Notes
Detroit had won two straight and seven of its last eight regular-season tilts in Denver coming into Saturday...Datsyuk ran his point streak to seven games. He has six goals and eight assists over his scoring streak...Detroit is now 11-5-2 as the visiting team this year and has lost four of its last five road tests...Colorado has a 10-6-0 ledger as the host this year.
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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt
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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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back
With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.
"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."
Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .
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