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12/12/2008 - Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich visits Stuttgart in a clash of the last two Bundesliga champions Saturday, trying to extend its undefeated streak to 16 matches and put pressure on current leader Hoffenheim.
Bayern edged Hoffenheim, 2-1, last weekend to pull level in points with the new Bundesliga side but trails on goal differential entering the final week of the first half of the season.
"We'll go to Stuttgart in a confident mood," Bayern boss Jurgen Klinsmann said, "and as before, our aim is to win the [first-half] championship."
Hoffenheim hosts Schalke on Sunday, when it will already know what it needs to do to hold onto the top spot for the winter break.
Bayern added to its huge win last weekend with a 3-2 win over Lyon on Wednesday to finish atop its Champions League group.
Luca Toni was the hero for Bayern last weekend, scoring in the 92nd minute of a thrilling win over the newly-promoted leaders. Miroslav Klose, who leads Bayern with 11 goals in all competitions, led the team against Lyon with a pair goals.
With Franck Ribery pairing with those two strikers, Bayern's offense has been a force during the unbeaten streak. Ribery will sit out this weekend's match with a shoulder injury picked up against Lyon.
The Munich club will have a hard time replacing Ribery, who is currently one of the top players in the world, but will be healthier than in mid week. Defender Lucio and midfielder Ze Roberto are back after missing the Lyon match.
Midfielder Hamit Altintop, who missed months with an ankle injury, returned for a brief appearance on Wednesday and could play longer against Stuttgart.
Although Stuttgart is 10 points back in ninth, new coach Markus Babbel has won two straight league matches since replacing Armin Veh.
Babbel has injury concerns with Mario Gomez questionable and Ludovic Magnin out with a muscle tear, but could get a boost with Yildiray Basturk expected to be back from a long injury absence.
The new Stuttgart coach knows he's got his hands full regardless.
"If you allow [Bayern] the space to play football, they will leave you with no chance," Babbel said.
Hoffenheim hopes Stuttgart gives it an easier chance to hold onto the top spot when it hosts Schalke. If Bayern wins, Hoffe will have to win to stay in first.
Despite the loss to Bayern last weekend, Hoffenheim has still won eight of its last 10. Vedad Ibisevic scored the first goal in the loss to Bayern, upping his lead in the league to 18 goals through 16 matches.
On Friday, Mohamed Zidan and Nuri Sahin scored and Borussia Dortmund beat last- place Monchengladbach 2-1.
Also Saturday, third-place Bayer Leverkusen will try to close in on the leaders when it hosts Energie, fourth-place Hertha Berlin hosts Karlsruhe, Bochum hosts Koln, Hamburg hosts Eintracht, Werder Bremen hosts Wolfsburg and Hannover hosts Arminia Bielefeld.
<< Tigers sign Santiago
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers agreed to terms on a one-
year contract with infielder Ramon Santiago on Friday, avoiding arbitration.
Santiago batted .282 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 58 games last season
with D
<< Bills to be without CB Greer again
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills cornerback Jabari Greer will
not play Sunday against the New York Jets due to a nagging knee injury.
Greer had limited participation in practice on Wednesday and Thursday and
barely pra
<< Top four clash in SPL this weekend
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top four clubs in the Scottish
Premier League table square off on Saturday afternoon.
Second-place Rangers travels to third-place Dundee United with the hope of
gaining on the leaders, Celt
<< Roughriders sign Clermont
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed wide
receiver Jason Clermont on Friday.
The Regina native was originally drafted by the B.C. Lions fourth overall in
the 2002 CFL Draft. In seven years with the
Barcelona has chance to bury Real Madrid >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona's 20-match unbeaten streak ended
on Wednesday - the club's "B Team" was responsible for the 3-2 Champions League
loss to Shakhtar Donetsk - but the Camp Nou club will be back at full strength
Satu
Bad economy forces suspension of Breeders' Cup stakes program >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an effort to keep the total purses of the
2009 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at $25.5 million, the
organization has announced the suspension of its stakes program for the year.
For
Toronto FC >>
Acquired Dwayne De Rosario from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for defender Julius James and allocation money.
Price and Sluman lead Merrill Lynch Shootout >>
Naples, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Price and Jeff Sluman combined for an
eight-under 64 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the
$2.9 million Merrill Lynch Shootout.
Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry are in second pla
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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