Sabathia gets win No. 13 as Indians edge Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2007 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore homered and drove in a pair of runs, and C.C. Sabathia picked up his major league leading 13th win as Cleveland bested Texas, 7-5, in the opener of a four-game set.

Trot Nixon and Ben Francisco also drove in a pair of runs apiece for the Indians, who won for the second time in three games.

Sabathia (13-4), who was coming off back-to-back subpar starts, was steady if not spectacular in allowing four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits in six innings.

Gerald Laird hit a two-run homer for the Rangers, who have lost two straight after winning the previous three. Travis Metcalf and Mark Teixeira drove in a run apiece for Texas,

Kameron Loe (5-8) was touched for six runs on six hits in six innings of work en route to the loss.

With the game even at four, Cleveland took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fifth. Sizemore led off the frame by blasting his 16th homer of the year to right. Casey Blake followed with a triple to left and eventually scored on Ryan Garko's ground ball to second to make it a 6-4 game.

The Indians carved out an insurance run in the eighth when Garko ripped a ground-rule double to center and, a batter later, Francisco rapped an RBI single up the middle.

The Rangers threatened in the ninth off Joe Borowski. Kenny Lofton got on with a one-out bunt single and swiped second before scoring on Teixeira's two-out single to right. Borowski settled down from there and got Sammy Sosa swinging to end things and pick up his 27th save of the year.

The Indians jumped on top with a four-spot in the second. Cleveland quickly loaded the bases when Travis Hafner singled, Jhonny Peralta was hit by a pitch and Garko walked. Nixon then put two runs on the board with a double to left. Francisco followed by lofting a sacrifice fly to right and Sizemore capped the frame by slapping an one-out RBI single up the middle.

Texas immediately answered with three runs of its own in the home half of the second. Brad Wilkerson got on with a two-out double and Laird followed by lacing his sixth homer of the year over the wall in center. Ramon Vazquez kept the inning going with another two-bagger and scored when Sabathia threw Metcalf's comebacker away.

The Rangers evened things in the fourth. Texas loaded the bases on a Wilkerson walk and consecutive bunt singles by Laird and Vazquez. Metcalf tied it with a sac fly to center but any further damage for the Indians was averted when Lofton grounded into a 4-6-3 twin-killing.

Game Notes

Rangers All-Star shortstop Michael Young will miss the first two games of the series while he attends a funeral in Southern California...The Rangers placed pitcher Akinori Otsuka on the 15-day disabled list before the game with right forearm inflammation. The move is retroactive to July 9. To replace Otsuka on the roster, the Rangers recalled pitcher Scott Feldman from Triple-A Oklahoma.

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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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