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03/11/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th annual Big Ten Conference Tournament begins on Thursday, March 12th with three opening-round games at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Wisconsin is the defending Big Ten Tournament champion, having disposed of Illinois in last year's title tilt, 61-48. It was the Badgers' second championship, tying them with Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan State for the most tourney titles in the history of the event.
Michigan State won the 2008-09 Big Ten regular season title and coach Tom Izzo's Spartans own a stellar 25-5 overall record, which includes a 15-3 league ledger. Izzo has led his team to five Big Ten championship. The No. 2 seed went to Illinois (23-8, 11-7), while the third and fourth seeds fell to Purdue (22-9, 11-7) and Wisconsin (19-11, 10-8), respectively. The fifth seed belongs to Ohio State (20-9, 10-8), and each of the top five seeds receives a bye into the quarterfinals.
The opening day of tournament action features three games, the first being a clash between eighth-seeded Minnesota and ninth-seeded Northwestern. The winner moves of to face top-seeded Michigan State.
The Golden Gophers (21-9, 9-9) got off to a sensational start, going 12-0 against non-conference foes, among those triumphs being a 70-64 decision over a very good Louisville squad. A Big Ten-opening loss to Michigan State ended Minnesota's perfect run, but victories in its next four games had the Gophers at 4-1 in conference. Unfortunately, Tubby Smith's club would go on to lose eight of its final 13 games. Still a 21-win regular season is nothing to sneeze at so the team should come into this tournament a confident bunch. The Gophers, who pace the Big Ten in blocked shots (6.20 per game) and steals (8.47 per game), are led by Lawrence Westbrook and his 12.4 ppg. No other player is averaging double digits in scoring, although Damian Johnson is close at 9.4 ppg.
As for the Wildcats (17-12, 8-10), they recently had a three-game win streak snapped with a 52-47 loss at Ohio State in the regular season finale. Northwestern, which is the worst rebounding team in the conference (28.2 rpg, -5.1 rebounding margin) and averages just 64.0 ppg, boasts a pair of solid contributors in Kevin Coble (15.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Craig Moore (14.4 ppg, .419 three-point FG percentage), both of whom were named All-Big Ten performers.
Game two of the first round pits the seventh-seeded Michigan Wolverines against the 10th-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes. A quarterfinal-round matchup with Illinois awaits the winner.
Michigan (19-12, 9-9) was another team that got off to a fast start, winning 13 of its first 16 games. From there however, the wheels fell off as the team dropped nine of its final 15 to finish at .500 in league play. Manny Harris (17.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg) is the Wolverines' top player, and he was recently named to the All-Big Ten First Team. DeShawn Sims (15.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) is the only other double-digit scorer for a Michigan squad that owns a +3.8 scoring differential for the season. The Wolverines average a conference-best 8.58 three-pointers per contest.
Not that anyone thought that Iowa (15-16, 5-13) was going to make any significant noise in the conference this season, but the Hawkeyes disappointed on several fronts. The team was one of the worst offensive groups in the Big Ten, putting up a mere 60.7 ppg despite shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. Jake Kelly (11.7 ppg), Jeff Peterson (10.6 ppg, 4.24 apg) and Matt Gatens (11.1 ppg) are the team's most consistent players. Gatens is the Big Ten's top free-throw shooter, converting 90.4 percent of his attempts.
The final first-round matchup pits the sixth-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions against the 11th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers. The winner advances to the quarterfinals to face Purdue.
Penn State (21-10, 10-8) had a solid campaign, winning six more games this year than last, and claiming its first 20-win season since 2000-01. As a result, Ed DeChellis was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media. MSU's Izzo was picked by the league's coaches, marking the first split of the Coach of the Year award in Big Ten history. PSU has a couple of top-notch performers on the roster, led by All-Big Ten First Teamer Talor Battle (league-leading 17.3 ppg). Jamel Cornley (13.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg), selected to the All-Big Ten Third Team, lends support for a team that is averaging 66.0 ppg and giving up just 61.9 ppg.
Indiana (6-24, 1-17) just completed its worst regular season in recent memory, and first-year coach Tom Crean certainly has his work cut out for him moving forward. The Hoosiers put up a league-worst 60.4 ppg this year while being outscored by an average of 10.4 ppg. Not one IU player made any All-Conference team, and Devan Dumes (12.7 ppg) is the only Hoosier ranked among the league's top-30 scorers.
The only quarterfinal-round matchup that is already set in stone has Wisconsin facing Ohio State. Under the tutelage of head coach Bo Ryan, the Badgers have played stingy defense, relying on that aspect of their game more so than loading the roster with offensive stars who can light up the scoreboard. As a result, Wisconsin continues to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten year after year. The Badgers rank second in the conference in scoring defense (58.9 ppg), while also sitting atop the league's rebounding defense list (28.1 rpg). UW is the league's second-best three-point shooting team (.371), and is led by the trio of Marcus Landry (12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Trevon Hughes (11.9 ppg) and Jason Bohannon (10.2 ppg).
The Buckeyes' top player is All-Big Ten First Teamer Evan Turner (16.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.9 apg), a 51.6 percent shooter who simply knows how to the play the game of basketball. Lending Turner a hand for coach Thad Matta's club are double-digit scorers Jon Diebler (11.2 ppg) and Big Ten Freshman of the Year William Buford (11.1 ppg). Overall, OSU is hitting a league-best 48.4 percent of its field goal attempts and 37.1 percent of its three-point tries, but all that leads to just 66.6 ppg.
Michigan State is the No. 1 seed in this tournament for the third time, and the Spartans last won the whole thing in 2000. The Spartans are led by Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas, who ranks second among all players in conference games with 16.5 ppg. He also ranks among the Big Ten's top-10 in free throw percentage (.848), three-point field goal percentage (.389), assists (3.67 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35). Other notable performers for MSU include Raymar Morgan (11.2 ppg), Goran Sutton (9.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Travis Walton (Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year) and All-Big Ten Freshman Team member Delvon Roe (5.5 rpg). As a team, the Spartans are netting a league-best 72.2 ppg while yielding a mere 62.5 ppg.
Second-seeded Illinois is the Big Ten's top defensive team in terms of points allowed (56.5), and the club also leads the conference in three-point field goal defense (.285), assists (17.77 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.42). In addition to their defensive efforts, the Fighting Illini rely on a balanced offensive attack which boasts three double-digit scorers in the form of Demetri McCamey (11.9 ppg), Mike Davis (11.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Mike Tisdale (10.8 ppg), the first two picking up all-conference accolades for their efforts. Trent Meacham is close to cracking the 10-point barrier with his 9.9 ppg, and he and McCamey are both shooting in excess of 41 percent from three-point range. McCamey and Chester Frasier have combined for 312 assists.
Purdue is among the Big Ten leaders in a number of statistical categories, not the least of which is scoring offense (69.3 ppg) and scoring defense (59.0 ppg). As a result, the Boilermakers lead the conference in scoring margin at +10.3. They also pace the league in field goal percentage defense (.388), while ranking third in rebounding offense (34.0 rpg), blocked shots (4.94 per game) and steals (7.23 per outing). Their +3.39 turnover margin is second-best in the conference. Offensively, the team is led by All-Big Ten First Teamer JaJuan Johnson (13.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, league-best 2.23 blocks per game). All-Big Ten Second Teamer E'Twaun Moore (14.0 ppg) and Third Teamer Robbie Hummel (12.3 ppg) complement Johnson perfectly.
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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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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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