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05/03/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Johnson only has to look as far as his Manchester City teammate, Shaun Wright-Phillips, to see how things could have turned out.
Wright-Phillips enjoyed six strong seasons at Eastlands as a City player, and his performances were so good that deep-pocketed Chelsea came calling in 2005 and lured him to London.
The winger appeared to be on course for inclusion in England's 2006 World Cup team, but he was a fringe player at a huge club like Chelsea and was left off the plane to Germany.
The 28-year-old has since returned to City and seen his England hopes improve, but it is another City winger, Johnson, who has done the most to secure himself a spot in Fabio Capello's England squad.
Johnson started this season at Championship side Middlesbrough, and he quickly established himself as one of the top players in the league with 11 goals in 25 appearances.
This put him on the radar of Capello, but he was also being watched closely by the City brass, who paid around $12 million to secure his services right before the close of the January transfer window.
Johnson's contract was up at the end of the season, but City obviously saw something that it liked in order to shell out that kind of money when the club could have signed him for nothing over the summer.
At first, it appeared that Johnson could be headed for a similar fate as Wright-Phillips, a young talent who was joining a huge club filled with established players.
After all, City already had plenty of scoring options with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez and Wright-Phillips, not to mention Robinho, who was in the process of sulking his way back to Brazil after being signed for a British record $50 million from Real Madrid.
It was fair to question how much time Johnson would actually see, especially since City boss Roberto Mancini had reportedly never seen him play in person.
But Mancini became a believer very quickly once Johnson stepped onto the field.
The 22-year-old made his debut for the club as a substitute against Hull City, and he performed so well that Mancini handed him a start in City's next game three days later against Bolton.
Since then, Johnson has started 12 of City's last 13 games, chipping in a goal and four assists and playing a key role in the club's march towards a top-four finish.
He has also made City fans forget about the disaster that was the Robinho signing. But it is another player who Johnson aspires to evoke.
Ryan Giggs has been a consummate professional throughout his distinguished career, and as a left-footed winger like Johnson, it is easy to see why Mancini has compared him to the Manchester United great.
"Definitely Giggs, without a doubt," Johnson told the Telegraph when asked about who he models himself after. "Anyone who has watched football for the past 10 years would know he's probably been the best player in England.
"When I was growing up he was my hero. I had all the videos. He's been a lot of wingers' heroes over the years, I'd think, and for the manager to say that... it's an honor to be likened to someone like that."
It is still early, but there are aspects of Johnson's game that clearly mirror that of Giggs.
Like Giggs, Johnson has a very smooth game that allows him to glide past defenders without the benefit of having blazing speed.
He is very calm and composed on the ball and always seems to make the right decision in the attacking third.
A perfect example came just this past Saturday against Aston Villa, a game that City needed to win to keep its top-four hopes alive.
With his team trailing 1-0 late in the first half, Johnson coasted into the penalty area on the right and drew a penalty kick on Villa's Stephen Warnock, setting up the equalizer.
Just a few minutes later, with the game still tied, he set up the go-ahead goal with a patient pass that was right out of the Giggs playbook.
Johnson took a pass on the wing and got himself into the penalty area in a position where most players would have a shot on goal. But instead, he cut the ball back to buy himself some time and slipped a pass through traffic to Adebayor in front of goal for a first-time finish.
It was a vital win for the club, and yet another example of why Johnson clearly belongs in the mix for a spot on the England team.
There are some major questions regarding who will take up a spot on the wing for Capello's side, but with David Beckham out due to an Achilles injury, at least one more place has opened up.
Players like James Milner, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young each have strong cases, while Tottenham's Aaron Lennon has battled injuries, Arsenal's Theo Walcott is not a regular in Arsene Wenger's lineup, and Joe Cole has had injury issues as well for Chelsea.
Although he has yet to be capped for England, Johnson would bring a different dynamic to the mix as a left-footed winger, and it is possible that Capello will give him a chance in May with England set to play friendlies against Mexico and Japan.
Johnson was not on Capello's provisional 30-man group for England's friendly last month against Egypt, but it is harder to ignore him with each passing week.
England fans have wondered for years what it would have been like had Giggs played for the Three Lions instead of Wales.
In Johnson, they may get to see the next closest thing.
<< Columbia names Kyle Smith new men's hoops coach
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbia has named Kyle Smith its new men's
basketball coach.
Smith has spent 18 years as an assistant coach, including the past nine
seasons at St. Mary's in California. He helped the Gaels to a r
<< Benayoun unsure over Liverpool future
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun is
unsure whether he will still be at Anfield next season.
The Israel international has been a popular figure on Merseyside following his
transfer from West Ham an
<< Van Nistelrooy could be left out by Dutch
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
looks set to miss this summer's World Cup in South Africa after being left out
the Netherlands' 26-man training squad for the tournament.
The 33-year-old former
<< Capps earns monthly closer honor
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals closer Matt Capps has
been selected as the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month for
April.
Capps finished the first month of the season with 10 saves in as ma
ISU G Boozer leaves team after arrest >>
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iowa State guard Charles Boozer has decided to
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No place in Germany team for Kuranyi >>
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany boss Joachim Low has confirmed that
he will not be including Kevin Kuranyi in his squad for this summer's World
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Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart have confirmed that striker
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Konerko captures AL weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko
has been selected as the American League Player of the Week for the period
ending May 2.
Konerko batted .316 with an AL-best four homers and 10 runs batted in
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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Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
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