Avs hope to find road game in Giguere's return to Anaheim

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12/31/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - December was kind to the Avalanche at home, but the month's final day puts Colorado on the road against a team is has struggled mightily against over the past few seasons.

The Avs face the Ducks for the first time this season looking to snap a six- game series losing streak in the opener of a four-game swing that marks the return of goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Anaheim but the first of what is to be quiet a few games without leading goal-scorer Matt Duchene.

Colorado recorded a 3-2 win over Phoenix on Thursday to close out the home portion of its December schedule with an 8-1 record. That matches the club mark for most wins in a month after the franchise also went 8-1 in March of 2008.

The Avalanche have been less successful on the road, going 7-8-1 while snapping a nine-game slide as the guest with a win at Minnesota on Monday.

Set to play seven of the next eight on the road, Colorado will try to build off Thursday's win that featured the game-winner from rookie Gabriel Landeskog early in the third period. He converted a feed from Chuck Kobasew, who returned from an eight-game absence caused by a head injury.

"Chuck did a great job of getting me the puck, and I was lucky to put it where I wanted to," Landeskog admitted. "We repeated that team effort from last game, and I'm happy to get the win."

Kevin Porter and Stefan Elliott also tallied for the Avalanche, who bounced back from a 4-1 loss to the visiting Jets on Tuesday and have taken seven of their last nine. Semyon Varlamov stopped 25 shots to earn his 12th win of the year.

"You always want to finish strong at home before going on a long road trip. We really owed our fans this one after the last game against Winnipeg," Landeskog said. "It was a great win and it started with Varly in net."

While Kobasew returned to the lineup, Duchene was forced to exit in the first period with a knee injury that is expected to sideline him for at least a month. He has a team-leading 12 goals to go along with 12 assists on the season.

Playing without Duchene is bad news for an Avalanche club that has lost 15 of its past 17 encounters with the Ducks. Anaheim has also won eight of the past nine at home in this series, but is coming off a 5-2 loss to Vancouver on Thursday in the opener of a six-game residency.

The Ducks trailed 2-0 after the first and 4-0 following the conclusion of the second before getting goals from Nick Bonino and Bobby Ryan. Still, Anaheim failed to win back-to-back games for the first time since early October and lost for the fifth time in six games overall.

"You can't go down two in the first," said Ryan. "You can't play from behind on a team like that because they know how to win and close games out. They just kept pushing and outplayed us in every aspect I thought."

Jonas Hiller was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 16 shots. Dan Ellis finished the game and recorded 14 stops.

The goaltending duo will look to get back on track on the same night that former Duck Giguere makes his return to Anaheim.

Giguere, who is expected to start for the Avs, last played with the Ducks in 2009-10 before getting dealt to the Maple Leafs during the season and helped backstop Anaheim to a Stanley Cup championship in 2007.

"I haven't been back since I was traded, it's almost been two years now, and I've been looking forward to going back and playing there," said Giguere, who will be honored by the Ducks during the game's first timeout. "It's been a special place for me and my family and it feels like I'm going back home."

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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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