Rooney bags two to lift United over Liverpool

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02/11/2012 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The intense rivalry in Northwestern England did disappoint in entertainment value on Saturday as Manchester United, led by a brace from Wayne Rooney, defeated Liverpool, 2-1, at Old Trafford in a match that was not short of talking points.

All three goals came in the second half with Rooney grabbing two in the opening five minutes of the restart and the always controversial Luis Suarez notching one for Liverpool 10 minutes from time, but the match could very well be remembered for the drama off the pitch.

The players were on edge from the start. After being convicted of racially abusing Patrice Evra in the first meeting between Liverpool and United this season, Suarez refused to shake hands with the Red Devils captain prior to kickoff.

The drama resulting from the pre-match handshakes had simmered with no controversy in first-half play, but players from both sides exchanged some words at halftime after Suarez kicked the ball away at the close of the opening period, much to the displeasure of several United players. The confrontation allegedly carried over into the tunnel, as there was a reported bust-up as both sides headed into their respective dressing rooms.

Scoring chances were at a premium for the opening 30 minutes. The best chance fell to Paul Scholes following some impressive build-up play in the 31st minute.

After a quick exchange with Rooney just outside the top of the box, Scholes lifted the ball out wide to find Ryan Giggs on the left flank. The Welshman delivered a cross and connected with Scholes, but the midfielder placed his powerful header directly at Liverpool 'keeper Pepe Reina.

Manchester United emerged from the locker room in top gear as Rooney grabbed goals in the 47th and 50th minutes.

The first came just 1:18 after the whistle. A corner kick from Giggs was flicked on to Rooney at the back post, and the England international made no mistake with the opportunity, volleying a first-time into the roof of the net.

Rooney doubled the advantage in the 50th minute following a giveaway at midfield from Liverpool's Jay Spearing. Rooney latched on to the ensuing through ball and slid his effort between the legs of Reina and into the back of the net.

Liverpool played at a lethargic pace with a two-goal deficit staring back at them.

But they pulled one back 10 minutes from time, and it was none other than Suarez who provided the finishing touch. A free kick sent into the box was not properly cleared by the Manchester United defense, and it fell right into the lap of the Uruguayan. Suarez calmly stuffed his close-range effort past David De Gea to cut United's lead in half.

The 80th minute strike failed to spark a comeback for the Reds as the final whistle blew to wrap up a 2-1 victory in favor of the home side.

The drama did not end after the final whistle though, as Evra celebrated the victory openly in front of Suarez and his Liverpool teammates. Evra's joy did not get a reaction from the Uruguayan, but several of his teammates appeared visibly irked. The referee minimized the effect of the confrontation by preventing Evra from immediately heading back to the dressing room, ensuring that he was the last player down the tunnel.

Manchester United improve to 58 points on the season, good enough for first place in the Premier League. The Red Devils, with a game in hand, sit one point above Manchester City, which is set to face Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday.

Liverpool is winless in its last two league fixtures and remains in seventh place on 39 points.

Tottenham 5, Newcastle 0

London, England - Tottenham cruised to a supremely comfortable win at White Hart Lane on Saturday, thrashing Newcastle 5-0 in North London.

Spurs found themselves in front by four goals by halftime as Louis Saha bagged a brace and Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Niko Kranjcar both scored a goal apiece. Emanuel Adebayor tacked on a fifth goal for Tottenham in the second period.

Tottenham remains in third place with 53 points, trailing second-place Manchester City by four points. Newcastle falls to sixth place on 42 points after Arsenal picked up a win over Sunderland earlier in the day.

Everton 2, Chelsea 0

Liverpool, England - Everton heaped more pressure on Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea on Saturday, earning a 2-0 win over the Blues at Goodison Park.

Steven Pienaar opened the scoring in the fifth minute and Denis Stracqualursi secured the win with a goal in the 71st minute.

Chelsea has claimed just three points from its last four Premier League matches as it slips out of fourth place on 43 points.

Everton, unbeaten in its last five league contests, takes sole possession of 10th place in the table by improving to 33 points.

Norwich City 3, Swansea City 2

Swansea, Wales - Norwich City came out on top in Saturday's battle of two newly-promoted clubs as the Canaries edged Swansea City, 3-2, at the Liberty Stadium.

Danny Graham bagged a brace for the home side with a goal in the 23rd minute and a penalty in the 87th minute, but he was undone by two goals from Grant Holt and another from Anthony Pilkington.

Norwich City becomes just the second club, joining Manchester United, to take three points at the Liberty Stadium this season. The Canaries climb into eighth place in their astounding campaign thus far with 35 points, while the Swans sit in 11th place with 30 points.

Arsenal 2, Sunderland 1

Sunderland, England - There was high drama at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as Arsenal struck late to claim a 2-1 victory over Sunderland.

The Black Cats initially took the lead following a miscue from Per Mertesacker. James McClean capitalized, getting through on goal slipping a shot past Wojciech Szczesny in the 70th minute. Aaron Ramsey equalized for the Gunners five minutes later with a shot form the top of the box.

Arsenal did not take the lead until second-half stoppage time when Andre Arshavin delivered a pinpoint cross to Gunners legend Thierry Henry. The French striker leaped and redirected a shot into the back of the net to hand the visitors all three points.

Unbeaten in their last three Premier League games, the Gunners move into fourth place in the table with 43 points. The Black Cats see their three-game winning run come to end as they fall to ninth place on 33 points.

Fulham 2, Stoke City 1

London, England - Two first-half goals powered Fulham to a 2-1 victory over visiting Stoke City on Saturday.

Newly-acquired striker Pavel Pogrebnyak marked his debut with a goal as he opened the scoring in the 16th minute. The lead was doubled 12 minutes later thanks to an own goal from Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. Ryan Shawcross pulled one back for the Potters in the 78th minute, but it failed to spark a comeback.

The Cottagers climb to 12th place in the table with 30 points. They are tied with the Potters, who drop their fourth straight league match.

Wigan 2, Bolton 1

Bolton, England - Wigan earned a much-needed win on Saturday, defeating Bolton, 2-1, at the Reebok.

The Latics took the lead just before halftime through Gary Caldwell. Mark Davies equalized for the Trotters in the 67th minute, but it was undone by James McArthur nine minutes later as the Scottish midfielder handed the visitors three vital points.

Wigan remains bottom on 19 points but inches closer to a spot outside of the relegation zone, while Bolton sits just one point better than the Latics.

Blackburn 3, QPR 2

Blackburn, England - Blackburn snapped a two-game losing skid on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over QPR at Ewood Park.

Rovers had a three-goal advantage by halftime thanks to Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Steven N'Zonzi, and an own goal from Nedum Onuoha, but QPR fell just short with a comeback as Jamie Mackie bagged a second-half brace to give the visitors a more respectable scoreline.

The two clubs are tied on 21 points apiece, but QPR sits just outside the relegation zone with a superior goal differential.

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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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