NBA's brightest to shine in Las Vegas

Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's best take center stage on Sunday, as the Western Conference and Eastern Conference clash in the 56th annual All-Star Game at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

In the 2006 annual event, Dwyane Wade's follow shot in the lane with 16.6 seconds remaining rallied the East past the West, 122-120, at the Toyota Center. LeBron James had 29 points and six rebounds for the East and at 21- years-old was named the youngest MVP in the history of the contest. Wade ended with 20 points for the East, which rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit to win the contest for a second straight year.

The East has won six of the last 10 All-Star contests overall.

Miami's Shaquille O'Neal, Cleveland's James and Toronto's Chris Bosh makeup the starting frontcourt for the Eastern Conference, while Wade of the Heat and Washington's Gilbert Arenas combine to give the East a strong starting backcourt.

Shaq is a 14-time NBA All-Star and has been selected to the All- Star Game 12 times by the fans (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007). However, this will be just the 11th game that he has played in. The monstrous center did not play in the contest in 1997, 2001 or 2002.

James, who was the 2003-04 NBA Rookie of the Year, will be playing in his third NBA All-Star Game, while Bosh is participating in his second. Wade, who was the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals, and Arenas are both appearing in their third contest. Arenas and Bosh are both in the starting lineup for the first time in their careers.

The bench for the Eastern Conference is filled with plenty of talent. Detroit's dynamic backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton headline the reserves for the East. The Pistons All-Star duo has earned their way into the contest for the second time in their careers in as many years. They are joined by Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Caron Butler of the Wizards, New Jersey's Vince Carter and Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, who was voted in as a starter for last year's contest but did not play because of a groin injury.

Butler, Howard and Johnson are all making their All-Star debuts, while Carter has been selected to his eighth All-Star team and Jermaine O'Neal has earned his way on to his sixth squad, including 2006.

New Jersey guard Jason Kidd was originally named as a reserve to the East squad, However, Kidd is sidelined with a back injury and will not play in the contest. He would have played in his eighth All-Star Game (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007), The versatile Kidd has been voted as a starter three times (1996, 2000, 2001) and as a reserve five times.

Washington's Eddie Jordan is the head coach for the Eastern Conference All- Stars. Jordan is in his fourth season with Washington. He has guided the Wizards to two straight playoff appearances.

The Western Conference is feeling the injury bug for this year's contest, and will try to halt a two-game losing streak. The starting frontcourt for the West was supposed to consist of Houston center Yao Ming and forwards Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tracy McGrady of the Rockets and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who won the MVP of this contest in 2002 at Philadelphia, makeup a very athletic backcourt.

Yao, who leads the Rockets in scoring (25.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg), suffered a non displaced fracture in a bone under his right knee during a 98-93 loss on December 23rd to the Los Angeles Clippers. The 7-6 Yao, who had been in the starting lineup four straight years for the West, is expected to be sidelined at least until early March and will not participate in the mid- season classic.

Duncan, who shared MVP honors with Shaq in the 2000 contest in Oakland, is making his ninth All-Star appearance, while Garnett will play in his 10th All-Star Game and was the MVP in the 2003 contest in Atlanta. McGrady will take the court for his seventh All-Star contest, sixth as a starter, and Bryant, who won the MVP of the 2002 contest, is making his ninth straight All-Star appearance, all as a starter.

Two-time reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash of the Suns, Denver's Allen Iverson and Carlos Boozer of the Jazz were all supposed to be reserves for the West. However, the three All-Stars are all dealing with injuries. Nash has right shoulder inflammation, Iverson is hampered by a sprained right ankle and Boozer, who would have made his All-Star debut, has a hairline fracture in left fibula.

Boozer is averaging team-highs in points (22.1 ppg) and rebounds (11.8 rpg) for the Jazz, while Nash, who would have played in his fifth All-Star contest, leads the league in assists (11.8 apg) and Iverson, who was acquired by Denver from Philadelphia in a blockbuster deal on December 19th, is averaging 28.7 points and 7.6 assists in 35 games for Sixers and Nuggets. Iverson has won the MVP twice (2001, 2005) for this event and had played the previous seven All- Star contests for the East, all as a starter.

The healthy bodies on the bench for the Western Conference are very versatile and athletic. The frontcourt has Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire of the Suns, and Utah's Mehmet Okur.

Seven-time All-Star Ray Allen of Seattle and Tony Parker of the Spurs are the backups for Bryant and McGrady. Allen, who made the East squad three times as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, is playing in his fourth consecutive All-Star Game as a member of the Sonics, while Parker is playing in his second-career mid-season classic in as many years.

Anthony, who served a 15-game suspension earlier this season for his participation in the infamous brawl with the New York Knicks on December 16th at Madison Square Garden. Josh Howard and Okur will both be appearing in their first All-Star Game, while Nowitzki will play in his sixth, Marion his fourth and Stoudemire in his second.

Phoenix' Mike D'Antoni, who makes his All-Star coaching debut, will be calling the shots from the West bench. D'Antoni has led the Suns to back-to-back Pacific Division titles and two straight appearances in the Western Conference finals. He was named the 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year.

The starters for tonight's contest were determined by the fans' votes, while the 30 head coaches in the NBA voted for the reserves in their respective conferences after the starting players for each squad were finalized.

Head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams are based on teams with the best winning-percentage in each conference following the games on February 4th. Dallas Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson and Detroit Pistons head coach Flip Saunders were not eligible to coach in this seasons contest because they coached in last year's game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

This could be Wade's year to grab MVP honors. Wade can do it all and has proved many times that he is capable of taking over a game single-handidly. The defending world champions All-Star guard showed what he is capable of against Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals and will be ready to showcase his talents on a different stage.

Stoudemire is definitely back and looks like the dominant force he used to be. The 6-10 Stoudemire, who averaged 26.0 points and 8.9 rebounds during his first All-Star season in the 2004-05 campaign, played just three games last season because of a serious knee injury. He underwent successful left knee microfracture surgery in October 2005 and had a tough road back to the court. The Suns star forward wants his peers and all of the NBA fans to see first hand how he can dominate against anyone who gets in his way.

NOTABLE

This is the first time the mid-season classic will be played in Las Vegas.

Anthony, Bosh, James and Wade are all members of the 2003 NBA Draft Class. James was selected first by Cleveland, Anthony third by Denver, Bosh went No. 4 to Toronto and the Heat grabbed Wade with the fifth overall pick.

Allen, Anthony, Josh Howard and Okur were the four replacements for Boozer, Iverson, Nash and Yao on the Western Conference roster.

Johnson replaced the injured Kidd on the East squad.

Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Nowitzki (Germany), Okur (Turkey), and Parker (France) are the four international players who will participate in this year's contest. The 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 NBA All-Star Games all had a record-tying six international players on the respective rosters.

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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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