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04/26/2010 -
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) -While breaking down game tape during a serious film session, the Cleveland Cavaliers sometimes will break into laughter.
Seeing Antawn Jamison toss in one of his unorthodox shots can be pretty funny.
``I hear the giggles,'' Jamison said Monday. ``I'm used to it.''
Floaters. Runners. Underhanded scoops. From odd, almost impossible angles, Jamison can make just about any shot.
Currently, he's shooting for something else: an NBA title.
Acquired in a February trade from Washington to take pressure off LeBron James and serve in a supporting role to the superstar, Jamison scored 24 points in Sunday's 121-98 win over the Chicago Bulls that gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series.
The Cavs can advance to the second round with a win in Game 5 on Tuesday, and Jamison believes they better put away their young, stubborn opponent.
``If you want to be a championship-caliber team and you've got a team on the brink, you've got to find a way to get it done,'' Jamison said. ``We realize this is a great opportunity and we have to take advantage.''
Jamison would know.
The 12-year veteran, who played with Golden State, Dallas and Washington before joining the Cavs, was once part of a young, talent-rich Wizards team that was on the verge of being a perennial title contender when it all fell apart.
In his second season with Washington, the Wizards beat Chicago in the first round before being eliminated by Miami. Jamison figured they'd go further the next time, but James and the Cavaliers eliminated Washington in the first round the next three years.
Then injuries and Gilbert Arenas' legal woes fractured the Wizards, who were eventually split up and may need years to recover.
At one point, Jamison feared he had missed his title shot.
``It was very frustrating,'' he said. ``You start asking questions like: Why is this happening? You were part of a franchise that was so promising a few years ago and all of a sudden you don't know what's going to happen. You go from that to there is a light at the end of the tunnel.''
At 33, Jamison, is running out time.
He hasn't won a championship - of any kind - since he was 16. Now he's on a team with James and Shaquille O'Neal, desperately seeking his fifth NBA championship.
It's now, or maybe, never for Jamison.
``This is an opportunity of a lifetime,'' he said. ``I don't have another five or 10 years left in this body. The sense of urgency is there, not only with myself but with the rest of these guys. That's why I think it's a great fit because we all have the same mentality. We are all trying to accomplish the same thing - right now. We're not trying to wait until next year or the year after that.''
The Bulls, meanwhile, are fighting for survival.
After stunning the Cavs in Game 3, they had no match in Game 4 for James, who added to his postseason legacy by totaling 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. James highlighted his fifth career playoff triple-double with a pair of buzzer-beating shots, including a 42-foot jumper to end the third period.
Chicago may have missed its chance, and now the Bulls face a win-or-see-you-next-season scenario at less than full speed.
Guard Derrick Rose missed practice Monday to undergo an MRI on his right ankle and forward Luol Deng sat out with a sore knee and calf.
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, facing an uncertain future in Chicago, expects both Rose and Deng to play.
Del Negro's biggest challenge is devising a plan to slow the Cavaliers, who are no longer a one-man band. With James, Jamison, O'Neal and Mo Williams, Cleveland has four players capable of carrying the load and the Cavs' deep bench seems bottomless.
``It's not one guy. I thought yesterday that Antawn played very well for them,'' Del Negro said. ``They isolate him on the wings and it's very tough to cover him one-on-one.''
Jamison's size and speed make him a difficult, if not impossible, matchup. His range spreads a defense, forcing big men to come out where they aren't comfortable. Jamison also can post up smaller players, backing them down before beating them with one of his patented scoops.
While James has his own arsenal of shots, even he can't match Jamison's.
``All my seven years in the NBA, I've always said 'Tawn is the most unorthodox guy we have,''' James said. ``He makes shots that I've never seen. It's hard to guard a guy like that. It's effective. I'm glad he's on our side.''
And not just because he can score.
Jamison is one of the most respected players in the league. On Monday, he finished fourth in voting for the Joe Dumars Trophy, given to the player who best exhibits the ideals of sportsmanship. Jamison has been an ideal fit for the Cavs - on and off the floor.
``A big, big, big, big-time guy,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``He's special. You couple that with his ability to play and you've got the whole package.''
Jamison credits his respect for the game to Dean Smith, his coach at North Carolina, and his parents.
``You have to carry yourself in a certain manner,'' Jamison said. ``My parents raised me the right way.''
His father, Albert, also may have helped Jamison develop his unique shooting touch. Albert Jamison accidentally put up an 11-foot-high basket and not a 10-footer at their home, forcing his son always aim a little higher.
``It comes natural,'' Jamison said of his unusual delivery. ``In the summer time, I'm not in the gym working on it or trying to perfect it at all. It's nothing I work on.
``But as long as that ball keeps going in the basket, I'm happy.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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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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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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