Bayern's Altintop to play key role against Inter

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05/20/2010 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich's Hamit Altintop has sat on the bench a lot this season, going unused in more than 20 matches, but don't look for him there Saturday in the Champions League final against Inter Milan.

Coach Louis van Gaal left the Turkey international on the bench for the entire match 15 times during a 22-game span at one point this season.

Altintop made just start one after the winter break until late March, when he was thrust back into an important role in the Champions League.

Van Gaal used Altintop in the first game of the Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester United with Dutch winger Arjen Robben out. Altintop was on the field against Schalke a few days later as well, but went back to the bench and even went unused in the ensuing weeks.

Altintop continued to play his role on the Bundesliga and Pokal Cup champions without causing a problem, and replaced suspended winger Franck Ribery against Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.

Bayern, with Altintop playing a big role, won the second leg 3-0 in France to seal the series on aggregate 4-0.

With Ribery also suspended for the final, Van Gaal's obvious choice is to hand Altintop another start Saturday at the Bernabeu in Madrid at 2:45 p.m. (ET).

"Hamit has shown what he can do," Robben, who leads the club with 23 goals in all competitions, said on the team's website.

Altintop has 12 starts this season and has come off the bench 13 times, but in France a few weeks ago played his best match of the season. He assisted on one of Ivica Olic's three goals, and was involved all over the pitch.

Although Altintop has played a quieter role this season, he joked "I've always been around, even if you weren't aware of it." Although he has just one goal - in the Pokal Cup - he is a better defensive player than Ribery and can also be a weapon in the attack.

Altintop will try to compensate for Ribery's absence again, this time against a Jose-Mourinho led Inter side that disposed of defending champion Barcelona in the semifinals.

Bayern advanced to the final the hard way, losing 3-2 in the second leg of its Round of 16 series against Fiorentina and quarterfinal clash against United to advance on away goals following 4-4 aggregate draws.

Although Bayern rolled past Lyon, which knocked out Real Madrid earlier in the tournament, Inter Milan provides an even tougher challenge. With the exception of Ribery, though, Van Gaal has his first-choice lineup.

If Altintop, who played a great Euro 2008 tournament for Turkey, plays another game like he did against Lyon - he should have space to roam with Inter sure to focus on Robben - Van Gaal and Bayern won't feel Ribery's loss as much.

Bayern is searching for its fifth Champions League title, with its last win in 2001 against Valencia. Bayern also won three straight from 1974-76.

Inter also has to compensate for a banned player, with influential midfielder Thiago Motta suspended for the final. Inter is vying for its third Champions League crown, and first in 45 years. Inter won in 1964 and 1965.

Mourinho's plan to replace Motta won't be known until his squad gets onto the field, but the presence of Wesley Sneijder - who like Robben was sold by Real Madrid last summer - will go a long way again for the Italian champions.

Bayern and Inter have met four previous times in European play, with Bayern on top with two wins and a draw. The teams last played in the 2006-07 Champions League, when the teams tied the first leg 1-1 in Munich and Bayern won 2-0 in Italy in the group stage.

That was before Van Gaal and Mourinho arrived at their current clubs. Van Gaal and Mourinho have both won the Champions League before, Van Gaal with Ajax in 1995 and Mourinho with FC Porto in 2004.

Van Gaal was a mentor for Mourinho, widely regarded as one of the best coach's in the world, when he was head man at Barcelona and Mourinho was an assistant. Saturday's final will prove if the teacher is smarter than the student.

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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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