11/21/2008 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes will definitely have home-field advantage for the Grey Cup.
The Alouettes will have the support of 60,000-plus rabid supporters on Sunday when they take on the Calgary Stampeders at Olympic Stadium.
Grey Cup organizers are hopeful that this year's game will attract more spectators than the 68,000-plus that turned out to watch Montreal defeat Edmonton 41-6 in the '77 CFL championship game. That year, the Grey Cup was played outdoors on a frozen turf that, appropriately enough, better resembled an ice hockey rink than football field.
Defensive back Tony Proudfoot's idea to put staples through the bottom of his shoes for better traction proved to a novel one as the Alouettes were much better able to get their footing on the slippery playing surface than the Eskimos.
Weather won't be a factor this time around, though, as Olympic Stadium is now a domed facility. But that will create a definite advantage for Montreal.
The partisan Alouettes gathering will definitely be a noisy one, living on the home team's every move. However, Montreal fans are definitely educated fans, having learned the value of being quiet when the home team has the ball, then perking up once the defense takes the field.
Home field was very important this season to Montreal, who finished in a four- way tie for the CFL's top home record at 7-2. However, the Alouettes were just 3-5 against West Division teams and 0-2 versus the Stampeders.
Montreal also has history working against it. The last CFL team to win the Grey Cup at home was the 1994 B.C. Lions. But a year after Montreal posted a dismal 8-10 record and bowed out of the first round of the CFL playoffs, it finds itself playing in is sixth Grey Cup game in nine years, thanks to an innovative rookie head coach.
The Alouettes decision this off-season to hire Marc Trestman was certainly met with some skepticism. After all, Trestman had spent time coaching with eight NFL teams over 17 years, including four terms as an offensive coordinator, and came to Montreal with no previous coaching experience in Canada.
But Trestman installed a quick-passing offense that has very much suited Anthony Calvillo. The 15-year CFL veteran threw a CFL-high 43 touchdown passes and was second overall in passing with 5,633 yards to capture the league's outstanding player for a second time.
And Trestman's offense certainly has the ability to give its home fans plenty to cheer about. The Alouettes were tops in the CFL in scoring, (32.4 points per game), yards per game (429) and passing percentage (69.5 percent).
Montreal also featured three 1,000-yard receivers in Jamel Richardson (98 catches, 1,287 yards, league-high 16 TDs), Ben Cahoon (league-best 107 catches, 1,231 yards, seven TDs) and Kerry Watkins (84 catches, 1,178 yards, 10 TDs).
Running back Avon Cobourne gives Montreal a double threat. Midway through the season he was threatening to become the first player in CFL history to accumulate 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.
Injuries ended Cobourne's historic run, but he's back and healthy now, having rushed for 950 yards and caught 66 passes for 616 yards.
Montreal also fields a tough defense that was second in sacks (43) and third in fewest points allowed (23.5 points per game). Linebacker T.J Hill finished fifth overall in tackles with a team-high 84 while cornerback Davis Sanchez, a former San Diego Charger, led the squad in interceptions with three.
Special teams are in good hands. Damon Duval was second in the CFL in scoring (206 points, good on 44 of 53 field goals) and third in punting with a 46.2- yard average.
Larry Taylor was a one-man show in Montreal's 36-26 East Division win over Edmonton, returning two punts for touchdowns.
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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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