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12/01/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was a balanced year on the Canadian Tour with 11 players winning tournaments, and just one player winning twice.
And not only did the tour have a solid season in and of itself, but a couple of its' alums were also making big news as the year wound to a close.
We'll first take a look at two of the alums.
Jim Rutledge, 52, fired a nine-under 62 in the second round at the Champions Tour Q School. He took the lead with that stellar round, but failed to hold that top spot.
Not to worry. He carded four sub-par rounds and shared second place behind Jeff Freeman. Rutledge, a six-time winner on the Canadian Tour, was one of five players to earn full status on the Champions Tour for 2012.
Adam Hadwin was one of the 11 winners on the Canadian Tour this year and he was able to make five starts on the PGA Tour.
The 24-year-old had two top-10 finishes in those five events, including a share of fourth place at the Canadian Open. Thanks in part to that, and his share of seventh at the Frys.Com Open, Hadwin earned over $440,000 on the PGA Tour.
In his 11 Canadian Tour starts, including a victory at the Pacific Colombia Tour Championship, Hadwin earned more than $42,627.
Hadwin, who shared 39th at the U.S. Open, earned enough money in his five PGA Tour starts that he was able to skip the first and second stages of Q School and advance right to the final stage.
Hadwin is one of 20 Canadian Tour players that made it to the final stage of PGA Tour Q School, which gives them at least some status on the Nationwide Tour next year.
While those 20 are battling for a place on the PGA Tour, 16 others are going for their card on the European Tour for 2012. Heading that group is Hugo Leon, who finished second on the 2011 Canadian Tour Order of Merit.
Jose de Jesus Rodriguez was the top player in 2011 on the Canadian Tour. He was the lone player with two titles, and he also had a runner-up finish. Those three high finishes came in a five-event span starting in early May and ending the first Sunday in July.
Rodriguez missed the cut in a pair of PGA Tour starts, but in his one appearance on the Nationwide Tour in 2011, he shared 11th place at the Mexico Open.
Rodriguez's first tour title came in one of the better events of the season, the Mexican PGA Championship.
The Mexican closed with a five-under 67 in the final round to match Roger Sloan at 14-under. They finished one stroke clear of two others, while two more players were two strokes back.
Rodriguez and Sloan headed to a playoff, where Rodriguez birdied the first extra hole to win for the first time on the Canadian Tour.
Among the others that had good years included Benjamin Alvarado, Dustin Risdon and Garrett Sapp. The trio all finished inside the top-10 in the Order of Merit despite not winning this season.
Matt Johnston, Nathan Leonhardt and Robert McRae were among those that had difficult seasons. Johnston had 11 starts, while Leonhardt and McRae both started 10 events. Of the group, Johnston earned the most money collecting just $1,525 with two made cuts.
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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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