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02/14/2007 -
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Barry Zito wandered into his new spring training clubhouse carrying an Oakland Athletics duffel bag and plopped into Barry Bonds' chair.
Oops!
``I probably don't know better yet,'' Zito said, chuckling.
It might have been a first in San Francisco franchise history. Zito requested that he dress next to the slugger back home this season, too.
``Barry and I have a good relationship,'' Zito said. ``If I can somehow lighten the load off of him, so you guys can just take a hard right when you're going to his locker and start talking to me.''
Zito reported to the Giants' spring training complex at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday sporting his signature relaxed style - jeans and a T-shirt. He looked the same, save for the 10 extra pounds of muscle he says he added to his lower body this winter.
A new $126 million, seven-year contract apparently hasn't affected the left-hander's ways. And it's clear he already feels part of his new team, even though the Giants' pitchers and catchers don't take the field together for the first time until Thursday.
``It's been pretty seamless,'' he said of the adjustment. ``It feels good. It feels natural. I feel like I know most of the people in the clubhouse just because I've played against them and played with a couple of them or at least know some off the field.''
Zito played some light catch with reliever Steve Kline, who was wearing a bushy beard he will soon lose before it really warms up in the desert. Kline's welcome was interesting: The nameplate above his locker read ``Rich Kline,'' a mistake that happened because his spot is right next to infielder Rich Aurilia's.
``I like it,'' Kline said. ``I want to keep it.''
Kline also likes Zito, and tried to make the new ace feel at home right away.
``I was nervous,'' Kline said. ``I thought if I hit him in the kneecap, I'd get released. I talked to him and tried to make him feel welcome. Coming to a new team is always hard. He's a big part of our team.''
The 28-year-old Zito will be almost as popular a topic as Bonds this spring.
``Ever since the press conference I've been just wearing my Giants hat around everywhere in L.A., just getting used to it and preparing myself to have it be natural,'' Zito said. ``I would just wear it my car, not going out.''
Bonds' arrival day at spring training is unclear, though position players are due to report to camp Monday. He typically holds his state-of-Barry address the first or second day, but his contract remains unresolved. He could sign after spring training starts.
``I'd expect that he'd be here on reporting day,'' said general manager Brian Sabean, who noted that the two Barrys together in the clubhouse is ``interesting, but I don't know if it's a big deal.''
The seven-time NL MVP begins his 22nd major league season 22 homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron's career record of 755. The Giants have differing views of certain language in his $15.8 million, one-year deal and Bonds has yet to sign a revised version.
``Hmm, just details,'' Zito said. ``I saw him at UCLA a few times working out. We caught up there and kind of shot the breeze a little bit. He looks amazing. He's ready to go.''
Zito hopes he is ready to go at the plate now that he'll be batting every fifth day in the National League. He has been working with good friend Brady Anderson on his hitting and baserunning for about a month.
He has a .034 - 2-for-52 - career batting average during seven seasons with Oakland.
``I just haven't ever taken it seriously. I may get criticized or whatever but it's not something I had any integrity of doing,'' Zito said. ``There was no reason to take time out of my day to get five at-bats a year. Now, I can make a difference in every game I'm in.''
The Giants insisted when they signed Zito to such a long, expensive contract that his track record for staying healthy - he's never missed a start - and his relatively young age were big pluses to making such a financial commitment.
Zito, the 2002 AL Cy Young award winner, underwent a rigorous, 10-week program this offseason that featured weight lifting and stability exercises that helped him add muscle to his legs and core.
``There's no reason to impress you guys with biceps,'' he said.
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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