NFL players reported missing in Gulf of Mexico

NFL players reported missing in Gulf of Mexico

<!--Article Starts-->CLEARWATER: The Coast Guard is searching for four missing boaters 50 miles West of Clearwater Pass.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., received a call at about 1: 30 a.m Sunday.
Reports saod that four friends, Victor "Marquis" Cooper, Nick Skyler, Corey Smith and William Bleakley did not return from their fishing trip as expected.
The four boaters left at about 6:30 a.m., Saturday, from the Seminole Boat Ramp in Clearwater Pass, in a 21-foot center console boat.
Linebacker Victor Cooper and Nick Skyler play for the Oakland Raiders and Lions defensive end Corey Smith is among a group of four boaters the U.S. Coast Guard is searching for.
The Coast Guard is using a 47-foot boat, a helicopter and an airplane to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass

for those who care..................:drink:

Agent: 2 NFL players among Fla. missing boaters
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago

Buzz up!1126 votes PrintCLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)—Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were among four boaters missing Sunday off Florida’s Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard and Smith’s agent said.

Smith and Cooper were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass for a fishing trip Saturday morning and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

Cooper owns the boat and he and Smith have been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith’s agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004. The Coast Guard said two others were aboard, identified as Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler. The St. Petersburg Times on its Web site identified them as former University of South Florida players. Calls to the school by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close said the weather early Saturday had been fair, but worsened toward the evening as a front still battering the area moved in. The National Weather Service said seas were about 2 to 4 feet Saturday morning and increased to 3 to 5 feet in the afternoon. Late Saturday night, a small craft advisory was issued, when winds were around 20 knots and seas were up to 7 feet or more. There were no thunderstorms in the area.

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Close said the men were traveling in a boat manufactured by Everglades. At least one of the men was an experienced boater, and relatives provided the Coast Guard with GPS coordinates from previous fishing expeditions.

Close said there was no communication with the men even before the weather started to pick up. They were expected home by early evening. No sign of them or the boat has been spotted.

Poor weather conditions could be dangerous for a boat the size of Cooper’s.

“A 21-foot boat is a relatively small vessel to be 50 miles off shore in bad weather conditions, certainly the current weather conditions,” Close said.

The Coast Guard search was mainly taking place by air, and was hampered by the poor weather, Close said. He said there were 14-foot seas offshore and wind gusts of up to 30 mph. Water depth in the area where they are searching ranges from 20 to 50 feet.

Close said there was no sign yet that the men sent a distress signal.

“That’s not to say they didn’t send one out,” he said. “We didn’t receive anything.”

Smith, 29, had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions. Smith, who is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, also played for the San Francisco 49ers and played college ball at North Carolina State. He lives in Richmond, Va.

Del Duca called Smith one of the “good guys” of the league and was planning to start visiting teams as a free agent this week. He said he has spoken with Smith’s family and is also in touch with Coast Guard officials.

“They’ve assured me that they’re deploying all available resources to look for these guys and get them back,” he said.

Cooper, 26, has played five seasons with the Buccaneers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Steelers and Raiders. He appeared in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, recording 30 tackles. He has played sparingly since as he has bounced between teams, appearing in 13 games and recording 10 tackles. Cooper, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, played college ball at Washington. His hometown is Mesa, Ariz., and his father Bruce is a prominent sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix.

Davis said the water was “extremely rough and choppy” on Sunday afternoon.

Lions spokesman Bill Keenist and Raiders senior executive John Hererra said the teams are monitoring reports.

Associated Press Writer Sarah Larimer in Miami contributed to this report.

That gives me the creeps. I hope they make it back. I have watched enough "I Shouldn't Be Alive" to know how bad things can go.

1968 said:

Consdidering what teams they came from maybe they are looking for the end zone.

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Not cool.

Cooper is the son of local Phoenix Channel 12 NBC sports reporter Bruce Cooper.

These people have families worried about them you Dick.

Go smoke another bowl or put $500 down on a Euro League soccer match you degenerate peice of trash.

Wildcat Coach said:

Not cool.

Cooper is the son of local Phoenix Channel 12 NBC sports reporter Bruce Cooper.

These people have families worried about them you Dick.

Go smoke another bowl or put $500 down on a Euro League soccer match you degenerate peice of trash.

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I always wondered what happened to Marquis. I always liked Bruce when I lived in Phoenix. I watched Channel 12 exclusively for news and sports.

Four 275 lb guys on a 21 foot boat and they want to go out 50 miles in a storm?hno:

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-missingboaters-nfl&prov=ap&type=lgns

Survivor clinging to overturned NFL player’s boat
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer 22 minutes ago
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• Print

TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—A missing boater found clinging to an overturned boat was rescued Monday off Florida’s Gulf Coast, but the search continued for two NFL players and another man aboard who didn’t return from a weekend fishing trip.
Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been clinging to the boat since then.
The boat belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, remained missing.
Television footage showed Schuyler conscious but weak as he was being taken off a helicopter at Tampa General Hospital and placed on a stretcher. The hospital declined immediate comment.

Close said the Coast Guard would search for the three missing men for “quite awhile.”
The four left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.
The Coast Guard had searched about 16,000 square miles of ocean for the Everglades-manufactured boat by Monday morning. Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink.
Waves had subsided to 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said.
Cooper and Smith, who were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004, have been on fishing trips before, according to Ron Del Duca, Smith’s agent.
The 29-year-old Smith of Richmond, Va., is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds and had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions.
Cooper, 26, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, has spent five seasons with five different teams, appearing in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, but playing sparingly since. He grew up in Gilbert, Ariz., and his father Bruce is a prominent sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix.

Before I state this, I hope they find all missing players alive. However, I'm kind of sickened how much media and publicity this story gets, yet the same situation can happen to a couple nobodys and you wouldn't know it unless they died. The media sickens me with how they handle these situations.

eoghater said:

Before I state this, I hope they find all missing players alive. However, I'm kind of sickened how much media and publicity this story gets, yet the same situation can happen to a couple nobodys and you wouldn't know it unless they died. The media sickens me with how they handle these situations.

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Media is reporting what people are interested in. Be honest, people are more interested because these are "famous" people missing.

eoghater said:

Before I state this, I hope they find all missing players alive. However, I'm kind of sickened how much media and publicity this story gets, yet the same situation can happen to a couple nobodys and you wouldn't know it unless they died. The media sickens me with how they handle these situations.

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I keep thinking everytime they mention the story how they only ever mention the "Two football players" . . .oh and two others.

^^How can you call them Famous and what are they famous for??? Not all football players are famous. I my self have never heard their name mention un til this week. I consider myself to know a little more than the average Joe about sports too. Famous is a stretch for these guys. I would say that out of the whole lions team there could maybe be one guy considered to be Famous and that maybe for losing every game not for doing anything special.

D2bets said:

Media is reporting what people are interested in. Be honest, people are more interested because these are "famous" people missing.

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eoghater said:

Before I state this, I hope they find all missing players alive. However, I'm kind of sickened how much media and publicity this story gets, yet the same situation can happen to a couple nobodys and you wouldn't know it unless they died. The media sickens me with how they handle these situations.

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well stated, but that's the way things roll....unforutantley..:>(