<TABLE class=tborder id=post6492638 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead style="BORDER-RIGHT: #fdde82 0px solid; BORDER-TOP: #fdde82 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; BORDER-LEFT: #fdde82 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #fdde82 1px solid">
03-04-2009, 08:55 AM <!-- / status icon and date --></TD><TD class=thead style="BORDER-RIGHT: #fdde82 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #fdde82 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; BORDER-LEFT: #fdde82 0px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #fdde82 1px solid" align=right> #57 </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #fdde82 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #fdde82 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #fdde82 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #fdde82 0px solid" width=175>Railbird<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_6492638", true); </SCRIPT>
The Great Govenor of California
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 14,388
Blog Entries: 6
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<HR style="COLOR: #fdde82; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fdde82" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Doug
intention was 50 miles out !
You're NFL players... get a proper boat !
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Special team players making min salary, also little more sensitivity would be cool.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I guess Rail's talking about the kind of sensitivity he showed when NY was hit on 9/11.
You remember that, don't you Rail?
The Great Govenor of California
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 14,388
Blog Entries: 6
</TD><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_6492638 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #fdde82 1px solid"><!-- icon and title -->
<HR style="COLOR: #fdde82; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fdde82" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Doug
intention was 50 miles out !
You're NFL players... get a proper boat !
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Special team players making min salary, also little more sensitivity would be cool.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I guess Rail's talking about the kind of sensitivity he showed when NY was hit on 9/11.
You remember that, don't you Rail?
Coast Guard calls off search for NFL players
Survivor says helicopter’s light shone down on boat hours after it capsized.
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Coast Guard’s three-day search for two NFL players and a third man sent adrift in chilly seas ended in futility, dashing hopes they might be found after rescuers plucked one survivor from the Gulf of Mexico.
Crews combed more than 24,000 miles of ocean before calling off their search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The four friends had been missing since Saturday when their boat capsized during a fishing trip.
On Monday, Crews did rescue Bleakley’s former South Florida teammate, 24-year-old Nick Schuyler, who managed to stay with the 21-foot boat. But Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said if there were any other survivors, they would have been found.
“I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort,” Close said. “Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.”
Searchers spotted no signs of the men except for a cooler and a life jacket 16 miles southeast of the boat. Still, family members of Cooper — the son of Phoenix sportscaster Bruce Cooper — maintained hope at a Tuesday night prayer vigil in Mesa, Ariz., that he might turn up.
“Even if he goes on, he’s with the Lord,” said Cooper’s grandmother, Zelma Davis. “But we have hope we’re going to keep him.”
Bleakley’s father said he thought Coast Guard rescuers did everything they could, adding he had lower expectations after only one survivor was found Monday.
“I think they were not to be found,” Robert Bleakley said.
Scott Miller, a friend of the college teammates, said Schuyler told him that a chopper shone a light directly above them the first night. Schuyler also told him he even saw lights beaming from ashore.
It was Bleakley who swam underneath to retrieve three life jackets he could find, along with a cushion, a groggy Schuyler told Miller from a Tampa hospital. Bleakley used the cushion and the other men wore the jackets, Miller said.
But the waves were powerful, and after Cooper and Smith were separated from the boat, the college teammates tried to hang on.
“He said basically that Will helped him keep going,” Schuyler told Miller, who said he had known Bleakley since the sixth grade. “The waves were just so much. They never got a break.”
Family and friends embraced and sobbed outside the Coast Guard station shortly before the announcement. They left without talking with reporters.
“I’m sure that I’ll speak of Will like he’s still with us for a long time,” Robert Bleakley said later of his son. “He’ll be an inspiration for me for a long time. He always has been. I told everybody, I call him my hero.”
Lions running back Kevin Smith called Corey Smith “a good, quiet guy, who always put in an honest day’s work.”
Kevin Smith, a Florida native, said he has been fishing as far off the coast as the men were in boats smaller, the same size and larger than the watercraft that capsized.
“The No. 1 thing when you’re out there is, you have to respect the water,” he said. “I know those guys had safety vests. I’m trying not to even think about it. That’s a tough way to go.”
Quarterback Jon Kitna, a former teammate with the Lions the past three seasons, said you never expect something like this to happen to a guy you know.
“It’s a reminder of how life is fragile,” he said. “Corey was a great dude.”
The four men left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas strengthened, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. The Coast Guard said it did not receive a distress signal.
Close said some family members asked about continuing the search on their own, which he discouraged but said the Coast Guard wouldn’t prevent. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may be heading out Wednesday to recover the boat.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard the boat was anchored when it capsized.
The Coast Guard hadn’t had more detailed conversations with Schuyler because of his physical condition, Close said. Schuyler was in fair condition and told hospital officials he didn’t want to speak to the media.
Cooper, who is 26 and owns the boat, was selected in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Washington. He played 26 games for the Bucs in his first two pro seasons, then led a nomadic NFL existence.
Cooper and Smith, 29, became friends when they were teammates at Tampa Bay. Smith signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2002, and spent last season with Detroit before becoming a free agent. The former North Carolina State standout recorded 42 tackles (28 solo), three sacks and 10 special teams tackles in 2008, his best NFL season.
Bleakley, a 25-year-old former tight end from Crystal River, Fla., was on the USF football team in 2004 and 2005. He had one reception for 13 yards in his career, which also included some time on special teams.
Stuart Schuyler said his son is an instructor at L.A. Fitness and had helped train Smith and Cooper.
Survivor says helicopter’s light shone down on boat hours after it capsized.
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Coast Guard’s three-day search for two NFL players and a third man sent adrift in chilly seas ended in futility, dashing hopes they might be found after rescuers plucked one survivor from the Gulf of Mexico.
Crews combed more than 24,000 miles of ocean before calling off their search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The four friends had been missing since Saturday when their boat capsized during a fishing trip.
On Monday, Crews did rescue Bleakley’s former South Florida teammate, 24-year-old Nick Schuyler, who managed to stay with the 21-foot boat. But Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said if there were any other survivors, they would have been found.
“I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort,” Close said. “Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.”
Searchers spotted no signs of the men except for a cooler and a life jacket 16 miles southeast of the boat. Still, family members of Cooper — the son of Phoenix sportscaster Bruce Cooper — maintained hope at a Tuesday night prayer vigil in Mesa, Ariz., that he might turn up.
“Even if he goes on, he’s with the Lord,” said Cooper’s grandmother, Zelma Davis. “But we have hope we’re going to keep him.”
Bleakley’s father said he thought Coast Guard rescuers did everything they could, adding he had lower expectations after only one survivor was found Monday.
“I think they were not to be found,” Robert Bleakley said.
Scott Miller, a friend of the college teammates, said Schuyler told him that a chopper shone a light directly above them the first night. Schuyler also told him he even saw lights beaming from ashore.
It was Bleakley who swam underneath to retrieve three life jackets he could find, along with a cushion, a groggy Schuyler told Miller from a Tampa hospital. Bleakley used the cushion and the other men wore the jackets, Miller said.
But the waves were powerful, and after Cooper and Smith were separated from the boat, the college teammates tried to hang on.
“He said basically that Will helped him keep going,” Schuyler told Miller, who said he had known Bleakley since the sixth grade. “The waves were just so much. They never got a break.”
Family and friends embraced and sobbed outside the Coast Guard station shortly before the announcement. They left without talking with reporters.
“I’m sure that I’ll speak of Will like he’s still with us for a long time,” Robert Bleakley said later of his son. “He’ll be an inspiration for me for a long time. He always has been. I told everybody, I call him my hero.”
Lions running back Kevin Smith called Corey Smith “a good, quiet guy, who always put in an honest day’s work.”
Kevin Smith, a Florida native, said he has been fishing as far off the coast as the men were in boats smaller, the same size and larger than the watercraft that capsized.
“The No. 1 thing when you’re out there is, you have to respect the water,” he said. “I know those guys had safety vests. I’m trying not to even think about it. That’s a tough way to go.”
Quarterback Jon Kitna, a former teammate with the Lions the past three seasons, said you never expect something like this to happen to a guy you know.
“It’s a reminder of how life is fragile,” he said. “Corey was a great dude.”
The four men left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas strengthened, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. The Coast Guard said it did not receive a distress signal.
Close said some family members asked about continuing the search on their own, which he discouraged but said the Coast Guard wouldn’t prevent. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may be heading out Wednesday to recover the boat.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard the boat was anchored when it capsized.
The Coast Guard hadn’t had more detailed conversations with Schuyler because of his physical condition, Close said. Schuyler was in fair condition and told hospital officials he didn’t want to speak to the media.
Cooper, who is 26 and owns the boat, was selected in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Washington. He played 26 games for the Bucs in his first two pro seasons, then led a nomadic NFL existence.
Cooper and Smith, 29, became friends when they were teammates at Tampa Bay. Smith signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2002, and spent last season with Detroit before becoming a free agent. The former North Carolina State standout recorded 42 tackles (28 solo), three sacks and 10 special teams tackles in 2008, his best NFL season.
Bleakley, a 25-year-old former tight end from Crystal River, Fla., was on the USF football team in 2004 and 2005. He had one reception for 13 yards in his career, which also included some time on special teams.
Stuart Schuyler said his son is an instructor at L.A. Fitness and had helped train Smith and Cooper.
Doctor: 'Miracle' that Schuyler survived for 2 days
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A doctor on Wednesday said it's a "miracle" that a man survived being in the cold Gulf water for nearly two days after the boat carrying him, two NFL players and another man capsized off the Florida coast.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said 24-year-old Nick Schuyler is in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler was in 63-degree Gulf of Mexico water for around 46 hours and probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours if he wasn't rescued Monday, Rumbak said.
"To stay in the water for 46 hours and to be alive afterwards, I think it is a miracle," Rumbak said. "I really do."
The Coast Guard's search for the three others who had gone out on the fishing trip ended Tuesday. Still missing are Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who owned the boat, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley.
Bleakley's mother said Schuyler gave her a harrowing account of the men's fight to survive after the boat capsized Saturday evening. Betty Bleakley said Schuyler told her the men swam back to the overturned boat after being repeatedly hurled by strong waves. "To listen to Nick, they fought real hard to come home," Betty Bleakley said. "Nick said that all of them fought, just fought to stay alive."
Bleakley and Schuyler, college teammates, managed to stick together for about 24 hours. She says they talked about how they would live their lives differently.
Cooper's family is still hoping to find him alive.
"We're not quitters," said his grandfather, Joseph Davis. "Even though they may stop the search, the search is going to go on."
They set up an e-mail address — nflsearchandrescuegmail — and are asking experienced pilots and boaters who can help to contact them.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A doctor on Wednesday said it's a "miracle" that a man survived being in the cold Gulf water for nearly two days after the boat carrying him, two NFL players and another man capsized off the Florida coast.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said 24-year-old Nick Schuyler is in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler was in 63-degree Gulf of Mexico water for around 46 hours and probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours if he wasn't rescued Monday, Rumbak said.
"To stay in the water for 46 hours and to be alive afterwards, I think it is a miracle," Rumbak said. "I really do."
The Coast Guard's search for the three others who had gone out on the fishing trip ended Tuesday. Still missing are Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who owned the boat, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley.
Bleakley's mother said Schuyler gave her a harrowing account of the men's fight to survive after the boat capsized Saturday evening. Betty Bleakley said Schuyler told her the men swam back to the overturned boat after being repeatedly hurled by strong waves. "To listen to Nick, they fought real hard to come home," Betty Bleakley said. "Nick said that all of them fought, just fought to stay alive."
Bleakley and Schuyler, college teammates, managed to stick together for about 24 hours. She says they talked about how they would live their lives differently.
Cooper's family is still hoping to find him alive.
"We're not quitters," said his grandfather, Joseph Davis. "Even though they may stop the search, the search is going to go on."
They set up an e-mail address — nflsearchandrescuegmail — and are asking experienced pilots and boaters who can help to contact them.
I would love to see those posts, someone diggem up<table class="tborder" id="post6492638" width="100%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="thead" style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(253, 222, 130); border-width: 1px 0px 1px 1px; font-weight: normal;">03-04-2009, 08:55 AM <!-- / status icon and date --></td><td class="thead" style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(253, 222, 130); border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; font-weight: normal;" align="right"> #57 </td></tr><tr valign="top"><td class="alt2" style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(253, 222, 130); border-width: 0px 1px;" width="175">Railbird<script type="text/javascript"> vbmenu_register("postmenu_6492638", true); </script>
The Great Govenor of California
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 14,388
Blog Entries: 6
</td><td class="alt1" id="td_post_6492638" style="border-right: 1px solid rgb(253, 222, 130);"><!-- icon and title -->
<hr style="color: rgb(253, 222, 130); background-color: rgb(253, 222, 130);" size="1"><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Quote:
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;">Originally Posted by Doug
intention was 50 miles out !
You're NFL players... get a proper boat !
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Special team players making min salary, also little more sensitivity would be cool.
</td></tr></tbody></table>
I guess Rail's talking about the kind of sensitivity he showed when NY was hit on 9/11.
You remember that, don't you Rail?
Private search on for missing NFL players in Gulf
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Family and friends refused to give up the search for two NFL players and a third man missing four days in the Gulf of Mexico, enlisting private boats and planes to comb the waters off the Florida coast.
The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The friends have been missing since their boat overturned Saturday in rough seas.
Authorities were done, but about a dozen charter boats motored out Wednesday, some with friends of the families aboard, to try to locate some signs of the men, according to dock workers at John's Pass near St. Petersburg. Three private planes also flew over the endless stretch of water, according to Cooper's father.
"Everyone around here, they've either known someone or heard of someone who's been lost out at sea," said David Scott, who works at a marina at John's Pass. "It's just one of those situations. Everyone really comes together in times like these."
A fourth man on the fishing trip, Bleakley's former South Florida teammate, Nick Schuyler, was rescued Monday after a Coast Guard cutter crew found him clinging to the hull 35 miles off Clearwater. His doctor said it's a "miracle" Schuyler survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said the 24-year-old was in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours, Rumbak said.
"I think he is extremely fortunate," Rumbak said. "I can't explain it. Some divine providence, I really think."
Authorities located 26-year-old Cooper's 21-foot boat, which had drifted 50 miles west of Sarasota, said Jim Manson, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It took two private boats three tries to right the vessel and it appears to be in good shape, Manson said. Inside were 5-gallon gas cans, a life jacket, water bottles and some bagged sandwiches. It was being towed back to the Tampa Bay area. The men left Clearwater Pass 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. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.
The missing men's families have set up an e-mail address for experienced pilots and boaters to contact them to help. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said the agency wouldn't prevent private searches, but discouraged them, saying they could be dangerous. He said authorities believed if there were more survivors, they would have been found.
Free-agent defensive tackle Tank Johnson, a childhood friend and college teammate of Cooper at Washington, was taking a lead role in the renewed search. Johnson, who played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, said the family has not given up hope that the men are still alive.
"I truly believe he is out there somewhere being strong," Johnson said.
Raiders coach Tom Cable described Cooper as a good teammate and strong leader.
"In our opinion, they're still fighting, they're still battling, they're still doing everything they can to survive to be found," Cable said.
Even if the men aren't found alive, it's important to recover their remains so families can have closure, Johnson said.
"This kid is going fight to the bitter end," said Cooper's father, Bruce Cooper. "And so in my heart of hearts, I just believe he's out there somewhere just waiting to be found."
Schuyler told Bleakley's mother the harrowing account of the friends' fight for survival, describing how they swam back to the boat despite repeatedly being slammed by waves. Bleakley and Schuyler managed to stick together for about 24 hours and they talked about how they would live their lives differently, Betty Bleakley said.
"He said they huddled together, they just kept climbing back on the boat after getting knocked off," she said. "They fought. They fought."
She said her 25-year-old son's actions were heroic, including swimming underneath the boat to get life vests for the other men and then using a cushion for floatation himself.
"That was Will," she said. "Will was calm and level-headed and would just try to think things through. As painful as it was talking to Nick, it's providing some closure for us."
<!-- LexisNexis Disclaimer --><!-- Edgeinclude not created for non-existing logical name: /public/story/footerlink/5 -->
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Family and friends refused to give up the search for two NFL players and a third man missing four days in the Gulf of Mexico, enlisting private boats and planes to comb the waters off the Florida coast.
The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The friends have been missing since their boat overturned Saturday in rough seas.
Authorities were done, but about a dozen charter boats motored out Wednesday, some with friends of the families aboard, to try to locate some signs of the men, according to dock workers at John's Pass near St. Petersburg. Three private planes also flew over the endless stretch of water, according to Cooper's father.
"Everyone around here, they've either known someone or heard of someone who's been lost out at sea," said David Scott, who works at a marina at John's Pass. "It's just one of those situations. Everyone really comes together in times like these."
A fourth man on the fishing trip, Bleakley's former South Florida teammate, Nick Schuyler, was rescued Monday after a Coast Guard cutter crew found him clinging to the hull 35 miles off Clearwater. His doctor said it's a "miracle" Schuyler survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said the 24-year-old was in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours, Rumbak said.
"I think he is extremely fortunate," Rumbak said. "I can't explain it. Some divine providence, I really think."
Authorities located 26-year-old Cooper's 21-foot boat, which had drifted 50 miles west of Sarasota, said Jim Manson, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It took two private boats three tries to right the vessel and it appears to be in good shape, Manson said. Inside were 5-gallon gas cans, a life jacket, water bottles and some bagged sandwiches. It was being towed back to the Tampa Bay area. The men left Clearwater Pass 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. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.
The missing men's families have set up an e-mail address for experienced pilots and boaters to contact them to help. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said the agency wouldn't prevent private searches, but discouraged them, saying they could be dangerous. He said authorities believed if there were more survivors, they would have been found.
Free-agent defensive tackle Tank Johnson, a childhood friend and college teammate of Cooper at Washington, was taking a lead role in the renewed search. Johnson, who played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, said the family has not given up hope that the men are still alive.
"I truly believe he is out there somewhere being strong," Johnson said.
Raiders coach Tom Cable described Cooper as a good teammate and strong leader.
"In our opinion, they're still fighting, they're still battling, they're still doing everything they can to survive to be found," Cable said.
Even if the men aren't found alive, it's important to recover their remains so families can have closure, Johnson said.
"This kid is going fight to the bitter end," said Cooper's father, Bruce Cooper. "And so in my heart of hearts, I just believe he's out there somewhere just waiting to be found."
Schuyler told Bleakley's mother the harrowing account of the friends' fight for survival, describing how they swam back to the boat despite repeatedly being slammed by waves. Bleakley and Schuyler managed to stick together for about 24 hours and they talked about how they would live their lives differently, Betty Bleakley said.
"He said they huddled together, they just kept climbing back on the boat after getting knocked off," she said. "They fought. They fought."
She said her 25-year-old son's actions were heroic, including swimming underneath the boat to get life vests for the other men and then using a cushion for floatation himself.
"That was Will," she said. "Will was calm and level-headed and would just try to think things through. As painful as it was talking to Nick, it's providing some closure for us."
<!-- LexisNexis Disclaimer --><!-- Edgeinclude not created for non-existing logical name: /public/story/footerlink/5 -->
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