Coast Guard suspends search for missing NFL players
 

Coast Guard searching for missing boat with NFL players

Reported by: Chad Cookler
Email: [email protected]
Last Update: 11:18 am

CLEARWATER, FL -- The Coast Guard is searching for a missing fishing boat about 50 miles off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to Coast Guard officials, the 21-foot fishing boat left from a boat ramp in Clearwater Pass Saturday about 6:30 am with 4 people on board.

A dispatcher told ABC Action News 3 of them are NFL players. One of the plays for the Detroit Lions, and one plays for the Oakland Raiders, the dispatcher said.

The boaters were supposed to return sometime after dark but never did, officials said. A friend called the Coast Guard at about 1:30 am and reported them missing.

Officials say the waters in the gulf are extremely choppy and they believe the boat is in distress.

Air and marine crews from the Sand Key and Clearwater Coast Guard stations are searching a 750 square mile area west of Clearwater Pass.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/lo...SanyO4BZA.cspx

PFT: REPORT: THREE NFL PLAYERS ON MISSING BOAT
 

REPORT: THREE NFL PLAYERS ON MISSING BOAT
Posted by Mike Florio on March 1, 2009, 11:50 a.m.
From ABC comes a scary story out of Florida. Three NFL players are on a fishing boat that is missing off the Gulf Coast in Clearwater.

One reportedly plays for the Lions, and another plays for the Raiders.

A 21-foot boat with four passengers left from Clearwater Pass at 6:30 a.m. EST on Saturday. It was due to return after dark but never arrived.

A friend called the Coast Guard at 1:30 a.m. EST on Sunday and reported the boat missing.

Per the report, officials say that the Gulf waters are extremely choppy and that it’s believed the boat is in distress.

More to come.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/lo...SanyO4BZA.cspx

Why don't they list the names of the players?

Oh damn.

That sucks. Positive thoughts/prayers to the Coast Guard search teams in finding them soon and in good health!

Has anyone heard from Cassel today?

Gee, I hope LJ wasn't on the boat!

Maybe they're not releasing names until they contact or hear from families... I dunno. Or, maybe they're not 100% sure.

if they are dead or don't have a body/missing, i'm sure they will keep it quite until the families know what did or didn't happen before they paste it over the news.

Has anyone seen Larry Johnson lately?
Didn't Pioli tell him to take a slow boat to China?

umm what team is the other 1 from?

Just In,, Jay Cutler was the Captain of the boat . His suicide note was just found at disneyworld!

this isn't funny. i dont think you guys should be making jokes about hoping LJ or others were on the boat.

Reminds me of the Cleveland Indians Tragedy.

Why ?

If LJ spends a few hours thinking he's gonna die, maybe he'll take his diaper off, quit abusing women and appreciate his teammates!

It's bullshit unless another source besides PFT releases this. Or they put out the names.

FYP!

It's being reported from several sources.

Howsitwhatsithuh?

Friends Victor "Marquis" Cooper, Nick Skyler, Corey Smith and a fourth person haven't been seen since.

At least 2 of the men are professional football players with ties to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cooper, whose truck and trailer is till parked at the boat ramp where the men left from, is a linebacker with the Oakland Raiders. Smith is a defensive end for the Detroit Lions. Both began their careers with the Bucs.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/lo...SanyO4BZA.cspx

oops late
 

REPORT: MARQUIS COOPER, CORY SMITH ON BOAT
Posted by Mike Florio on March 1, 2009, 12:48 p.m.
The Tampa Tribune has the names of two of the NFL players who have been reported missing on a boat off the coast of Clearwater, Florida.

They are linebacker Marquis Cooper of the Raiders and defensive end Corey Smith of the Lions.

A third person, identified as Nick Skyler, also is on the boat. We can find no evidence on the Internet (including NFL.com’s current and former player search tool) that he is or has been on an NFL roster.

A fourth person, possibly another NFL player, is believed to be on the boat.

The Coast Guard is searching a 750-square mile area for the 21-foot fishing boat.

In a minute before the oher one, and left behind.

I wonder how this will affect the Draft ?

Obama can save them. Obama can do anything. If they die its Obamas fault.

It's true the water was very choppy this morning. I drove home from the bars around 7am and when I went over the bridge it was very windy and the water had a ton of choppy white caps.

But he will blame G.W. ;)

When they are found alive
passed out with hookers
the jokes will be good

What in the holy **** does that have to do with anything here? Go back to DC, dumbass.

I hope they find everyone okay, maybe a bit wet and scared.

Taking a 21 foot boat into the gulf with 4 big guys is not the smartest thing in the world to do. No EPIRB, no radio?

Was it for a three hour tour?? If so I maybe able to find them!

He may not have the requisite brain cells to find his way back there.

You know what to do:

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...alomartree.jpg

Won't you look stupid when it turns out they were victims of an unmonitored earthquake? ;)

Probably true and funny. :D

they are dead mother nature is a bitch

2 raiders and a lion? Man, these guys are cursed. Hope they turn up okay.

2 NFL Players Missing at Sea?
 

Saw this on Yahoo, sorry if repost

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

Agent: 2 NFL players among Fla. missing boaters


CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)—Two NFL players are among a group of boaters reported missing off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Sports agent Ron Del Duca said his client, Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were two of the four boaters who were reported missing Sunday morning by the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard issued a statement saying the boaters were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot motor-life boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

I used to go offshore a lot in that area and there are so many oil rigs you'd have to pretty much have a bomb blow up and decapitate you and your boat to avoid reaching or drifting to one. I bet they find them tied up to an oil rig.

oops

Repost: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...=203410&page=2

Raiders and Lions Players' Boat Missing In Gulf Of Mexico
 

CLEARWATER, FL -- The Coast Guard is continuing to search for a missing fishing boat about 50 miles off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to Coast Guard officials, a 21-foot Everglades fishing boat left from the Seminole boat ramp in Clearwater Pass Saturday about 6:30 am with 4 people on board.

Friends Victor "Marquis" Cooper, Nick Schulyer, Corey Smith and William Bleakley haven't been seen since.

2 of the men are professional football players with ties to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cooper, whose truck and trailer is till parked at the boat ramp where the men left from, is a linebacker with the Oakland Raiders.

Smith is a defensive end for the Detroit Lions. Both began their careers with the Bucs.

Officials say the waters in the gulf are extremely choppy with waves believed to be between 6-10 feet, and they believe the boat is in distress.

Air and marine crews from the Sand Key and Clearwater Coast Guard stations are searching a 750 square mile area west of Clearwater Pass.


http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/lo...SanyO4BZA.cspx

Agent: 2 NFL players among Fla. missing boaters
 

2 NFL players among Fla. missing boaters
 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)—Two NFL players are among a group of boaters reported missing off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Sports agent Ron Del Duca said his client, Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were two of the four boaters who were reported missing Sunday morning by the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard issued a statement saying the boaters were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot motor-life boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

someone delete this, lol we submitted at the same time :)

one boat? really?

you mean you both re-re-posted at the same time

The players' names is new info.

jesus, 4th time today huh

There are 4 or 5 of these on the front page. Jesus.

This has to be the most reposted story in the history of the Planet.

REPOST: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showp...46&postcount=3

:D

Is there something that's unclear about the title? I keep merging them, and they keep getting reposted.

That's not far from me. I am north of there several towns. It's storming here and the water is very choppy too. I haven't turned on any news or tv all day. This was the first I've heard of it. Hope they are okay. But from what I hear, even in weather not stormy, the waves can be incredibly high with lots of sea sickness being created when you go on those deep-sea fishing trips.

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The other one isn't a player; it's Emmy-winning actor, John Goodman.

Pioli strikes again!

Two NFL Players Missing off Florida Coast
 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/01/flo...ers/index.html

2 NFL players among boaters missing in Florida

CLEARWATER, Florida (CNN) -- Two NFL players were among four boaters missing Sunday off Florida's Gulf Coast, an agent for one of the players said.
Corey Smith, left, and Marquis Cooper are two of the men missing in Florida, according to Smith's agent.

Corey Smith, left, and Marquis Cooper are two of the men missing in Florida, according to Smith's agent.

Ron Del Duca, agent for Corey Smith, told CNN that Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were among four men who had not returned from a boating trip Saturday in waters off Clearwater, Florida.

Smith, currently a free agent with the NFL, played defensive end for the Detroit Lions for the past three seasons.

The Coast Guard said it was directing a search Sunday for the boaters. Rough weather has hampered the effort, but "it's still a very active search," Coast Guard Capt. Tim Close told reporters Sunday afternoon.

Poor visibility from heavy waves forced the search-and-rescue effort to be conducted primarily by air, though authorities deployed patrol boats as well, Close said.

Searchers were focusing on an area about 50 miles west of Clearwater Pass, where the four embarked from the Seminole Boat Ramp about 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

"Yesterday the weather conditions were relatively good, but the weather picked up overnight," Close said. "It's a small vessel for the conditions that are out there right now."

The search began around 2 a.m. Sunday after Coast Guard personnel got a tip from a caller that four men -- Cooper, Smith, Nick Schuyler and William Bleakley -- had not returned from their fishing trip Saturday evening as expected.

Close said authorities had not received a distress signal from the boaters. Cooper owns the boat, but Bleakley was the only experienced boater on board, Close said.

The boat, a center-console vessel manufactured by Everglades Boats, is billed as "unsinkable," Close said.

The Coast Guard focused its search on 750 square miles of open water west of Clearwater Pass.

Smith and Cooper were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for part of the 2004 season, when Cooper was a rookie, according to their biography pages on NFL.com.

Smith, who entered the league with Tampa Bay in 2002, went on to play for the Washington Redskins before moving to the Lions for the 2006 season.

Cooper has played for six teams in his five-season career, according to NFL.com.

The Detroit Lions released a statement acknowledging that Smith was among the missing men, adding, "Our thoughts and prayers are with all the passengers, their families and all those involved in the search efforts."

The Coast Guard asked anyone with information on the boaters to contact its St. Petersburg, Florida, office at 727-824-7506.

We know.

what is this the 5th thread? merge on aisle 3 daface AGAIN

Thanks Stevie Wonder.

Scary. I hope all four are found alive and well. Hopefully they are camped out and safe on one of the many small islands just off of Clearwater, FL.

Didn't see this thread. Again, hope all are on one of the many small islands camped out safe and sound. This is quite scary. Hope all are found soon.

Man, they are coming up missing like crazy out there today.

2 NFL players missing
 

CLEARWATER, Florida (CNN) -- Two NFL players were among four boaters missing Sunday off Florida's Gulf Coast, an agent for one of the players said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/01/flo...ers/index.html




MORE>>> at link

ROFL Make it stop!

LMAO


At least it got off the front page this time.

Ya don't say.

sorry, I didn't see it and I actually looked

thanks mods for merging

I just counted. This topic has now been reposted 8 times today. I officially give up. Further reposts will not be merged.

I count 9 reposts.

I'm begining to think topics need a repost merge count. How many times was a repost merged into said topic. Either that or posters do...like rep but for reposts!

Including the original? If so, I agree. If not, I only counted 8.

My lord this maybe the only thread in CP history that a thread reaches a hundred posts with 75%-85% of the responses in reposts. ..... LMAO LMAO

SORRY

I didn't look back far enough

I had not seen the news until just a minute ago

Don't worry. Our conversation is mainly due to the quantity of the reposts rather than the fact that you yourself joined in the fun.

:doh!:

My sister lives in the Clearwater area. She would always worry because her idiot husband used to take their boat WAY out into the gulf when it was not equipped for the types of excursions he took it on. I'm surprised this didn't happen to him at some point.

That is sad, with the love and positive attitude within the family, I can't image a person wanting to be eaten by sharks than coming back to shore

They found the boat overturned with a person hanging on...more to come