Take a time to say a prayer ...

[RamsInfiniti]

for Raiders linebacker Marquise Cooper, Lions defensive end Corey Smith, Nick Skyler, and William Bleakley, and for each of their families. They are apparently lost at sea after not returning back to shore in time. They were out 50 miles off the coast in a 21 foot boat, and got subjected to 10+ foot waves ...

At this point, it appears the search is being called off. This does not look good ...

Say a prayer for these games and their families.

[dgr828]

Prayers go out to Marquise Cooper, Corey Smith, Nick Skyler and William Bleakley and their families. Life is much bigger than football. Praying for a miracle.

[Keenum]

It looks worse and worse with each passing hour. I was hoping for something like they decided to just stay out extra and forgot to tell someone, but it's really not looking good for them now. I didn't know they were having to fight off high waves though, just that they didn't come back.

Here is a prayer to them and their familes.

[UtterBlitz]

I was reading that story this morning....does not sound good. They were experienced boaters but time is going by and I think they called off the search. Prayers out to them and their families and friends.

[UtterBlitz]

update news is not good....one survivor was found

Nick Schuyler Reportedly Found Clinging To Lost Fishing Boat
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 12:43 PM by Tom Mantzouranis (RSS feed)

Filed Under: NFL Rumors
The boat carrying four passengers, including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, which was reported missing from a fishing trip early Sunday morning, was reportedly found by the Coast Guard on Monday morning with a survivor, Nick Schuyler, clinging to it.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, one of the passengers was discovered with the boat about 30 miles west of the Tampa Bay area. Ray Sanchez, a cousin of Cooper's who has been stationed at the boat ramp where the men were last seen, reportedly identified the survivor as Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player.

The find was during an exhaustive search by the Coast Guard that covered 16,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico.

Stu Schuyler, Nick's father, described Monday's news: "Like God heard me." He was clearly emotional when discussing his son's future on Sunday.

Schuyler also told 10 Connects the first time his son went fishing with Cooper and Smith was last weekend. That trip lasted fifteen hours.

"I was worried sick and told him never to do that to me again," said Schuyler. "Now, I'm hopeful but still expecting the worst." Through tears, he added, "[My son is] my life, I don't know what I'll do.
There have been no further reports regarding the status of the boat's other three passengers.

[Ramblin` Ram]

similar report to Utterblitz`s with a lil extra info..



Coast Guard finds boat with one survivor; NFL players still missing
Associated Press


CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Coast Guard said Monday that the overturned boat it found off Florida's Gulf Coast belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper. The survivor found clinging to the vessel is former University of South Florida player Nick Schuyler.

The Coast Guard said Cooper, free-agent defensive end Corey Smith and another former USF player, William Bleakley, remain missing.

Television video showed Schuyler being helped from a Coast Guard helicopter at Tampa General Hospital. He appeared conscious.

The Coast Guard had been searching for the four men since they were reported missing early Sunday morning, one day after they left on a fishing trip. As of Monday morning, the Coast Guard had searched 16,000 square miles off Florida's Gulf Coast for the 21-foot Everglades-manufactured boat.

Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink.

Family members believed the men had lifejackets and flares on board. The Coast Guard hadn't received a distress signal from the men.

Cooper owns the boat, and he 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.

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close said at least one of the men was an experienced boater, and relatives provided the Coast Guard with GPS coordinates from previous fishing expeditions.

Smith, 29, of Richmond, Va., is 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds and had 30 tackles, including three sacks and one interception in 12 games last season for the winless Detroit Lions.

Cooper, 26, is 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds and has spent five seasons with five different teams, appearing in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, but he has played sparingly since. He grew up in Gilbert, Ariz., and his father, Bruce, is a prominent sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix.

[Ramblin` Ram]

i do wonder why the reporter felt the need to print the players football stats,but maybe thats just me and my belief that all life is equal...unless youre a serial killer type of course..

[shower beers]

i do wonder why the reporter felt the need to print the players football stats,but maybe thats just me and my belief that all life is equal...unless youre a serial killer type of course..

I always wondered why they print the stats at the end, too. Sort of doesn't seem relevant to the story at all...

[Keenum]

I know you can survive in the ocean for a few days WITHOUT a life jacket. If you are not close to land I beleive you are suppose to just relax and float while waiting. Since they are expected to have life jackets, they really could float out there for days, as long as they don't use their energy to try to swim an impossible distance.
Very glad they found the one guy, let's hope the others are just waiting out there.

[UtterBlitz]

I have some hope that they will find the other guys. I hope they are wearing life vests and that the water is warm enough for them. Must be scary to be out in the ocean all alone.

[UtterBlitz]

It doesn't look good for the missing guys. I was hoping they would have found them already.

[laram0]

I always wondered why they print the stats at the end, too. Sort of doesn't seem relevant to the story at all...

I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one that feels this way.

[Ramer]

Really sad! My prayers go out to their families!