Coast Guard Losing Hope: NFL Dad

Lion, Raider were fishing off Gulf Coast

(NEWSER) - The Coast Guard got no distress signal from a missing fishing boat carrying NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith and two friends off Florida's Gulf Coast, the AP reports. “That's not to say they didn't send one out," said an official. "We didn't receive anything”—nor was the vessel in touch before conditions got rough, he noted. The Coast Guard is “deploying all available resources” to look for the group, which was expected to return Saturday night, said Smith’s agent. More»

Coast Guard search was called off yesterday, and they were presumed dead

(AP) - The families of the missing football players aren't giving up. Private boats and planes were searching today for two NFL players and a third man after the Coast Guard called off its search yesterday. The men—Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley—went missing four days ago, when their boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. More»

(NEWSER) - The fishing boat that capsized earlier this month leaving three football players presumed dead was improperly anchored, the AP reports. After interviewing the lone survivor, a Florida agency has determined that when the passengers attempted to free the anchor by gunning the boat’s motor, the craft was swamped and the men thrown into the water. Inexperience, carelessness, and an approaching storm were also cited. More»

Survivor told Coast Guard companions 'freaked out,' threw punches

(NEWSER) - Two NFL players may have died only hours after the boat they and two friends were on capsized, according to a Coast Guard report released to the AP. Sole survivor David Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one man "freaked out," took off his life vest, and disappeared after clinging to the boat for hours, while another later became unruly, threw punches, and took off his jacket before vanishing. More»

(NEWSER) - The Coast Guard has ended its search for two NFL players and another man whose boat overturned Saturday off the Florida coast, CNN reports. Presumed dead are Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, former Detroit Lions player Corey Smith, and a former college football player, William Bleakley. A fourth man was rescued Monday clinging to the overturned boat, which capsized as the men were lifting anchor. More»