Agent: 2 NFL players among Fla. missing boaters

CLEARWATER, 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 on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot motor-life boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

Smith owned the boat and he and Cooper had been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith’s agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.

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.

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 sparingly in five seasons with the Buccaneers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Steelers and Raiders. Cooper, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, played college ball at Washington.

Rick Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tampa, 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.

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

Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said he had heard Smith was aboard a missing boat but hadn’t been able to confirm it.

“We’re aware of the media reports,” Keenist said Sunday afternoon. “We’re trying to find out what we can.”

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

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Doctor: Boater’s survival a ‘miracle’

TAMPA, FLORIDA (TICKER) —The attending physician for the lone survivor of a boating mishap off Florida’s Gulf Coast said it was a “miracle” that his patient withstood the 46-hour ordeal.

Nick Schuyler, a former football player at South Florida, was in “good condition” Wednesday, two days after he was plucked from the sea while clinging to an overturned fishing boat.

“To stay in the water for 46 hours, to be alive, I think is a miracle,” Dr. Mark Rumbak said during a Wednesday morning press briefing.

Three men, including two NFL players, were presumed dead after the Coast Guard announced it was suspending its rescue efforts at 6:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

Free agent defensive end Corey Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and former South Florida football player Will Bleakley also were aboard the boat that capsized in rough seas on Saturday night.

The Coast Guard ended its search approximately 30 hours after Schuyler was rescued at 12:30 p.m. on Monday. Dr. Rumbak said he didn’t think Schuyler could have lasted another five to 10 hours in the ocean.

“But if you asked me to predict, I don’t think he could have lasted 46 hours,” Rumbak said. “I can’t explain it, (it’s) some divine providence.”

Schuyler, wearing a yellow life vest, was discovered perched atop the capsized boat approximately 38 miles west of Tampa Bay. He was rushed via helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

Rumbak said one key to survival is the physical condition of Schuyler, who is a personal trainer, and also credited his mental toughness.

“Extremely important. This guy is very tough mentally,” Rumbak said. “Even so, being in the water that long saps the energy you have.

“I think if he didn’t have that type of background, I don’t think he would have made it.”

Rumbak said the 24-year-old Schuyler was suffering from moderate hypothermia with a body temperature of 89 degrees when he was pulled from the water.

Schuyler also has significant muscular damage, some kidney issues along with pain in his knees and ankles, which will be checked by an orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday. Rumbak attributed some of the sustained trauma from repeatedly knocking up against the boat.

Rumbak declined to say when Schuyler would be released from the hospital, although he could get out of intensive care unit in the next few days and possibly leave the hospital by the end of the week.

According to the doctor, Schuyler was in much better spirits and likely was aware of Tuesday’s turn of events, although he acknowledged that the patient may not have fully grasped the magnitude of the ordeal.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Coast Guard announced it would suspend its search after exhaustive efforts turned up no evidence of survivors.

“We’re extremely confident that if there were any survivors on the surface of the water, we would have found them,” Coast Guard captain Timothy Close said.

Smith, who spent this past season with the Detroit Lions, and Cooper were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2004 campaign.

Smith, 29, appeared in 12 games with the Lions this past season, his seventh in the NFL. The Richmond, Virginia native has played 62 career games with Detroit, San Francisco and Tampa Bay, recording 8 1/2 sacks.

Cooper, 26, played in eight games with the Raiders last year. A native of Mesa, Arizona, he has played in 42 career games over parts of five seasons with seven different teams.

Schuyler told rescuers that the boat, which belonged to Cooper, was anchored when it flipped over Saturday evening. Schuyler claimed that all four men clung to the vessel for at least 12 hours Sunday night before Smith, Cooper and Bleakley drifted away.

After receiving the report of the missing boat early Sunday morning, the Coast Guard began its search.

According to a statement released Sunday by the Coast Guard, the boat left Clearwater Pass at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and did not return at its scheduled time later in the day.

The boat was reported missing at about 1:30 a.m.

Close said the Coast Guard covered 24,000 square miles in an exhaustive search for the men, conducting 50 missions in the 60-plus hours since they were reported missing.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=txnflplayersmissing&prov=st&type=lgns