NFL Players Missing After Fishing Trip

At least two NFL players are missing after their fishing boat disappeared about 50 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Victor "Marquis" Cooper, of the Oakland Raiders, and Corey Smith, of the Detroit Lions, are among the four boaters that the Coast Guard is searching for today.

A 21-foot center-console boat with four people left the Seminole Boat Ramp in Clearwater Pass, Fla., at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Coast Guard in St. Petersburg. The boaters were supposed to return after dark but never did.

At 1:30 this morning, the Coast Guard received a call from a friend saying that the boaters were overdue. The Coast Guard said the third boater was Nick Skyler and did not identify the fourth person.

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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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

A Coast Guard 47-foot motor-life boat crew from Station Sand Key, Fla., HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and C-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircrews from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, and the Coast Guard Cutter Crocodile are searching a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass for the missing boaters.

Comment by youngjannick on March 1, 2009 at 7:02pm: hahaha

Comment by TTT on March 1, 2009 at 7:09pm: That shit aint funny....that's fucked up...hope they aight...and prey for their families

Comment by Evan on March 1, 2009 at 7:14pm: That's fuck up I hope they find them.

Comment by Stephen on March 1, 2009 at 7:18pm: I Hope They Find Them.God Be With The Families of them

Comment by kaysha10 on March 1, 2009 at 7:18pm: this shit ain't funny 4 real. this sound really serious........prey 4 them

Comment by James Is The Greatest Jeweler on March 1, 2009 at 7:33pm: It really saddens me to read such a story, and saddens me even more these pro NFL players may have not been wearing life jackets as they should've been. May God take the wheel in this matter, and HOPEFULLY bring these men back home to their families alive, and even if they didn't live to see another day atleast their families can have their bodies for burial.

Comment by James Is The Greatest Jeweler on March 1, 2009 at 7:38pm: Let this story be a lesson for the rest of you who go out on boats to fish in the high seas or even a neighborhood lake, PLEASE WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKETS PEOPLE!

I wish all of the men who are missing the best in this situation regardless of the outcome.

Comment by Big Spook on March 1, 2009 at 7:53pm: May god be with them.. Don't nobody deserve that mane.. and Sum times Life Jackets wont save ya bruh.. u out der in dem waterz mayne..

Comment by BAM! beano on March 1, 2009 at 8:11pm: god bless , I hope they're okay.

Comment by Daniel Brizboyz on March 1, 2009 at 8:34pm: shit isnt funny youngjannick id kick your ass if i seen you around my area fuckin punk i wouldnt be laughin at you if i herd you where lost and i dont even no you shit no joke bro your a joke

Comment