[Wildfire Girl]

The Official Olympics Thread
English, Welsh and Scottish flags banned at Olympics.

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I first heard this story last night on ESPN ... that a boat was missing off the Florida Coast Saturday, with two NFL players on it, and two other former College football players on it.

Today I read this: FOX Sports on MSN - NFL - NFL player's boat found; 1 survivor, 3 still missing

A missing boater found clinging to an overturned boat was rescued Monday off Florida's Gulf Coast, but the search continued for two NFL players and another man aboard who didn't return from a weekend fishing trip. Nick Schuyler was taken to Tampa General Hospital after he was rescued 35 miles off the coast of Florida on Monday. (Cliff McBride/Tampa Tribune / Associated Press) Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been clinging to the boat since then. The boat was anchored about 35 miles off the coast. The boat belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, remained missing. Close said the Coast Guard would search for the three missing men for "quite awhile." Schuyler was conscious when the Coast Guard found him, Close told the St. Petersburg Times. He was rescued at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET. Schuyler is in serious condition at Tampa General Hospital, a hospital spokesman said, according to the paper. Marquis Cooper, left, and Corey Smith were still missing Monday, the Coast Guard said. (Getty Images) Television footage shows Schuyler conscious but weak as he was being taken off a Coast Guard helicopter at Tampa General Hospital and placed on a stretcher. Ray Sanchez, a cousin of Cooper who is at the Clearwater boat ramp where the men were last seen and has been getting updates from family, told the Times that cousin is a strong swimmer and had a life vest with him. "I know my cousin, so he's coming back,'' Sanchez said. "A lot of people have been calling, been texting, a lot of everything. Thank you for all of that to everybody. Keep praying ... We have three more to go." The Coast Guard cutter Tornado found the boat and dispatched a smaller boat to rescue Schuyler. The four left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected. The Coast Guard had searched about 16,000 square miles of ocean for the Everglades-manufactured boat by Monday morning. Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink. Waves had subsided to 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, but considerably smaller than the 15-foot waves Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said. Rescuers are still searching off of Florida's Gulf Coast near Clearwater. (FOXSports.com) Family members believed the men had flares on board. The Coast Guard had not 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. 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. The 29-year-old Smith of Richmond, Va., is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds and had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions. Cooper, 26, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, has spent five seasons with five different teams, appearing in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, but playing sparingly since. He grew up in Gilbert, Ariz., and his father Bruce is a prominent sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix. Bruce Cooper said his son goes deep-sea fishing "any opportunity he gets." He joined his son in an excursion two years again and "swore I'd never do so again," Cooper said in a statement. "Needless to say I am very concerned," he sad. "I am praying and hoping for the best." The Lions and Raiders issued statements saying their thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the missing men and those involved in the search. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

This is a very sad story, and I hope the final three missing show up.

I do have to wonder ... do you think the media is focusing on this missing boat case more because it's NFL players?

[three little birds]

Oh, yeah, I heard about this. Very sad.

I do have to wonder ... do you think the media is focusing on this missing boat case more because it's NFL players?

It's hard to say, but something tells me probably.

[Wildfire Girl]

Actually, ESPN seems to be covering the story a LOT more than the regular news channels.

But the coastguard seemed mildly optimistic earlier. They were hoping to lay out a plan of where the missing three might be based on where the vessel had been originally, where they found it, the winds etc.

[sunnykerr]

I would assume that the reason this has been broadcast all over the country (and into Canada) probably has to do with the fact that these were professional athletes. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any real reason to spread that story too far.

Big, national news stories have to have an angle. If it isn't the scandalous nature of the situation (sexual misconduct by politicians, young mothers killing their children, etc.), then name recognition is going to be what "justifies" the larger broadcast.

I would imagine that people get lost at sea, if not all the time, than at least often enough. For instance, people get caught on ice floats all the time up here. To be clear, it's always sad and tragic. Any life lost is a sad and tragic occurence.

But the reason that piece of news travels throughout the country? That's the name.

In any case, my thoughts go out to those men and their loved ones.

[Yellow Mustang Girl]

I've heard about this on the national news That's awesome that one player was found alive. I hope the rest are found soon, too

[vc318]

I just heard on the news that they may call off the search for the other 3 players.

[sunnykerr]

Oh, no.

[TheAngel]

Yeah, I think they're calling off the search. They found an empty life jacket and since the players are in cold seas, they're saying there's almost no way that the men could live for this long. I had hoped, since they found one man, they would find the others. I hope the families of all involved are doing as well as can be expected given their tragedy.

[vc318]

Wow, I think all hope is lost at this point but crazier things have happened.

[sunnykerr]

Executive Leaves U.S. Olympic Committee Jim Scherr, the chief executive of the United States Olympic Committee, resigned unexpectedly Thursday, leaving the organization amid a financial crisis and at a crucial time for Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Games. Scherr, who did not return e-mail messages or phone calls, had been in charge since 2003, when he held the title of interim chief executive. He shed the interim tag two years later. On March 31, Scherr will be replaced on an interim basis by Stephanie A. Streeter, a business executive who has been a member of the committee’s board of directors since 2004. Larry Probst, chairman of the organization’s board, said during a teleconference that the decision for Scherr to step down was made after a board meeting in Washington on Tuesday. He said the idea to replace Scherr with Streeter, a former basketball player at Stanford, was “mutually discussed and agreed to,” but he would not say who first raised the subject. Times have changed since Scherr took over, with the economy and the Internet dramatically changing the landscape, Probst said, adding that the organization needed someone new to tackle those issues. “She’s a world-class business executive with highly developed C.E.O. skills,” he said of Streeter, after praising Scherr for his work with the committee. Scherr, a 1988 Olympian in freestyle wrestling, started at the U.S.O.C. in 2000 as chief of sport performance. Later, as acting chief executive, he helped rebuild the committee’s reputation in the wake of the Salt Lake City bid scandal. He also stabilized the organization after years of infighting. Under his watch, the United States won 110 medals at the Beijing Games last summer, the most medals won by the delegation in an Olympics without a boycott. The organization also did not have to borrow money at the beginning of this four-year cycle, as it had in at least the past two decades. “As I depart the organization, I do so with gratitude for this opportunity, and I remain committed to doing all I can in support of America’s athletes, the National Governing Bodies and the U.S.O.C.,” Scherr said in a statement issued by the committee. Scherr announced Tuesday that a faltering economy had forced the Olympic committee to make cuts in its work force by up to 15 percent (about 64 people) as part of reducing this year’s $142 million budget. Those cuts would save $7.1 million. Streeter will face those tough issues, as well as the impending visit of the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation commission to Chicago and its proposed Olympic sites. The commission is scheduled to visit in early April. Probst said there was no plan to conduct a search for a permanent chief executive. For now, Streeter will work from home in Wisconsin, where she has 17-month-old twins. “I am excited and honored to be placed in this position at such a critical time for the organization,” Streeter said. Streeter, 51, serves on the board of several corporations, including the Green Bay Packers. In 2007, she stepped down as chairwoman, president and chief executive of Banta Corporation, a printing and supply chain company. She said her experience could help the governing bodies of Olympic sports get through “the most challenging economic times” they have ever faced.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/sp...?_r=1&emc=eta1

Vancouver 2010 is less than a year away, so I thought it was a bit shocking to find the head of an Olympic committee leaving his post at this juncture. Especially in light of the campaign for Chicago 2016.

Having said that, though, it is clear that Mr Scherr can leave holding his head high. The U.S. has been tremendously successful (annoyingly so, might I add, as a non-American) under his tenure. And the fact that he has had a fiscally responsible organization in this day and age? This man should go into politics to show people how it's done.

[4N6 DNA]

Banner and related threads for the OP.

The Official Olympics Thread
English, Welsh and Scottish flags banned at Olympics.

[sunnykerr]

Wheelchair Sports Advocate Laurel Crosby Winner of B.C. Sports Award RICHMOND, B.C. - Laurel Crosby, a school principal who has spent 25 years dedicated to wheelchair sports and the Paralympic movement, will be awarded the Daryl Thompson Award during the Sport BC athlete of the year awards next week. Crosby, a former president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, has travelled the world as part of the Paralympic movement, helping communities recognize athletes with a disability for their abilities rather than disabilities. "Laurel is an excellent role model and inspiration for the thousands of sport volunteers throughout B.C.," Paul Varian, Sport BC's president, said in a release. Crosby also will work as a volunteer during the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. "I can't imagine my life without being involved in wheelchair sports, it's part of me," she said. The award is named after Daryl Thompson, an athlete, coach and former director of Sport BC. It is presented to an individual who has contributed in an extraordinary way to sport over a long period of time.

Wheelchair sports advocate Laurel Crosby winner of B.C. sports award - Yahoo! Canada News

I love it when we hear about the good things athletes do.

[sunnykerr]

Hockey Hall of Fame Ready To Induct Female Players TORONTO — The Hockey Hall of Fame is revamping its bylaws in a move that signals it is ready to admit its first female player. Starting in 2010, the Hall will consider male and female candidates separately. The new bylaw will allow a maximum of four men and two women to be inducted each year. Currently there is a maximum of four player inductees and women are judged and considered against men. "The new voting procedures address the basic principle and general view among the board of directors and selection committee that men and women ought not to compete directly against each other for limited places of honoured membership," Hall chairman Bill Hay said in a statement. "It creates fair conditions for all candidates while reinforcing that the existing basis for selection and requisite standards of excellence be applied equally to both genders." The Hall has also clarified wording to allow candidates in the builder category to be anyone who has served the game in a significant capacity. A maximum of two builders can be part of each induction class.

CTV Toronto - Hockey Hall of Fame ready to induct female players - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian Television

I think this is excellent news! Any candidates?

[sunnykerr]

Newspaper Says South African Runner Has Male, Female Sex Organs World 800-metre champion Caster Semenya of South Africa has male and female sexual organs, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday, posing an ethical and political quandary for world track and field's ruling body. The Herald said extensive physical examinations of the 18-year-old runner ordered by the IAAF have shown she is technically a hermaphrodite. Medical reports indicate she has no ovaries, but rather has internal male testes, which are producing large amounts of testosterone. The newspaper said the IAAF was trying to contact the athlete to inform her of the results. After dominating her race at the world championships in Berlin last month, Semenya was given blood and chromosome tests as well as a gynecological examination. "This is a medical issue and not a doping issue where she was deliberately cheating," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "These tests do not suggest any suspicion of deliberate misconduct but seek to assess the possibility of a potential medical condition which would give Semenya an unfair advantage over her competitors. There is no automatic disqualification of results in a case like this." The IAAF has said Semenya would probably keep her medal because the case was not related to a drug matter. But the Herald said an alternative possibility was to award a second gold to the runner-up, Janeth Jepkosgei from Kenya.

Newspaper says South African runner has male, female sex organs - Yahoo! Canada Sports

Well, isn't that interesting.

My step-father's been going on and on about this case since it happened. He was all for calling her a guy, and I naturally played devil's advocate. Neither one of us thought of the possibility of hermaphroditism.

I just hope the poor girl knew about this already, otherwise this is a hideous way to find out.

Also, I wonder what this will do to any running career she might have had.

[SMG_fan]

Most people I know thought she was a female, I told my mum that if she wasn't male that I'd bet she was a hermaphrodite, everyone thought I was being mean but I just thought she looked to much like a male.



Belinda