In an lengthy interview on HBO's "Real Sports," Nick Schuyler recounted the whole ordeal of the fishing trip that ended with a capsized boat and three of his friends—William Bleakley, Oakland Raider Marquis Cooper and Detroit Lion Corey Smith—lost at sea.

One of the new details revealed was how they ended up in the water in the first place. It was not the rough seas, but a stubborn anchor that caused the boat to capsize. Cooper who owned the boat and had lost an anchor weeks earlier, tried to pry it lose by gunning the engines and pulling away, but the anchor held on to the bottom of the ocean and it tipped the boat over. All the men except for Schuyler were in shorts and t-shirts, and were eventually overcome by hypothermia.

Schuyler provides more details about the two full days spent in the water—how they saw rescue helicopters but could not signal to them and how all the men slowly deteriorated in the cold and the dark. In the most gut-wrenching moment, Schuyler recounts how he was holding on to Marquis Cooper's lifeless body, determined to bring him home for a proper burial, but had to let go in order to keep Smith from slipping away.

Incredibly, Schuyler is not undergoing therapy, even though the incident and the "survivor's guilt" has clearly taken a toll on him. The full interview will re-air on various HBO channels all week.

Lone survivor of Fla. boat accident discusses ordeal [Star-Press]
HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel - Stories - Nick Schuyler's Story [HBO]

Valenti had to apologize on his WXYT-FM show yesterday, after he read a few tasteless Corey Smith jokes on the air. Smith, of course, is the Detroit Lion who is missing and presumed dead after his fishing boat capsized last weekend. Maybe you heard about that? Now, filling the air waves with wit and wisdom for several hours is a harder job than most people realize, but even a novice should know that you don't have to read every little thing that gets stuck in front of your face.

On Monday afternoon, Valenti read what the station calls "instant feedback" from listeners.

"I really don't even want to read this one," Valenti said.

"Yes, you do because you …" co-host Terry Foster said.

"No, but this one has been handed to … All right, I'm going to read this, but if you're sensitive to inappropriate stuff, I would probably turn the channel."

Yeah, nothing that follows that sentence is usually going to turn out well. Valenti said it was "the dumbest, most reprehensible decision I've made in my radio career" and that includes his 45-minute tear-stained rant about Michigan State's football incompetence. Yep, same guy. (That was 100% justified, btw.)

I'm not even going to repeat the joke here, but that's just because it wasn't funny. If you're going to risk your radio (or commenting) career on a silly one-liner, it better be a real zinger.

WXYT's Mike Valenti apologizes for Corey Smith comments [Detroit Free Press]
Pucker, Pucker, Pucker [Deadspin]

Nick Schuyler is making a full recovery from his ordeal and investigators are trying to piece together evidence from his shaky memory. Add in the leaks and misunderstandings from family members and the media and the whole story becomes very muddled. For example, a friend of Schyuler's says that Nick told him that a helicopter flew right above them on the first night of the search and he could even see lights from the shore—which is unlikely since he was found almost 30 miles from the coast.

The most disturbing story comes from the St. Petersburg Times, which reports that Schuyler told investigators that the other three men he was with all took off their life jackets before being separated from the group. The report says that several hours after their boat capsized, one of the two NFL players took off his life jacket and allowed himself to be carried away by the waves. Several hours later, the other man did the same thing. Then, a day later, Bleakley thought he saw a light in the distance and tried to swim for it, but took off his jacket before doing so.

Of course, it's also highly likely that Schuyler himself became delusional and is remembering incorrectly. Floating in the middle of ocean with no water or food will do terrible things to your mind. It's doubtful that we'll ever really know exactly how the men ended up in the water or what happened to them once they were there. Still, it's a miracle that even one was able to survive.

Coast Guard to suspend search for three missing boaters at sunset today [St. Petersburg Times]
Tank Johnson asks for public's help in missing boaters search [KTLV 7]
How Are People Lost at Sea Found?: Scientific American [Scientific American]

It's been nearly three full days since the fishing boat carrying Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith, William Bleakley, and Nick Schuyler capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. All four were initially able to put on life vests and stay close together, but when the boat was finally spotted yesterday afternoon, only Schuyler was found, clinging to the overturned outboard engine.

Cooper's father, Bruce, spoke to reporters today, saying that his son loved deep sea fishing and would spend long 14-hour days on the ocean, well out of sight of the coast. However, the elder Cooper also admitted that the Coast Guard is no longer optimistic that they will find his son alive. Sal Paolantonio reports that Bleakley's family has already begun making funeral arrangements. The search is still ongoing at the moment, but officials have narrowed the range and scope considerably and there's a chance that if the men aren't found before sundown, the effort will be called off.

Father: Coast Guard losing hope of finding players [AP]
In search for Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith, hypothermia becomes concern [ESPN]
Search For Missing Boaters Yields False Alarm [Tampa Bay Online]
Rescue crews join search for missing NFL players, boaters [Air Force Link]

Update: The Coast Guard has said that they will indeed suspend the search tonight. [Orlando Sentinel]

ESPN is reporting on SportsCenter that Nick Schuyler, a former South Florida football player (pictured), is the man who has been rescued from the water and is being flown back to shore. No word yet on any other survivors or what might have happened to the rest of the boat. We'll try to keep you updated as we get more details.

Boat found off Fla. [AP]
Scene from a gloomy Gulf Coast [Fox Sports]

Update: CNN Video of Schuyler arriving at the hospital by helicopter

Update @ 1:40 p.m. Fox News just reported that Schuyler told rescuers that all four men were together, near the boat, with life vests on, around 2 a.m. this morning, but obviously became separated. That will certainly raise hopes that the other three are still alive out there somewhere. Amazing.

Update @ 6:00 p.m.: Earlier today, Channel 10 in Tampa reported that Cooper had been found, but that turned out not to be true. Schuyler is hospitalized in serious condition, and the Coast Guard continues to search with the hope that the three other men can still be found.

The fishing boat left Clearwater Pass at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday and the Coast Guard was alerted at 1:30 a.m. this morning when the boat did not return. Weather forecasts that morning had predicted high winds and choppy seas by late on Saturday and reports say that searchers are battling those very winds now as they look for the missing boat.

There aren't many other details at this point, but if you're lost on rough ocean waters for more than 24 hours, there aren't a lot of good outcomes in that situation. It sounds bad, but here's hoping that this story ends well ... More to come, I'm sure.

Coast Guard Searching For 4 Missing Boaters [Tampa Tribune]
Fishing Boat Carrying NFL Players Reported Missing in Florida [Fox News]