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Sean Taylor, Washington Redskins safety died early Tuesday, November 27, 2007 a day after he was shot at home by intruder. Taylor died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday morning.

“His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me,” said Sharpstein, Taylor’s former lawyer. His father, Pedro Taylor, is police chief of Florida City.

24-year-old Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after the Pro Bowl player was shot at home. “According to a preliminary investigation, it appears that the victim was shot inside the home by an intruder,” Miami-Dade County police said in a statement. “We do not have a subject description at this time.”

But police were still investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor’s home. Officers were sent to the home about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor’s girlfriend called 911.

Sharpstein said Taylor’s girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor’s 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house, but neither she nor Taylor’s girlfriend were injured.

Police found signs of forced entry, but have not determined if they were caused Monday, or the previous burglary.

The shooting happened in the pale yellow house he bought two years ago. Eight days before the attack someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed at Taylor’s home, according to police.

“They’re really sifting through that incident and today’s incident,” Miami-Dade Detective Mario Rachid said, “to see if there’s any correlation.”

Taylor, the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft following an All-American season at the University of Miami, was shot early Monday in the upper leg, damaging the key femoral artery and causing significant blood loss.

After Taylor was drafted, problems soon began. Taylor fired his agent, then skipped part of the NFL’s mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Driving home late from a party during the season, he was pulled over and charged with drunken driving. The case was dismissed in court, but by then it had become a months-long distraction for the Redskins.

Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a 2006 playoff game.

Meanwhile, Taylor endured a yearlong legal battle after he was accused in 2005 of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over allegedly stolen all-terrain vehicles near Taylor’s home. He eventually pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

On the field, Taylor’s play was often erratic. Assistant coach Gregg Williams frequently called Taylor the best athlete he’d ever coached, but nearly every big play was mitigated by a blown assignment. Taylor led the NFL in missed tackles in 2006 yet made the Pro Bowl because of his reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league.

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Sean Taylor, a 24-year-old free safety with the Washington Redskins, was shot and seriously injured at his Miami home.

The shooting occurred about 1:45 a.m. in his home in Palmetto Bay, an upscale section of Miami, said Kathy Webb, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade police. Mr. Taylor appeared to be the victim of an attempted robbery, police officials said.

He was flown by helicopter to a trauma center at Jackson Memorial hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and was listed in critical condition. Taylor was hit by at least one bullet in his femoral artery — a major blood vessel in the thigh.

Sean Taylor was a star football player at the University of Miami — earning the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year award — and was selected fifth over all in the 2004 National Football League draft by the Washington Redskins.

The team signed him to a seven-year, $18 million contract, and he is widely considered one of the toughest and best young safeties in the league. Although sidelined for the last two weeks because of a knee sprain, he leads his team this season with five interceptions.

Taylor has drawn attention for more than his playing ability, most notably in 2005. In June of that year, he was arrested and charged with felony assault after the authorities said he pointed a gun at three men outside a house in West Perrine, a rough neighborhood south of Miami, and accused them of stealing two all-terrain vehicles from him.

According to the police and witnesses, Taylor, accompanied by an entourage, assaulted one of the men and made death threats before driving off. Minutes later, a group of men drove by his parked GMC Yukon Denali and sprayed it with bullets from an AK-47 and a pistol. Taylor’s vehicle was empty at the time, and the gunmen were never identified or arrested.

Taylor was accused of spitting on yet another player from an opposing team, this time Michael Pittman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, during the first round of the playoffs. He was ejected from the game and fined $17,000. It was an unfitting end to what should have been a triumphant day for Mr. Taylor, who scored a touchdown that helped propel the Redskins to a 17-10 victory and a spot in the next round of the playoffs.

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Video: Ray Mancini vs Arturo Frias fight on May 8, 1982 in Las Vegas for world lightweight title. In what was often called the best first round in boxing history

Fifteen seconds into the fight, the champion Arturo Frias caught Mancini with a left hook to the chin and Mancini shook. Another combination made Mancini start bleeding from his eyebrow. About a minute later Mancini stormed back and dropped the champion right in the center of the ring with a spectacular combination. Frias got back up, but Mancini went after with his vicious combination, trapping Frias against the ropes. After many unanswered blows, the referee stopped the fight, and the Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini became world lightweight champion.

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On November 13, 1982, lightweight champion Ray Boom Boom Mancini met Duk Koo Kim at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, NV. It changed Mancini’s career and boxing world forever.

Champion: Ray Mancini

Raymond Michael Mancini (1961) is a former popular boxer from the Youngstown, Ohio. His nickname “Boom Boom” came from his father, Lennie “Boom Boom” Mancini, veteran boxer. Lenny inspired Ray to develop his boxing skills at young age. After impressive amateur career, he turned pro in 1978. He became world lightweight champion by 1st round knockout vs Arturo Frias on May 8, 1982 in Las Vegas. The highlight of Manicini’s Career.

Watch the Video of Ray Mancini vs Arturo Frias

Challenger: Duk Koo Kim

Duk Koo Kim’s age is controversial. His WBA record indicates that he was 23-years-old (January 8, 1959) at the time but actual birth date is August 10, 1956. Kim lost his father at the age 2. Kim began boxing to escape poverty. Boxing was his one-way ticket to fame and fortune. He won 12 straight fight and assigned by the WBA as the world’s number 1 challenger to Ray Mancini. It was his first fight outside of Asia. His purse for the fight was only $20,000.

Before the Fight

Kim struggled to meet the Lightweight’s 135 pound limit and had to sweat off excess weight before the game. Kim was huge underdog against star Ray Mancini. Many predicted Kim would not last more than 3 rounds.

The Tragedy Fight

Against all odds, the fight turned out to be an actioned packed fight. Kim proving that he was a worthy challenger. They went toe to toe until 11th round. Mancini tool control of the game starting 12th round. In the 14th round, Mancini’s straight right knock Kim flat on his back. Kim struggled to get up and later collapsed moments after the fight in his corner. Kim sustained brain damages and slipped into coma that led to his death five days later at Desert Springs Hospital.

Watch the video Mancini vs Kim

The Aftermath

• Kim’s mother committed suicide four months after the fight.

• Referee for the fight, Richard Greene also committed suicide in 1983.

• Kim’s pregnant girlfriend changed her name and living in undisclosed location.

• Word boxing organizations began operating 12-round championship bouts instead of 15

• Some state adopted the standing eight count and the referee giving the mandatory eight count.

• Mancini went to the funeral in South Korea, but he fell into a deep depression afterwards. Mancini struggled with Kim’s death and he was not the Ray Mancini that attracted fans. He lost his title to Livingstone Bramble in 1984 and retired early from boxing to pursue acting career in Hollywood.

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Video: Ray Boom Boom Mancini vs Duk Koo Kim Final Rounds.

Video: Ray Mancini vs Duk Koo Kim that includes Mancini interview.

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Five people killed in Temecula, California shooting, November 11, 2007

A shooting at a home left five people dead Sunday in what authorities said could be a murder-suicide.

Police officers responding to a shots-fired call at about 5:20 p.m. found two men and two women shot dead at a house on a cul-de-sac, Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said. A fifth victim, a woman, was taken to a local hospital where she later died.

Two of the victims were found inside the house, the other three on a patio outside, Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said neighbors told investigators that all five people lived at the house. None of the victims have been identified.

Gutierrez said investigators believed one of the victims was also the shooter.

The shooting brought temporary chaos to the usually quiet street next to a golf course in a neighborhood full of retired people.

“I don’t think we’ve had anything like this happen in this city,” Gutierrez said.

“I was in the kitchen cooking. I heard bam. I thought it was a golf ball,” neighbor Maureen Fowler, 54, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. “Then I heard, bam bam bam. That sounded like gunshots to me. Then I heard all the sirens and saw the tape.”

Temecula is about 50 miles north of San Diego.

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A timeline of San Francisco Oil Spill

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

• 06:31 AM: The Cosco Busan, a China COSCO Holdings, the 65,131-ton, an 810-foot-long container ship, left the Port of Oakland and travel through dense fog.
• 08:30 AM: The ship struck into a fender around a support tower of Bay Bridge. The incident did not damage the bridge and traffic continued to flow.
• 08:31 AM: Cosco Busan Capt. John Cota notified the Coast Guard. He observed a sheen in the water and reported to VTS (Costa Guard Vessel Traffic Service) that there was an oil spill. Successor pilot reported to other federal and state agencies who monitor spills.
• 09:03 AM: Coast Guard dispatched its vessels.
  
• Early Coast Guard reports had described the leak as 3-feet (1-metre) wide and only 140 gallons had spilled from the vessel.
• 04:00 PM: Yet up until 4 p.m., officials apparently believed only 140 gallons of oil had leaked.
• 09:00 PM: Officials learned that the spill was 58,000 gallons of heavy duty bunker fuel and publicly announced.
  
• 11:00 PM: The Coast Guard said 200 people were working on the cleanup and, as of Wednesday night, had recovered about 8,000 gallons of the oil.
• Four picturesque beaches on both sides of the landmark Golden Gate Bridge — Baker, Fort Point, China, and Crissy Field — were closed.
• California Department of Fish, said workers had found six dead birds and 26 others alive slicked with oil.

“If it’s only 3 feet away from the edge of the ship, there are oil absorbent pads that you can use, and it should be easily cleaned up,” Wil Bruhns, supervising engineer of San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board said.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

• The Coast Guard said 200 people were working on the cleanup and had recovered about 9,500 gallons of the oil. Yet the pace of cleanup slowed as tides spread the fuel over a larger area.
• The Coast Guard said it had found 19 dead birds and 73 living birds slicked with oil. Many beaches around San Francisco remained closed.

“It doesn’t tend to break down very quickly,” Gerald Graham, on scene commander said. “It’s cheap, and it’s dirty. If the wind happens to blow it out into a channel or bay, it could spread, and then you could have miles of shoreline that could be affected.”

Friday, November 9, 2007

• California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared the oil spill in San Francisco Bay an emergency.
• The Coast Guard said it had found 19 dead birds and 73 living birds slicked with oil. Many beaches around San Francisco remained closed.
• Weekend triathlon, Tri-California event in San Francisco, canceled the water portion because of the spill.
• 73 live, oiled birds are being rehabilitated
• There have been 19 confirmed deceased birds reported
• 11 skimmers are currently deployed on the water
• 10 wildlife recovery teams are on the beaches with additional teams joining Friday afternoon
• Over 9,500 gallons of fuel oil have been recovered as of Thursday night.
• Over 18,000 feet of boom has been placed around the area to soak up and corral the oil
• More than 200 people from over 19 federal, state, and local agencies are involved with the response efforts. Beginning tomorrow there will be an additional 200 trained responders to supplement the initial response team.

The public is reminded that they should avoid areas and wildlife that are oiled, as untrained persons may cause further damage, while attempting to assist.

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San Francisco Bay Oil Spill continued to spread, coating some of most beautiful coastline.

An oil spill from a container ship in San Francisco Bay continued to spread today, coating some of the state’s most storied coastline and imperiling hundreds of shorebirds as concerns lingered about the U.S. Coast Guard response as well as the checkered history of the vessel’s pilot.

Coast Guard officials apologized during a morning press conference for delays in notifying Bay Area authorities about the full extent of the spill from the 810-foot Cosco Busan.

The ship leaked 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel, a thick and oily substance that is difficult to clean up, after it rammed the base of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in dense fog about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 7, 2007.

Coast Guard officers initially said 140 gallons of the viscous fuel had oozed out, and then failed to update local officials or the public for more than 12 hours as the extent of the disaster grew.

Rear Adm. Craig Bone, the Coast Guard’s top officer in California and other Western states, said the delay was “unacceptable” but defended the emergency response as an appropriately aggressive effort.

The initial cleanup crew — a quick-strike response team manning a skimmer boat that vacuums oil residue off the water — arrived at the spill site within 90 minutes of the accident, authorities said. By Thursday morning, when the fog had lifted so authorities could get a flight up to survey the extent of the slick, 11 skimmer boats had been dispatched by a private contractor hired for the cleanup.

“You always put out everything you can because you can always fall back,” Bone said.

Although the oil slick remains largely inside the bay, tidal action and winds have spread the spill outside the Golden Gate and up the Marin County coastline, as far as Muir Beach.

Wildlife authorities said the number of birds caught in the sticky spill continues to climb, with 73 taken in for treatment and 19 found dead. Those numbers, authorities say, are likely to grow into the hundreds over the coming days. Scores of wildlife experts and volunteers are combing the shorelines for oil-blackened birds.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the shipping accident continued as new details emerged about the veteran harbor captain who was piloting the vessel.

Capt. John Cota, 59, has been a master mariner for more than a quarter century. But since the early 1990s he has been investigated for four separate incidents, and last year was reprimanded for running a ship aground, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today.

Coast Guard investigators said Cota and the crew of the Cosco Busan were tested for alcohol after the accident, and the results were negative. Drug test results were not yet available.

Technorati Tags: San Francisco, Oil Spill

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