Marquise Hill

NEW ORLEANS - Alone with her memories near the mighty waters in the Mississippi delta that swallowed her home, her city, and then her only child, a Patriots mother grieves. In a Texas town 500 miles away, another woman mourns the same lost soul, the father of her 2-year-old son. Eight months after Marquise Hill of the Patriots accidentally drowned in the lead gray depths of Lake Pontchartrain in the lap of New Orleans, the women he left behind - Sherry Hill and Inell Benn - have little to say to each other, their relationship strained by the knotty conflicts that often develop when a person of...

NEW ORLEANS - Alone with her memories near the mighty waters in the Mississippi delta that swallowed her home, her city, and then her only child, a Patriots mother grieves. In a Texas town 500 miles away, another woman mourns the same lost soul, the father of her 2-year-old son. Eight months after Marquise Hill of the Patriots accidentally drowned in the lead gray depths of Lake Pontchartrain in the lap of New Orleans, the women he left behind - Sherry Hill and Inell Benn - have little to say to each other, their relationship strained by the knotty conflicts that often develop when a person of...

The NFL is looking into All-America wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's eligibility for April's draft. Fitzgerald has played just two seasons at Pittsburgh, and NFL rules require that a player's graduating class must be three years removed from high school. But Fitzgerald spent a year at a prep school before entering Pitt. "We received a letter from a lawyer representing Mr. Fitzgerald last week," NFL vice president Joe Browne said yesterday. "We have asked for additional info to clarify his draft status.

FOXBOROUGH - Jarvis Green has done an admirable job filling in for a missing Patriots defensive lineman this season. Sure, the sixth-year defensive end has more than sufficiently substituted for Richard Seymour, who missed the first seven games of the season following offseason knee surgery, but Green's most important role isn't rushing the passer. It's replacing a father. A grieving Green has taken it upon himself to help raise Máshy Hill, the 2-year-old son of teammate and friend Marquise Hill, who drowned following a Jet Ski accident in New Orleans in May. Green had known Hill since the 10th...

The current was strong when Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill and a friend took a Jet Ski onto Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans Sunday night. A few minutes after the pair left the dock around 8:45 p.m., people on shore heard screams. Hill's Jet Ski had capsized, and the 6-foot-6-inch, 300-pound lineman and his friend were thrashing in the water. Yesterday, after a search involving 30 agents from local police agencies and the Coast Guard, Hill's body was found at about 2 p.m., a quarter-mile from the spot where his Jet Ski capsized, according to Brian Clark of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and...

As one Patriots employee put it yesterday, "Just saw a 20-wheeler Brinks truck pull up to the front door. Seymour must have signed. " He was right. Arguably the best defensive lineman in the NFL, Richard Seymour will remain with the Patriots for the long term after agreeing to a multiyear contract extension that was under review by the NFL because of a rule that doesn't allow a team to change the dollars in a contract twice in the same year. In any event, Seymour, who had talked in the past like a man who was not interested in giving a hometown...

NEW ORLEANS -- Three times in their history the Patriots have traveled to this charming city to play in the Super Bowl. But yesterday they came here for a much more solemn occasion -- to honor the memory of teammate Marquise Hill. The reserve defensive end and New Orleans native drowned following a Jet Ski mishap Sunday. His body was discovered in nearby Lake Pontchartrain Monday. Water from that lake flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Jacob Schoen and Son Funeral Home was left with waist-high water in its parking lot, but yesterday it...

FOXBOROUGH -- The plastic box was surrounded by bodies three rows deep. Microphones and television cameras were pointed at it. Photographers stood poised, cameras at the ready. Everyone stared at the silent box, just in case the Wizard revealed himself. "I am the great and powerful Oz!" the Wizard said, his voice booming when he finally spoke. Well, not exactly. When the Wizard's voice finally was heard, it actually sounded like Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a man apparently too busy drafting the best defensive lineman available yesterday to take a walk up two flights of stairs and...

FOXBOROUGH - Jarvis Green has done an admirable job filling in for a missing Patriots defensive lineman this season. Sure, the sixth-year defensive end has more than sufficiently substituted for Richard Seymour, who missed the first seven games of the season following offseason knee surgery, but Green's most important role isn't rushing the passer. It's replacing a father. A grieving Green has taken it upon himself to help raise Máshy Hill, the 2-year-old son of teammate and friend Marquise Hill, who drowned following a Jet Ski accident in New Orleans in May. Green had known...

INDIANAPOLIS — A boy needed a mentor. A cancer patient needed a hand. A baseball manager needed direction, and a football great needed an angel. They all needed a friend, and Bill Belichick was there. Not the Belichick of Patriots lore, the glowering titan of NFL coaches. The private Belichick. The guy who loves the Grateful Dead, reads Harry Potter, and happily reminisces with his pals about some of the best days of his life: growing up at the US Naval Academy, presiding over his college's Animal House fraternity, belting out the...

NEW ORLEANS -- Three times in their history the Patriots have traveled to this charming city to play in the Super Bowl. But yesterday they came here for a much more solemn occasion -- to honor the memory of teammate Marquise Hill. The reserve defensive end and New Orleans native drowned following a Jet Ski mishap Sunday. His body was discovered in nearby Lake Pontchartrain Monday. Water from that lake flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Jacob Schoen and Son Funeral Home was left with waist-high water in its parking lot, but yesterday it was the site of an...

The current was strong when Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill and a friend took a Jet Ski onto Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans Sunday night. A few minutes after the pair left the dock around 8:45 p.m., people on shore heard screams. Hill's Jet Ski had capsized, and the 6-foot-6-inch, 300-pound lineman and his friend were thrashing in the water. Yesterday, after a search involving 30 agents from local police agencies and the Coast Guard, Hill's body was found at about 2 p.m., a quarter-mile from the spot where his Jet Ski capsized, according to Brian Clark of the...

As one Patriots employee put it yesterday, "Just saw a 20-wheeler Brinks truck pull up to the front door. Seymour must have signed. " He was right. Arguably the best defensive lineman in the NFL, Richard Seymour will remain with the Patriots for the long term after agreeing to a multiyear contract extension that was under review by the NFL because of a rule that doesn't allow a team to change the dollars in a contract twice in the same year. In any event, Seymour, who had talked in the past like a man who was not interested in giving a hometown...

FOXBOROUGH -- The plastic box was surrounded by bodies three rows deep. Microphones and television cameras were pointed at it. Photographers stood poised, cameras at the ready. Everyone stared at the silent box, just in case the Wizard revealed himself. "I am the great and powerful Oz!" the Wizard said, his voice booming when he finally spoke. Well, not exactly. When the Wizard's voice finally was heard, it actually sounded like Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a man apparently too busy drafting the best defensive lineman available yesterday to take a walk up two flights of stairs and con- ...

The NFL is looking into All-America wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's eligibility for April's draft. Fitzgerald has played just two seasons at Pittsburgh, and NFL rules require that a player's graduating class must be three years removed from high school. But Fitzgerald spent a year at a prep school before entering Pitt. "We received a letter from a lawyer representing Mr. Fitzgerald last week," NFL vice president Joe Browne said yesterday. "We have asked for additional info to clarify his draft status.

FOXBOROUGH -- A meaningless season finale at Gillette Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers awaits. What do you do if you're Patriots coach Bill Belichick? Give Tom Brady the keys to your Nantucket getaway and say, "See you in three weeks"? Hand Corey Dillon a check for his remaining $375,000 incentive bonus (taking him up to $2.25 million) and say, "Thanks for the year"? Tell Rodney Harrison to stay in his slippers and enjoy a couple of mugs of dark roast and the Sunday paper on a nice comfy sofa in front of the plasma TV?

FOXBOROUGH -- The matchup has the potential to be a classic heavyweight bout. On one side of the line of scrimmage, defensive end Richard Seymour is a four-time Pro Bowl selection, an immovable force. On the other side, left tackle Bryant McKinnie and left guard Steve Hutchinson rub elbows as a formidable bulldozing combination. If there is one positional battle that trumps all in Monday night's game between the Patriots and Vikings, this is it. Three first-round picks. Three mammoth men. A lot of power, technique, and skill.