Child (Luis Saez, 8-1), Overanalyze (John Velazquez, 12-1),

HARVEY, La. -- A road rage incident possibly sparked by a driver cutting off another on a nearby bridge spiraled into a shooting that left an ex-NFL player dead, authorities said, amid criticism the shooter was allowed to go free.Joe McKnight, 28, was shot Thursday afternoon in Terrytown, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Authorities identified Ronald Gasser, 54, as the shooter and released him overnight.At a news conference Friday, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said the altercation started on a nearby bridge and proceeded into the New Orleans suburb.Witnesses reported hearing rapid gunfire after the two men were in a heated argument.Normand said Gasser shot McKnight three times from inside his car while McKnight stood outside and then gave his handgun to deputies when they arrived at the scene soon afterward. No weapon was found on or near McKnights body, authorities said.No charges have been filed, and some have criticized the sheriff for releasing Gasser.Morris Reed Sr., president of the New Orleans branch of the NAACP, was part of a small group of protesters outside the sheriffs office Friday. He said they would ask the Department of Justice to open an independent investigation into the shooting.Until someone is charged with a crime, justice is not served, he said on local media.Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting Friday night, holding hands in prayer and lighting candles. One woman held a sign saying This is murder.Normand defended his handling of the case, saying they would investigate thoroughly. Speaking of Gassers release, the sheriff said the state has certain statutes that provide a defense to certain crimes but did not go into detail.Normand rejected accounts in local media speculating about the shooting. He said theres no video of the incident and Gasser did not stand over McKnight, firing. Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said McKnights three wounds were not consistent with being shot from above.When asked whether the states stand your ground law will play a role, Normand said: It is one of the issues that looms on the horizon, before saying he didnt want to give an opinion.Stand your ground laws give people wide latitude to use deadly force when they believe they are in danger. Dane Ciolino, a Loyola University law professor in New Orleans, says under such laws people engaged in lawful activity in a place where they have a lawful right to be, dont have to retreat.He said it ... boils down to whether the killing is necessary for this man to save his life.But news that Gasser has been involved in a similar altercation -- at the same intersection -- with a driver a decade ago will likely raise further questions about who was the aggressor.Normand said in a press release late Friday that in February 2006, a man observed a truck driving erratically and called a number on the truck, speaking to a man later identified as Gasser.Gasser and the man got into a fight on the phone and then Gasser followed the man to a service station, confronted him and hit him several times. Gasser drove away and the victim called 911.Investigators found Gasser and issued a misdemeanor summons for simple battery, which was later dismissed. Authorities said they are trying to determine why it was dismissed.McKnights grandmother, Barbara Franklin, said relatives are trying to find out our own selves just what happened and why Gasser was released.He might be released now, but God is going to bring about justice in it, she said by phone.McKnights death was eerily similar to that of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith who was killed last April in a shooting sparked by a traffic altercation.The man accused of shooting Smith goes on trial Monday in New Orleans. The discrepancy in how the two shooters were treated stood out for Kawanee Holmes, of Gretna, Louisiana who came to the intersection where McKnight was shot to leave balloons and flowers with a friend.It wasnt justified what he did. He could have defused the situation by driving away, Holmes said.McKnight is black and Gasser is white, authorities said. Normand denied race played a role, pointing out that the man who raised McKnight used to be a sheriffs deputy and many people in the department are close to his family.McKnight played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent this season in the Canadian Football League. He was considered the nations No. 1 running back recruit when he came out of Louisiana in 2006 and signed with the University of Southern California.Former teammates in New York remembered McKnight fondly.I enjoyed the time when he was here and getting to know him as a person. I think its going to hurt his son the most and thats what is really bothering me -- knowing that a kid will have to grow up without his dad, said Muhammad Wilkerson.The Jets plan a moment of silence before Mondays game to honor McKnight.Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll coached McKnight at USC and said he had talked with McKnight just three weeks ago in California.He had a great heart, he was a great kid, he was fun to be around, fun loving but you just knew he had a lot of stuff to overcome and he was making it, Carroll said. Were going to miss him greatly, Carroll said.---Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi, Dennis Waszak Jr. in Florham Park, New Jersey, and Tim Booth contributed to this report.---Follow Rebecca Santana on Twitter (at)ruskygal. Derrick Kelly Jersey . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Nick Easton Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. http://www.cheapsaintsjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap-michael-ola-jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Michael Burton Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Sam Mills Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week.NEW YORK -- Back home again, Kentucky Derby winner Orb is the horse to beat in the Belmont Stakes. Orb was made the 3-1 morning-line favourite in a field of 14 entered for Saturdays final leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont Park, and trainer Shug McGaughey is confident his colt can bounce back from his fourth-place finish behind Oxbow in the Preakness. "Hes been here for three weeks, and I think it has to be a help not only mentally but being familiar with the footing as well," McGaughey said. "Hes done well here and trained well here. ... Im going to strike a line through the Preakness. It wasnt his day. It was (trainer) Wayne Lukas and Oxbow and Gary Stevens day. Were going to regroup and hopefully youll see the right horse here on Saturday." Orb drew the No. 5 post Wednesday, with Oxbow two gates over in No. 7. Revolutionary, one of trainer Todd Pletchers record five entries, is the second choice at 9-2. Oxbow is next at 5-1. "I think Shug has established his horse as the favourite today, and thats right," said Lukas, who has won a record 14 Triple Crown races, including the Belmont four times. "But I think he knows he has to take care of business in getting us out of the way, too." The field for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont is the largest since 1996, when Lukas won the race with Editors Note. "Its a great advantage to be on your home court, where you train your horses," said Lukas, who used to have a Belmont-based stable. "They dont have to ship in and get settled, and then get over the surface. Theyve already been doing that." Orb, under Joel Rosario, navigated his way past 16 rivals in the final half mile of the Derby to win by 2 1/2 lengths. In the Preakness, Orb was unable to find running room outside after breaking from the rail, and Oxbow led wire-to-wire under Gary Stevens. McGaughey is well-versed in what it takes to deal with the Belmont -- one long trip around the spacious oval. "The jockey is really going to have to read the race -- its what separates the top riders from some of those that arent," said McGaughey, who won the Belmont with Easy Goer in 1989 and spoiled Sunday Silences Triple Crown try.dddddddddddd. "If you turn down the backside at Belmont, its not like turning down the backside at Churchill Downs, or Pimlico or the Fair Grounds. "Youve got a long way to go, and big open space through there, and you better be patient. If youre not, its going to get to you." Orb comes into the race with five wins in nine starts for owners Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps and Stuart Janney III, while Oxbows Preakness win was just his third win in 11 starts for Calumet Farm. Pletcher is looking for his second Belmont win. He won it in 2007 with the filly Rags to Riches, and Unlimited Budget could make him 2-for-2 with his Belmont fillies if Rosie Napravnik can pull off the upset and become the second female rider to win a Triple Crown race (Julie Krone won the 1993 Belmont with Colonial Affair). "Shes a big, strong, talented filly. From a physical standpoint, she is going to match up well," Pletcher said. "My biggest concern is the mile-and-a-half, with her not as strongly bred as Rags to Riches. But shes trained very well." Pletcher will also send out Overanalyze, Palace Malice and Midnight Taboo. Mike Repole owns Unlimited Budget, Overanalyze and Midnight Taboo. Unlimited Budget, who won her first four starts before running third in the Kentucky Oaks, and Peter Pan winner Freedom Child are co-fourth choices at 8-1. The last Derby-Belmont winner was Thunder Gulch in 1995, and the last Preakness-Belmont winner was Afleet Alex in 2005. The last rematch of the Derby and Preakness winners was in 2011, when Preakness winner Shackleford ran fifth and Derby winner Animal Kingdom sixth behind Ruler On Ice. The field from the rail out is Frac Daddy (Alan Garcia, 30-1), Freedom Child (Luis Saez, 8-1), Overanalyze (John Velazquez, 12-1), Giant Fi