Family seeks answers in death near Hernandez home

Facing what he drolly called a ``complicated international problem,'' Vladimir Putin says he's ready to give the New England Patriots' owner custom jewelry to compensate for the Super Bowl ring that some imply the Russian president pocketed.

The Super Bowl ring changed hands in 2005 when Robert Kraft was visiting Putin with a business delegation. At the time, he said he gave it as a gift, but last week he was quoted by the New York Post as saying Putin just took it.

Putin said at an economic forum Friday he didn't remember Kraft or the ring. But ``if it is so valuable to him,'' Putin would order a piece of jewelry of precious metal and stones be made for Kraft.

At least one company yanked an endorsement deal from New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez on Friday as puzzled family members of a friend found slain a mile from Hernandez's home sought answers about how he died.

Police have searched in and around Hernandez's sprawling home in North Attleborough, not far from where the Patriots practice, but a court clerk said that as of Friday afternoon no arrest warrants had been issued in the case. The Bristol County district attorney has not released any information, other than saying the death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd was being treated as a homicide.

A jogger found Lloyd's body in an industrial park Monday. Family members said Friday that Lloyd had been dating Hernandez's fiancee's sister for about two years. They said the two men were friends who were together the night Lloyd died.

Police in nearby Providence, R.I., said they had assisted Massachusetts state police and North Attleborough police with activity related to the Hernandez investigation at a strip club named Club Desire. It was unclear if they believed Lloyd and Hernandez might have been at the club in the days before Lloyd died. A reporter was escorted out of the club Friday afternoon before she could speak with employees or patrons.

Family members have said Lloyd, 27, was never in trouble.

``I want the person that killed my son to be brought to justice,'' said Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward. ``That's my first-born child, my only boy child, and they took him away from me. ... I wouldn't trade him for all the money in the world. And if money could bring him back I would give this house up to bring my son back. Nothing can bring my son back.''

Family members said they had heard from Lloyd's girlfriend but not from Hernandez after Lloyd's death. They are anxiously awaiting an arrest in the case.

``We're just hoping for justice,'' cousin Marsha Martin said. ``We don't want Odin to have died in vain.''

Hernandez's attorney Michael Fee has acknowledged media reports about the state police search of his Hernandez's home but said he wouldn't have any comment on it.

Attleboro District Court clerk magistrate Mark E. Sturdy said three search warrants were issued in the investigation earlier in the week but have not been returned, meaning they're not public. He said no arrest warrants had been filed in state courts by the time court closed at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Hernandez was gone from his home for most of the day Friday, including when two state police officers knocked on his door. He returned home with his attorney around 5 p.m.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James has said the team does not anticipate commenting publicly during the police investigation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was waiting for the legal process to take its course.

CytoSport, a Benicia, Calif.-based company that makes Muscle Milk and other supplements for athletes, said Friday it was ending Hernandez's endorsement contract, effective immediately, because of the investigation.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in 2010. Since then, he has combined with Rob Gronkowski to form one of the top tight end duos in the NFL. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April but is expected to be ready for training camp. Last summer, the Patriots gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

Hernandez said after he was drafted that he had failed a drug test while with the Gators and had been upfront with NFL teams about the issue.

Earlier this week, a man filed a lawsuit in South Florida claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club there.

Alexander Bradley's lawsuit accuses Hernandez of negligence, among other things, suggesting that the shooting may have been accidental. Bradley said he lost his right eye and suffers many other lingering effects from the shooting.

A spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County sheriff's office said Friday that investigators would need to speak with Bradley to move forward with a criminal investigation and cannot rely on the claims he made in his lawsuit. The spokeswoman, Teri Barbera, said Bradley repeatedly refused to cooperate in the criminal probe after he was shot in February, telling detectives he didn't know who shot him.

Hernandez's attorney did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

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Patriots player had link to homicide victim

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, already connected to a homicide victim in Massachusetts, is being sued in South Florida by a man claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club.

The lawsuit filed late Wednesday by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley comes as police in New England investigate the death of 27-year-old semi-pro player Odin Lloyd. Lloyd's body was found in an industrial park near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass. Lloyd's family has said he had some connection to Hernandez but would not elaborate.

In his federal lawsuit seeking at least $100,000 in damages, Bradley claims he and Hernandez were with a group in February at Tootsie's club in Miami when the two got into an argument. Later, as they were driving to Palm Beach County, Bradley claims Hernandez shot him with a handgun, causing him to lose his right eye.

Bradley, who is from Connecticut, also suffers from jaw pain, headaches, permanent injury to his right hand and arm and will probably need further surgery, according to the lawsuit. He has already undergone facial reconstruction surgery and has plates and screws in the right side of his face.

Bradley ``will require extensive medical care and treatment for the rest of his life,'' the four-page lawsuit says.

Bradley did not mention Hernandez in a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report at the time. Bradley, found shot and bleeding Feb. 13 in an alley behind a John Deere store, insisted to investigators he did not know who shot him and gave only a vague description of possible assailants. A store employee found Bradley after hearing a shot outside, but the store's video surveillance system wasn't working.

Hernandez's lawyer did not immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking comment about the lawsuit. The lawsuit does not mention how Hernandez and Bradley are acquainted.

In another development Thursday, police in Providence, R.I., said Hernandez was taunted in May by a man at a nightclub near the Brown University campus but walked away. The man followed Hernandez for three blocks and a crowd formed, held back by police while Hernandez got into his vehicle and left.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, family and police were mum on the nature of Hernandez's relationship to Lloyd, who played for the Boston Bandits semi-pro team.

Media camped out Thursday at Hernandez's home, on the Rhode Island state line not far from the Patriots' stadium in Foxborough. A news helicopter followed along as Hernandez drove in a white SUV from his home to the stadium, then got out and went inside.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team had no comment on why Hernandez was there. He said earlier that the team did not anticipate commenting publicly during the police investigation.

A Massachusetts State Police emergency response team on Thursday was searching the brush with metal detectors and poles on a road leading to the entrance to Hernandez's subdivision.

Hernandez attorney Michael Fee acknowledged media reports about the state police search of Hernandez's home as part of an investigation but said he and the player wouldn't have any comment on it.

Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, would not say how Lloyd knew Hernandez and did not say whether police told her how her son died. An uncle said Lloyd had a connection to Hernandez but wouldn't elaborate.

Bristol District Attorney Samuel Sutter's office said investigators were asking for the public's help to find a silver mirror cover believed to have broken off a car between Boston and North Attleborough.

On Wednesday, at least seven state troopers searched both sides of a road just off the street where Hernandez lives. The officers used thin poles to pull back plants and search through undergrowth along the road.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in 2010. Since then, he has combined with Rob Gronkowski to form one of the top tight end duos in the NFL. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April but is expected to be ready for training camp. Last summer, the Patriots gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

Hernandez said after he was drafted that he had failed a drug test while with the Gators and had been upfront with NFL teams about the issue.

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Jennings died at his home

Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez "has not been ruled out as a suspect" in a homicide case near his home. Hernandez is connected to the case through a vehicle rented in his name that is reportedly a key piece of evidence. An ABC News report said Hernandez was initially uncooperative with police.

Let's get this out of the way first: When you hear things like "uncooperative" and "not been ruled out as a suspect" being used by the media, please, please, please take a breath, grab your salt shaker and think rationally.

That's not to question the reports. It's simply to point out that the phrase "uncooperative" when describing someone mentioned in a homicide investigation can mean many things. To wit: uncooperative could mean Hernandez hired a lawyer. It could mean he didn't let police search his home without a warrant. It could mean he's stonewalling them. It could mean lots of things.

So could "not been ruled out as a suspect" -- that phrase sounds like "considered a suspect" to many people. But it simply means Hernandez, because of his proximity to the victim and his name on a rental car cannot be considered not a suspect at this time.

Having said all of that, none of this is great news for Hernandez. Being questioned in a homicide case generally never is.

Being reported as "uncooperative" while questioned in a homicide case and then reportedly deemed "not ruled out as a suspect" ... these are phrases we hear on CSI: Miami and Law & Order right before the cops catch the person responsible for the crime. But that's not real life.

Just remember that when you hear stuff like this being spun out there.

Former New York Giants punter and radio analyst Dave Jennings has died. He was 61.

The Giants announced that Jennings died at his home in Upper Saddle River on Wednesday morning. The team was informed of his death by his sister Susan Jennings and several close friends.

The most prolific punter in Giants history, Jennings had battled Parkinson's disease, a chronic degenerative neurological disorder, since 1996.

Jennings played for the Giants from 1974-84. He holds the franchise records for punts (931 - 405 more than second-place Sean Landeta) and yards (38,792). Jennings was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1978, `79, `80 and `82. He punted a career-high 104 times in 1979, which was the Giants record until Brad Maynard had 111 punts in 1997.

Jennings punted for more than 4,000 yards in a season three times (1979-81) and had a career-best 44.8-yard average in 1980.

``Dave Jennings was one of the all-time great Giants,'' team president John Mara said. ``He was a valued member of the Giants family for more than 30 years as a player and a broadcaster, and we were thrilled to include him in our Ring of Honor. More importantly, he was an outstanding person who battled his illness with rare courage and dignity. We will miss him dearly.''

Giants chairman Steve Tisch said Jennings lived his life with class and dignity, and he was the ultimate professional as a player and commentator.

``Dave is and always will be a Giants' Giant,'' Tisch said.

Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson said Jennings - the first player he met when he joined the team in 1976 - was a great guy who was loved by everyone.

``The Giants were not very good when Dave and I were teammates in the 1970s,'' Carson said. ``Dave was one of the few bright lights on those teams as a punter.''

After leaving the Giants, Jennings punted for the Jets from 1985-87. He worked as a radio commentator for Jets games from 1988-2001.

In 2002, Jennings moved into the Giants radio booth with Bob Papa and the late Dick Lynch. He was also a part of the Giants pregame and postgame shows. Jennings was replaced in the booth by Carl Banks after the 2007 season and left broadcasting the following year.

``Dave was always a guy that I admired from afar, and when we had an opportunity to add him to the Giants' broadcast team - when John Mara brought him back to the Giants family - it was a treat to work with Dave,'' Papa said. ``He was meticulous in his preparation, and Dave was a leader in rules interpretations. Dave knew all the rules. Whenever something came up, you could always turn to Dave and you knew he would get the rule correct and that was going to serve the audience best.''

Jennings was part of the Giants' second Ring of Honor class in 2011. He joined the ring with running back Alex Webster, tight end Mark Bavaro and linebackers Brad Van Pelt and Banks.

Jennings didn't play football at Garden City High School on Long Island. Jennings attended St. Lawrence University, winning two letters in basketball and earning the punter's job as a walk-on.

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