The shooting death of former USC Trojans and New York Jets running back?Joe McKnight?in a New Orleans suburb was a road rage incident that started on a nearby bridge, a sheriff said Friday, as he urged against a rush to judgment and defended his handling of the case as the alleged shooter was released overnight.McKnight was shot and killed Thursday afternoon in the community of Terrytown, just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Authorities have identified 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, who stayed at the scene, as the shooter, and he was released overnight, sparking criticism.Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said during a news conference on Friday that the altercation that ended with McKnights death started on a nearby bridge -- possibly when one of the two men cut the other off -- and then proceeded into nearby streets in the New Orleans suburb. He did not say which driver cut off the other.Authorities said Gasser shot McKnight three times through an open window from inside his car with a semi-automatic handgun while McKnight was standing outside.Normand said witnesses observed a heated verbal exchange between Gasser and McKnight before the shooting. However, Normand said that one witness account, which indicated Gasser was standing over McKnight when he fired a shot, was factually incorrect and did not happen.Normand said three casings were located inside Gassers vehicle, and coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said Friday that McKnight had wounds to his left hand and entry wounds to his right shoulder and the right side of his chest.?Gasser stayed at the scene, relinquished his semi-automatic handgun to officers and was taken into custody and questioned, the sheriff said. No guns were found outside either vehicle. According to The Times-Picayune, Gasser told police he was the shooter.Normand said later Friday in a news release that the man who shot McKnight was involved in a 2006 altercation at the same intersection, during which he chased down and struck another male driver, who had observed a truck driving erratically and called a phone number on the truck and spoke to a man later identified as Gasser.Gasser and the 51-year-old man got into an argument on the phone, according to the sheriffs statement. Gasser followed the man to a service station and began to strike him with a closed fist several times.Gasser drove away and the other man called 911. Investigators found Gasser and issued a misdemeanor summons for simple battery, which was later dismissed.Protesters upset at Gassers overnight release gathered outside the sheriffs office earlier Friday.Normand defended his handling of the current case, saying the investigation was ongoing. No charges have been filed, with Normand saying the state has certain statutes that provide a defense to certain crimes, but he did not go into further detail.The easiest thing for me would have been, Book him, Danno. Right? Normand said, referring to the police saying made popular on Hawaii Five-O.Mr. Gasser is not going anywhere. He has been completely cooperative with us in every request we have made. We will do a very thorough and deliberate investigation.Normand said he did not want to go into detail about the investigation, saying that he did not want to taint any prospective witnesses that might still come forward.McKnights grandmother said family members are still seeking information on his death and why Gasser was released. Barbara Franklin told The Associated Press by phone Friday that relatives are trying to find out our own selves more about what happened.She said relatives havent had any communication with the sheriffs office about Gassers release, saying she learned of it through a radio broadcast on Friday.He might be released now, but God is going to bring about justice in it, Franklin said.Gasser couldnt immediately be reached by The Associated Press.Gassers release immediately raised questions about what exactly led to the shooting. Arthur A. Lemmann, a New Orleans-based attorney not connected with the case, told The Associated Press it was too early to tell but that it could indicate Gasser had said he acted in self-defense.Its not the end of the matter. They can continue to investigate. They can always bring charges, but what it indicates to me is that there was some basis to believe that the homicide was justified. And the most typical justification of a homicide is self-defense, Lemmann said.McKnight was born in River Ridge, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, and starred at John Curtis Christian High School. He was considered the No. 1 running back recruit in the country when he signed with USC.He played three seasons at USC (2007-09) under coach Pete Carroll and was often compared to do-it-all running back Reggie Bush.McKnight totaled 2,755 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns while with the Trojans, and his 2,213 career rushing yards are 16th all time at the school. He did not play in the final game of the 2009 season -- the Emerald Bowl -- as USC investigated him for allegedly receiving improper benefits.He eventually left school for the NFL draft, where the Jets made him a fourth-round pick in 2010. He spent three seasons with New York, earning one start in 39 games and totaling 502 yards rushing and 177 yards receiving. He also was one of the NFLs top kick returners in 2011 and 2012, averaging 29.4 yards per return over that span.The Jets will honor McKnight with a moment of silence before their Monday night game.But McKnight landed in the doghouse amid a turbulent training camp in 2013. He flunked the teams conditioning test, blaming dehydration; he was arrested in New Jersey on outstanding traffic violations on an off day; he missed practice time with what the team characterized as a head injury and McKnight later called a concussion; and he got into a war of words with a fan on Twitter, suggesting they meet for a fight.McKnight was released by the Jets in August 2013, the biggest surprise of the teams final cuts before the regular season.McKnight signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in January 2014, playing two games that year and scoring two touchdowns, both on receptions, before tearing an Achilles tendon.He played in the CFL this season, with the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He had 38 rushes for 228 yards for the Roughriders, whose season ended Nov. 5. As of Thursday, he still was listed on their roster.McKnight is the second NFL player to die as a result of an apparent road rage incident in 2016. New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith was killed in April.Information from ESPN staff writer Rich Cimini and The Associated Press was used in this report. Jacoby Ellsbury Jersey . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. New York Yankees Jerseys . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. http://www.yankeesrookiestore.com/Yankees-Wade-Boggs-Kids-Jersey/ . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Bernie Williams Jersey . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Giancarlo Stanton Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. A roundup of the past weeks notable boxing results from around the world:Saturday at MontrealDavid Lemieux W10 Cristian Fabian Rios Super middleweight Scores: 100-90 (twice), 99-91 Records: Lemieux (36-3, 32 KOs); Rios (21-8-3, 6 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Former middleweight titlist Lemieux, 27, returned to action in his hometown and won his second fight in a row since an eighth-round knockout loss to Gennady Golovkin in their title unification bout last October. Lemieux knocked out Glen Tapia in four rounds in May and then, at a contract weight of 165 pounds, defeated the game Rios, a 33-year-old southpaw from Argentina, by a virtual shutout decision to keep himself in the mix for a big fight in the spring with Canelo Alvarez, who plans to move up to 160 pounds in 2017 in anticipation of a showdown with Golovkin next fall.Lemieux spent most of the fight stalking Rios, who has lost two of his last three fights but has still never been knocked out -- and Lemieux is a devastating puncher. But Rios defense was solid and he never truly got hit cleanly with one of Lemieuxs fight-altering shots. By the second round, Lemieux was backing Rios up and loading up on left hooks. Rios did force Lemieux to retreat to the ropes, courtesy of a left hand at the end of the round, but those sorts of shots were few and far between.It may have been a lopsided fight, but it was at least an entertaining battle as Lemieux, who had some mild swelling under his right eye, never stopped looking for the knockout.Also on the card, Golden Boy Promotions super middleweight prospect Dmitrius Ballard (15-0, 11 KOs), 23, of Temple Hills, Maryland, dropped Gergo Harvath (9-2-1, 5 KOs), 23, of Hungary, three times en route to a one-sided knockout at 1 minute, 20 seconds of the second round in their scheduled eight-round bout.Saturday at Birmingham, EnglandSam Eggington TKO8 Frankie GavinWelterweight Records: Eggington (19-3, 11 KOs); Gavin (23-3, 14 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In a very good fight, Eggington, 23, of England, scored the biggest win of his career as he knocked countryman Gavin down three times in route to a stoppage victory. Eggington won his second fight in a row since losing the British and Commonwealth titles by unanimous decision to Bradley Skeete on March 5.Gavin, a 31-year-old southpaw, failed to make weight for this fight, coming in at 149? pounds for the 147-pound bout and was not eligible to win the regional title on the line. Things got worse for him from there as he lost for the second time in his last three bouts, with the other defeat coming by one-sided, sixth-round knockout to Kell Brook while challenging for his welterweight world title in May 2015.Eggington dropped Gavin with a clean right hand in the center of the ring in the third round, although Gavin popped right up. In the sixth round, a round-of-the-year candidate, Eggington hammered Gavin along the ropes early before Gavin came roaring back. But then Eggington rebounded to drive Gavin into the ropes and tee off on him. Eggington got in a hard left hand to the body that caused him to sag into the ropes and referee Victor Loughlin ruled a knockdown because they were holding him up with 50 seconds to go. Amazingly, Gavin came back strong to finish the round. Fantastic back-and-forth action.Eggington stopped Gavin in the eighth round, doubling him over with a right hand to the body and pouring on the attack until Loughlin jumped in to wave off the fight at 42 seconds, just as Gavin was falling to the mat for the third time.Craig Cunningham TKO8 Anthony OgogoMiddleweight Records: Cunningham (17-1, 4 KOs); Ogogo (11-1, 7 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In winning his sixth fight in a row, Cunningham, a 28-year-old southpaw, pulled an upset in his hometown by knocking out countryman Ogogo, 27, a 2012 Olympic bronzee medalist.ddddddddddddunningham scored a second-round knockdown when he tagged Ogogo, who was already on shaky legs, with a right hook during a fierce exchange. In the eighth round, referee Ian John Lewis called a timeout to take Ogogo back to his corner to have some loose tape on his left glove fixed. While Tony Sims, Ogogos trainer, was dealing with the tape, he and Ogogo were talking and moments later Sims told Lewis to stop the fight, which he did at 1 minute, 27 seconds. Ogogo was apparently having vision problems, which led to the stunning conclusion.Also on the card, junior bantamweight Khalid Yafai (20-0, 14 KOs), 27, of England, knocked out perpetual loser Johnson Tellez (9-28-5, 6 KOs), 24, of Nicaragua, with a body shot at 2 minutes, 48 seconds of the third round to win a tuneup fight for a world title shot against Luis Concepcion (35-4, 24 KOs), 31, of Panama, on Dec. 10. That fight is slated to be on the undercard of heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshuas next defense.In another undercard fight, former junior middleweight world title challenger Brian Rose (29-4-1, 8 KOs), 31, of England -- who got knocked out in the seventh round while challenging then-titleholder Demetrius Andrade in June 2014 -- won a shutout eight-round decision against Stiliyan Kostov (20-7, 16 KOs), 30, of Bulgaria, who dropped his third decision in a row this year. Referee Shaun Messer scored in his favor, 80-72.Saturday at Tijuana, MexicoLuis Nery KO2 Richie MepranumBantamweight Records: Nery (21-0, 15 KOs); Mepranum (31-6-1, 8 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Nery, a 21-year-old southpaw from Mexico, is a good-looking up-and-coming prospect with a fan-friendly style and good power. He and the much more experienced Mepranum went right after each other from the opening bell and both had their moments in the opening round. Mepranum, a 29-year-old southpaw from the Philippines, was under heavy attack early in the second round. Nery was connecting with clean shots with both hands and slipped in a right hand to the head that sent an already-hurt Mepranum to the canvas. He beat the count, but Nery marched right to him and pounded him with a right-left combination that dropped him again. Mepranum was in bad shape and referee Fernando Renteria immediately waved off the fight without a count at 41 seconds.It was the second solid victory in a row for Nery, who knocked out former interim junior bantamweight titlist David Sanchez in the fourth round on July 30.Mepranum, with vast experience, was a solid opponent for Nery, although he has lost two fights in a row, including a spirited effort in an eighth-round knockout loss challenging then-junior bantamweight titleholder Carlos Cuadras on April 23. He has also twice challenged for flyweight world titles, but was stopped by Julio Cesar Miranda in 2010 and Juan Francisco Estrada in 2014.Saturday at Kempton Park, South AfricaHekkie Budler W12 Siyabonga SiyoJunior flyweight Scores: 118-110, 116-112 (twice) Records: Budler (30-2, 9 KOs); Siyo (10-2, 4 KOs)Rafaels remarks: On March 19, Budler, 32, of South Africa, lost a tight unanimous decision (115-113 on all three scorecards) and his strawweight world title to Byron Rojas. In his first fight since, Budler took on Siyo, his countryman, and handed him his second 12-round decision loss in a clear win.In the main event of the card, South African southpaw Kevin Lerena (16-1, 8 KOs), 24, won promoter Rodney Bermans Super Four cruiserweight tournament final by majority decision over Denmarks Micki Nielsen (22-1, 14 KOs), 23, in a bout filled with clinches and grappling. In the end, Lerena got the nod 97-93 and 95-95 while one judge scored the fight 95-95. Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online NFL Jerseys From China Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Jerseys From China China Womens NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '