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NEW ORLEANS -- One car rear-ends another on a Saturday night. People argue. It escalates.Ten or so gunshots later, one driver is dead and the other waits nervously to give his side of the story to police.Conflicts settled by gunfire are tragically common in New Orleans but there was nothing routine about this one: the dead man was retired football player Will Smith, a star on the 2006 Saints team that help lift the stricken citys spirits with a winning season after Hurricane Katrina, and on the team that won the franchises only Super Bowl three seasons later.The accused is a 29-year-old former semiprofessional football player named Cardell Hayes. The owner of a tow-truck company and the father of a 5-year-old son, Hayes is described by friends as soft-spoken, even-tempered -- hardly the type to erupt into a lethal road rage. His attorney has been laying the groundwork for a self-defense argument ahead of a trial that opens Monday, but he may face an added burden in Smiths local popularity and national renown.Will Smith obviously was a beloved member of the New Orleans community, Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino said in a recent interview. And thats going to make the defense of this case all the more difficult.Smiths shooting death is strangely similar to that of Joe McKnight, another former NFL player who was shot and killed just last Thursday in a New Orleans suburb after a road rage incident on a nearby bridge spiraled out of control. The man authorities identified as the shooter in that case -- Ronald Gasser -- has been released from custody with no charges as the investigation continues.Hayes has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in Smiths death. Conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. Hes also charged with attempted second-degree murder in the wounding of Smiths wife, who was shot in the legs. Hes been jailed since the April shooting, unable to make the $1.75 million bond.Snippets of surveillance video from near the scene, police statements plus testimony from pre-trial hearings paint this picture of what happened on April 9:Smith, his wife and two friends left a restaurant in New Orleans Lower Garden District and were heading downtown on Magazine Street. At one point Smiths SUV appeared to bump the rear of a Hummer that had come to a stop on the street.Rather than stop, Smith swerved his SUV around the Hummer and continued downtown. Moments later, the Hummer hit Smiths SUV from behind, shattering the rear window and pushing it into the rear of another car -- in which more friends of Smith were riding.Who the aggressors were in the ensuing conflict will be at issue in the trial. Hayes acknowledged to at least one police officer that he was armed when he got out of his vehicle. He said he was accosted by an unarmed Smith and others, and that Smith struck him, although police said there were no obvious signs of injury.The first officer to approach the scene after the crash was an off-duty rookie who had been at a nearby bar. Christopher McGaw has testified that he approached the scene as the argument grew more heated, ducked for cover when gunshots rang out, then approached again, finding Smith slumped across the front seat of his car, one hand extended toward the glove box.What was I supposed to do? Hayes is heard asking McGaw, on a recording of a 911 call McGaw had placed at the scene.Why Smith drove away from the scene of the first, apparently minor accident; whether Hayes intentionally rammed Smiths vehicle moments later; whether Smith was reaching for a gun when he was shot to death -- all are issues that will likely be addressed at trial.On the side of the defense is a toxicology report showing that Smith was legally drunk at the time of his death. Other factors Ciolino cited: The fact that Will Smith was, by some reports, so loud and belligerent; the fact that the forensic evidence, arguably could support that Will Smith was reaching for a gun.Smith had returned to his SUV when he was shot and police said there was a loaded gun in the vehicle. That might help the defense argument that Hayes shot in self-defense, Ciolino said. But its an argument that could be blunted by the fact that Smith was shot eight times -- seven in the back, one in the side -- Ciolino added.Prosecutors also have made much of the fact that Hayess Hummer had hit Smiths SUV from behind so hard that the rear window shattered.Another odd twist in the case: A friend of Smiths who wound up at the scene the night of the shooting is William Ceravolo, a retired New Orleans police officer who had dined with the Smiths before the accident. Ceravolo was among six officers sued by Hayes after police killed his father, Anthony Hayes, in December 2005. Police settled the lawsuit in 2011, and terms were confidential.Nike Vapormax On Sale . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Cheap Air Max Plus 270 . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. http://www.cheapairmaxplusclearance.com/cheap-air-vapormax-plus/vapormax-plus-white.html . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Air Max Plus Mens Sale .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Air Max Plus Black .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.OAKLAND (10-3) at SAN DIEGO (5-8)Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE -- Pick-emRECORD VS. SPREAD -- Oakland 8-5, San Diego 7-6SERIES RECORD -- Raiders lead 62-50-2LAST MEETING -- Raiders beat Chargers 34-31, Oct. 9LAST WEEK -- Raiders lost to Chiefs 21-13; Chargers lost to Panthers 28-16AP PRO32 RANKING -- Raiders No. 4, Chargers No. 25RAIDERS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (6), RUSH (7), PASS (5).RAIDERS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (30), RUSH (26), PASS (27).CHARGERS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (11), RUSH (23), PASS (6).CHARGERS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (17), RUSH (6), PASS (25).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- Raiders need win to clinch first playoff berth since 2002, when they advanced to Super Bowl in San Diego before being routed 48-21 by Tampa Bay. ... This could be final Raiders-Chargers game in San Diego as Chargers chairman Dean Spanos is strongly considering move to Los Angeles after failing to get voter approval for new downtown stadium to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium. ... This could come close to Chargers first sellout of 2016, thanks to large number of Raiders fans that annually turn out. ... Chargers beest crowd this season was 60,641 against New Orleans on Oct.dddddddddddd 2 at 70,000-seat Qualcomm. ... Raiders 10 victories this season are more than Chargers nine victories in two seasons. ... Raiders QB Derek Carr looks to bounce back from perhaps worst game of career, 17 for 41 for 117 yards in 21-13 loss to Chiefs, posting career-low 49.1 rating. ... Chargers coach Mike McCoy is 27-34 in four seasons. Chargers have lost 20 of last 29 games. ... San Diego has lost 11 of its last 12 AFC West games dating to 2014. ... Chargers QB Philip Rivers tries to bounce back from five-turnover performance at Carolina, including three INTs. ... Chargers RB Melvin Gordon, 3 yards shy of first 1,000-yard season, unlikely to play due to hip injury ... Fantasy Tip: Chargers TE Antonio Gates still three TD catches shy of breaking Tony Gonzalezs NFL record for tight ends, 111, so might be worth benching.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '