NY high school to honor slain NFL player Will Smith

UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A ceremony is planned this week at the central New York high school alma mater of Will Smith, the former NFL star slain in New Orleans last weekend.

Officials at Proctor High School in Utica say the ceremony honoring Smith's life will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at the school's D'Allessandro Stadium. Smith graduated from Proctor in 2000 before going on play for Ohio State and the New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans police say the Smith, 34, and his wife, Racquel, were shot by a man in an act of road rage. Smith died at the scene while his wife suffered a leg wound.

The New York City-born Smith was planning to return to Utica this week for an annual dinner he hosted, followed by a visit to Proctor High on Friday.