February 17, 1949 – July 21, 2016: Dennis Green was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1982 after his Northwestern Wildcats snapped a 34-game losing streak, won three games and was competitive in several others.
Freshman quarterback Sandy Schwab gained national recognition by completing 45 passes in a loss to Michigan, and he would set 12 freshman passing records during that season.
The following year Northwestern won just two games, and a 48-17 drubbing at Purdue was one of nine losses. I covered that game as a young sports reporter. Postgame interviews were held under a seating area of the stadium and, as I prepared to return to the press box to write a story, Green and Schwab were having a conversation near the Northwestern team busses.
Schwab had on a sports coat, Green was wearing a Northwestern sweatshirt. The men weren’t arguing – just talking.
It turns out that Schwab reportedly did not want to ride the bus back to Chicago, and sought permission to travel with his parents. Green told him, “We came here as a team, we’re leaving as a team.”
Schwab missed the bus. Green suspended the talented sophomore for one game. I always respected Dennis Green after that day, even though I would never meet him again.
Green died of cardiac arrest last Thursday at the age of 67.
One of few black coaches in the NFL’s history, he went 113-94 with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings went 15-1 in 1998 and set a record for most points scored in a season. A chip-shot field goal was missed that would have iced the NFC Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons would score a late touchdown, denying Green a Super Bowl appearance.
While many fans remember him for his “they are who we thought they were” tirade after his Cardinals blew a 20-point lead and lost to Chicago in 2006, Green hardly ever lost his cool.
Groomed under San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, Green also coached Stanford for three seasons, where he compiled a 16-18 record and took Stanford to the 1991 Aloha Bowl.
“Dennis Green really played a big part in my career. He was one of those coaches who never shied away,” Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice said.
“You hear guys say that once you get to a certain level, you can’t tell that individual anything anymore. Dennis was totally the opposite. He’d say, ‘C’mon Jerry, you can run that slant route a little better than that. You’ve got to be able to read that defense, you’ve got to be able to make that catch.’ If I had a drop or something, he would call me out. But I think that gave me the incentive to work a little bit harder. My condolences go out to his family, because I really loved that man.”
Witnesses, sources Elliott is innocent
The most seasoned sports fan or media member can be caught off-guard by an incident or allegation involving a player, coach or front-office member.
It happened last Friday when TMZ, then ESPN, reported that St. Louis-area native Ezekiel Elliott, the Dallas Cowboys’ first round draft pick and former Ohio State star, faced an allegation that he assaulted a woman in Columbus, Ohio.
Stunner.
Elliott was not arrested, and he has not been charged.
Clarence Hill, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Cowboys beat writer, said on Twitter, “Per a source, Elliott broke off the relationship and alleged victim said she would ruin him if he did. Thus the accusations.”
Mike Leslie of WFAA in Dallas reported, “High-ranking Cowboys source says that Ezekiel Elliott has messages saved on his phone proving his ex-girlfriend is trying to set him up.”
Elliott immediately denied that he assaulted 20-year-old Tiffany Thompson inside a vehicle on Friday, or during the previous week, which she also alleged on an Instagram page that has since been made private. She included photos of bruises on her wrist.
Thompson said she and Elliott lived together for three months, a claim which he also denies.
He said that he paid her rent and had co-signed on her car purchase. Elliott said Thompson’s wounds on the Instagram page were sustained when she was in a fight in a bar.
Four witnesses, including one who was in the car, told police they did not observe an assault.
“The reported allegations and Internet postings regarding our son are completely false,” Elliott’s father, Stacy Elliott, said in a statement released last Friday.
“Ezekiel has done nothing wrong. The police have investigated this matter and eyewitnesses have verified the lack of any wrongdoing. The actual evidence in this matter clearly indicates what the real motivation was behind the police being called. We are confident that when the truth comes to light it will reveal the falsity of these claims. Ezekiel has been fully cooperative with the police and will continue to do so – along with cooperating with the NFL – moving forward.”
If he were black, revisited
Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale (14-3, 3.18 ERA) was miffed about the style and comfort of the throwback jerseys that his team was set to wear last Saturday night. He was also scheduled to pitch.
He chose to throw a temper-tantrum that included taking a pair of scissors to many of the jerseys so his team could not wear them during the game. He also got into a heated argument with a member of the front office.
For this, he was not allowed to pitch Saturday and was suspended five games – meaning that he would miss just one start. The White Sox have said the incident will have no bearing on whether he is traded. Several teams want Sale as the August 1 trade deadline approaches, but the White Sox say he could remain a member of the team.
If Chris Sale were black and pulled this same stunt, the only chance that he would remain in Chicago is if he were traded to the Cubs.
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
