Hartford's Alan Greenberg dies

I loved Alan's sarcasm and humor. He was a great role model for me.

First Mark Leary, now Alan. Unbelievably sad news.

 

Alan and I shared an affection for the old Baltimore Colts and an addiction for the stock market. I was with him at the 1987 World Series when the market tanked, and his anxiety that day was as vivid and funny as the best of Woody Allen. Whenever I saw him, and that was infrequently after he went on the NFL beat, he remembered everything I had told him about my family, and he could pick up the conversation as if we'd been parted for five minutes instead of five months.
When he was with you, he never seemed preoccupied. You had his attention, his interest and his compassion. He was so engaging, so full of life, that he couldn't help but crawl inside you. If those qualities helped to make him a great storyteller, they made him a better friend.

 

This has been passed around among a few Patriots' writers... a trust fund has been established for Alan's three children:

Greenberg Children's Trust
c/o Citizens Bank
450 Boston Post Road
Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776

 

Dave: What can you tell us about the test, the cost, the commonality of having this done? I'm sick about Alan's death, even though I did not know him very well.

 

I agree with everything my friend, Tim Sullivan, noted about Alan. A lot of guys say their family is more important to them than their jobs but with Alan, you never questioned it. I think because he had a family relatively late in life, he appreciated his wife and children even more. He was so proud of them all and equally eager to hear about the pride of other parents.

When the two of us were young and energetic and sure we knew everything about everything, Alan and I spent a lot of time together on the road, usually talking about topics other than sports. They were always hours well spent. I know of few people who enjoyed writing as much as he did.

This is a very sad day for our business. But if this horrible thing had happened to someone else, I know where Alan's focus would be: His family really deserves our support at this time. Please think about contributing to the fund mentioned above. And please follow the advice of Dave Kindred regarding heart health.

 

Wow. Alan and I spent many a winter night at UConn basketball games and Whalers hockey games in the mid-'80s when he joined the Courant. Can't believe he was 55. As someone mentioned, he looked quite a bit younger and he was pretty ripped for a sportswriter, too.

 

The guy could write and he was unique among us sports writers in that he was a very smart man. The Courant has an excellent sports section and Alan was a key ingredient. As beat writer, he covered the Patriots' three Super Bowl wins over the past few years, and he could write the hell out of a big story. A special writer. RIP.

 

PATRIOTS SADDENED BY LOSS OF BEAT WRITER AND FRIEND ALAN GREENBERG

The Kraft Family and the New England Patriots organization were deeply saddened to learn of the passing on Tuesday of Hartford Courant reporter and Patriots beat writer Alan Greenberg.

Alan was a gifted writer, a charismatic personality and a loving father. Those within the organization who interacted with Alan regularly will miss his distinct sense of humor, kind smile and quick wit.

Services will be held on Friday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Congregation B'Nai Torah in Sudbury, Mass. In lieu of flowers, a trust fund has been established for Alan's three children Alex, 13; Allison, 10; and Abigail, 7. Donations can be made in the name of Greenberg Childrens Trust, at Citizens Bank; 450 Boston Post Road; Sudbury, Mass., 01776. You can call or email me if you need additional information.

The thoughts of the New England Patriots organization are with the Greenberg family.
On Wednesday, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick shared his thoughts on Alan during a previously scheduled conference call with Alan’s media colleagues.

“On a personal note, and on behalf of the organization, we're shocked and saddened by the news today about Alan. We want to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and our prayers and thoughts are with them. We're extremely saddened at the loss of a member of the family and person that I had contact with virtually every day for the past several years. It's obviously a very, very sad loss. As I said, our thoughts and prayers are with them.

“He was a person that definitely added a lot of levity to the press conferences, even though he asked a lot of very difficult questions. He had a unique way of phrasing some of his opinions and questions, but he certainly added a flavor to the conferences that was very unique and I think we all came to appreciate his sense of humor, which at times was self-deprecating, but also he could definitely be tough and put you on the spot, which he did many times to me, but in a respectful way. I enjoyed our interactions and the exchanges with him. It was, again, a very unique part of those daily sessions.”

 

Is that mug shot at least 10 years old?

 

It seems that some of our colleagues have been sending emails into Boston Sports Media about Alan. There's some really nice stuff in it.

http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/

 

Greenie was one of those people who made everyone feel like his best friend. You could not see him for years and pick up right where you'd left off the next time you ran into him. It's just damn hard to accept that won't happen again. He always had a smile for you. Even when he complained, he did it with a smile. If humility is wisdom, Greenie may have been the smartest journo I knew.

 

The test is simple. It's non-invasive. You take your shirt off, the techies do their gel and suction cup stuff, and you're done in 15-20 minutes. A doctor can read you the results immediately.

I'm not sure how commonly it's done, but I'm sure your primary care doctor would order it done if you asked. If he won't, get another doctor. Costs maybe $200-400. With a doctor's order, I have to believe insurance pays.

If you Google "echocardiogram," you'll find all the information you'd ever need. I learned it all the hard way. I was feeling exceptionally young, strong, and alive on the day that I passed out. I fell directly back on my head. I woke up in an emergency room with people stitching the parts together. Two days later, I had cardiac arrest during a stress test. A catheterization showed a 95 percent blockage in the left coronary artery. A doctor said, "You know what we call that?" No, I said. "Widow-maker," he said. Oh.

A stent fixed it. I'm again young, strong, and alive -- and smarter than I was that day.

The statistics on sudden-death by heart disease are chilling. I was lucky. And that's my point here. I would not have needed luck had I earlier had an echocardiogram. I'd have known about the blockage. I'd have had it fixed before landing on my head.