FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick called the death of Hartford Courant sports writer Alan Greenberg “a very sad loss.”
Greenberg, whose latest assignment was covering the Patriots, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack, his editor said. He was 55.
Greenberg fell ill near his home in Sudbury in the afternoon, Courant sports editor Jeff Otterbein said. He is survived by his wife, Anne-Marie, and three children – Alex, 13, Allison, 10, and Abigail, 7.
Belichick, on a conference call with reporters Wednesday, praised Greenberg’s sense of humor and toughness.
“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 and had a unique way of raising some of his opinions and questions,” Belichick said.
The coach expressed “our deepest sympathy” to the Greenberg family on behalf of the Patriots organization.
Greenberg, who grew up in Baltimore, moved to the Courant from the Los Angeles Times in 1984. He held a variety of posts in Hartford, including columnist and NBA writer.
Greenberg had a story in Tuesday’s Courant about the Patriots acquiring receiver/returner Wes Welker from the Miami Dolphins. He was also working on a story for Wednesday’s paper, Otterbein said.
The conference call Wednesday was about the Welker signing.
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