THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411270199
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: NFC Grapevine
SOURCE: Jim Ducibella
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
Straight-arrow Dan Reeves got himself bus-ted in Houston last week.
The Giants coach was in a light mood following his team's 13-10 victory over the Oilers, one that snapped a seven-game losing streak. Trying to get from the Astrodome to the Houston Airport, the team's three buses were stuck in the traffic jam created when a car caught on fire.
Not having eaten since 4 o'clock, Reeves, assistant coaches Mike Nolan, Pete Mangurian and Earl Leggett and team security official Mike Murphy got off their bus and walked to an open fast-food joint three-quarters of a mile up the road. They were told it would take 15 minutes to cook them burgers.
Reeves told them to go ahead, figuring he had plenty of time before the jam was alleviated.
``Then, all of a sudden, I said, `You know, I think I hear the traffic moving,' '' Reeves relayed.
He left the restaurant and climbed up an embankment to the freeway overpass to scout the situation. No buses. But he did meet a man he called a ``wino'' who said, ``I ain't never seen nobody under this bridge with a coat and tie before.''
Reeves went back to the restaurant, picked up 10 hamburgers, then got into a cab with the other four just in time to see the buses roll by to the airport. When the cab got there, it was 1:30 a.m. and two of the three buses were waiting there for them. The third had gone back to the restaurant to pick them up.
CHATTING WITH ... Packers defensive end Reggie White
Q: It's been a year and a half since you arrived in Green Bay. How do you like living there?
A: There's not a whole lot to do. My wife finds things to do. I'm a homebody, but sometimes I get the urge to go somewhere and don't know where to go. In Tennessee, I live in a town even smaller, but I got family there.
I think, spiritually, this helped me tremendously. But since there's not anything to do, it's forcing me to mature in areas, to build my character. I'm realizing I'm listening a lot more to God. Philadelphia is such a big city with a lot to do, and the media and people can put a lot of pressure on you.''
Q: When you signed for four years and $17 million, unguaranteed, you talked about furthering your dreams and plans to tackle problems in America's inner cities. People were skeptical when you chose the NFL's smallest city for your new home. Has there been some frustration with some of your off-field projects?
A: I got totally discouraged with everybody looking at me and saying, ``He's got money. He should change everything.'' People want you to come to help their cause. They don't want to help your cause. If I was still in a big city, I probably would go crazy.
I went to an anti-abortion rally in Nashville. They asked me to speak. I'm against abortion. I said I would speak, but I asked, ``Instead of picketing abortion clinics, why don't we build our own clinics so we can give these girls alternatives to abortion by sitting down and talking to them?''
I said, ``We have a home. Can I give people the address if they would like to send in something?'' They told me no. That was frustrating. I couldn't believe I was turned down. They said, ``You got the money, you do it.'' But I can't do it.''
WHERE IS HE? Where is Clint Longley, the Cowboys' Mad Bomber of 20 Thanksgivings ago? Where?
Longley rallied the Cowboys to one of the most miraculous victories in NFL history in 1974, propelling the Cowboys from a 16-3 deficit to a 24-23 victory against the Redskins with a final hell-bent heave to wide receiver Drew Pearson. Overall, he completed 11-of-20 passes that day in relief of Staubach, knocked from the game by Diron Talbert. It was Longley's first NFL game.
``Even now, one of the most asked questions I get is, `Where's Clint Longley?' '' Pearson says. ``He retired from football and, really, he kind of retired from life.
``I have no idea where he is.''
The Dallas Morning News does. They found the only man Roger Staubach couldn't get along with; well, they found where he lives. He lives in a middle-class suburb of Fort Worth, job unknown. And he keeps pretty much to himself. No one answered the door during three Morning News visits to the house, and Longley did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
``Yeah, he lives there,'' confirmed one of Longley's neighbors. ``That quarterback guy.''
Longley left the team after sucker-punching Staubach a few days after an initial scrape between the two. By the time Staubach had the nine-stitch gash over his eye closed, Longley was headed to the airport and out of town.
He left the team and caught on with San Diego for the '76 season. He signed as a free agent with St. Louis in '78, dropped out of football awhile, then turned up with Shreveport of the World Football League.
DID YOU KNOW THAT: The Giants have retired the lockers formerly used by QB Phil Simms and LB Lawrence Taylor. Each locker features an action picture of the player and a plaque with his name, number and years in the NFL on it. Recently, the team also placed plaques over the lockers formerly used by DE George Martin and LB Harry Carson. But those lockers were not retired. ... In his last five games, Rams-tough Jerome Bettis has rushed for just 258 yards in 95 carries, an average of 2.7 per attempt. ... Lions running back Barry Sanders needs 594 yards to become the third player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Sanders gained 45 yards on 19 carries Thursday, giving him 1,406 with four regular season games remaining. If he continues at his current pace, Sanders would rush for 1,874 yards, breaking the team record of 1,548 he set in 1991. MEMO: Material in this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot and
Ledger-Star wire services. by CNB