12/21/97 - ...On draft day 1997 with Denver on the clock, the San Diego Chargers called with an offer few could refuse.
The Chargers were willing to surrender their first round choice in 1998, plus their thrid-round choice in '97, for the Broncos first-round choice that was on the clock at that very moment. That was how badly the Chargers wanted Nebraska safety Mike Minter. Your call, Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard told the Broncos.At the time, there was a fraction of Denver's front office that would have liked to see the Broncos make the deal. They thought it was a good idea to sacrifice little of now for a lot later. Especially with the two cornerbacks the Broncos really wanted - Nebraska's Michael Booker and Maryland's Chad Scott - already off the board.
12/03/97 - Dolphins offer contract to Phillips, ESPN says:
The Miami Dolphins offered troubled running back Lawrence Phillips a contract through the 1998 season, ESPN reports.The cable network said Phillips could be paid the league minimum $62,000, although the pact contains large number of incentives. A Dolphins spokesman wouldn't confirm the report and said no announcement is scheduled. Phillips was waived by the St. Louis Rams Nov. 20, a day after the former No. 1 pick skipped a team meeting and practice. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last week that Phillips once failed a National Football League drug test and was fined around 20 times by the team this season before he was released. Phillips, the sixth pick in the 1996 NFL draft, tested positive for a drug other than alcohol during his time with the team, the paper said, citing sources familiar with the league's drug policy that it didn't identify. His fines were for failing to perform team duties and not making weight, the paper said, without citing the source of its information. Phillips has a history of trouble. While at the University of Nebraska in 1995, he was accused of dragging a former girlfriend down three flights of stairs. He pleaded no contest to assault and trespassing charges, and has been arrested three times since he was drafted. Phillips had an injury-prone season this year, suffering from turf toe for much of the year and a sprained ankle recently. He had a team-high 183 carries for 633 yards - one more yard than his entire rookie season - and eight touchdowns. (AP) Jimmy Johnson says Lawrence Phillips is a good kid who has gotten a bad rap. Yeah, and Hitler was a nice guy with a bad mustache.
09/15/97 - Panthers vs Chiefs: With 15 seconds remaining and one play left, the Panthers had a chance to win the game but QB Kerry Collins had Chiefs linebacker Troy Dumas bearing down on him when he launched a pass for Steve Tasker, who appeared to have gotten a push from McMillian. ("The referee didn't call it, so it was a good play," McMillian said in his defense.) McMillian was all alone for KC's second interception of the day, and Kansas City's victory was preserved. (ChiefsZone.com)
09/14/97 - Bills vs Chiefs: Near Swing and Miss: Right after Kansas City Chiefs LB Anthony Davis sacked Buffalo QB Todd Collins last Sunday, he rose from the turf and started to emulate Broncos DE Neil Smith's signature baseball swing. Then Davis stopped abruptly, midswing. "I thought about how the crowd might react if they saw somebody do the swing the way Neil used to," Davis said. "It wasn't any disrepect for Neil. So I started to do it, then it was like, 'No, no, no.' Maybe I'll have to call Neil first.
07/23/97 - After an injury-plagued career, Trev Alberts retires from the Indianapolis Colts.
07/22/97 - Trev Alberts failed to show up for schedule shoulder surgery, the latest move in a confusing stalemate between the linebacker and Indianapolis.
The No. 5 pick in the 1994 NFL draft was scheduled for reconstruction of his right shoulder, which was first dislocated in college at Nebraska.Alberts was told to report to training camp last Thursday, but never appeared. The team is fining him $5,000 a day until the issue is resolved.He has had a dislocated right elbow, a concussion, a partially dislocated left shoulder and a hamstring injury since signing a six-year contract valued at $8.15 million in 1994.
06/97 - Kenny Walker, former Denver Bronco football player, has signed on with the Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD). Walker is ISD's residential counselor and--what else? assistant football coach. The 6'4" 290 pound former Bronco has already made his mark.
At last year's student/staff basketball game, Walker helped the staff to a slight win--and shattered the glass basketball backboard with a high-powered dunk. With glass tumbling downward, Walker spread out his arms to protect the the students playing beneath him, according to ISD Director of Student Life John Cool. "Walker is a decent hardworking person," said Cool. "He's always there for the kids--all kids."And the basketball backboard? Superintendent Bill Johnson is sportsminded enough to know this occassionally happens--and see the humor in the new hire who seems to be a star inside--and outside-the sports arena. (ClercCenter.Gallaudet.edu)
05/23/97 - Free-agent linebacker Mike Croel, a six-year NFL vereran who started all 16 games with the Baltimore Ravens last season, agreed to a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. The former Nebraska Cornhusker started for the New York Giants in 1995 after a four-year career with the Denver Broncos. Croel was the NFL rookie of the year in 1991, when he had 10 sacks, four forced fumbles and a touchdown. (AP)
04/23/97 - Trev Alberts' retirement plans are on hold, according to his agent. Ralph Cindrich said the 1994 draft pick will be among the early arrivals in a Colts training camp today. Shortly after the 1996 season, Alberts and team owner Jim Irsay discussed a financial settlement that would enable Alberts to retire and the team to recoup some of the original $3.275 million signing bonus Alberts received. Since he signed a six-year, $8.15 million-dollar contract as the 1994 draft's fifth pick out of Nebraska. Alberts has missed 20 of 52 games and started just seven times.