Feinstein article (front page)

[chrisheery]

This article is really good. Great stories and really shows how incredible Mr. Feinstein's career has been. It seems he worked extremely hard to be where he is today, and for that, you have to appreciate his work an opinions.

All that said, everything I read from him about Duke seems to be unbelievably negative (except for this article). His story about Coach K seems to indicate that they are very close friends. Does anyone know more about: 1. how close they actually are, 2. why he seems to have a vendetta against Duke in recent years?


I am guessing the answer to number 2 is more that it is his way of being objective (AKA the Bilas phenomenon). I hope that is all it is.

[Tom B.]

This article is really good. Great stories and really shows how incredible Mr. Feinstein's career has been. It seems he worked extremely hard to be where he is today, and for that, you have to appreciate his work an opinions.

All that said, everything I read from him about Duke seems to be unbelievably negative (except for this article). His story about Coach K seems to indicate that they are very close friends. Does anyone know more about: 1. how close they actually are, 2. why he seems to have a vendetta against Duke in recent years?

I am guessing the answer to number 2 is more that it is his way of being objective (AKA the Bilas phenomenon). I hope that is all it is.

The relationship between John Feinstein and Duke seems to have gone through several different phases over the years, and at some times has appeared more strained or antagonistic than at others. I'm not an insider nor do I claim to be one, but I think it's pretty common knowledge that Feinstein was not a fan of Joe Alleva, and thought that Tom Mickle (Duke's former Sports Information Director) should have gotten the Duke AD job after Tom Butters retired.

[killerleft]

John apparently has issues with his memory:

http://sportsbybrooks.com/john-feins...-himself-13036

This kind of behavior will NOT get him that coveted spot on the Wahneema team. He's obviously a complicated guy.

[CathyCA]

This article is really good. Great stories and really shows how incredible Mr. Feinstein's career has been. It seems he worked extremely hard to be where he is today, and for that, you have to appreciate his work an opinions.

All that said, everything I read from him about Duke seems to be unbelievably negative (except for this article). His story about Coach K seems to indicate that they are very close friends. Does anyone know more about: 1. how close they actually are, 2. why he seems to have a vendetta against Duke in recent years?


I am guessing the answer to number 2 is more that it is his way of being objective (AKA the Bilas phenomenon). I hope that is all it is.

Almost every reporter had to go through the Sports Information office to speak to Coach K back in the early 1980s. Except for John. His phone calls could go directly through to Coach K.

[roywhite]

The amount of bridgebuilding that John would need to do to repair fully his relationships at Duke would probably qualify for infrastructure improvements under the recent stimulus bill.

[Duvall]

The relationship between John Feinstein and Duke seems to have gone through several different phases over the years, and at some times has appeared more strained or antagonistic than at others. I'm not an insider nor do I claim to be one, but I think it's pretty common knowledge that Feinstein was not a fan of Joe Alleva, and thought that Tom Mickle (Duke's former Sports Information Director) should have gotten the Duke AD job after Tom Butters retired.

To be fair, he was right.

[wallyman]

No, he wasn't right. He was right on Alleva, but very few people think he was right on Mickle. That didn't stop him from an endless vendetta over it.

[diesel]

The amount of bridgebuilding that John would need to do to repair fully his relationships at Duke would probably qualify for infrastructure improvements under the recent stimulus bill.

I agree with roywhite. Actually, I take a more extreme position on Feinstein, which may strike some as a character defect. I used to be an admirer of his and thought his book on the Patriot League was one of the best books I ever read on college basketball.

Following what I saw as his display of a complete lack of judgment and character on the lacrosse case, however, I no longer read anything of his.I normally read everything on DBR and simply can't understand why we even bother to carry his material.

As far as I am concerned, therefore, the bridgebuilding roywhite thinks would be a major job amounts to pure pork: building bridges to nowhere.