Originally Posted by
sagegrouse
In the range of successful journalists and sports writers, John Feinstein is at the "highly emotional" end of the spectrum. What you see is what you get, both in writing and in conversation or spoken commentary. Yet he seems to have the respect of his colleagues and was close to Brill at Duke. As I posted a few days ago, he thinks the world of both Mike Krzyzewski and Gary Williams.
Feinstein is controversial at many basketball schools. On sports radio in DC a few years back he was a substitute host for a drive time show in the afternoon. As soon as he came on, there was a deluge of calls from Georgetown fans berating him for daring to say bad things about John Thompson (Big Jawn, in this case). I don't know if he is still persona non grata in the State of Indiana, but he sure was after "Season on the Brink," the inside story of Bobby Knight, was published. Kentucky fans also have a grudge against him, because the Wildcats and their various coaches have not been spared criticism.
I have no problem with JF. At the 100th anniversary of the Chronicle a few years ago, John put together and led an interesting panel on sports at Duke. Seth Davis BTW was a no-show. But he also volunteered his opinion that Duke should drop out of the ACC in football and form a more academic conference with the usual suspects (Vandy, Rice, service academies, etc.). He has also spoken at many other Duke events I have attended, and his love for the school is palpable.
John Feinstein is not warm and fuzzy -- or even diplomatic -- and he never will be. If you want warm and fuzzy, there is my classmate Charlie Rose, who is both of those things, but spends little time on Duke matters. OTOH JF has published two of the most successful sports books of all time ("Season" and "A Good Walk Spoiled") and continues to write on many different sports matters. Funny, but his golf commentaries rarely seem to be a lightning rod -- maybe it's just a laid-back sport.
The world is not a simple place, and while I like JF, you have my permission to hate his guts.
sagegrouse