I’m saddened to hear of the death of sportswriter John Feinstein at the age of 69. He was not only a skilled columnist and author, but also a money-in-the-bank guest on my radio shows. One of the reasons I always enjoyed having John as a guest was because he was a marvelous storyteller who needed little prompting to regale my audience with behind-the-scenes anecdotes as well as analysis of big events.
I first read John in the Washington Post in the 1980s, when he and fellow sportswriters Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon churned out must-read pieces several times a week. John reveled in locker room conversations with players and coaches, many of which led to classic books like “A Season On The Brink,” in which he followed — with complete access — the 1986 Indiana University basketball team and its coach, Bobby Knight.
That tome set a new standard for sports books, and John followed it with more than forty other classics, such as “A Good Walk Spoiled” (golf), “The Last Dance” (Final Four), “Next Man Up” (the 2004-5 Baltimore Ravens), and “Hard Court” (tennis). He also wrote several sports-themed mysteries for young adults which my daughter devoured.
I lost track of how many times I talked to John, and some of those conversations are gone forever because they took place before I could post audio online. But I do have several on this site, which you can see and listen to here.