John Feinstein


John Feinstein is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator.

Early life

Feinstein was born to a Jewish family in New York City on July 28, 1956. His father was heavily involved in the arts having been the General Manager of the Washington National Opera from 1980 to 1995 and was also the first Executive Director of the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Career

Books

His book A Season on the Brink chronicles a year in the life of the Indiana University basketball team and its coach, Bob Knight. In 1995, he authored a best seller, A Good Walk Spoiled, about a year on the PGA Tour as told through the stories of 17 players.
Feinstein has also written a sports-mystery series for young adults in which main characters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are reporting on major sporting events including the Final Four, US Open, Super Bowl, World Series, the Army–Navy Game, and the Summer Olympics. He currently has 36 books written.

Film

A Season on the Brink was adapted to film with an ESPN production of the same title. It starred Brian Dennehy in the role of Bob Knight. During its original airing on ESPN on March 10, 2002, the film was presented uncensored for profanity, while a censored version was simulcast on ESPN2. It released to DVD later in 2002.
Feinstein's book was released in 2004. It is about the life and final days of Tom Watson's caddy, Bruce Edwards, who was diagnosed with ALS Feinstein and long-time friend Terry Hanson engaged the William Morris Agency and commissioned a screenplay in conjunction with Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's production company, LivePlanet. In 2010, Caddy for Life was produced in documentary format for the Golf Channel.

Newspaper and other media work

Broadcast media
On March 8, 2012, Feinstein joined SiriusXM's Mad Dog Sports Radio channel, teaming up with Bruce Murray for the sports talk show, Beyond the Brink, which aired between 10:00 am – 2:00 pm ET. However, Feinstein soon left the show by the fall of 2012, as he was offered a slot of his own show on the brand new CBS Sports Radio between 9 AM to 12 noon ET. CBS Sports Radio began 24/7 all sports talk on January 2, 2013. On November 14, 2014 during an interview on a Washington, D.C. radio program he announced that he had been fired by CBS from his daily radio show.
He has also been a regular on-air commentator for a number of other television and radio shows, including:
Print media

Nonfiction

Stand-alone

  1. Last Shot: Mystery at the Final Four: Winner of the 2006 Edgar Award in the Best Young Adult category. Stevie and Susan Carol get caught up in a blackmail threat to Chip Graber, Minnesota State's best player, to throw the National Championship.
  2. Vanishing Act: Mystery at the US Open. Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson solve a kidnapping and numerous crimes at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
  3. Cover Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl: Stevie and Susan Carol discover that several players who are set to play in the upcoming Super Bowl have failed doping tests, and their team's owner is trying to cover up the failed tests.
  4. Change-Up: Mystery at the World Series. Stevie and Susan Carol investigate the contradictions in an up-and-coming pitcher's life story.
  5. The Rivalry: Mystery at the Army-Navy Game: Stevie and Susan Carol are preparing for the yearly Army-Navy traditional football game when something goes terribly wrong.
  6. Rush For The Gold: Mystery at the Olympics: Stevie and Susan Carol are back, but this time its only Stevie doing the reporting. Susan Carol is swimming for the USA Olympic team. How far will someone go to ensure she wins the gold?

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