Has-Been Sports Writer John Feinstein Rips Follower For Being 'A Clay Travis Guy'

There was a time, many years ago, when John Feinstein was considered one of the top sportswriters on the planet.

His biggest claim to fame, of course, was his book on Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers basketball program, Season on the Brink. ESPN even made a really bad movie based on it. But that was way, way back in the late '80s and early '90s, when people still read books, and Indiana was still a regular force in college basketball.

In all, he has authored more than 40 books, many of which are about golf. Apparently, he also writes for Golf Digest. Yes, that still exists.

Anyway, back in July, Feinstein wrote a story about why Phil Mickelson should captain the Ryder Cup team. Mickelson even thanked him for the story in a tweet.

But another reader called Feinstein out for it, and Feinstein finally took some time to respond ... six months later.

On Thursday, January 13, Feinstein told the reader, "Well, that shows you know zip about golf."

Yeah, he responded to a tweet sent July 5 ... in January. And that's still the best he could come up with.

"Thanks for the reply, John over six months later," user @DGDawg80 wrote. "Way to hold on buddy. I know plenty. You may have written some golf books, but I promise I can beat you at the game."

This time, Feinstein didn't waste any time replying.

"I also see you are a Clay Travis guy," he told JW. "That's all I need to know about you."

Besides Season on the Brink, some of Feinstein's books are actually must-reads. His 2005 effort on former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach, entitled Let Me Tell You a Story, truly captured one of pro basketball's most prominent figures.

But for better or worse, the world of sportswriting has passed him by. Feinstein is still stuck in the 1980s and 1990s with his writing style, long before the days of the Internet or Twitter or Bleacher Report or Adam Schefter or Woj Bombs. Longform generally just doesn't fly anymore, and Feinstein is far from an insider of any sort.

So perhaps Feinstein is angry that his stature in the writing world has taken quite a tumble. Arrogance and anger can often follow irrelevance, and clearly, Feinstein is irrelevant. His 15 minutes of fame are up, and have been for some time.

"You know nothing about me, John," @DGDawg80 wrote. "Although Clay is solid and way more of an interesting follow than you."

Well said. And perhaps Feinstein has become much like the Knight he portrayed in Season on the Brink. Perhaps he is now the one who quickly loses his temper and lashes out.

Maybe there's a book in there somewhere, John. Twitter clearly isn't your thing.