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CNN Saturday Morning News

"Novak Zone"

Aired November 15, 2003 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: From high school basketball sensation LeBron James to more baseball players testing positive for steroid use, there's been no shortage of controversial sports news this week. And sports journalist John Feinstein has no shortage of opinions on this and much more. He joins Robert Novak in this week's edition of The Novak Zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone.

We're at the Smith Athletic Center, home of the George Washington University Colonials in Washington, D.C., talking to John Feinstein, one of America's leading sports writers.

John, we're -- the college basketball season has already started. And even though the high school kids go right to the pros, they leave the college after one year, college basketball is really popular, isn't it? Why is it so popular?

JOHN FEINSTEIN, SPORTS JOURNALIST: Well, I think, Bob, because it's as competitive as it's ever been. The quality of play may not be what it was 20 years ago, because you don't have seniors. You don't -- the best players don't stick around four years.

But that means it's still competitive. For example, if Syracuse, the defending national champion, had Carmelo Anthony back for his sophomore year, they'd probably be a prohibitive favorite to win again.

But that he's gone, so there's a whole mish-mash of teams that we're talking about who can win the national title. And if you think about it there haven't really been any dominant teams since the early '90s. And that's because teams don't stick together for four years, most of the time.

NOVAK: John, you're a first -- your first best-seller, maybe your first book...

FEINSTEIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

NOVAK: ... first book was "A Season on the Brink," in which you spent a lot of time with Bobby Knight, the coach of Indiana U. It's a lot of talk on the radio programs they're going to name the arena at Indiana University after Bobby. Do you know anything about that? Do you think he would show up for the introduction, if it came? FEINSTEIN: Well, as long as Miles Brand, the current president of the NCAA and the former president of Indiana who fired him, isn't involved in the presentation, I think he'd show up if they named the arena for him, absolutely.

NOVAK: Do you think it's a good idea?

FEINSTEIN: I don't think it -- look, the guy won three national championships. He graduated most of his players. Most of the harm and embarrassment he brought, he brought to himself more than to the university. I don't think it's a bad idea at all.

NOVAK: There seems to be something lacking in the NBA and pro basketball, people who are fans tell me they just can't get interested in it anymore without Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Do you think this high school kid, LeBron James, is going to cure that problem for NBA?

FEINSTEIN: I don't know if he can cure it. But I think he can help the NBA take steps back in right direction. But it's one of those deals with one step forward, two steps backwards. Well, LeBron comes in with all the hype and the attention, and early in the season, anyway, he's handled it well.

But at the same time, you have the specter of Kobe Bryant hanging over the league, and the fact is that that's going to get as much or more attention in the coming months as anything LeBron James does.

And what the NBA needs to do is solve its problems off the court, which have multiplying in recent years, and then solve its problems on the court, which is that the season is too long, the games are played at too slow a pace. I mean, well, how can the NBA be playing games with teams scoring 56 and 60 points?

NOVAK: Amazing, isn't it?

FEINSTEIN: With the talent that's on the floor, that tells me something is wrong with the basics of the game.

NOVAK: Your book, "The Punch," about the punch that was thrown at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Tomjanovich by American University player...

FEINSTEIN: Kermit Washington.

NOVAK: ... Kermit Washington...

FEINSTEIN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Lakers, yes.

NOVAK: ... that's in paperback now.

FEINSTEIN: Correct.

NOVAK: What is, what did that incident, a black man hitting a white man really hard, what does that mean to the NBA, do you think?

FEINSTEIN: Well, I think, Bob, you have to remember the time, the context. It was 1977. And back then, as David Stern, who was then the league's outside counsel, said, the league was thought of generally by the public as being too drugged, too black, too violent. And that kind of crystallized at least two out of the three problems.

And as a result, the league really cracked down on fighting. The NBA has more stringent rules on fighting than any professional league in sports, and a lot of it began with that fight, that night, that incident.

And I think it also made them aware of the fact you just can't let men this big and this strong square off and throw punches at one another, because Rudy (ph) almost died.

NOVAK: John, the sports news this week is about steroids, a -- what was, the 5 to 7 percent of (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

FEINSTEIN: Major league baseball players.

NOVAK: Does that shock you, that that many were using steroids?

FEINSTEIN: Not really, because we knew that there were some. We just didn't know what the numbers were going to turn up. What will be interesting, though, Bob, is next year, when it counts, when your name is revealed, if you test positive, to see if any really big names test positive.

NOVAK: Do you think it's going to be good for baseball?

FEINSTEIN: I think it's good for baseball that they'll have testing, absolutely.

NOVAK: John, two of your best-sellers are about golf. Your all- time best-seller is "A Good Walk Spoiled." And I love all of your books, except the golf books. You couldn't pay me to read a golf book. Why in the world...

FEINSTEIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

NOVAK: ... do people want to read about golf? I can't understand that.

FEINSTEIN: You know, I really think, Bob, it has to do with personalities, that these guys are interesting. They're in the -- they're playing an individual sport. When they fail, the spotlight is on them when they fail. It's hard to make excuses in golf, because nobody serves at you 140 miles an hour, nobody tackles you, nobody hits jump shots or blocks your shots. So you either succeed or fail, and you have to deal with it.

And I think that a lot of people -- not you, but a lot of people -- play golf, and are fascinated to watch the best players in the world not only succeed but fail. And I think they're fascinated by that. And I'm very glad they're fascinated by that.

NOVAK: And now the big question for John Feinstein.

John, if you had your choice of attending and reporting on any sporting event in the world, what would it be?

FEINSTEIN: Army-Navy. It's the best game every year, because of what it means to the players who are involved in the game, because of the atmosphere in the stadium, starting with the march on of the corps of cadets and the brigade of midshipmen three hours before kickoff. The fact that the entire student body from both schools is at the game.

And when that game is over, Bob, after the teams on each side have tried to pummel one another for three hours, regardless of the outcome, when you see the two teams stand at attention together for the playing of each other's alma maters, there's nothing like it in sports.

You thought I was going to say the final four.

ROBERTS: I thought you were.

John Feinstein, thank you very much.

FEINSTEIN: Thank you, Bob. My pleasure.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 15, 2003 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: From high school basketball sensation LeBron James to more baseball players testing positive for steroid use, there's been no shortage of controversial sports news this week. And sports journalist John Feinstein has no shortage of opinions on this and much more. He joins Robert Novak in this week's edition of The Novak Zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone.

We're at the Smith Athletic Center, home of the George Washington University Colonials in Washington, D.C., talking to John Feinstein, one of America's leading sports writers.

John, we're -- the college basketball season has already started. And even though the high school kids go right to the pros, they leave the college after one year, college basketball is really popular, isn't it? Why is it so popular?

JOHN FEINSTEIN, SPORTS JOURNALIST: Well, I think, Bob, because it's as competitive as it's ever been. The quality of play may not be what it was 20 years ago, because you don't have seniors. You don't -- the best players don't stick around four years.

But that means it's still competitive. For example, if Syracuse, the defending national champion, had Carmelo Anthony back for his sophomore year, they'd probably be a prohibitive favorite to win again.

But that he's gone, so there's a whole mish-mash of teams that we're talking about who can win the national title. And if you think about it there haven't really been any dominant teams since the early '90s. And that's because teams don't stick together for four years, most of the time.

NOVAK: John, you're a first -- your first best-seller, maybe your first book...

FEINSTEIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

NOVAK: ... first book was "A Season on the Brink," in which you spent a lot of time with Bobby Knight, the coach of Indiana U. It's a lot of talk on the radio programs they're going to name the arena at Indiana University after Bobby. Do you know anything about that? Do you think he would show up for the introduction, if it came? FEINSTEIN: Well, as long as Miles Brand, the current president of the NCAA and the former president of Indiana who fired him, isn't involved in the presentation, I think he'd show up if they named the arena for him, absolutely.

NOVAK: Do you think it's a good idea?

FEINSTEIN: I don't think it -- look, the guy won three national championships. He graduated most of his players. Most of the harm and embarrassment he brought, he brought to himself more than to the university. I don't think it's a bad idea at all.

NOVAK: There seems to be something lacking in the NBA and pro basketball, people who are fans tell me they just can't get interested in it anymore without Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Do you think this high school kid, LeBron James, is going to cure that problem for NBA?

FEINSTEIN: I don't know if he can cure it. But I think he can help the NBA take steps back in right direction. But it's one of those deals with one step forward, two steps backwards. Well, LeBron comes in with all the hype and the attention, and early in the season, anyway, he's handled it well.

But at the same time, you have the specter of Kobe Bryant hanging over the league, and the fact is that that's going to get as much or more attention in the coming months as anything LeBron James does.

And what the NBA needs to do is solve its problems off the court, which have multiplying in recent years, and then solve its problems on the court, which is that the season is too long, the games are played at too slow a pace. I mean, well, how can the NBA be playing games with teams scoring 56 and 60 points?

NOVAK: Amazing, isn't it?

FEINSTEIN: With the talent that's on the floor, that tells me something is wrong with the basics of the game.

NOVAK: Your book, "The Punch," about the punch that was thrown at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Tomjanovich by American University player...

FEINSTEIN: Kermit Washington.

NOVAK: ... Kermit Washington...

FEINSTEIN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Lakers, yes.

NOVAK: ... that's in paperback now.

FEINSTEIN: Correct.

NOVAK: What is, what did that incident, a black man hitting a white man really hard, what does that mean to the NBA, do you think?

FEINSTEIN: Well, I think, Bob, you have to remember the time, the context. It was 1977. And back then, as David Stern, who was then the league's outside counsel, said, the league was thought of generally by the public as being too drugged, too black, too violent. And that kind of crystallized at least two out of the three problems.

And as a result, the league really cracked down on fighting. The NBA has more stringent rules on fighting than any professional league in sports, and a lot of it began with that fight, that night, that incident.

And I think it also made them aware of the fact you just can't let men this big and this strong square off and throw punches at one another, because Rudy (ph) almost died.

NOVAK: John, the sports news this week is about steroids, a -- what was, the 5 to 7 percent of (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

FEINSTEIN: Major league baseball players.

NOVAK: Does that shock you, that that many were using steroids?

FEINSTEIN: Not really, because we knew that there were some. We just didn't know what the numbers were going to turn up. What will be interesting, though, Bob, is next year, when it counts, when your name is revealed, if you test positive, to see if any really big names test positive.

NOVAK: Do you think it's going to be good for baseball?

FEINSTEIN: I think it's good for baseball that they'll have testing, absolutely.

NOVAK: John, two of your best-sellers are about golf. Your all- time best-seller is "A Good Walk Spoiled." And I love all of your books, except the golf books. You couldn't pay me to read a golf book. Why in the world...

FEINSTEIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

NOVAK: ... do people want to read about golf? I can't understand that.

FEINSTEIN: You know, I really think, Bob, it has to do with personalities, that these guys are interesting. They're in the -- they're playing an individual sport. When they fail, the spotlight is on them when they fail. It's hard to make excuses in golf, because nobody serves at you 140 miles an hour, nobody tackles you, nobody hits jump shots or blocks your shots. So you either succeed or fail, and you have to deal with it.

And I think that a lot of people -- not you, but a lot of people -- play golf, and are fascinated to watch the best players in the world not only succeed but fail. And I think they're fascinated by that. And I'm very glad they're fascinated by that.

NOVAK: And now the big question for John Feinstein.

John, if you had your choice of attending and reporting on any sporting event in the world, what would it be?

FEINSTEIN: Army-Navy. It's the best game every year, because of what it means to the players who are involved in the game, because of the atmosphere in the stadium, starting with the march on of the corps of cadets and the brigade of midshipmen three hours before kickoff. The fact that the entire student body from both schools is at the game.

And when that game is over, Bob, after the teams on each side have tried to pummel one another for three hours, regardless of the outcome, when you see the two teams stand at attention together for the playing of each other's alma maters, there's nothing like it in sports.

You thought I was going to say the final four.

ROBERTS: I thought you were.

John Feinstein, thank you very much.

FEINSTEIN: Thank you, Bob. My pleasure.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com