Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Resigning after 14 years on The Navy radio network

This is a sad day for me. Yesterday, I resigned after 14 years as color commentator on The Navy radio network. I did it with a lot of regret and with no malice towards anyone at Navy. The people I have worked with there have been terrific to me from the first game I worked until the last.

But I felt I had no choice.

For years now—at least 10, maybe more—I have wanted to do a documentary on the Army-Navy game. Of all the non-fiction books I have written I always believed that two would make great theatrical movies: “A Civil War,” and “Caddy For Life.”

“Caddy,” came very close. It was optioned by Matt Damon’s production company; a very good screenwriter named David Himmelstein was hired and he wrote a terrific script which ABC Entertainment was ready to buy and put into production. Then, in one of the all-time ironic twists, ABC backed out at the last second because it had been counting on getting some funding from ESPN Original Entertainment—since the movie would have been re-aired about 1,000 times on ESPN after debuting on ABC—but ESPN’s movie budget was slashed that year by Disney.

Why? Because the movies they’d been making were so awful. The first movie they made? You got it, ‘A Season on the Brink,’ which may still be listed in Guinness under ‘worst movies ever made.’

‘Caddy For Life,’ did become a documentary, a very good one I think, that aired on Golf Channel last year. I still believe it would make a great theatrical movie—Rob Lowe as Bruce; Gary Sinise as Watson—but chances are it won’t happen.

‘Civil War,’ was a different deal. From the beginning, smart people told me the logistics and the cost would make it very difficult to get done. I was baffled. If people bought into ‘Rudy,’—which was far more fiction than fact—why wouldn’t they buy into a story like this one about real football players who went on, in many cases, to fight in real wars.

“To get it sold to Hollywood, you need a real star,” Ron Shelton told me years ago. “If Leonardo DiCaprio can pull off playing a football player, you’ve got a shot. Otherwise, it isn’t going to get bought by any studio.”

I’d gotten to know Shelton when he was on the golf tour doing research for ‘Tin Cup.’ I respect his work greatly and his knowledge of Hollywood equally. Bill Goldman—who wrote, among other things, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’; ‘All The President’s Men,’; and ‘The Princess Bride,’;--said essentially the same thing to me. “Hell, get DiCaprio to play the water boy and they’ll make the movie,” he said. “But this would be an ensemble cast and you’d need a lot of unknown young actors. That’s a problem.”

Okay, if Ron Shelton and Bill Goldman tell me something is a no-go then the chances are it’s a no-go. To quote Lefty Driesell, I may be dumb but I ain’t stupid.

So, I turned my thoughts to doing a documentary. On this I got a lot more encouragement. I was told again and again that the idea of using my relationships with the two schools to get the kind of access I had while doing, ‘A Civil War,’ would make a terrific documentary. I agreed. It doesn’t matter what year you are talking about—1995 or 2011—there are always great stories among the mids and the cadets. Plus, they are the kind of kids who can tell those stories on and off-camera in rich detail. That was why ‘A Civil War,’ worked as well as it did.

The problem, of course, was finding someone who would put up the money to do it. I had more meetings with more different people and producers than I can begin to count. I thought I was close enough a couple of years ago that I had meetings with both coaches to ensure that I would get the access I was promising people I could get. Both said the same thing: come on ahead.

At one point I sent an e-mail to Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports, someone I’ve known since college. I worked for Sean and CBS for a couple of years doing essays on three topics: college basketball, golf and Army-Navy. The best ones, without doubt, were the ones I did on Army-Navy. I really enjoyed doing those essays and they were well-received. Then Sean hired a new executive producer and he sent an edict to me through the guy who had been producing my pieces: no more essays: we only want regular features.

That was the end for me with CBS. As I said to Sean, they had plenty of people who could do regular features. The point of hiring me—or so I’d thought—was that I brought something unique to the table. Sean agreed. But he wasn’t going to tell a brand new important hire what to do and not do with someone who wasn’t even on staff. We parted amicably.

Which is why I wrote to him with my idea about Army-Navy. My thought was simple: Since CBS televised the game, the documentary could promote the game and/or vice-versa. I suggested the documentary could run on Showtime, which was always looking for original programming. Sean wrote back a very nice note saying it sounded like a good idea but that Showtime really didn’t do sports—except for some boxing.

I kept looking. I tried HBO—thinking it would be a great 24/7. They liked the idea too but didn’t have money in the budget for 2011 to take on another big project. Maybe next year they said.

Well, it won’t be next year.

Last week I learned that CBS is going to produce a two-hour documentary on the Army-Navy game that will air on Showtime soon after this year’s game is played. They will air a 30-minute special a week before the game on CBS. Gee, that’s a great idea isn’t it? Use the documentary to promote the game and the game to promote the documentary.

There’s no sense going into any more detail but a guy at CBS named Pete Radovich apparently pitched the idea to McManus who gave him the green light. Then he went to Army and Navy (CBS College televises all their home games in addition to Army-Navy on the network, so CBS is important to both schools) and pitched it. My name did apparently come up once as in, “you know John has been trying to do this for years,” and Radovich (surprise) pretty much ignored it.

I have no doubt CBS will do just fine with this. They’ll have the access and they’ll spend the money. They won’t have my anecdotal memory or know some of the stories about past players that I know and I’m SURE they won’t try to claim any of the stories I’ve written or told in the past as their own.

I’m not angry with the people at Army or Navy. This was a business decision. Could they have pushed CBS a little harder to involve me, pointing out that it would benefit the project? Yes. Would that have done any good? I doubt it.

The reason I’m stepping down then isn’t because I’m throwing a hissy fit at being left out. But, as I said in my note to the Navy people, Army-Navy and doing Navy football has never been a job to me, it has been a passion. Doing this documentary would have been a labor of both love and passion and, yes, I believe I would have done it better than anyone else.

So, to be at the games this fall and see CBS there with their cameras following players around; knowing they’re in the locker room with their cameras; encountering people from CBS all the time, is something I simply can’t face. It’s a little bit like dating a girl for 10 years, getting dumped and then being invited to her wedding. I just don’t want to watch it.

I know I’ll miss doing the games a lot. I know my partners Bob Socci and Omar Nelson will do just fine without me and I’ll miss the broadcasts more than the broadcasts will miss me. The carnival moves on—I get that. But I also know myself well enough to know out-of-sight, out-of-mind will be better for me than in-sight and in-mind. The only consolation for me is that I don’t have to go an Army-Navy game in that god-awful stadium owned by that god-awful NFL owner.

Chet Gladchuk, the Navy athletic director and Eric Ruden, who runs the radio network, have been both gracious and understanding and have left the door open should I feel differently at some point.

I don’t think I will. But I’m grateful to them for saying that and for the last 14 years. I truly did love being a very small part of a place I respect so much.

36 comments:

ruffin said...

Geez, that does sound like a hissy fit. The documentary cameras are there a year and leave. Why not stick around and be there once they're gone? What's to be gained by leaving other than a few extremely uncomfortable chance meetings?

Leaving in a huff doesn't sound like a passion. So an inferior documentary is made. Keep doing the games.

Anonymous said...

John,

You've quit Army/Navy...You've quit the Kornheiser show...At some point you're going to run out of things to quit from. And on a serious note, I was about to say that you actually are throwing a hissy fit but I thought about it and I see where you are coming from. If someone stole my idea and I had to then watch someone else use my idea, I would've quit too. And if you have those emails, you should, I don't know, leak them..I'm vengeful that way.. Good luck to you.

Anonymous said...

Oh John I really hope you change your mind. You add a lot to the broadcasts! I listen to Navy football in the fall simply because you and Bob and Omar are so good, not because I necessarily having any rooting interest in the Naval Academy -- although I obviously have a ton of respect for the Academy and the football program.

I know you must be disappointed in this but from one outsider's perspective it seems like it may be something you can get around.

Mr. X said...

I thought all the jerks had been hired by ESPN. I guess they missed one. I'll be boycotting the Army-Navy telecast and just listen on the radio.

Tim said...

I don't know if I'd make the same decision you did, but I do respect it. That said, it'd be nice if you put aside (for just this one season) your personal goals/feelings and then go back to normal next year.

And on the note of whether this is a hissy fit or not, I tend to lean on the side as 'no' and chalk it up as supreme personal and professional disappointment. But if it is, you've certainly lightened up recently as you only knocked one head around on the way out the door!

Gunnar said...

I don't know anything about the book business and copyright laws, but having two of your favorite books ripped off by ESPN and CBS without your involvement is terribly wrong.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with an occasional hissy fit, if you are doing it for the right reasons!

Anonymous said...

This is incredibly wrong for CBS to do this, and I hope the CBS folks see the error of their ways. Anything they do on the documentary side can only be seen as a derivative of your work. They will not be able to escape this.

I fail to see how CBS gains by alienating the biggest champion of Army/Navy for the last fifteen years or more, and someone who works to promote the service academies in a lot of sports, not just football.

Will Smith said...

"You are the dumbest smart person I have EVER met in my life!"
-- Detective Del Spooner (I-Robot)

Anonymous said...

Have you been having lunch with Riggleman?

Lefty said...

John: What a kick in the balls! I don't blame you one bit for saying goodbye. You've got pride (so does Riggleman by the way) and enough coins to rub together that you don't need to be treated like that. Go work on your fly and do work for people who recognize and appreciate your talent and passion.

Momus said...

John, quit being a schmuck. You said it yourself, this was just business. CBS, Army, Navy, they all made their decision, and you came out on the short end of the stick. And for this, you’re throwing away a 14-year relationship ("a passion") with the Naval Academy and the Navy Football Network because someone else is going to do a documentary on Army-Navy for CBS?

Okay, you're upset, and maybe you have a right to be, especially at Sean McManus, your old Duke classmate. But let’s be honest -- this wasn't "your" documentary, no one stole anything from you. You had an IDEA for a story, and you made a pitch for it. Maybe you really did do everything you could to get the production off the ground. You only had, what,10 years to close the deal. Bottom line, McManus went with someone else. Unless Radovich has McManus in his back pocket (doubtful), or McManus had some compelling reason to just screw you (unlikely), Radovich obviously did something (that you were unable to do) to convince McManus to give the project the green light. (Speaking of which, prior to sending McManus your pitch, shouldn’t you have already known that Showtime doesn’t “really do sports” except for some boxing, and, anticipating McManus’ likely reaction, framed your proposal differently? Or did you think that McManus owed you something for not intervening on your behalf with that Exec Producer he had hired? Friendship and old college ties only go so far.)

Would it really be that much of a hardship to see CBS cameras following the players around (oh no!), in the locker room (heaven forbid!), or (gasp!) encountering CBS people all the time? It seems to me that Navy stuck by you after your F-bomb incident, and the Navy radio network apparently will accommodate your personal requirements (how many other announcers just opt not to go on a road trip to a bowl game (of all things!), because you would rather not have to be in Houston during the holiday season?) Sounds like a pretty sweet gig, if you ask me, especially for a print journalist with no particular expertise in football. So when something doesn’t go your way, you throw a ….hissy fit?! Grow up John, lest you forever want to be known as Junior.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to change topic but on a separate note (as I know you have strong Long Island ties), what is your take on Bethpage hosting two upcoming Barclays tournaments? I am very concerned that this decision will dilute the prestige (for lack of a better word) of Bethpage Black and cause the USGA to place Black on the back-burner for future Open considerations.

Anonymous said...

did Chet offer a visiting professorship at the Stockdale Center ?

Anonymous said...

Complete "hissy fit", grow up, life doesn't always just roll over perfectly for anyone. Your actions are really, really pitiful.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, this gives me an idea for a blog post ...

Anonymous said...

Sometimes it's time to move on when the feeling'sgone....lesson learned: the networks are still run by ***** and if you have a good idea get some film school interns to make it with their handheld cameras and post it on the internet.

Jack said...

Radovich ("a guy at CBS")--14 Emmys
Feinstein-- 0 Emmys

You make the call...

George Under the Desk said...

John, love your writing and follow this page closely. While I see where you're coming from, I think you're making a bad decision and setting a bad example. If your true desire is to get the "real" story of Army Navy out, you should be pitching in or volunteering to on this documentary. They may not want your help, but it's the right thing to do and fits the spirit of what you write about with the service academies. I realize that your writing is your profession and living, but you've profited from Civil War, why not give back at this point?

Anonymous said...

More time for swimming and being with your family. Nothing wrong with that.

Anonymous said...

"Jack said...
Radovich ("a guy at CBS")--14 Emmys
Feinstein-- 0 Emmys

You make the call..."

My call is: time to look at exactly how Radovich is getting his ideas. Wonder how many of these "Emmy-winning" ideas were on the backs of other people like Mr. Feinstein's?

Max said...

but having two of your favorite books ripped off by ESPN and CBS without your involvement is terribly wrong.

-----

Actually John did make money from the ESPN movie A Season on the brink. I remember Norman Chad getting a good ripe on John on TK show. Norman said, John is not the first person to sell his movie to Hollywood and then whine about the movie after you pocketed the money.

Anonymous said...

I understand why you are upset and hurt; it's never a feel-good moment to see someone else get credit for what you think is yours. But it's not unusual in the entertaintment world for someone to pitch an idea, have it rejected, and then see someone else get a green light for the same thing. It's part of the territory. Producers have to seek commercial success and look to see who is best qualified to pull off a project, not give it to the most "deserving" person. I bet it happens for books, too.

And even if the guy who got the project is an annoying young punk, it's not like he is unqualified to do it.

Anonymous said...

So John ended his tenure in the booth in the same way he lived it: all about him. His "passion" was not as great as his ego.

His (literal) color commentary such as calling the red zone the pink zone all game long because it's his daughter's favorite color was lame and stunningly self indulgent at the price of good game coverage. He will not be missed by these ears.

Jeff Skinner said...

Forcing out one of the best writers and most popular voice in sports is a really bright move. Someone at CBS ought to be used for target practice by this years class of cadets.

Anonymous said...

Let's hope the Navy (or Army) players you extoll take your form of decision-making as a model when they encounter the first bit of personal unhappiness: "What? They're shooting at ME? Being in the service is a passion of mine, that's why I'm here ... but this is just a bit personally uncomfortable, so I'll see you guys later ...."

John from Indiana said...

In "The Breaks of the Game," David Halberstam wrote a moving account of the personal and professional pain that Kermit Washington endured as a result of his unfortunate encounter with Rudy Tomjonovich. His writing was sensitive and insightful, much like a fellow who subsequently, several years later, wrote a book on the same subject. Guess we will never know for sure if Halberstam was pleased and flattered, or felt ripped off that someone else felt it was a story that needed to be told.... again. Don't know anything about the jackjaws from CBS; but I do know that my two favorite authors in the world saw fit to tell the same story, and I hope it was not a cause for them to never speak to, or about, Kermit Washington, or each other. Army-Navy is a compelling story, with or without JF at the table, but it is a better story on both radio and TV if you are involved. Seems a shame to let jerks dictate your involvement in something that you feel so passionate about.

Anonymous said...

For those who might be interested, follow the link to see more on Pete Radovich. He really is "some guy," just not quite in the way John was inferring in his brief reference to him.

http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_sports/release?id=22651

ruffin said...

@Jeff Skinner said...
Forcing out one of the best writers and most popular voice in sports is a really bright move.

But he wasn't forced out, was he? He's even welcomed back once he's ready.

The real issue is that Feinstein said this was a "passion" of his, not a "job". If that's true, he doesn't get Riggleman upset. Perhaps he keeps "some of the stories about past players that I know" to himself, but he stays and has fun doing the games.

Rereading through the Anatomy of a Hissy, though, I do note this line:

"I’m SURE they won’t try to claim any of the stories I’ve written or told in the past as their own."

That's a fair warning. I just wish Feinstein was doing his warning from the broadcast booth.

Bob Slocum said...

John-Maybe you should look at doing some roving color commentary at various Patriot and/or Ivy League games this Fall. Admittedly the level of play is not equal to Army or Navy but it is the same idea: real student-athletes rather than athlete-students.

Momus said...

"I’m SURE they won’t try to claim any of the stories I’ve written or told in the past as their own."

Your stories?? John, when you're sitting in your office pouting, and you happen to look up at that photo of Andrew Thompson crying on your shoulder after the '95 Army-Navy game, just remember that that is HIS story, not your story. You're the story-teller. If somone (Radovich or one of his minions) happens to read A Civil War, and comes up with the idea to interview Thompson or Jim Cantelupe for this documentary, and ask them (for example) to describe their emotions that they had after the game, there's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to be an award winning producer to figure out that having a decorated Marine describe how he cried openly after losing in heart-breaking manner to Army would make a very powerful visual statement for this type of documentary. You don't "own" any of your Army-Navy stories; someone obviously can't plagerize your work (how you told the story), but they are certainly free to use the same subject matters as part of their production (with approrpiate acknowledgements and citations made as necessary to your work).

Anonymous said...

John...you, like the rest of us, got screwed by the man. Sorry it sucks & is extremely frustrating.

Anonymous said...

My wife has been telling me for years who my behavior/actions affects my children.

Just wondering how you would react if your daughter tells you that she feels ok with quitting something just because something didnt go her way and that she learned it from you?

Youre a great writer - I ws in college when A Season On The Brink was published - I read it every winter during college hoops season. Just remember that when you walk away from something, no matter how right you think you are, many people who enjoy your work no longer can experience your offerings.

Ethan said...

Good Luck With whatever you do!

GerryO said...

John, If you enjoy doing the commentary, you should continue to do it.

Ken Olena said...

We will miss you. Watch the games but listen to NAVY radio. No longer. A sad day for Navy football fans

Brian Grana said...

John - I will miss listening to your fantastic weekly commentary on Navy football... ever since meeting you in the 1995 timeframe it has been a pleasure hearing your slant on things... and that is not just limited to sports. Semper Fidelis, Brian Grana