December 27, 2024 • 9 mins
We were all surprised by the announcement from longtime Houston Rockets beat writer Jonathan Feigen made, that he was calling it a career. The man who is in his 27th season on The Rockets beat joined Adam Clanton and Adam Wexler on The A-Team. He talks about what went into him making this decision. Plus, the people and experiences that made his career so enjoyable.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I gotta admit, I mean, I was caught off guard.
I asked, Wex, I said, did you know this was happening? Well,
just found out about it. So Jonathan Fagan joins us now.
He of course, has covered the Houston Rockets for the
Chronicle for as long as I can remember, and he's
calling it a career.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
It's his last day. Today.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
I was like, Jonathan, you got to come on with
us on the Rockets flagship station.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Obviously you are very good at keeping secrets, sir.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I don't know if good news is the right word.
Maybe it was foolish. I had a hard time telling anybody,
and I put in the story today the column. A
lot of it is forty years of were not the story,
you know, the journalist credo were not the story. And
so I couldn't bring myself. And then I started to
(00:47):
feel rude when I wasn't telling friends, and then the
other part when I started to admit it to people.
I told Raymond Ritter of the Warriors when they were
here and when he went when we went back there
in San Francisco, he wanted to make a little, you know,
a few words of a little speech in the media room. Well,
(01:11):
I told her, I haven't told me. People are going
to hear about it from you instead of me, And
so I started scrambling around to tell people then, but
there were a lot I never did get to start
to tell and I felt bad about that. And then
there's a lot I just couldn't remember. Did I tell him?
I can't remember? And so I was going to like
stop people, Hey, guess what and so but maybe it
(01:34):
was wrong with me in the first place, not to
just bring it up a lot, but it was just
hard for me to be talking about myself. It's spent
a lot of years writing about other people and what
they do and shots that go in and shots that don't.
And so yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Not at all.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
And listen, I mean, I'm not going to speak for Wex,
but I think he would agree with I mean, just
the most. And I said this on on social media.
You know, when it comes to like hearing a term
consummate professional in any you know, profession, you your picture
would be next to it because you just you just
had a way that you you went about your job.
(02:14):
And it sounds weird saying this in the past tense
by the way, like I'm gonna miss you man. It's
just been I never had a bad encounter with you once,
always had a smile for everybody, and you're just as
good at your job as anybody out there.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
So we wanted to give you your flowers here on
the air today.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Well that's very kind. I really appreciate it. Yeah, the
day has been very moving. People have been incredibly generous
and kind, much more than I deserve or expected. You know,
I'm actually a little drained from and I couldn't. I
don't think I've responded to everybody. I tried at some point. Well,
(02:53):
I'll respond to anybody that I know. I hope that
people that I don't understand, but I'm sure I missed
quite a few too, because eventually you sort of do
get along with the day. But I spent the first
half of the day trying to respond, just to show
how much I appreciate it. And I really do. I'm
very very moved. My family is very moved. My son
and daughter in law are in town, and so they
(03:14):
are on Twitter all morning, you know, feeding my wife
what oh ano, this one said, this one said, and
so it's been good for all of us.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
You said this was your last day covering the team
they're playing at home tonight. I believe if you're saying
all this about the day leading up to this if
you're out of Toyota Center tonight, continuing your final day
covering this team looking for their twenty second when going
to twenty two to nine, have you given it thought
about what tonight's going to be like for.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
You little but more just from logistics, you know, will
Danielle do the locker room postgame? Well, I you know
that kind of stuff. I'm really hoping when the game
is going and I'm sure it will be this way,
I'll be focused on that and I won't be tweeting about,
you know, something Steve Francis said to me or whatever,
(04:03):
I'll be tweeting, you know, the Rockets have made the
last four threes or something. You know, I really you
know the game and I put that in the column
when the game began. It was rejuvenating all the time.
It really was. You could be tired on a road trip,
and you know we had that road trip last week
Toronto to Charlotte in a back to back. I had
(04:25):
a connection, you know, so I didn't even fly non
stop to get to it game starts and you get
in the gym and it was invigorating. And so I'm
thinking that's how I'll be you know, to me, it'll
be do the job, you know, make deadline. You know,
you get two to four minutes after the game is
over to follow your story. That hasn't changed, you know.
(04:47):
At home games, that's what I take two to four minutes,
and so I'll be focused on that, I think, I.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Hope probably a difficult question to answer, I'll ask it anyway.
You've covered so much of this team's history over these
last several decades, from the late nineties and to where
we sit today. A lot of different eras, a lot
of different winning, a lot of different losing, a lot
of different building, a lot of different personalities. Is there
a player you've dealt with, worked with, a story you've
written that you know kind of you're most proud of,
(05:15):
most happy to have been the person to unearth that
for fans, whether I mean not necessarily some breaking news,
but just something you were able to write about regarding
this team over the years you've been on their beat.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, well, it definitely wouldn't be breaking, you know, they
can admit now, I never really cared that much about
a story that people were all going to find out
in a few minutes anyway, just like whatever, you know
that when I had it first, you know, on those occasions,
whatever you know, I've never like real fired up about
(05:49):
that that much to this guy got a contract extension
or this. You know, the Rockets are trying to do this,
Like I think I wrote a lot about the Rockets
trying to do the trade with the Nets, and then
eventually they finally did. Of course it took months after
I wrote it, but I don't care. You know, people,
(06:10):
the things I liked most with the individuals, the people
you get to know, the people you get to write about.
I can't pick the story that I would say I
liked most, just because I haven't really looked back that much.
But I guarantee it would be something like that. Somebody
telling their story and asking me, trusting me to tell
(06:30):
their story. It's always been that by far. And it's
like you guys have been around me. You get a
great interview, you feel great, just like even Tyr you
said yesterday, just showing the perspective that he did. I
was pretty fired up after that interview then, so I
wasn't his life story or anything, but I love that.
(06:51):
I love the people, you know, favorite times, favorite people
to cover. That was always what it was about. A
king was the greatest, you know, just thanking you for
your interest. After every he and I spent an hour
and a half one day. My wife was a teacher,
a preschool teacher at a nonprofit and she would teach
(07:12):
about religion, religious holidays and you know, just in a
way that a four year old could understand. And so
we spent an hour and a half talking about Ramadan
and how she could express that to kids to understand
what it was about. Just sat there under the basket
at Westside Tennis Club. He was, you know, Charles was
everything he you know, he was exactly like you see
(07:35):
on television. He was a pleasure every day. Steve Francis
was always one of my favorites. Luis Scola and that's
the other thing. And I put it in a column.
We know how lucky I've been. I mean, think about
the people that I've gotten to cover, the incredible cooperation
that came from the top down. I mean, it was
a way things are done here, you know. And I
(07:57):
quoted this Sam Smith line in the College when he
was talking to David Stern trying to improve the situation
around the league, and he finally got set up and said,
we can't all work in Houston. You know, I did,
and so it was pretty great. You know, think of
the Rudy Tom Johanovitch Award is named after Rudy Tom
Johanovitch for a reason. d'An TONI was the same thing,
(08:20):
and he was great. When Van Gundy left the thing,
I said to him, great, now I'm gonna have to
do my own work because he filled the notebook so much.
And I tell you, and I was happy with myself
that I remember to include Stephen Silas because that guy,
through the toughest of times, was just from day one
(08:40):
to the last day, a great guy. And that's what
I got to be around, you know. And this current
group is wonderful. They've been very kind to me since
the word got out on the road trip, you know,
just really really nice. Although I did promise them and
they got the point back in May. You know, I'll
(09:01):
probably be back sooner. But you know they got when
I said, hey, in May, I'm going to be around,
and I hope they liked that. I hope they got it.
But those guys were great, you know, so favorites. I
could go on and on because there's so many.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, no, the list is long, obviously, But when it
comes to people that haven't gotten a chance to encounter you,
we could say the exact same thing about you.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
And that's my favorite thing about you, Jonathan.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
As good as you were at your job, you were
an even better guy and always a pleasure to be
around it. Please enjoy retirement, don't be a stranger, and
we'll be catching up with you very soon anytime.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Thank you for those are very kind words, and I
really appreciate it absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Jonathan Fagan of the Houston Chronicle on his last day.
It's crazy to even say it. Joining us here on
Sports Talk seven to ninety
I gotta admit, I mean, I was caught off guard.
I asked, Wex, I said, did you know this was happening? Well,
just found out about it. So Jonathan Fagan joins us now.
He of course, has covered the Houston Rockets for the
Chronicle for as long as I can remember, and he's
calling it a career.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
It's his last day. Today.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
I was like, Jonathan, you got to come on with
us on the Rockets flagship station.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Obviously you are very good at keeping secrets, sir.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I don't know if good news is the right word.
Maybe it was foolish. I had a hard time telling anybody,
and I put in the story today the column. A
lot of it is forty years of were not the story,
you know, the journalist credo were not the story. And
so I couldn't bring myself. And then I started to
(00:47):
feel rude when I wasn't telling friends, and then the
other part when I started to admit it to people.
I told Raymond Ritter of the Warriors when they were
here and when he went when we went back there
in San Francisco, he wanted to make a little, you know,
a few words of a little speech in the media room. Well,
(01:11):
I told her, I haven't told me. People are going
to hear about it from you instead of me, And
so I started scrambling around to tell people then, but
there were a lot I never did get to start
to tell and I felt bad about that. And then
there's a lot I just couldn't remember. Did I tell him?
I can't remember? And so I was going to like
stop people, Hey, guess what and so but maybe it
(01:34):
was wrong with me in the first place, not to
just bring it up a lot, but it was just
hard for me to be talking about myself. It's spent
a lot of years writing about other people and what
they do and shots that go in and shots that don't.
And so yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Not at all.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
And listen, I mean, I'm not going to speak for Wex,
but I think he would agree with I mean, just
the most. And I said this on on social media.
You know, when it comes to like hearing a term
consummate professional in any you know, profession, you your picture
would be next to it because you just you just
had a way that you you went about your job.
(02:14):
And it sounds weird saying this in the past tense
by the way, like I'm gonna miss you man. It's
just been I never had a bad encounter with you once,
always had a smile for everybody, and you're just as
good at your job as anybody out there.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
So we wanted to give you your flowers here on
the air today.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Well that's very kind. I really appreciate it. Yeah, the
day has been very moving. People have been incredibly generous
and kind, much more than I deserve or expected. You know,
I'm actually a little drained from and I couldn't. I
don't think I've responded to everybody. I tried at some point. Well,
(02:53):
I'll respond to anybody that I know. I hope that
people that I don't understand, but I'm sure I missed
quite a few too, because eventually you sort of do
get along with the day. But I spent the first
half of the day trying to respond, just to show
how much I appreciate it. And I really do. I'm
very very moved. My family is very moved. My son
and daughter in law are in town, and so they
(03:14):
are on Twitter all morning, you know, feeding my wife
what oh ano, this one said, this one said, and
so it's been good for all of us.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
You said this was your last day covering the team
they're playing at home tonight. I believe if you're saying
all this about the day leading up to this if
you're out of Toyota Center tonight, continuing your final day
covering this team looking for their twenty second when going
to twenty two to nine, have you given it thought
about what tonight's going to be like for.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
You little but more just from logistics, you know, will
Danielle do the locker room postgame? Well, I you know
that kind of stuff. I'm really hoping when the game
is going and I'm sure it will be this way,
I'll be focused on that and I won't be tweeting about,
you know, something Steve Francis said to me or whatever,
(04:03):
I'll be tweeting, you know, the Rockets have made the
last four threes or something. You know, I really you
know the game and I put that in the column
when the game began. It was rejuvenating all the time.
It really was. You could be tired on a road trip,
and you know we had that road trip last week
Toronto to Charlotte in a back to back. I had
(04:25):
a connection, you know, so I didn't even fly non
stop to get to it game starts and you get
in the gym and it was invigorating. And so I'm
thinking that's how I'll be you know, to me, it'll
be do the job, you know, make deadline. You know,
you get two to four minutes after the game is
over to follow your story. That hasn't changed, you know.
(04:47):
At home games, that's what I take two to four minutes,
and so I'll be focused on that, I think, I.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Hope probably a difficult question to answer, I'll ask it anyway.
You've covered so much of this team's history over these
last several decades, from the late nineties and to where
we sit today. A lot of different eras, a lot
of different winning, a lot of different losing, a lot
of different building, a lot of different personalities. Is there
a player you've dealt with, worked with, a story you've
written that you know kind of you're most proud of,
(05:15):
most happy to have been the person to unearth that
for fans, whether I mean not necessarily some breaking news,
but just something you were able to write about regarding
this team over the years you've been on their beat.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, well, it definitely wouldn't be breaking, you know, they
can admit now, I never really cared that much about
a story that people were all going to find out
in a few minutes anyway, just like whatever, you know
that when I had it first, you know, on those occasions,
whatever you know, I've never like real fired up about
(05:49):
that that much to this guy got a contract extension
or this. You know, the Rockets are trying to do this,
Like I think I wrote a lot about the Rockets
trying to do the trade with the Nets, and then
eventually they finally did. Of course it took months after
I wrote it, but I don't care. You know, people,
(06:10):
the things I liked most with the individuals, the people
you get to know, the people you get to write about.
I can't pick the story that I would say I
liked most, just because I haven't really looked back that much.
But I guarantee it would be something like that. Somebody
telling their story and asking me, trusting me to tell
(06:30):
their story. It's always been that by far. And it's
like you guys have been around me. You get a
great interview, you feel great, just like even Tyr you
said yesterday, just showing the perspective that he did. I
was pretty fired up after that interview then, so I
wasn't his life story or anything, but I love that.
(06:51):
I love the people, you know, favorite times, favorite people
to cover. That was always what it was about. A
king was the greatest, you know, just thanking you for
your interest. After every he and I spent an hour
and a half one day. My wife was a teacher,
a preschool teacher at a nonprofit and she would teach
(07:12):
about religion, religious holidays and you know, just in a
way that a four year old could understand. And so
we spent an hour and a half talking about Ramadan
and how she could express that to kids to understand
what it was about. Just sat there under the basket
at Westside Tennis Club. He was, you know, Charles was
everything he you know, he was exactly like you see
(07:35):
on television. He was a pleasure every day. Steve Francis
was always one of my favorites. Luis Scola and that's
the other thing. And I put it in a column.
We know how lucky I've been. I mean, think about
the people that I've gotten to cover, the incredible cooperation
that came from the top down. I mean, it was
a way things are done here, you know. And I
(07:57):
quoted this Sam Smith line in the College when he
was talking to David Stern trying to improve the situation
around the league, and he finally got set up and said,
we can't all work in Houston. You know, I did,
and so it was pretty great. You know, think of
the Rudy Tom Johanovitch Award is named after Rudy Tom
Johanovitch for a reason. d'An TONI was the same thing,
(08:20):
and he was great. When Van Gundy left the thing,
I said to him, great, now I'm gonna have to
do my own work because he filled the notebook so much.
And I tell you, and I was happy with myself
that I remember to include Stephen Silas because that guy,
through the toughest of times, was just from day one
(08:40):
to the last day, a great guy. And that's what
I got to be around, you know. And this current
group is wonderful. They've been very kind to me since
the word got out on the road trip, you know,
just really really nice. Although I did promise them and
they got the point back in May. You know, I'll
(09:01):
probably be back sooner. But you know they got when
I said, hey, in May, I'm going to be around,
and I hope they liked that. I hope they got it.
But those guys were great, you know, so favorites. I
could go on and on because there's so many.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, no, the list is long, obviously, But when it
comes to people that haven't gotten a chance to encounter you,
we could say the exact same thing about you.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
And that's my favorite thing about you, Jonathan.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
As good as you were at your job, you were
an even better guy and always a pleasure to be
around it. Please enjoy retirement, don't be a stranger, and
we'll be catching up with you very soon anytime.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Thank you for those are very kind words, and I
really appreciate it absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Jonathan Fagan of the Houston Chronicle on his last day.
It's crazy to even say it. Joining us here on
Sports Talk seven to ninety
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