Full Court Press

Rating:
Summary: Lupica: SMARTEST SPORTSMEN TO EVER LIVE
Review: After howling in Bump and Run, I couldn't wait to listen to Full Court Press.

The first half of the book continues at a great pace with a slew of colorful characters. The last half was a let down. I enjoyed it, however, it wasn't as crisp as Bump and Run.

With that being said, I would still recommend either buying or listening to this story.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Bump & Run
Review: After howling in Bump and Run, I couldn't wait to listen to Full Court Press.

The first half of the book continues at a great pace with a slew of colorful characters. The last half was a let down. I enjoyed it, however, it wasn't as crisp as Bump and Run.

With that being said, I would still recommend either buying or listening to this story.

Rating:
Summary: Hindenberg?
Review: As a working sportswriter, like myself, the author should know that there is not a single player in today's NBA who would knock an opponent to the court, then utter the words: "You went down harder than the Hindenberg!" I doubt whether there is a single active pro basketball player that could even identify the Hindenberg, let alone use it as a taunt. (Who edited this novel?)

That sort of preposterous dialog -- and the hackneyed romance between Dee and her coach -- made it difficult to fully to enjoy Lupica's well-intentioned little fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Lupica: SMARTEST SPORTSMEN TO EVER LIVE
Review: If you want to read a book from an extremely bright, informative, and seasoned sports journalist, read Full Court Press. Lupica is at his best in this epic basketball drama. Not only does he accuratley portray NBA life and off the court hardships, but he also portrays this from a woman's point of view. Amazingly descriptive, dramatic, and full of excitement, this book has Best Seller written all over it.

Rating:
Summary: Great storytelling
Review: In New York winning is everything. Professional sports die without championships or at least a temporary draw until the victories return. The New York Knights have neither so the attendance is down. Owner Michael De la Cruz informs scout Eddie Holtz that he better come up with a superstar or find work overseas. In Europe, Eddie checks out former NBA great Earthwind, but feels raptures watching the point guard, a D. Gerard pull a series of magic acts. After the game ends, Eddie meets Gerard whose first initial stands for Dee, a female.

Eddie calls his boss, who sees an opportunity to fill a few seats with a wiggle and jiggle. However, the other owners and many of the players make it clear that the NBA stands for no babes allowed. Talented enough to compete, will Dee obtain the opportunity to break the gender line?

FULL COURT PRESS is a fast breaking sports novel that genre fans will either love or hate depending on the reaction to the basic premise that a woman is capable of playing in the NBA. The story line is fun as Dee seems genuine (wonder if she is modeled after a WNBA guard like Stacey or Stiles?) and the reactions to her seem humorous and ludicrous at the same time. Mike Lupica provides a slam dunk tale that will entertain readers even as many wonder how they would look one on one with Leslie or Dydek (beside feeling short).

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Great banter, fun characters, but...
Review: Lupica's got a great ear for the banter of the game and the City. He needed every bit of it to penetrate the blanket of intense namedropping, a syncophantic suck-up to Imus (Mo Jiggy in an Imus ranch hat) and overreaching for similes and metaphors (how does Earthwind snort the GNP of a city, Mike, and what is a "Gulfstream ex"?). I had it at 4 stars most of the way, but the last third really bogged down.

Eddie Holtz, jock with a blown out knee now scouting for the NY Knights (how many times has that set up been used?) discovers Dee Girard at a charity game in Monaco. She's the ultra cool 32-year-old daughter NY playground legend Cecil "Cool Daddy" Cody and the beautiful Swedish dancer Cool Daddy hooked up with in the late 60s. Eddie thinks she's as good as any point guard in the NBA, and Knights owner Michael De la Cruz sees headlines and ticket sales.

Some great characters: Knights Coach Bobby Carlino is a blatant composite of Rick Pitino and PJ Carlessimo complete with a bad boy player shoving his whistle down his throat when the coach lets his team rough Dee up. Eddie brings in Mo Jiggy, rap star turned sports agent from "Bump and Run", and the partnership of two super bright street-smart kids from the hood is born.

The last 40% or so isn't really a plot but a bunch of games, name dropping and trivia (like the female AAU phenom from the 50s who drops in on Dee in Minneapolis). The real story of Cool Daddy comes out. So what if he's more of a hustler than a hoopster, but bringing him back from the dead was a little much.

It had some great dialogue, fun characters but a little too much junk in between to make it a top tier story.

Rating:
Summary: Once upon a time there was a girl who had game...
Review: Mike Lupica's "Full Court Press" is a sports fantasy in which the flamboyant owner of the worst team in the league signs the first woman to play in the NBA. Dee Gerard is the illegitimate daughter of a New York playground legend and a star in Europe who impresses a scout for the New York Knights. If you hear echoes of the real world twisted this way and that (Dr. J's daughter, Nancy Lieberman, etc.), then you realize that is part of the game here (is Dee's teammate a "nice" Dennis Rodman?). Try not to get caught up in figuring out if you are dealing with stereotypes or Frankenstein like creations composed of the parts of various real people.

Understandably Lupica has to tweak things to put Dee in a position to play in the NBA once he sets up the desperate franchise idea: she is basically a female John Stockton (sees the court, knows the game, can make the pass) with a healthy injection of Globetrotter style and flair. She is also the fastest woman ever to play basketball, which works for me as the secret ingredient. However, in terms of the story "Full Court Press" reminds me of the old Sammy Davis, Jr. joke: Sammy is on the golf course and somebody asks him "What's your handicap?" Sammy does a double-take and points out that being a one-eyed, Jewish, black man is handicap enough. Lupica saddles Dee with similar baggage: she is having an affair with her coach and sometimes she gets what is basically acute stage fright. So being a woman is, ironically, the least of her problems in this book. Fortunately she is pretty much the most level headed person in the book and so most readers will be inclined to wish her well and remember this is a sports fantasy, not a social argument (Earl Monroe says it will happen one day; anybody out there got the chops to argue with the Pearl?).

I watch ESPN's "The Sports Reporters" on a regular basis, so I have to admit that the Mike Lupica who wrote this novel does not "sound" like the same one who goes from articulate rationality to passionate diatribes at the drop of a hat (or one liner from a cohort). There are insights into the world of sports in general and professional basketball in particular (they might not know the game, but these kids today are FAST) scattered throughout the book, and I found a really good insult for somebody from a farm I would dearly love to use someday. Certainly Lupica has a feel for the game (so does the dust cover, where the basketball feels like a basketball). The resolution leaves a lot to be desired, but the journey is fun and it is a good read. "Full Court Press" can keep you occupied during the first three quarters of a NBA playoff game when nothing is happening.

Rating:
Summary: Once upon a time there was a girl who had game...
Review: Mike Lupica's "Full Court Press" is a sports fantasy in which the flamboyant owner of the worst team in the league signs the first woman to play in the NBA. Dee Gerard is the illegitimate daughter of a New York playground legend and a star in Europe who impresses a scout for the New York Knights. If you hear echoes of the real world twisted this way and that (Dr. J's daughter, Nancy Lieberman, etc.), then you realize that is part of the game here (is Dee's teammate a "nice" Dennis Rodman?). Try not to get caught up in figuring out if you are dealing with stereotypes or Frankenstein like creations composed of the parts of various real people.

Understandably Lupica has to tweak things to put Dee in a position to play in the NBA once he sets up the desperate franchise idea: she is basically a female John Stockton (sees the court, knows the game, can make the pass) with a healthy injection of Globetrotter style and flair. She is also the fastest woman ever to play basketball, which works for me as the secret ingredient. However, in terms of the story "Full Court Press" reminds me of the old Sammy Davis, Jr. joke: Sammy is on the golf course and somebody asks him "What's your handicap?" Sammy does a double-take and points out that being a one-eyed, Jewish, black man is handicap enough. Lupica saddles Dee with similar baggage: she is having an affair with her coach and sometimes she gets what is basically acute stage fright. So being a woman is, ironically, the least of her problems in this book. Fortunately she is pretty much the most level headed person in the book and so most readers will be inclined to wish her well and remember this is a sports fantasy, not a social argument (Earl Monroe says it will happen one day; anybody out there got the chops to argue with the Pearl?).

I watch ESPN's "The Sports Reporters" on a regular basis, so I have to admit that the Mike Lupica who wrote this novel does not "sound" like the same one who goes from articulate rationality to passionate diatribes at the drop of a hat (or one liner from a cohort). There are insights into the world of sports in general and professional basketball in particular (they might not know the game, but these kids today are FAST) scattered throughout the book, and I found a really good insult for somebody from a farm I would dearly love to use someday. Certainly Lupica has a feel for the game (so does the dust cover, where the basketball feels like a basketball). The resolution leaves a lot to be desired, but the journey is fun and it is a good read. "Full Court Press" can keep you occupied during the first three quarters of a NBA playoff game when nothing is happening.

Rating:
Summary: PLEASING READ
Review: MIKE LUPICA, OF SPORTS REPORTERS FAME, WRITES AN ENGAGING BASKETBALL FANTASY ( OR IS IT ) ABOUT THE FIRST WOMAN TO PLAY IN THE NBA. PERHAPS HE COULD WRITE A SEQUEL ABOUT THE FIRST MAN IN THE WNBA. A FUN READ WITH SOME INTERESTING PERSONALITIES.

Rating:
Summary: IT'S NO BUMP AND RUN!
Review: Mike Lupica, once again, proves that he is not just another sports' reporter. I have long been a fan of this talented writer, mostly for his in-depth commentary on the professional sportsworld. But, riding off the iron-hot coat tails of BUMP AND RUN, Lupica has written another masterful novel.

A scout for the New York Knights named Eddie goes to Europe to check out the once popular Earthwind Morton to give the flailing team some life and added ticket sales. Instead, Eddie is impressed with Dee Gerard, and he brings her back to be the first woman player in the NBA. At first, self-help guru-turned-owner, Michael De La Cruz, looks at this as a money-making publicity stunt, as he becomes the mastermind behind this whirlwind media frenzy. However, he along with the rest of the league, soon finds out that the girl can play.

Lupica does a wonderful job of intermingling several diverse and silly characters into a nice, cohesive plot. There is a lot of humor and some amazingly interesting situations that help to make for a page-turning delight.

This is yet another excellent book by a talented author. The storyline has its fair share of ups and downs, but is really easy to follow as you'll laugh the whole way through. FULL COURT PRESS is a can't miss.