Homecourt Advantage [Hardcover]

Rita Ewing (Author), Crystal McCrary Anthony (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

After a knockout season, the New York Flyers are poised for the NBA playoffs, and the players' wives and girlfriends are set to add their own spin to the proceedings. There's Casey, married to the Flyers' top player, who has it all including doubts about her man's fidelity; her best friend Remy, a musical superstar whose boyfriend has been distant lately; and Lorraine, a nurse, who deals with her own personal demons while her religious husband deplores his teammates' boozing, drugging, and womanizing. As the media waits to pick up the latest indiscretion to turn into tabloid headlines the Flyers' women support one another as they share a common bond--maintaining a relationship as their private moments are paraded in front of an eager and unforgiving world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ostensibly concerned with the women behind the men who move the ball for the fictional New York Flyers, this first novel from former and current basketball wives Ewing and McCrary wobbles unsteadily from the announcement by Alexis?wife of team owner Mike Mitchell?that the mostly African American team will be sold to a known bigot if they don't win the championship. The tie that binds the tales of the players' mates together is Casey Rogers, fantastically successful attorney and wife to Brent, star player for the Flyers. Their marital problems quickly steal the focus from the team's difficulties. From this tipoff, the novel weaves in and out, dribbling and passing the action from couple to couple. We get lots of sad but unconnected backstories, lots of catty infighting and (often justified) jealousies among the wives, all of whom are intensely (if predictably) aware that their husbands belong to the fans and owners more than to them. Meanwhile, the team itself tries to ignore the "personal fouls" in their lives and plays on as the pressure to win mounts and the episodic soap opera ticks away with the clock. Tritely and carelessly written, the book has too many howlers: "Naturally he did not forget to pack the brand-new Calvin Klein underwear for his road trip, unlike when he was at home with his drawers full of holes"; "He treated players like machines on a southern plantation." The book moves in fits and starts toward a predictable conclusion and fails to realize even the most fundamental possibilities of a good sports novel from the wives' point of view (readers would do better to try Balls, Nanci Kincaid's recent chronicle of football wives). (Nov.) FYI: McCrary is married to Greg Anthony of the Seattle Supersonics (formerly of the New York Knicks). Ewing was married to Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks. Both women hold law degrees.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An insider's novel about women married to pro basketball stars, from the ex-wife of Knick Patrick Ewing and the wife of Seattle Supersonic Greg Anthony?who are both members of the Bar as well.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380976633
• ISBN-13: 978-0380976638
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,526,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a female view of BB, but a female view of relationships, August 13, 2000

By 

R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Homecourt Advantage (Mass Market Paperback)

It's nice publicity to write a basketball book by the former wife of Patrick Ewing. Would there be dirt? Would there be revelations? No, just a story of relationships from a female perspective as it relates to star athletes that are always in sexual demand. I give the writers credit for overlaying the story over a compelling basketball season, but it was sometimes confusing with so many chapters focusing on the many subplots. Maybe too much was too little.

I enjoyed the book and the ending does draw you in to the happy ending for at least one of the player's wives. But these writers will need to continue to sharpen their story lines to create a novel that generates emotional involvement throughout the novel.

Not for sports enthusiasts but for romance novel readers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A slam dunk!, August 2, 2002

By 

Nicole McCurty (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Homecourt Advantage (Hardcover)

The life of a celebrity always seems so glamorous. In this realistic look at professional basketball players, we realize all that glitters isn't gold.

The New York Flyers are on their way to the championships. They need everybody's support in this effort including, players, coaches, agents and even wives and girlfriends. Casey Rodgers, the veteran and star player's wife, has been put in charge with keeping the women in line. With a diva, a troubled nurse, a jealous fiancé, a scheming ex-girlfriend and problems of her own, this is not an easy task. To top it off, the New York Flyers must win the championship or suffer the consequences. All of these things combined make for one helluva story.

I was very impressed with this first time effort for Ewing and McCrary. The story was very well-written and realistic. Some of the supporting stories could have been eliminated in order to focus on the major ones, but they were all well done. I found myself a little annoyed with Casey at times but she redeemed herself in the end.

Ewing and McCrary have taken the phrase "write what you know" and made it work for them.

Reviewed by Nicole
APOOO BookClub

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inexcusably Bad, March 14, 2008

By 

D. Mikels "It's always Happy Hour here" (Skunk Holler) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Homecourt Advantage (Mass Market Paperback)

As an NBA fan of course I want to know what goes on "behind the scenes." And who would know more about the steamy, groupie-driven adventures of the NBA world than two ladies who are (were?) married to former players? Ergo I began HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE with much anticipation; my anticipation quickly turned to trepidation. This book is just plain bad, folks, and here's why:

Way too many subplots. Let's see. We've got Casey, who's unhappy with hubby Brent, because he cheated on her three years ago; we've got pop superstar Remy, who doesn't know what's wrong with Collin, who seems distant; we've got Trina, who discovers hubby Rick has a gambling problem; we've got Steve, who can't keep former lust-driven girlfriend Kelly from stalking him; we've got Lorraine, who doesn't want hubby Paul to know about her violent past; we've got Dawn, who can't get rookie sensation Michael to make a commitment; we've got the New York Flyers, who must win a championship or the franchise will be shipped off to Albany and purchased by a bigoted tycoon; and we've got the worst subplot about one of the above characters being gay--only the authors "cleverly" won't tell us who he is. . .until the end.

Good grief. With such a hodge-podge of backstories, further complicated by awkward, contrived, trite writing, this book is more of a mess than the feedlot on the other side of town. And the ending is predictable. . .yet still a howler. Infidelity and superstardom may very well impact relationships in the NBA; it's a shame HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE is so weak it fails to deliver such a message.
--D. Mikels, Author, Walk-On