Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley, who played 15 seasons in the NBA and was an 11-time All-Star, is now an NBA studio commentator for TNT. He also has his own half-hour TNT show, "Listen Up!" Barkley, who lives in the Phoenix area, was in Los Angeles on Thursday to appear on the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," which is taped at the NBC studios in Burbank. After the taping, a reporter rode with Barkley back to his hotel in Beverly Hills. Barkley, as usual, wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. Question: Are you picking the Lakers to win it all?

The Clippers' public relations department sent out a notice announcing none of their players would be available Wednesday. It wasn't surprising to hear they lacked the backbone to own up to their own disappearing act a night earlier. The PR notice said the players would be available to talk Thursday at 11:15 p.m. I'm sure the Clippers meant 11:15 a.m., but then I wonder - maybe they don't want anyone talking to them. Why didn't they schedule exit interviews for the players Wednesday?

NBA Hall of Famer and TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley will soon be adding a new job title to his resume: Weight Watchers pitchman. The former power forward weighed about 250 pounds when he played for the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers. But after retiring from the league in 2000, he added another 100 pounds to his 6-foot-6 frame. This year, Barkley's doctor told him it was time to shed those extra pounds, according to this account at the Game On!

SACRAMENTO - For just the second time during his 11-year career, Caron Butler has played in as many as 78 regular-season games. And for Butler, being injury-free for the playoffs, which start Saturday for the Clippers, is key. When the Clippers met the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs in 2012, Butler suffered a broken left hand in Game 1. He missed Game 2 but played in the rest of the Clippers'...

Charles Barkley and banter: There is nothing off-limits, including personal grooming, as the world discovered Thursday night when the Hall of Fame basketball player was covering the Clippers-Suns game as an analyst during the broadcast. Barkley admitted during the broadcast that he waxes his eyebrows after fellow analyst Reggie Miller asked him what was going on with them. Miller and play-by-play partner Kevin Harlan immediately begin laughing. “See, Kenny hates on me because I've been getting my eyebrows waxed,” Barkley said of TNT studio analyst Kenny Smith.

CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb caused a lot of Internet outrage Thursday night over his comment at the start of that night's NCAA tournament coverage. Gottlieb was on a panel with four African American men, and when he was introduced by host Greg Gumbel, he said, "Cream rising to the crop. I don't know why you guys asked me, I'm just here to bring diversity to the set here. Give the kind of white man's perspective on things from the point guard position. " Whoops. Fellow analyst Greg Anthony made a face after hearing the comment, and Barkley and Kenny Smith laughed awkwardly.

Former NBA star Charles Barkley was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol early Wednesday at Scottsdale, Ariz. An officer with a task force that targets drunk driving saw Barkley run a stop sign about 1:30 a.m., Gilbert police Lt. Eric Shuhandler said. Barkley was in Scottsdale's Old Town area, a trendy spot in the Phoenix area. "I am disappointed that I put myself in that situation," Barkley said. "The Scottsdale police were fantastic.

Charles Barkley doesn't think that the Lakers are a championship contender. Not even with Steve Nash back in the mix. "Never start a conversion with, 'There's help on the way from a 39-year-old,'" Barkley said of Nash on “Mike & Mike” on ESPN Radio. "That's never a good way to start a conversation. There's help on the way, but he's 39 years old. It's not going to work. They're not a contender. " The Lakers may have some of the best players in the game in Nash, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol -- but Barkley doesn't think that their talent can compensate for their age. “They're old, slow and unathletic,” Barkley said.

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal have never hidden their thoughts on the Lakers. Earlier this month, in fact, O'Neal said Dwight Howard was the third best center in the league, behind Andrew Bynum and New Jersey's Brook Lopez. So it wasn't overly surprising to hear the TNT analysts give a thumbs down to the Princeton-style offense the Lakers have employed this preseason. "I've always said I want my accountants from Princeton, not my offense," Barkley said in a conference call Tuesday with reporters.

Charles Barkley would throw an elbow at President Obama's lip but wouldn't like it. "I'm serious now, what do you do?" Barkley asks. "Do you become the guy they'll make jokes about for three weeks or three years? Do you really want to hurt the leader of the free world? But whaddaya do? You play basketball like me. You're in or you're out. " Barkley is a big, ole whirlwind of glad-handing, backslapping, hors d'oeuvres scrounging, storytelling genius for almost five hours Tuesday in Los Angeles.

If you're in the public eye, what can you say, and when can you say it? We've had two examples this week of the minefield that is language in 21st century America. First, from the world of politics, there's Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who's found himself in hot water over his use of the term "wetbacks. " As my colleague Michael A. Memoli reported : In an interview with a local radio station Thursday, Alaska Rep. Don Young was discussing how advances in technology have reduced the need for some types of employment and referred to farming his family once did in California.

CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb caused a lot of Internet outrage Thursday night over his comment at the start of that night's NCAA tournament coverage. Gottlieb was on a panel with four African American men, and when he was introduced by host Greg Gumbel, he said, "Cream rising to the crop. I don't know why you guys asked me, I'm just here to bring diversity to the set here. Give the kind of white man's perspective on things from the point guard position. " Whoops. Fellow analyst Greg Anthony made a face after hearing the comment, and Barkley and Kenny Smith laughed awkwardly.

I worry Charles Barkley might have the Clippers pegged correctly as "fool's gold. " Good to know, though, Barkley has already pronounced the Lakers goners, and here they were Wednesday night pulling a Lazarus while Utah was digging a hole for itself. Hello, playoffs? But what about it - goodbye, Clippers, sooner than later? Barkley told a TNT audience Tuesday night the West has only three NBA championship-quality teams in Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Memphis, while going on to call the Clippers "softer than tissue paper.

PORTLAND - After a very light practice on Friday, Blake Griffin said he was feeling better after retweaking his left ankle in the first quarter of Thursday night's game at Phoenix. Griffin did some shooting at the practice, and the team said the All-Star power forward is expected to be in the starting lineup Saturday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Griffin said he first injured his left ankle against the Golden State Warriors on Monday. With Chris Paul expected to miss his sixth game with a bruised right kneecap, Griffin may have to do even more for the Clippers.

Charles Barkley and banter: There is nothing off-limits, including personal grooming, as the world discovered Thursday night when the Hall of Fame basketball player was covering the Clippers-Suns game as an analyst during the broadcast. Barkley admitted during the broadcast that he waxes his eyebrows after fellow analyst Reggie Miller asked him what was going on with them. Miller and play-by-play partner Kevin Harlan immediately begin laughing. “See, Kenny hates on me because I've been getting my eyebrows waxed,” Barkley said of TNT studio analyst Kenny Smith.

Charles Barkley doesn't think that the Lakers are a championship contender. Not even with Steve Nash back in the mix. "Never start a conversion with, 'There's help on the way from a 39-year-old,'" Barkley said of Nash on “Mike & Mike” on ESPN Radio. "That's never a good way to start a conversation. There's help on the way, but he's 39 years old. It's not going to work. They're not a contender. " The Lakers may have some of the best players in the game in Nash, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol -- but Barkley doesn't think that their talent can compensate for their age. “They're old, slow and unathletic,” Barkley said.

You may think there are too many television talk shows. It's not even fun to mock ABC's "The View" anymore. ESPN's "Around the Horn" might as well be over the moon. It just feels over. But wait. There's more. On Sunday night at 7 p.m., the HLN network (which until recently was CNN Headline News) will premiere a one-hour show called "With All Due Respect." The panel? Charles Barkley, Dennis Eckersley and Kyle Petty with host Robin Meade. Basketball star, baseball star, auto racing star.

The Dwight Howard saga has begun to irritate some of Howard's biggest supporters. On Thursday, Charles Barkley went on Philadelphia radio station 97.5 and said, "I love Dwight Howard as a person and as a player, but he's getting on my last damn nerve. " Howard's indecision has become as unpalatable as LeBron James' decision. "The last 24 hours it's been all Dwight Howard, nonstop," Barkley said. "It's not fun; nobody wants to hear it. It's not good for the game, not good for the fans.

LAKERS AT NEW YORK When: 5 PST. Where: Madison Square Garden. On the air: TV: TNT; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 9-13, Knicks 16-5. Record vs. Knicks (2011-12): 1-1. Update: The Knicks are the NBA's most surprising team, going 8-0 at home amid whispers of Carmelo Anthony as an MVP candidate. The Knicks have done it without Amare Stoudemire, who hasn't played yet because of a sore knee. Point guard Raymond Felton has had a rejuvenating season, averaging 15.8 points and 6.8 assists.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Bad sign that Lakers Coach Mike Brown was already defending his Princeton-based offense. It was only Day 2 of the regular season. But a flurry of past and present NBA players questioned its effectiveness after the Lakers' 99-91 loss Tuesday against Dallas. TNT analyst Charles Barkley said Brown needed to "nix that Princeton thing. " Kenny Smith, also a TNT analyst, followed it up by saying, "Princeton never won an NCAA title. " Magic Johnson weighed in on Twitter, saying he was "a bit confused" by the Lakers' opener.