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?

Charles Barkley didn't blame a wife or a cousin or the family dog for putting some unknown substance into his glass or forcing him to get behind the wheel of some unidentifiable vehicle after having a drink. Barkley came back to the TNT "Inside The NBA" show Thursday night for the first time in nearly two months and he was mostly just Charles, maybe biting his lip a little but also accepting blame for his arrest in December for driving under the influence.

Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a $400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas casino and promised Thursday to repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced criminal charges. "My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it."

At 10 minutes to 6, Ernie Johnson walks on to the "Inside the NBA" set in Studio J, a Turner Network Television facility. The set's focal point is a desk, where Johnson sits, with empty chairs on either side. The set is a dizzying, dazzling array of red and blue light. It includes a little living room, a full-height, half-court basketball playing area, enough pennants to outfit a Mardi Gras parade, and a mock night-time high-rise skyline.

Barkley saw loss coming Charles Barkley made one of his many appearances on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Tuesday. This time, TNT colleagues Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson Jr. were with him. The show tapes at 4 p.m., so it was a couple of hours before Game 6 of the NBA Finals. At the NBC Studios, Barkley was asked about that night's game. "Boston is going to win big," he said. "The Lakers don't deserve to win. They haven't been playing with any sense of urgency.

Something is missing from the TBS baseball studio show. Something that could bring excitement, unpredictability, controversy. Something that could light the spark clearly missing when Cal Ripken and Dennis Eckersley, along with Curtis Granderson (division series) and Harold Reynolds (championship series) join host Ernie Johnson to analyze the plays, the players and the moves in the games of the day. Something that could lighten the analysis and sharpen the criticism.

Novice analysts can be hesitant to give their opinions. They are not sure when to speak, or for how long. Charles Barkley was in such a position Thursday night at the Lakers-Sacramento Kings game at Arco Arena, where he was a courtside analyst for the first time in four years. So how long did it take Barkley, switching from his usual role as a studio host to fill in for an ailing Steve Kerr, to toss out his first zinger? Would you believe before he even set foot in the building?

Ignoring the credo, "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas," Charles Barkley went on Phoenix television Monday and announced that he had won "about $700,000" playing blackjack and betting on the Super Bowl. "That was all profit [from] blackjack and I bet on the Super Bowl. I had the Colts," Barkley said in an interview with TV station KTVK. "I played a lot of blackjack." Barkley, who lives in the Phoenix area, said that during a six-hour period last year, he lost $2.

TNT's Charles Barkley, one of the NBA's leading ambassadors, did double duty Wednesday in promoting the league's marquee event, All-Star weekend. His first stop after arriving from his home in the Phoenix area was the NBC studios in Burbank, where he taped a segment with Jay Leno for that night's edition of "The Tonight Show." From there, it was off to Hollywood through rush-hour traffic to tape a segment for ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," which will be shown tonight.

PHOENIX -- Not more than a few days after being booed at Staples Center, Kobe Bryant hit another rough patch in the court of public opinion. He was criticized by Charles Barkley, again, and openly questioned by Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas. Barkley, the outspoken TNT analyst who has fenced with Bryant in the past, suggested Bryant help his awkward situation by waiving his no-trade clause. "He doesn't want to be traded unless he can control his ramifications . . .