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?

  On Saturday evening at Staples Center, the Clippers will play in their first playoff game in Los Angeles in six years. "Well, I think the place will be going nuts," NBA analyst Charles Barkley said on TNT's "Inside the NBA. " "You know, they haven't been to the playoffs in a long time and obviously with Lob City and Chris Paul and everything, they're very excitable. I think it's going to be a fantastic atmosphere. " The Clippers' first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies is tied at 1-1. Games 1 and 2 were played in Memphis.

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!

TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley wanted to vent about Blake Griffin on Thursday after the Clippers' 93-90 loss at Phoenix: "You gotta get better as a basketball player because they can't go to you with the game on the line," Barkley said. "I know everybody goes crazy over your dunks, but you're not going to get many dunks. You have to get in the gym this summer. You got to develop your offensive skills before you can go to the next level. " Dallas guard Delonte West was fined $25,000 for sticking his finger into the ear of Utah Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward during a game Monday: "I didn't think it was going to be that steep," West said.

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.

  On Saturday evening at Staples Center, the Clippers will play in their first playoff game in Los Angeles in six years. "Well, I think the place will be going nuts," NBA analyst Charles Barkley said on TNT's "Inside the NBA. " "You know, they haven't been to the playoffs in a long time and obviously with Lob City and Chris Paul and everything, they're very excitable. I think it's going to be a fantastic atmosphere. " The Clippers' first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies is tied at 1-1. Games 1 and 2 were played in Memphis.

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.

Charles Barkley said, "I'm sorry," again. There have been many. This was a waste of a good apology, though. This was just silliness, and silliness is part of the charm of TNT's studio show hosted by Ernie Johnson and commentated on by Barkley and Kenny Smith. These guys have fun and talk intelligently about NBA games. They are sarcastic, sardonic, ironic, goofy. They rip on one another. They mock NBA players and their otherworldly wardrobe choices (see: Dwyane Wade and his Austin Powers-inspired suit from the other night)

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.

Charles Barkley played for three teams (Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston) over his 16-year career, was an 11-time All-Star, All-Star game most valuable player and league MVP, and averaged 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds over his career. He covered the NBA Finals for NBA TV and is serving as a guest columnist for the Orlando Sentinel and Los Angeles Times: -- The Orlando Magic had no chance of winning Sunday. Orlando was going to lose Game 5.

Shaquille O'Neal sat all of his 7-foot, 300-plus-pound frame down in a black chair in the green room for TNT's "Inside the NBA" show at Staples Center when a thought suddenly popped in his head. He called over his cohorts from TNT, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, and asked, "Who would you take, [Clippers forward] Blake Griffin or [Minnesota forward] Kevin Love?" That started a debate among the TNT NBA analysts that continued on the set during halftime of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Boston Celtics game, which the network aired Monday night.

TNT announcer Charles Barkley may have caught some flack after calling his shedding of 38 pounds in three months for a Weight Watchers campaign a " scam " (comments that he sort of seemed to mean in a good way, allowing the company a graceful response). But in spite of that hot-mic accident -- and though the former Phoenix Suns power forward has been known to trade snappy remarks with the Miami Heat 's Dwyane Wade -- he and the younger basketball player share an emphasis on getting fitter and eating right.

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!

At times this season, the Lakers have looked impressive, such as when they began the season 8-0. At times this season, the Lakers have looked unimpressive, such as when they lost four consecutive games and, worse, when they lost at home to under-.500 teams Indiana, Milwaukee and Memphis. So when Charles Barkley was asked to give his opinion on the state of the Lakers, he was more than willing to share his thoughts. Barkley, an analyst for TNT, was quick to point out that the Lakers are "not playing bad," but they also are not guaranteed to win a third consecutive NBA championship.

I'm a big football fan. I'm from Alabama, so you've got no choice. It's either Alabama or Auburn ? and I'm an Auburn guy. When I was there, Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy. I always tell people one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my life was going to watch Bo Jackson play every Saturday. It was pretty awesome. Now I think we have the best college football player in the country. Oregon has more weapons, but I think Cam Newton has just been the best player in the country all year.

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.

"How you doing?" he says, and I don't know how many hundreds or thousands of spectators were here Thursday for the celebrity golf tournament, but I'm pretty sure Charles Barkley personally greeted each one of them. That crown they've placed on King James is misplaced. It belongs on the head of the guy who puts the fans and the Lakers first. "The Heat has matchup problems with the Lakers," Barkley says in discounting any worries for the champs, and tell me now he isn't your favorite, too. I just witnessed greatness in action, Barkley seemingly taking aim at every tree in this forest preserve, ground balls here and there, a hiccup in his swing that would have him stopping just before impact as if there were an invisible shield preventing him from going any further.

Welcome back Chuckster. And Kenny Smith too. Charles Barkley and Smith came back for the first of their three-game NBA championships studio appearances on NBA TV from Boston. When Barkley and Smith are on TNT, maestro Ernie Johnson is the host, but Johnson is off to baseball so self-effacing Matt Winer slipped in between Smith and a third analyst, Kevin McHale, with a tentative list of notes and the good sense to understand he might have to throw the notes away. As Winer said, "I've got to be ready to wrangle Charles and Kenny.

"How you doing?" he says, and I don't know how many hundreds or thousands of spectators were here Thursday for the celebrity golf tournament, but I'm pretty sure Charles Barkley personally greeted each one of them. That crown they've placed on King James is misplaced. It belongs on the head of the guy who puts the fans and the Lakers first. "The Heat has matchup problems with the Lakers," Barkley says in discounting any worries for the champs, and tell me now he isn't your favorite, too. I just witnessed greatness in action, Barkley seemingly taking aim at every tree in this forest preserve, ground balls here and there, a hiccup in his swing that would have him stopping just before impact as if there were an invisible shield preventing him from going any further.