Charles Barkley

Sometimes I come across little stories like this, and I know you guys will appreciate them too. I'm a huge Charles Barkley fan; I enjoyed watching him play and I love his as an anchor on Inside the NBA on TNT. Every Thursday during basketball season I get hours of pleasure listening to Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and, or course, Sir Charles. Sure I watch to see the double-header but these guys have a lot of fun together. Charles just seems like a guy who really enjoys life, and refuses to hold back. He's always coming out of his mouth and saying something funny, controversial, or just plain stupid. There are even whole websites dedicated to outrageous quotes. I came across this story and I thought, 'Classic Barkley.' From the last post in a series on NBA referee Bennett Salvatore:

Charles Barkley, many years ago. I made a call against him, in the fourth quarter of a nationally televised game, that he did not agree with. At that particular time we were going to to timeout. Charles, before going to his huddle, told me that he didn't like the call. I told him to go back to his timeout. He gave me some more of his expertise. I told him go back to his timeout. Coming back onto the court, I'm ready to put the ball in play. The lights are back on, the TV cameras are back on, we're ready to play.

Charles walks over to me, being larger, obviously, leans over me, and starts bobbing and weaving his head. And what he's saying is: Bennett, how's the family, how are the kids, how's the wife?

The whole world thinks that he's taking a piece out of my backside, and he's really not. He's being playful. So not all the time what you think is being said on the court really being said.

Oh, that Charles!