Charles Barkley admits he doesn’t hate Univ. of Alabama; just 'ungrateful brats'

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley admits he doesn't hate Alabama, just Tide fans he calls 'ungrateful brats'

By Mark Heim |

It's Auburn-Georgia week. Hate should be spewing, right?

Charles Barkley joked, "You can't have that much hate in your heart."

That's right. The Inside the NBA analyst and former Auburn basketball star has only hate in his heart for one rival. On Wednesday, he joined "The Next Round," and he was asked if he hates Georgia.

"Not really," he said. "I hate Alabama. That's a different animal."

The former NBA star revealed, however, the hate is pointed in a very specific direction.

"I really don't hate Alabama," he admitted. "I just want to beat them. I hate their fans because they're obnoxious. They lost two games last year, and it was like, 'Kill us now. That's the end of the world.' Then, after the lost to Texas, it was like, 'Oh my God.'

"You got the greatest coach ever. They are a bunch of ungrateful brats. That's the only thing I hate about Alabama. Listen, Alabama's a great program. I have a lot of friends that played there. You know how much love and respect I have for coach (Nick) Saban, but I just hate their fans because they are obnoxious and entitled."

[jbcarol]

What excites Charles Barkley the most about Auburn basketball?

The lofty expectations

By Ainslie Lee |

Auburn basketball icon Charles Barkley jokes that he feels like his time as a student-athlete at Auburn was 100 years ago.

But it was really just over 40 years ago that Barkley sported the No. 34 jersey for the Tigers. However, when you think about the direction of the Auburn men's basketball program since then, it does feel like it's been much longer than that.

Before Barkley arrived to The Plains in 1981, the Tigers had never appeared in the NCAA Tournament.

With "Sir Charles" leading the way during a season he was also crowned the SEC's Player of the Year, Auburn finally punched its ticket to the big dance in 1984.

In the years immediately following Barkley's time at Auburn, the Tigers continued to be NCAA Tournament contenders before seeing a drop off in the early- and mid-1990s. Auburn returned to the tournament just before the turn of millennium in 1999 and then again in 2000 and 2003.

But then Auburn experienced a 15-year drought and didn't return to the tournament until the 2018 season.

"I gotta tell you, as much as I love Auburn and have high expectations, I never thought Auburn would make it to the Final Four... ever."

--Barkley

So when Bruce Pearl led the Tigers to the Final Four in 2019, you can bet it was a pleasant surprise.

And that pleasant surprise has sense changed the expectations of Auburn men's basketball.

"Ever since we made it to the Final Four one time, that changed the whole dynamics of the program.

"My goal in coming to Auburn was to get the basketball program up to the level of excellence that the rest of the sports programs enjoyed and the other parts of the university enjoyed," Pearl said ahead of Auburn's first practice on Sept. 26. "So whatever that means."

[jbcarol]

Watch Charles Barkley 'push' Adam Silver on 'disturbing' NBA domestic violence

Mark Heim

Charles Barkley changed the tone of "Inside the NBA" on Tuesday during the NBA's opening night when he asked league commissioner Adam Silver about "disturbing" domestic violence issues connected to the league.

Prior to the start of the Lakers-Nuggets game in Denver, Barkley raised the question instead of cutting to commercial.

"I got a serious question for you," Barkley said. "There's a couple disturbing incidents of domestic violence in the NBA right now. What are we doing to address that? ... You can't put your hands on women, man. ... What are we, as a league, going to do about that?"

Here's what Silver said:

"That's an area where we're not looking to compete against other leagues. ... Our players' association, credit to them, this wasn't adversarial. We put in place a new program for how we deal with, first of all, accusations of domestic violence even before they are prosecuted. Part of it goes to training of our players, counseling of our players to make sure they understand during high-stress situations, never resort to violence against anyone. We're addressing. We have state of the art counseling professionals dealing with our players. But of course, if a guy does cross the line, the consequences are enormous."

Miles Bridges turned himself in to authorities over an arrest warrant that was issued in January for violation of a protection order stemming from a 2022 domestic violence case.

Kevin Porter Jr. is facing charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident that occurred at a New York hotel.

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley threatens Stephen A. Smith with a 'whooping'
Sydney Hunte |

Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith are part of TNT Sports and ESPN's collaborative coverage of the NBA In-Season Tournament. And with each of the network's most bombastic personalities staked out in Las Vegas and sharing the air, things went about how you'd expect.

"Let me tell you something, Stephen A.," Barkley said. "If you come over here with all that loud a** talking today — hey, this ain't 'First Take'. This gonna be the first to a** whooping you take if you come over here with that loud a** talking."

Long time coming

[jbcarol]

Joe Kleine responded to where he was when Arkansas won the National Championship game in 1994.  Playing for the Suns, Kleine recalled watching in the Marriott hotel bar in Portland with Sir Charles and Dan. Joe pulled out a large display of cash that he claimed is what was still left from the bar bet he won picking the Hogs against Barkley and Majerle.

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley calls San Francisco 'bunch of homeless crooks;' Here's his top jabs of night

By Mark Heim |

Charles Barkley, in true form, didn't hold back on Sunday night during TruTV "alt-cast" of the NBA All-Star Game, going after the city of San Francisco.

The former Auburn star and NBA analyst asked Reggie Miller: "If you had the chance between being cold or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco, which would you take?"

Barkley added you needed a bullet proof vest to walk around the city.

Back in 2022, Barkley referred to the city as a "hellhole."

"You know what the bad thing is about all this rain? It's not raining in San Francisco to clean up those dirty-ass streets they got there," Barkley said then.

[jbcarol]

Leaked TNT footage shows Charles Barkley uproariously roasting Shaq

Expletive-filled exchange

By Mark Heim |

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal are always verbally sparring on the air, usually at each other's expense.

As it turns out, not much changes off the air.

Leaked, behind-the-scenes footage of "Inside the NBA" during all-star weekend reveals O'Neal was venting about TNT not airing his recent Orlando Magic jersey retirement ceremony. Barkley pounced on the opportunity and joked that Shaq was mad it was shown on NBA TV and not on TNT.

Due to the language in the video, it was not used for this post

[jbcarol]

March Madness: Charles Barkley questions Auburn's seeding, why state schools are in Spokane

By Mark Heim

Count Charles Barkley among those who believe the Auburn Tigers got jobbed by the NCAA committee when it comes to their seeding for March Madness.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and assistant coach Steven Pearl both voiced frustration with the Tigers' seeding and destination.

"I'm trying to figure out why they sent all the Alabama schools to Spokane, Washington," Barkley said Monday of Auburn, Alabama and UAB. "I have a problem with that first and foremost."

[jbcarol]

Auburn alum Charles Barkley publicly thanks Nick Saban for retiring from Alabama

by:
Dan Morrison
•

Charles Barkley is a legendary figure in basketball and a proud member of the Auburn family and alum. So, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that he recently publicly thanked former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban for retiring from coaching.

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley sums up the feelings of BBN
Andrew Olson | 

Barkley may have been a little shaky with the facts, but he summed up the feelings of Big Blue Nation as he talked about Kentucky's NCAA Tournament slump.

Barkley is part of the studio crew for CBS/Turner Sports' March Madness coverage. During halftime of an early Thursday game, the Wildcats came up. Barkley recognized John Calipari as an accomplished coach, while also pointing out that it has been a bit too long for many in BBN since UK has competed for the national championship.

"At some point, they've got to make a deep run," Barkley said of the Wildcats. "They can't keep getting upset. I mean, they're the University of Kentucky. They're one of the greatest programs in history, and Cal is a terrific coach and a good friend.

"But at some point, he can't keep living off what happened during the Anthony Davis era. He's got to go deep in this tournament at some point and this might be the year."

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley roasted

Auburn loss to Yale

Pretends to call Tom Izzo

By Mark Heim |

It was a tough day for the Auburn Tigers. It may have been tougher for Charles Barkley.

The former Auburn star and March Madness analyst made it clear leading up to the Tigers' upset loss to Yale on Friday night he was quite confident with his team's first-round draw.

The Round Mound of Rebound has predicted a Sweet 16 for Bruce Pearl's Tigers.

"We going to play UConn," he said earlier this week. "We're going to beat Yale. We're always going to beat the smart kids. Then, we're probably going to beat San Diego State."

[jbcarol]

CBS Sports
@CBSSports
·

THE CHUCK BLIMP

"And the head is actual size."

"You're a funny guy, Ernie." 🤣

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley congratulates 'Alabama University,' adds Grand Canyon played 'dumbest' game ever

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley congratulates Dabo for Clemson's win over Arizona

That's right, the former Auburn basketball star congratulated the Clemson football coach, not the basketball coach. The panel of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Clark Kellogg didn't react, which made things even more confusing.


Alli McCraw
@allimccraw

Are we gonna talk about the fact that Charles Barkley just shouted out Dabo Swinney for Clemson's win? 😂

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley yells 'Roll Tide,' predicts Alabama to beat UNC in March Madness

By Mark Heim |

Charles Barkley promised he would use a bad word Thursday during CBS' broadcast of the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

As it turns out, Alabama is the word, but it took it further than anyone anticipated.

He gave a "Roll Tide" and did so with a little country twang.

Auburn fans may need to sit down.

However, he was simply picking who he thought would win Thursday's Alabama-North Carolina game.

The Tide is 2-9 overall in Sweet 16 appearances.

"They are going to have to make 15 3-pointers to win this game, but they cannot match up with the physicality of UNC," Barkley said roughly 90 minutes before the start of the game. "But their 3-point shooting, led by (Mark) Mr. Sears, as one of the great leaders on this team. If they can make enough 3-point shots, they can win this game."

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley on Alabama advancing to Final Four: 'You can't be a hater'

By Mark Heim |

Yes, Charles Barkley referred to the Alabama Crimson Tide as "Alabama University" again.

It's old hat.

What isn't, though, is the Crimson Tide advancing to the program's first NCAA Final Four with an 89-82 win over Clemson in the Elite Eight on Saturday night. And for that, Barkley - a former Auburn star - tips his cap.

"Congratulations to those guys," Barkley said after the game. "You can't be a hater in sports. You have to always be gracious. I'm an Auburn die-hard guy, but Alabama played fantastic. ...


"When those boys are shooting that thang, they can play with anybody."

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley reveals the key to Alabama upsetting UConn in Final Four

by: Alex Weber
•

Barkley may be an Auburn diehard, but he still sees a way for Alabama to pull off the Final Four upset over UConn, even if the Tide are massive underdogs.

Since March of 2023, UConn has ruthlessly ripped through college hoops, earning the No. 1 overall seed this season after winning the title in 2023. Now, they've yet to sniff a close game after pounding four straight teams to arrive in the Final Four. Before explaining the case for Alabama, Barkley had to tip his cap to this great UConn team.

"Well, obviously, you got to understand something: UConn is great. You know, when I was on television the other day, they showed a stat that said UConn had been up by 30 points in every game. I said hey, I think you need to check this typo. I said UConn could not have been up by 30 points in every game, and they had been. So it wasn't a typo."

So, for the Tide to knock them off, Barkley says it better start raining 3s in Phoenix.

"Alabama's got one chance. They're going to have to make between 15 and 20 3s. That's the way they play anyway," he commented, noting that the deep shot is a sort of equalizer for the underdogs in this tournament.

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley consoles Mark Sears

Alabama Final Four loss

by: Griffin McVeigh
•

Charles Barkley is not a fan of Alabama — far from it, in fact. He was rooting against the Crimson Tide on Saturday against UConn, hoping they would not advance to the program's first-ever national championship game. But Barkley has continually stated how much respect he has for Nate Oats and the program. Not just this year but last year while earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

So when the final buzzer sounded in Phoenix and Alabama lost to UConn, Barkley made sure to console Mark Sears. Barkley stepped off the TBS set to greet Sears as he headed back to the locker room. A quick handshake, hug, and some words came from Barkley's end.

Alabama-Auburn rivalry still lives on.

[jbcarol]

'SNL' roasts Charles Barkley's March Madness analysis: 'I didn't watch it'

By Ben Flanagan |

Kenan Thompson once again played Charles Barkley during the cold open of "Saturday Night Live" this week.

Along with Ernie Johnson (played by James Austin Johnson) and Kenny Smith (Devon Walker), Thompson roasted Barkley for his college basketball analysis during March Madness, when the Auburn legend and his TNT pals take a break from their "Inside the NBA" gig to cover the NCAA men's tournament.

"SNL" spoofed the TBS studio segment wherein they were set to break down Alabama's fresh loss to the UConn Huskies in Final Four action.

[jbcarol]

Samuel L. Jackson rips 'The Bird & Taurasi Show' during national title game

by: Thomas Goldkamp

With women's college basketball setting viewership record after viewership record during the NCAA Tournament leading into the national title game there was always bound to be a little bit of a learning curve or an introduction to the sport for some of the newer fans.

Like Samuel L. Jackson.

He didn't find one of the viewing options all that palatable, commenting on The Bird & Taurasi Show, in particular. That was a viewing option on ESPN, while ABC had the main broadcast of the national title game, featuring Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe.

"Who TF @ESPN thought this podcast commentary is a good idea??!!" Jackson wrote on Twitter. "I never knew I needed an ABC feed before!!!"

[jbcarol]

Barkley: John Calipari's 'probably getting out ahead of the posse'

by: Sam Gillenwater

The topic of John Calipari leaving Kentucky for Arkansas even made it in to the broadcast for the national championship on Monday. That gave their analysts a chance to break down that coaching shift, including Charles Barkley.

Barkley shared his take on Calipari heading to Fayetteville from Lexington during the pregame coverage of UConn vs. Purdue on TBS. To him, this was Calipari protecting his reputation considering how his recent run seasons with the Wildcats have ended.

"It's good for Kentucky Basketball if they're doing well," said Barkley.

"I think it's probably time for John to move. I think it had ran its course," Barkley said. "He's a terrific coach but they've underachieved and you can't underachieve at Kentucky. He's had tremendous success but, to be honest, he's underachieved the last few years. He's probably getting out ahead of the posse."

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley mocking eclipse enthusiasts

"We're (sic) y'all some of them losers standing outside watching that today?"

Responded Ernie Johnson: "They're not losers."

Barkley: "Yes, they are. Hey, we've all seen darkness before. Stop it."

Johnson: "So, you're not a fan."

Barkley: "Well, I'm not gonna sit outside like an idiot and wait on darkness. It's gonna be dark when we go outside tonight."

[jbcarol]

Barkley recalls offering to pay Dirk Nowitzki to sign with Auburn

by: Matt Connolly
•

Charles Barkley is not shy about his love for Auburn basketball. The Hall of Famer tried to put his money where his heart is with fellow Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

When Barkley was a member of the Dream Team in 1992, he came across Nowitzki, who was playing in Germany at the time. Barkley did his best to convince Nowitzki to come to Auburn.

"I met Dirk Nowitzki and tried to pay him to come to Auburn. We played an exhibition in Germany, and I've got Scottie Pippen, who is a great defender, I've got Horace Grant. A couple of other NBA players, and we played this German team," Charles Barkley told The Pat McAfee on Tuesday. "Dirk's got like 35 at halftime. And at this time Scottie was considered a great defender. This dude finished with like 52 points."

[jbcarol]

Goodman: Should 'rogue booster' Charles Barkley be sanctioned?

Pat Dye resigned at Auburn as athletics director and then as the football coach after Eric Ramsey said he was paid to play and had the voice recordings to prove it.

Alabama thought the death penalty was coming after booster Logan Young was busted for paying a high school coach to pay player Albert Means. Young was later convicted in federal court for racketeering.

The life of Auburn legend Chuck Person was upended in recent years when he was set up by the FBI for accepting a bribe from an informant posing as financial advisor.

Now comes Charles Barkley, the Auburn legend and national TV personality. In a recent interview, Barkley announced to the world that he tried to pay future Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitski to enroll at Auburn and play for the Tigers. It raises a simple question. Should Barkley be banned from Auburn athletics for illegally recruiting a player?

[jbcarol]

Barkley finally apologizes to Beyoncé's mom for Galveston

By Mark Heim |

Chuck: "I don't want that smoke. I don't want the Beyhive and Jay after me."

Chuck apologizes to Beyonce's mom for talking about Galveston 😂

NBA on TNT analyst went after Galveston, Texas, making comments about the dirty water. The former Auburn star suggested the New Orleans Pelicans vacation there once the Thunder eliminate their first-round opponent.

"We're gonna send them to Galveston, where that dirty a** water wash up on the shore, and people think they at the beach."

There has been blowback. Tina Knowles, who grew up in the area, didn't stand for it.

[jbcarol]

Charles Barkley sends strong message to jackasses

By Mark Heim |

Barkley blasted other media personalities, accusing "jackasses on other networks" for trying to be friends with NBA players instead of doing their jobs.

TNT's "Inside the NBA" analyst had a bone to pick over the narratives that Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham and Phoenix Suns coach Frank Vogel are the reasons those franchises weren't successful.

"For all you punks, idiots and jackasses on other networks, who want to be media and who want all the players to like y'all, do your damn job," Barkley said Wednesday. "The Lakers suck and the Suns suck because of the players."