I watched the Hawks play Miami Thursday night on TNT. The game was poorly played, and LeBron and Wade were both in street clothes. While the Hawks couldn’t put the Heat away like they should have, losing eventually in triple overtime, the real focus of the contest was the good humor and free flowing basketball analysis offered by Sir Charles Barkley, formerly known as the Round Mound of Rebound.
Barkley is a permanent fixture in the lounge area of the Atlanta-Buckhead Ritz-Carlton when not courtside or in Turner Studios (he is banned permanently from all area golf courses as he is labeled a removable man-made hazard with a massive yip hitch in his swing). He too is a close follower of fellow Atlantan Ted Turner, the namesake behind TNT, in his willingness to say whatever comes to his mind at any given moment. Both guys are uniquely refreshing and stand out in a world where everybody is incredibly cautious and controlled.
Barkley is going to appear tonight on Saturday Night Live, which is pretty cool and I will have to check out the SNL video as I doubt I will make it up. But on the subject of video, one went viral on Friday featuring Barkley, during an off the air segment of Thursday night’s telecast, calling his new gig as a spokesman for the Men’s division of Weight Watchers a “scam”. Fortunately for him and his endorsement career, he didn’t mean it the way it sounded. He was not talking about the Weight Watcher actual diet program, which from his appearance appears to be working wonders, but about how he can get paid to lose weight and gets paid to talk about basketball.
Happily, Weight Watchers was very good about all of this. They and Charles put out the following statement later in the day Friday:
“We love Charles for the same reason everyone loves Charles, he’s unfiltered. We are thrilled that he is having great success and inspiring millions of men to join him. We agree that being a spokesman for Weight Watchers is a pretty great gig.”
Barkley also addressed the video, saying “I meant what I said, the fact that I’m dropping pounds, getting healthier and getting paid at the same time, is my definition of a great scam. The only problem is I’m going to have to use some of the money to buy a new wardrobe.”
A good ending to a controversy that need not have been one, and I look forward to listening to Charles wide-open thoughts from here forward. I am just glad he didn’t run for Governor of Alabama as he once promised. Well, on second thought, maybe he should. It sure would be entertaining.
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