I wrote a few weeks ago about the influence of Charles Barkley’s post-playing career on numerous athletes and former athletes in the media and content game. It seems his incredible media career may soon be coming to an end.
I doubt this is a newsflash, but I’m not friends with Charles Barkley so everything you read here is speculation based on observations. The biggest of those being that TNT appears to be in a bidding war with NBC over the remaining slice of the NBA’s broadcast rights and word is that TNT isn’t bidding enough.
Barkley, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Shaquille O’Neil and host Ernie Johnson have been the face of the most successful studio sports show in history for nearly a quarter of a century, but I don’t think they leave TNT for NBC. At least not all of them.
You need only turn on the television and see Shaq selling pizza, car insurance, muscle relief or numerous other products to know that he is probably willing to go where the money is. Kenny has less commercials and a family to support so he may need to do the same. Ernie Johnson is a TNT man and I cannot imagine him leaving Atlanta or that network.
Charles Barkley, while as awesome as ever, is older and more tired than he has ever been. I’m not saying he wouldn’t go work for NBC, but I believe they would have to make Charles very comfortable, and I’m not just speaking financially, although they will need to do that too. I would not give the man a 10-year contract, but if I were NBC I would ensure that NBA fans knew I had done all I could to keep this beloved show intact and that icon around the game.
If NBC does wind up getting the NBA broadcasting deal, I have a demand and a request. I remember the last time that NBC regularly showed NBA games back in the late 1900s and it was at the height of Michael Jordan‘s career. If you don’t remember it, you won’t know what I’m talking about but if you do, you will understand why I demand the return of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” intro theme song.
There have been some iconic theme songs over the years, but few that stir up the copious amounts of nostalgia that Roundball Rock does. That song came before some of the best basketball games I have ever witnessed.
The former Entertainment Tonight host is a better musician than most appreciate and that anthem, one he dreamed, woke up and left for himself on an answering machine recording so he would remember it, is iconic and should be used (as rumored) for the Olympics as well.
That was my demand. My request is that they bring back NBA Inside Stuff. I had three primary sources for hoops information in the mid-90s. These were the days of internet dial up and getting sports news online was suspect, so I relied on Basketball Digest, Slam Magazine (editor Scoop Jackson was legend) and NBA Inside Stuff.
The NBC show was informative but even more so, it was entertaining. It was basically a weekly commercial for the league and its biggest superstars, shining a light on the compelling storylines, competitive matchups and game highlights.
Ahmad Rashad was the host back then and while I think I’m the obvious choice to replace him, I fear that NBC not knowing I exist will crush that dream, but that’s okay so long as they bring back the show.
In the meantime, I encourage you to tune in to TNT whenever you can during these playoffs and enjoy what we’ve got until it’s gone because Draymond Green is many things, but one of them is not Charles Barkley.
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