March Madness is about to get a bit more maddening with news that former 11 time All Star and NBA Hall of Famer turned broadcaster Charles Barkley will be part of TNT’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament next March. Barkley as well as the rest of the TNT broadcasting crew, along with Marv Albert are set to call some early round games now that CBS and Turner Broadcasting signed a 14 year-$10.8 billion blockbuster deal for television coverage rights to the Tourney this past April.
Surely Barkley and Kenny Smith will provide some insightful thoughts as well as some comic relief from the studio to help liven up the sometimes stiff on-air commentary of what is widely considered the greatest post-season playoff system in all of sports.
Right after news of the new broadcasting rights deal was reached, we also brought you news of the tourney expanding to 68 teams over 4 networks (CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV) in 2011, necessitating the need for additional commentators and play-by-play announcers like Bill Raftery, Gus Johnson, and now apparrently Barkley.
Barkley has been known for his sometimes outlandish and reckless behavior while on the air. He once flipped off his fellow commentators, called a producer a female private part, and even made light of women giving birth while live on the air. One thing’s for sure, Charles will give you honesty, since he always says what’s on his mind.
Here’s some classic Chuck in calling Dwyane Wade Micheal Jackson and the rest of the team a bunch of Tito Jacksons prior to the Big 3 arriving in Miami:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
