http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5322332

http://www.newsok.com/video/1757142/ (http://www.newsok.com/video/1757142/)

TNT needs to address this. They are getting a lot of complaints from all over the country....I don't know if will make a difference but here is one other person to email if you are so inclined.

greg.hughes@turner.com (greg.hughes@turner.com)

See Barkley jab as a good sign

By Berry Tramel
The Oklahoman

That great American philosophizer, Sir Charles Barkley, has spoken, zinging Oklahoma and its capital city, and for that, there can be only one response to Big Chuck.


http://newsok.com/images/icon_video_white.gifMy Two Cents: Invitation to Charles Barkley (http://newsok.com/article/1758236/?template=home/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifReaction from Oklahomans (http://newsok.com/article/1758710/?template=sports/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifOriginal Story: Barkley calls Oklahoma a vast wasteland (http://newsok.com/article/1757468/?template=home/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifShare Your Thoughts (http://newsok.com/article/1757468/?template=home/main)

Thank you.
Barkley's kooky talk Thursday night on TNT, calling Oklahoma a "vast wasteland" and "no place for black people," is not to be taken seriously.
The NBA's round man of silly sound is more comedian than analyst. More rabble rouser than deep thinker.
Truth is, Barkley's jab at OKC is one more sign that we're being taken seriously as a major-league city. Barkley likes to bark at the big boys.
"He does it so people will hate him," said New York Knicks broadcaster and Hall of Famer Walt Frazier. "He bashes New York every chance he gets."
But Barkley's dig -- which frankly is old material and not worthy of the clown prince of basketball -- can be illuminating and therapeutic.
Rather than declare war on Barkley, we can let his words make us take stock. What kind of city do we have? How can we get better? What kind of place is this for blacks, who by the way, aren't small in number or new to the state. Oklahoma's black history is deep and rich, going back to the 1889 Land Run.
Well, the Hornets, who waxed the Knickerbockers 111-100 Friday night at the Ford Center, rave about Oklahoma City.
"It's been nice," said Hornets center PJ Brown. "Very comfortable here. People are great. Reminds me of Charlotte. Great place to raise your kids."
Most Hornets wrote off Barkley as a goober -- "He's paid to talk crazy," said Rasual Butler -- but guard Kirk Snyder called Barkley a "big jerk."
Snyder said he knew Oklahoma was a fine place, because he has family in Norman. "And my family's black," Snyder said.
But the Hornets, packing the Ford Center and winning, are state sweethearts. Of course they are going to be well-treated.
What about the black folks who have always been here and aren't hardwood heroes? Is Barkley on the right track?
No, said the black fans I talked to Friday on my radio show and Friday night at the Ford Center.
Oklahoma's not perfect, not by a long shot, they said. But they like it here. It's a good place.
Perception is the prime problem. And that goes back to Sir Charles, who wasn't serious but wasn't kidding, either.
The trouble with America's view of Oklahoma is that there's dang little of it. When they think of Oklahoma, they go back to the age-old stereotypes of cowboys and Indians and OU football.
And our media, often the strongest link to outsiders, haven't exactly told the story of Oklahoma's melting pot. I can't expound on every aspect of OKC society, but the media I know.
Very few black television anchors in Oklahoma City, including none currently. Closer to home, The Oklahoman sports staff hasn't been a bastion of diversity, either. But that has changed in recent years, with new blood and a variety of new writers who aren't 40-something white guys, like your trusty scribe here.
So you can't blame someone like Hornets guard Speedy Claxton for being leery of relocating to Oklahoma City.
"I didn't know anything about this place," Claxton said of moving from New Orleans. "I wasn't looking forward to it.
"But it's been great so far. A lot better than people think. People here are very friendly."
Oklahoma City appears to be taking the high road with Barkley. Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin wrote Barkley a letter, inviting him to Oklahoma as her guest. Civic leaders plan an even better offer, complete with private jet to bring him to this vast wasteland.
The signs at the Ford Center on Friday night were funny -- "Hey Barkley, I'm Black."
One witty dog said Barkley called us a "vast wasteland" because of our lack of strip joints. Barkley has lauded Houston for its abundance of the same.
And the Hornets mainly just shook their heads. "That's just Charles being Charles," Claxton said.
Barkley was being a clown. But he made for an interesting day of talk about a subject that need not be squelched. For that, Sir Charles, we say thanks.