TNT Moving Charles Barkley, Crew Indoors for Game 4
In an effort to protect Sir Charles and his co-workers from the suddenly-frisky Miami Heat fans, TNT is moving its show inside the Heat’s gym and away from any potential danger. Charles Barkley and his two middle-fingers, though, remain unfazed. The Sun-Sentinel reports: “With TNT’s studio crew broadcasting outside the arena following the Heat’s 96-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals, Barkley became the focus of intense jeering and other acts of derision in the wake of his recent criticism of the Heat. Because of that, a Turner Sports official Monday told the Sun Sentinel that the TNT studio show will originate all of its programming from inside AmericanAirlines Arena for Tuesday’s Game 4. Having called the Heat a ‘whiny bunch’ earlier in this best-of-seven series, which the Heat now lead 2-1, Barkley playfully responded to Sunday’s chants at one point with a middle-finger salute from each raised hand. A fan then threw what appeared to be a towel at the Hall of Fame forward while he was on the temporary set of TNT’s popular studio program … ‘We appreciate the tremendous enthusiasm of the fans and all that they bring to our live coverage. As we continue with our coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals, we are evaluating the best options for presenting our studio show live from Miami.’ … ‘We are going to go inside,’ a network representative said, citing the logistical difficulties of such an open-air broadcast. Barkley, speaking on WQAM Monday afternoon, appeared to welcome the confrontational approach. ‘You know those people can yell and scream but they don’t have the hair on their (butt) to grab me,’ he said. ‘They don’t have enough hair on their (butts) to walk up to me man to man and say, ‘Let’s do this.’ All that yelling and screaming just makes me laugh, man.’ Barkley found Sunday’s scene amusing. ‘They were telling me I suck,’ he said. ‘They were telling me I never won a championship. Like, ‘Come on, give me something better than that, dude.’ I always laugh at that statement, ‘You didn’t get a ring. ‘I’m like, dude, you work at McDonald’s. My life’s a lot better than yours. You relax.’”
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