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American Morning

Charles Barkley Reviews Year in Sports

Aired January 01, 2003 - 09:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Not many people know sports like Charles Barkley does. He's a former NBA superstar and he's also the author of a book now. His book is entitled, "I May be Wrong, But I Doubt it." That sounds like him.
Well, so, for a look back at the year in sports, he is the man. And Paula sat down with him recently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES BARKLEY, CNN COMMENTATOR: I think that the New England Patriots' Super Bowl win was probably a great thing.

No. 1, when they came out as a team, that was the most inspiring thing I had seen in a long time. And then to go out and beat a team that nobody else gave them an opportunity to beat, that's what it's about, going out there and competing, because, you know what? You never know what's going to happen. Never.

He should have got sportsman of the year a long time ago before this year.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And you think, partly because of his fight with cancer, he's finally getting the recognition he has longed for.

BARKLEY: Well, that takes him to a whole 'nother level.

I think any athlete who overcomes adversity -- but most adversity is overcoming an injury. But when you are a cancer survivor, here's a person who they thought was not going to be alive. And to win the Tour de France four years in a row, I thought he deserved sportsman of the year a long time ago.

It's a great story, because she came out of nowhere. You see, that's what I'm talking about. Somebody could have looked at the other girl losing, Michelle, and that could have been like a great loss. But then it was like a great story, Sarah Hughes winning. And that's the point. I'd rather look at the good instead of the bad.

Well, I think that, as much credit as Tiger Woods gets, he probably doesn't get enough credit, because we thought it was inconceivable that somebody could actually win the grand slam of golf in a single year. And when he won the first two majors of the year, I think everybody was kind of shocked that he could actually do this. ZAHN: Barry Bonds has had an incredible year, but, somehow, he never seems to have captured the support of America the way other Americans, the way other players have.

BARKLEY: In our world today, everything is dictated by your relationship with the media. And that's unfortunate. If the media likes you, the people like you. If they don't like you, they don't like you.

ZAHN: So, what's Barry Bonds' problem? Why don't reporters like him?

BARKLEY: Well, he's moody and he's aloof, but that shouldn't matter. And he'll never get the credit and the respect he deserves as the greatest baseball player probably who ever lived.

If you like basketball, you've got to go with the Lakers. You know, to me, to get an opportunity to see Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant play all the time is very special.

ZAHN: Any basketball predictions to make for the end of season?

BARKLEY: Well, the whole basketball world rides on Shaquille O'Neal's big toe.

(LAUGHTER)

ZAHN: And it's a big toe, indeed, isn't it?

BARKLEY: It's a big toe when you wear a size 22.

But everything is dictated by how well Shaquille feels, because, to me, he probably doesn't give enough credit himself. He probably will go down -- if he stays motivated and doesn't get hurt any worse, he'll go down as probably the second greatest player or best player who ever lived, after Michael. It just depends on how healthy he is.

ZAHN: I know what a fan you are of Michael Jordan. Was it a mistake for him to come back?

BARKLEY: I thought it was a mistake, for two reasons: No. 1, age; No. 2, he's competing against the greatest player who ever lived. You can't beat the old Michael Jordan.

And them two things, you can't beat. You can never beat age. I played against the old Michael Jordan. That guy was incredible. And you can't compete against your legacy. And I'm just going to enjoy my time watching him now, because I want to watch the greatest player who ever lived. I'm going to enjoy it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 1, 2003 - 09:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Not many people know sports like Charles Barkley does. He's a former NBA superstar and he's also the author of a book now. His book is entitled, "I May be Wrong, But I Doubt it." That sounds like him.
Well, so, for a look back at the year in sports, he is the man. And Paula sat down with him recently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES BARKLEY, CNN COMMENTATOR: I think that the New England Patriots' Super Bowl win was probably a great thing.

No. 1, when they came out as a team, that was the most inspiring thing I had seen in a long time. And then to go out and beat a team that nobody else gave them an opportunity to beat, that's what it's about, going out there and competing, because, you know what? You never know what's going to happen. Never.

He should have got sportsman of the year a long time ago before this year.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And you think, partly because of his fight with cancer, he's finally getting the recognition he has longed for.

BARKLEY: Well, that takes him to a whole 'nother level.

I think any athlete who overcomes adversity -- but most adversity is overcoming an injury. But when you are a cancer survivor, here's a person who they thought was not going to be alive. And to win the Tour de France four years in a row, I thought he deserved sportsman of the year a long time ago.

It's a great story, because she came out of nowhere. You see, that's what I'm talking about. Somebody could have looked at the other girl losing, Michelle, and that could have been like a great loss. But then it was like a great story, Sarah Hughes winning. And that's the point. I'd rather look at the good instead of the bad.

Well, I think that, as much credit as Tiger Woods gets, he probably doesn't get enough credit, because we thought it was inconceivable that somebody could actually win the grand slam of golf in a single year. And when he won the first two majors of the year, I think everybody was kind of shocked that he could actually do this. ZAHN: Barry Bonds has had an incredible year, but, somehow, he never seems to have captured the support of America the way other Americans, the way other players have.

BARKLEY: In our world today, everything is dictated by your relationship with the media. And that's unfortunate. If the media likes you, the people like you. If they don't like you, they don't like you.

ZAHN: So, what's Barry Bonds' problem? Why don't reporters like him?

BARKLEY: Well, he's moody and he's aloof, but that shouldn't matter. And he'll never get the credit and the respect he deserves as the greatest baseball player probably who ever lived.

If you like basketball, you've got to go with the Lakers. You know, to me, to get an opportunity to see Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant play all the time is very special.

ZAHN: Any basketball predictions to make for the end of season?

BARKLEY: Well, the whole basketball world rides on Shaquille O'Neal's big toe.

(LAUGHTER)

ZAHN: And it's a big toe, indeed, isn't it?

BARKLEY: It's a big toe when you wear a size 22.

But everything is dictated by how well Shaquille feels, because, to me, he probably doesn't give enough credit himself. He probably will go down -- if he stays motivated and doesn't get hurt any worse, he'll go down as probably the second greatest player or best player who ever lived, after Michael. It just depends on how healthy he is.

ZAHN: I know what a fan you are of Michael Jordan. Was it a mistake for him to come back?

BARKLEY: I thought it was a mistake, for two reasons: No. 1, age; No. 2, he's competing against the greatest player who ever lived. You can't beat the old Michael Jordan.

And them two things, you can't beat. You can never beat age. I played against the old Michael Jordan. That guy was incredible. And you can't compete against your legacy. And I'm just going to enjoy my time watching him now, because I want to watch the greatest player who ever lived. I'm going to enjoy it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com