Barkley Almost Had His Moment With the Suns

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune, on Charles Barkley: “This was one considerable basketball player, possibly the player of his time if not for [Michael] Jordan.

“Barkley was as close to being Magic Johnson’s Larry Bird or Bill Russell’s Wilt Chamberlain as it got for Jordan.

“Sadder than Barkley never getting his championship ring is that he was never able, save for the time in ’93 with Phoenix, to be the other half of the duel.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for defensive rebounds in a game?

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His legacy: Chamberlain’s jersey No. 13 will be retired by the Golden State Warriors at halftime of their Dec. 29 game against the Philadelphia 76ers, making him the first player to be honored by three teams. The others are Philadelphia and the Lakers.

Chamberlain died Oct. 12 of apparent heart failure at age 63.

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Prudes: Corina Ungureanu, a champion gymnast who posed nude for Playboy magazine, was left out in the cold from competing for the title of Romania’s gymnast of the year.

In excluding Ungureanu from the competition, Romanian gymnastics officials have accused her of besmirching the sport.

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Stomach crisis: Philadelphia Eagle Coach Andy Reid, after the Eagles blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes in last Sunday’s loss to Arizona: “It’s gut-wrenching and I have a lot of gut to wrench.”

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Liars’ convention: From Atlanta Brave General Manager John Schuerholz: “There are more lies told in the lobby of winter meetings than anywhere on the face of the earth at any one time.”

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Millennium bonus: The Minnesota Twins are promising baseball perks, including lifetime season tickets, to the first set of twins born in 2000 at any one of seven Minnesota hospitals.

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Or anything else: Kansas City Chief Coach Gunther Cunningham, when asked recently whether running back Bam Morris had passed muster in his attempt to keep his weight down: “No, he hasn’t passed mustard yet.”

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FYI: Willie Hoppe, who won his first billiards world title in 1906 and his final one in 1952, was selected player of the century by Billiards Digest.

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Trivia answer: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers, 29, against Detroit on Dec. 14, 1975. Defensive rebounds have only been kept since 1973-74.

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And finally: New York Knick center Patrick Ewing showed up at a charity fund-raising dinner and refused to sign autographs because, he said, it was “game day.”

Comment from Tony Kornheiser in ESPN the Magazine: “This from a guy who hasn’t played a game in six months.”