Sir Charles Barkley, still the King of skewer

I watched Charles Barkley on Jay Leno last night like a million other viewers. The difference in my absorbed viewing and others is that I have a pair of shoes I call my Charles Barkley shoes.

They earned that name about 10 years ago -- and yes, I still have them and I will never get rid of them -- because I remember Barkley grabbing my foot when I was wearing those shoes and saying in the way only Sir Charles can, "Girrrrrl... those are some nice shoes!"

I was sitting beside him in the locker room of the Seattle SuperSonics (they were super then) while he held a more interesting court that night than he had on the hardwood earlier. He was seated on a chair that wasn't big enough to contain him, swilling diet Cokes like there was no tomorrow and wearing a pair of shoes I wanted to grab for myself. Except they were about a size 14 and both of my feet would have fit into one of them with room to spare.

They were cobalt blue alligator shoes in a patent leather finish that probably cost him more than I was paid in an entire month.

Getting praise from a man who so clearly knew shoes is reason enough to keep mine forever, I figure. Plus, hey, they're cute. Still.

So, it was with some dismay I noticed on Leno's show Barkley wore a pair of boring brown loafers that looked like something a man with foot problems would don. He talked about his weight and vowed to lose 50 pounds by January.

The conversation was familiar.

Barkley was talking about his weight -- too much of it -- 10 years ago, too. Last night, he skewered politicians, poked fun at Jay and made fun of himself. Ten years ago, he was saying he would go into politics and run for governor. Back then he poked fun at reporters and told an ESPN guy that ESPN should be ashamed to call themselves a sports channel. The week before, Barkley pointed out, the sports network had aired a tractor pull event. Barkley went off on that.... "You call that (expletive) sports?", along with a few other choice phrases.

The ESPN guy actually blushed.

The newspaper people all laughed.

Except for the guy from USA Today, who also got a Barkley barb because USA Today cost 50 cents then, which Barkley considered .... ummh, shall we say, not a value.

Barkley road the moment like a professional bronc rider and got in several more zings before he left to go eat a steak at McCormick and Schmick's. It was his favorite steak place in Seattle and he never missed a chance to eat there and Seattlites knew it. He always signed autographs and joked with the patrons. Compared to the petulant SuperSonic Gary Payton who never had a nice word to say to any fan, Sir Charles was a prince, a star who never forgot "who brung him to the dance."

For my money, Barkley has always been more entertaining off the court than on it. He's willing to be transparent, self-deprecating and call the world exactly like he sees it.

And in this day of out-of-control political correctness, the world gives him a free pass for doing with flair what most everyone wants to do, but won't.

That, my friends, is true star power.