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ESPN exec on Charles Barkley: ‘I would be lying if I said we weren’t interested’

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ESPN exec on Charles Barkley: ‘I would be lying if I said we weren’t interested’

Charles Barkley may be the hottest free agent to hit the market next year, if he hits the market.

As Warner Bros. Discovery wrangles with the NBA in court, hoping to win back a piece of the league’s media rights for 2025, there is already a line of suitors for Barkley, the company’s biggest star in sports.

ESPN’s chief of content, Burke Magnus, said Tuesday he would be interested in bringing Barkley to the network if he were available. Asked at a Front Office Sports conference in New York if he could see a world with Barkley at ESPN, Magnus said he could.

“Yeah,” Magnus said at the “Tuned In” conference. “That would be a perfect world. … I would be lying if I said we weren’t interested in Charles. The entire industry is interested.”

NBC chairman Mark Lazerus said he would also have interest in Barkley. NBC will start broadcasting the NBA next season.

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Whether Barkley would have interest in ESPN or NBC is another question. The Basketball Hall of Famer, who has been part of TNT’s iconic “Inside the NBA” studio show since 2000, said in August he would remain with TNT Sports even after it lost the NBA. Barkley is in the third year of a 10-year, $210 million deal.

“I love my TNT Sports family,” Barkley, 61, said in a statement in August. “My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible.

“We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do,” his statement continued. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me.”

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In July, Disney, NBC and Amazon won the bidding rights for the NBA’s next media deal, which will start with the 2025-26 season and last 11 years. The agreements with the three companies are worth $77 billion in total. WBD did not get a piece of the rights and sued the NBA to enforce what it says are matching rights from the current contract.

That lawsuit is currently in New York State court with a schedule that has put it on course for trial in April.

Required reading

 

(Photo: Cliff Hawkins / Getty Images for The Match)

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Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry advises Caitlin Clark to protect herself on the court

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Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry advises Caitlin Clark to protect herself on the court

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Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry has some simple advice for Caitlin Clark: Fight back.

Horry, 55, was asked about the criticism the Indiana Fever star has gotten for complaining to the referees, and Horry said Clark needs to protect herself.

“You think about when you when you’re the best, everybody want to knock you out. And I think a lot of people are going after her and for me, just play the game,” Horry told Fox News Digital at The World Cup 2026 Kickoff Party Blue Carpet at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark waits for play to resume during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 28, 2026. (David Gonzales/Imagn Images)

“Some other players around the league didn’t protect themselves, and the (harassment) went on, so my best advice (for) her is protect yourself. Don’t let nobody try to punk you.”

Horry played with Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and cited him as an example of a player who fought back.

“I think I (played) with one of the greatest players (in) Shaquille O’Neal, he got hammered. I know he’s bigger and stronger than Caitlin, but he got to a point where he just started fighting back. You know, someone (elbowed him), you elbow him back.”

Clark has taken some hard fouls during her three seasons in the WNBA, with many fans wondering if the treatment from her competitors is intentional. The 24-year-old frequently pleads her case to the referees after contact, which has drawn the ire of fans who say she complains too much.

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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts after a foul was called during the first half against the Portland Fire at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on May 30, 2026. (Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

Fever fans at least weren’t complaining when Clark buried a game-winning 3-pointer to help secure a 78-76 win over the Washington Mystics on Monday. Clark had 19 points, five assists and three rebounds in the win.

The Fever have had a tumultuous start to the season, but are over .500 at 6-5. In 10 games, Clark has averaged 18.7 points, 8.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Horry played in the NBA for 16 seasons. He began his career with the Houston Rockets, spending four and a half seasons with them and being a key part of their championship-winning teams in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. The Alabama native was then traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he spent half a season before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Robert Horry and Candice Horry pose on the blue carpet for the World Cup 2026 Kickoff Party at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on June 9, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Horry was a key contributor during the Lakers’ three-peat from 1999-2001 and earned his third, fourth and fifth career NBA titles. After spending seven seasons with the Lakers, Horry joined the Spurs, where he won two more championships in 2004-05 and 2006-07.

In 16 seasons, Horry averaged 7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

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LA Card Show! Everything you need to know to make the best of the event this weekend

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LA Card Show! Everything you need to know to make the best of the event this weekend

This is the fourth year of the LA Card Show, and my, how it has grown.

The venue has grown larger and bolder with each year, beginning at the Mayan Theater in 2023. The Intuit Dome held the event in 2024 and Dodger Stadium in 2025. This year’s show will take place this weekend at the L.A. Convention Center West Hall.

Roughly 700 collectibles vendors are expected, almost double the number at Dodger Stadium. Food and drink will be available and the card show is open to all ages.

Pokémon cards and items continue to be the most popular to trade and purchase, according to show officials. All sorts of sports collectibles will be plentiful, with Shohei Ohtani — unsurprisingly — the most popular card, and card grading will be available on-site.

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“More than just a card show, it is a cultural event built around the art of collecting,” LA Card Show co-founder Adam Derry said.

Trading Card Game (TCG) deck-building is increasingly popular, with players competing in games such as “Magic: The Gathering” using cards that represent spells, monsters and resources. Comic collectibles will also be traded and sold.

Other attractions include activations with the Clippers, Kings, Sparks and LAFC, and fashion and streetwear from HYPLAND, Holiday, Vandy The Pink and Research Vintage.

The card show will take place from 10 am. until 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with VIP access at 9 a.m. A two-day general admission pass is $50 (VIP $100), with one-day passes $30 (VIP $50). Ages 8 and younger are free.

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Knicks miraculously overcome 29-point deficit to take commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals over Spurs

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Knicks miraculously overcome 29-point deficit to take commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals over Spurs

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The New York Knicks do not die.

After trailing by as many as 29, the Knicks had yet another comeback — this one perhaps the greatest of all-time, to steal a 107-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs and take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

The winning moment came at the fingertip of OG Anunoby, whose tip-in off a missed Jalen Brunson three-pointer put Madison Square Garden in an absolute frenzy.

But it sure was a grind to get to that point.

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New York Knicks PG Jalen Brunson shoots over San Antonio Spurs PG De’aaron Fox in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

Karl-Anthony Towns was hit with two fouls in just the first 62 seconds of the game, one which the Knicks faithful were not happy with. And while there was plenty of ball left after that, the game changed from that moment.

The refs certainly did not help the case, but the Spurs opened the game on a 41-20 run, mostly while Towns was off the floor. Combine that with the team knocking down 54% of its three-pointers in the first half, and you have a 76-49 Spurs lead at halftime, and they got up to a 29-point lead.

But we’ve learned to never count out New York. As they cut the deficit to 15 to close out the third quarter, the crowd that was dying to pounce was finally alive. A slow start to the fourth put San Antonio up 20, but the Knicks went on a 13-2 run to cut it to just nine with a little less than seven minutes to go. And then it was seven with 5:15 to go.

Members of the New York Knicks celebrate their 107-106 victory against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on June 10, 2026. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

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And then it was four with 4:32 to go.

Then one with two minutes.

And then the lead with just 90 seconds left.

Pandemonium.

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The Spurs hit two free throws to regain the lead with 30.3 seconds left. Yet again — it’s the Knicks.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts after making a three-point basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter of Game Four in the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on June 10, 2026. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Then came what head coach Mike Brown dubbed the greatest play in the history of Knicks basketball.

San Antonio was unable to get a shot off the inbound, and Madison Square Garden was the loudest it may have ever been, as the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history was complete.

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After the game, head coach Mike Brown dubbed Anunoby’s tip-in the biggest play in the history of Knicks basketball.

The Knicks outscored the Spurs 58-30.

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