It was sometime in the 1990s when I asked Charles Barkley a basketball question and about 20 minutes later, he was still answering it. That 20 minutes was one of the best basketball educations I ever received.

That’s the thing about Barkley. He says goofy things. He’s opinionated. He’s boisterous. Most of all, he’s brilliant. He’s a basketball savant and fits perfectly into the greatest sports studio show of all time, TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA,’ because intelligence is that show’s propulsion system.

Barkley seemed to know something bad was coming. Barkley, who recently announced he’s retiring from television next year, spoke earlier this month about the possibility of TNT losing the NBA.

‘I really feel bad for everybody at TNT,’ Barkley said. ‘I really hope we match. Honestly in my heart, I think we have lost the package. That’s my honest opinion.’

Added Barkley, who is 61: ‘The main reason I was talking about next year being my last year – I wouldn’t feel comfortable going to work for another network. It’ll be 25 years that I’ve been working with Turner, and I love everybody at Turner, but at this age to go and start over, I don’t know if I want to do that.’

If the current situation holds (and there’s always an outside chance TNT can somehow salvage it), next season would be TNT’s last, meaning the possible end of the staggeringly good ‘Inside’ show.

Let’s just hope this is all a bad dream and TNT continues broadcasting NBA games and we keep getting our doses of Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson. But if that doesn’t happen, we need to put into proper context the historic importance of Barkley and that show.

So let’s talk about legacy.

There’s never been a sports show, of any kind, in any medium, that so skillfully explains the guts of that sport, with a combination of humor and strong opinion, all presented without condescension, with the skill that this one does. Nothing comes close.

Barkley is a combination of John Madden and Howard Cosell. Listening to Smith talk basketball is like hearing Carl Sagan talk about galaxies. Shaq is the uncle at the barbecue who tells stories about how he once dunked on Chris Dudley’s head and can you get him another beer, please. Johnson is the perfect television quarterback who lets all the stars free flow.

How this team was assembled and some of the behind-the-scenes stories (the real ones) would make for a perfect HBO series. But what we saw, and hope to see again, was remarkable chemistry. All the pieces seem oblong and unattachable, but they fit with a type of synchronicity and rhythm you only see in the best personal relationships.

‘They transcend what basketball really is,’ Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Reggie Miller told USA TODAY Sports’ Mackenzie Salmon.

Meaning, they are as identifiable as any of the star players themselves. People know Barkley as much as they do Luka Doncic.

It’s possible the show transfers to another network but there are so many moving parts, it’s not clear how that could happen. What’s frustrating about this situation is that it didn’t have to come to this. All things end, sure, but this is just dumb.

In fact, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith blasted TNT for not keeping the rights. Smith said on his podcast that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver approached executives from TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and told them they would need to match another offer.

“There was a bunch of hemming and hawing,” Smith said. “See, that’s why Barkley has been going off, because he knew and still knows it never had to come to this.” 

Warner Bros. could sue but it’s not the NBA’s fault. It’s their own.

“All I can say is I don’t know where (TNT) goes from here. I mean how many episodes of ‘Law & Order’ can you air?” Smith said. “I’m just trying to figure it out, along with some of your other programming. You need something live, you need something fresh. How many old movies can you air? So it’s going to be real interesting to see what they do beyond next season.” 

Smith added: “The last days of TNT, the NBA on TNT, is arriving next season.”

Again, it’s slightly possible TNT does something to fix this mess. If they don’t, we’ll see the end of something remarkable.

Not just that. Something so good we’ll never see anything like it again. In part because there’s only one Charles Barkley.

The Seattle Mariners have acquired 2023 All-Star Randy Arozarena in a late-night trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Mariners announced early Friday.

“Randy is a dynamic, high-energy all-around player who has excelled in the biggest moments on the biggest stages,” Mariners GM Justin Hollander said in a statement. “He’s going to be a great addition to our clubhouse and lineup.”

Seattle is sending prospects Aidan Smith and Brody Hopkins and a player to be named later to the Rays for Arozarena.

Though Arozarena is struggling through the worst batting season of his career — his .211 batting average, .318 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage are all career lows — the Mariners are potentially making a high-upside bet on a player who earned 2020 ALCS MVP and 2021 AL Rookie of the Year honors. Arozarena was batting .140 with a .491 OPS on May 3, but has produced an .826 OPS and 11 home runs in 67 games since.

And the Mariners are desperate for anyone to stop their freefall, which is almost entirely due to a stagnant offense.

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After a 44-31 start, the team is in a 9-20 tailspin that has dropped Seattle one game back of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead – this after holding a 10-game lead as recently as June 18. The Mariners also have the worst team batting average in all of baseball, their .216 mark just below the .217 average of the Chicago White Sox, who are 27-78. Seattle’s .660 OPS ranks 28th, ahead of only the White Sox and Miami Marlins.

They recently designated for assignment former All-Star first baseman Ty France, who was batting .223 with a .662 OPS.

Smith, an outfielder who is the Mariners’ 12th-ranked prospect per MLB.com, and Hopkins, a right-handed pitcher who is the Mariners’ 22nd-ranked prospect, are heading to St. Petersburg. While trading key contributors is nothing new for the Rays, flipping Arozarena now begs the question: Are the Rays punting on this season?

The Rays are 52-51, fourth place in the AL East and four games back of the Kansas City Royals for the final AL wild card spot. Coincidentally, the Rays are a half-game behind the Mariners in the wild-card standings.

Yet the Rays were expected to adopt an open-ended stance at the trade deadline, perhaps buying and selling. In dealing Arozarena, they shed $8.1 million salary while forfeiting his final two years of club control.

They’ll also close the book on one of the more entertaining and explosive players in franchise history. Arozarena slugged 10 home runs in 18 games of the 2020 AL Division Series, Championship Series and World Series as Tampa Bay fell two wins shy of its first championship in franchise history.

Arozarena’s career postseason slash line in 33 games? .336/.414/.690.

The Mariners will get a chance to enhance those numbers – but they need to get to the playoffs, first. Arozarena is expected to play a big part in that effort.

In skateboarding’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, Jagger Eaton represented the United States – the birthplace of the sport – on the medal stand with a bronze in men’s street.

Eaton has bigger goals entering the 2024 Paris Olympics. And looking back on Tokyo three years later, Eaton said there are ‘tons’ of things he would do differently.

One seems rather obvious.

‘Not walk in with a broken ankle,’ Eaton told USA TODAY Sports in April. ‘That was just miserable.’

Over the past three years, Eaton said he’s experienced the ‘ups and downs’ many Olympic athletes endure.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Eaton left Tokyo on such a high. He sat down with Jimmy Kimmel on late-night television and received intense media attention for months. Then it all stopped.

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‘You get the fame and stardom, you get caught up in it. That comedown is really tough,’ Eaton said this week in Paris. ‘And that was tough for me when I was young, because I didn’t really know better.’

Injuries – beyond the ankle – didn’t help. He nearly tore his labrum, hamstring and right hip completely. 

‘I couldn’t roll my board,’ Eaton said.

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Eaton put his phone down and started going to the beach more. He opened books and began writing himself. Time with nature soothed his soul and filled his cup.

‘It just helped balance me and it made me kind of really love refilling that love for skating,’ Eaton said.

Now 23, Eaton said age has helped him become more disciplined with his surroundings and acknowledge distractions for what they are.

‘Right now, I’m in a really good place,’ Eaton told USA TODAY Sports.

The confidence comes from the scores he’s posted at competitions over the past year-plus, Eaton said. He dedicated all of 2024 to boarding and is healthy. 

‘I feel like people have a misconception that we have this killer instinct, we’re just good competitors when the lights come on,’ said Eaton, who is an avid golfer with a +2 handicap. ‘That’s not true. It’s what we do three months before the lights come on that dictate what we do when the lights come on.’

Eaton is the type of person who will navigate the streets of New York City on his board and leave whichever park he hits up with a dozen new friends. His parents, Geoff and Shelly, were gymnasts. Shelly had a stint on the U.S. national team in the 1980s and Geoff is a longtime gymnastics coach. The way they raised his siblings Jett, Koston, Hendryx and Bowie gave Eaton a glimpse into their lives prior to their births. 

‘My parents are really good at managing emotions with athletes,’ Eaton said. ‘I would say my dad is the greatest coach I’ve ever seen work with kids, ever. And his whole philosophy with coaching gymnastics, is not to coach, not to coach the girl on doing better or anything like that. It’s to get the team component, it’s to have the (athletes) work together.’

Jett inspired Jagger to become a professional skateboarder. Skateboarding’s inclusion in the Olympics has created revenue streams Eaton couldn’t have imagined as a child. His video content receives more attention because the Olympics raised his profile, he said.

Eaton’s Paris Games journey begins Saturday with the men’s street competition. And he’s sticking around for the park discipline, too, a week later.

Competing in both is a throwback to his youth competition days. Eaton won the men’s park world title in 2023 and is a two-time defending champion in that category.

‘I really felt that I was the best at both, if I’m being honest with you,’ Eaton said. ‘That’s real. Like, I really did feel like I was the best in both because I can take what I love, I can take my tricks in park to the street course and the street judges like it. And I can take my stuff from the street and take it to the park and the park judges like that. They liked the diversity of both disciplines.’

Perhaps Eaton can walk away with a pair of medals from Paris. Doing it on two healthy ankles would be an improvement from Tokyo. 

Editor’s note: Follow Olympics opening ceremony live updates.

PARIS – Joel Embiid says stuff. Sometimes what he says is bluster, all in good fun. That’s why Troel Embiid is a nickname. Sometimes, what he says makes a person go huh, why would he say that?

The latter is the case with the Philadelphia 76ers star’s recent comments to a reporter on a podcast, telling ‘The New York Times’ magazine that LeBron James ‘is not the LeBron that was a couple of years ago. So it’s a big difference. Everybody would also tell you, and you can see for yourself, the athletic LeBron, dominant that he was a couple of years ago, is not the same that he is now.

“I think people get fooled by the names on paper. But those names have been built throughout their career, and now they’re older. They’re not what they used to be.”

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Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from

Why would he say that ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics while playing for USA Basketball on the same team as James. If he was trying to make the point that the U.S. is vulnerable as other countries improve, it was an odd way to make it.

U.S. coach Steve Kerr and American star Kevin Durant didn’t make a big deal of the comments. “We’re all different as we get older,” Durant said. “But the thing about greatness is that you adjust and find ways to continue to be effective. And that’s what LeBron has done at that age.”

Controversy quelled. Still, it puts more pressure on Embiid to perform when the U.S. needs its big men.

Bullied was one word used to describe what men’s 5×5 basketball teams did to the U.S. at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

“Everybody knows it’s hard to bully me,” Embiid said.

That is true, and it’s a major reason Embiid is on the U.S. team for 2024 Paris Olympics.

After finishing fourth and without a medal at the World Cup last season, the U.S. knew it needed size and strength. They didn’t have the rebounding, rim protection and low-post effectiveness. Physical play is a big part of the FIBA game.

A dominant 7-footer can make a difference.

Is Embiid, the NBA’s 2022-23 MVP and two-time scoring champion, that player for the U.S.?

“Still be dominant – dominant as I always am,” said Embiid who has a history of high-profile matchups against Jokic in the NBA.

That dominance will be tested when the U.S. opens Group C play against Serbia and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic Sunday (11:15 a.m. ET). Though different styles, they are the two premier big men in the NBA.

“I don’t care about Jokic,” Embiid said earlier in this month.

The U.S. needs Embiid to limit what other teams’ big men do, and that includes Jokic.

Embiid started the five pre-Olympics exhibition games for the U.S. and averaged 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game. He had his best game against Germany with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one block and one steals and was a big part of the USA’s strong finish to secure 92-88 victory.

“He was great – super active,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said of Embiid’s final exhibition performance. “He just looked like Joel. He’s got such great hands, great touch and I was disappointed we didn’t throw him the ball more in the second half. He was dominating out there, and we kept settling for mid-range shots, high ball screen dribble, dribble, dribble, pull up 18 footers. That’s a recipe for failure. So that’s on me, that’s on our staff, that’s on our players.”

Kerr likes Embiid in the starting lineup with Anthony Davis, who has flourished in the exhibition games, and Bam Adebayo coming off the bench.

Embiid had national team choices. Born in Cameroon, he could’ve played for his native country. He also could’ve played for France, which recruited him heavily to play alongside Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama. Imagine that front line for France.

Embiid considered France but the country’s national team federation gave Embiid a deadline to decide, and he didn’t like that. France president Emmanuel Macron even texted Embiid, and the two talked on the phone. The French president’s campaign to get Embiid fell short.

USA Basketball men’s national team managing director Grant Hill didn’t put pressure on Embiid and told him to take his time.

“Family played a big part of it. Obviously having built my family here and really being here for now, half of my life just made more sense,” said Embiid whose son Arthur was born in the U.S.

He may hear about his decision from the crowd in France.

“Embrace it,” Embiid said. “Done it all my career. I don’t think it can get worse than playing in New York in the playoffs, so I’ve seen it all. Boston crowds, New York crowds.”

Embiid’s injury history, including surgery to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee that sidelined him for 29 consecutive games last season, left him a question mark for the Paris Olympics despite his commitment. He battled through knee pain and Bell’s palsy during the playoffs. He has adopted a philosophical view of his extensive injuries.

“I never worry about injuries because the moment I do, I feel like I’m not going to play the same way that I usually do and I’m not going to be the same,” Embiid said. “I’ve always believed if something happens, I guess it’s meant to happen. So just go on with the flow.

Playing for the U.S. gives Embiid a chance to win a meaningful event. His 76ers have not gotten out of the second round, and they lost to the New York Knicks in the first round last season.

“We’ve got one goal, and that’s to win the gold, and we’re coming together with that mindset,” Embiid said. “We are not here to compete against each other. We just here to make each other better so we are on the same page so we can go out and do our best to win the gold.

But you have these options. I’m just there for the ride, realizing my dream. And then also you just got to let the game come to me. I’m fine. I play with a lot of great amazing basketball players, so if I got to take zero shots and play defense, I’m happy with it. I’m great. It is all about doing whatever you can and adding something to make sure that you win that gold.”

Even alongside a nearly 40-year-old LeBron James.

An injury has knocked one player out of the Detroit Lions’ kicking competition.

Head coach Dan Campbell said kicker Michael Badgley suffered a ‘significant’ injury on Thursday that will land him on injured reserve. He said the injury requires surgery that will require him to miss the 2024 season.

‘I feel awful for Badge, man,’ Campbell said. ‘He worked his tail off to get ready for this season. He was having a good spring and was ready for camp so it’s tough.’

Badgley took over the Lions’ kicking role in Week 15 last year, replacing Riley Patterson, and was 13-of-15 on extra points and 4-of-4 on field goals in the regular season, plus 13-of-13 on extra points and 8-of-9 on field goals in the three postseason games.

The Lions signed former Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates to compete for the starting kicker job in training camp. Bates, who went 21-of-28 on field goals in the UFL including three makes from 60 yards or longer, is the only other signed kicker on the training camp roster currently, but the team is currently planning on bringing in more competition.

All things Lions: Latest Detroit Lions news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

‘We actually just had a workout,’ Campbell said. ‘They brought in some guys just to take a look at and it’s something that Brad and I are talking about now.’

Since Badgley’s injury happened at the beginning of training camp, the Lions have time to find the right option at kicker.

‘We’re not in a hurry either,’ Campbell said. ‘We find the right data that helps us for competition in camp then go do that.’

The focus for Bates the rest of camp will be to put him in game-like situations so he can kick in high-pressure situations. Bates was a revelation in the UFL for his strong leg after not kicking a field goal during college, serving just as a kickoff specialist instead.

‘The only way you are going to know is you just got to put them out there and see how it goes,’ Campbell said. ‘And that’ll come. Right now, he looks pretty good and it’s early, but he does have a big leg. And I like his personality, his aura, he’s got some confidence about him which is nice.’

Inter Miami will begin its League Cup tournament title defense without the iconic star player who helped them win it a year ago.

Messi remains week to week with his right ankle ligament injury he suffered during Argentina’s win in the Copa America final on July 14.

Inter Miami could also be without Luis Suarez, who Martino said has some knee inflammation and will be “evaluated until the last moment” before Saturday’s match.  

The positive for Inter Miami, they’ve been on a roll without Messi. They’ve won 6 of 7 games without him dating back to last month. Meanwhile, Puebla has started its season with a win, draw and two losses.

How to watch Inter Miami vs. Puebla live stream

The Leagues Cup match between Inter Miami and Puebla will air on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Is Messi playing in Inter Miami next game?

No, Messi remains out due to his ankle injury.

Martino said Messi remains working solely with trainers as his recovery continues, and he needs to continue wearing a walking boot.

“But the ankle is getting better and better,” Martino said.

Inter Miami vs. Puebla betting odds

Inter Miami is a -200 favorite, while a draw has +300 and a Puebla upset is +380, via BETMGM..

How to watch Leagues Cup games on Friday

Leagues Cup begins with five matches on Friday night. Here’s how to watch them:

∎Atlanta vs. DC United, 8 p.m. ET (Free live stream on Apple TV.

∎Orlando vs. Montreal, 8 p.m. ET (Live stream on MLS Season Pass)

∎Pumas vs. Austin FC, 9 p.m. ET (FS1, free live stream on Apple TV in English; UniMas and TV Azteca in Spanish)

∎Seattle vs. Minnesota, 10 p.m. ET (Live stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV)

∎LAFC vs. Club Tijuana, 11 p.m. ET (Live stream on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV)

What is the Leagues Cup tournament?

Leagues Cup is a midseason tournament, featuring MLS teams from the United States and Canada, and LIGA MX teams from Mexico. Here’s the full schedule of Leagues Cup matches in the next month.

Leagues Cup dates to remember

Here are the key Leagues Cup dates to remember:

∎Group Stage: July 26 – August 6

∎Round of 32: August 7-9

∎Round of 16: August 12-13

∎Quarterfinals: August 16-17

∎Semifinals: August 20 or 21

∎Final and third-place match: August 25

Relive Messi and Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup title

Messi led Inter Miami to its first championship just seven games into his arrival last year, helping the club outlast Nashville SC 1-1 (10-9 in penalties) in the 2023 Leagues Cup final on Aug. 19, 2023.

When is Inter Miami’s next game?

Inter Miami’s second Leagues Cup match will be against LIGA MX side Tigres UANL at NRG Stadium in Houston on Aug. 3. The live stream will be on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.