Before the Rockets-Lakers game on Sunday, Charles Barkley announced that if Yao Ming were to score as many as 19 points in any game this year, he’d kiss Kenny Smith’s ass on national TV. Well, it’s time to pay up, as Yao scored 20 against the Shaqless Lakers. Kenny Smith is planning on holding Barkley to the terms of the agreement:
“I make people pay their debts,” Smith said. “Charles will pay his debt to society, no question about it. He will pay his debt, and it will be on camera.
“Charles goes to Las Vegas a lot. In Vegas, you can’t leave the table until you pay your debts.”
Smith also hinted he has further humiliation in mind for Barkley but would not elaborate.
“Charles even called me today, but I’m not answering his calls until Thursday,” Smith said. “I’m not giving him any way to get any kind of hint about what I have planned for him.”
This could be the most exciting thing to happen on an NBA pregame show since the year that Bob Costas and Pat Riley had a free-throw shooting contest, with the loser (Costas) being required to wear his hair in the style of the winner. I’ll be sure to tune in.
According to the Chronicle story, the big pay off (kiss off??) will actually come during halftime of the Rockets/Mavericks game, Thursday on TNT, not during the pregame show.
Watch. When it comes time for Barkley to kiss Kenny Smith’s ass on national TV…. they’ll bring out a donkey!