It’s crazy how 20 years slips by. And from the moment Charles stepped into the terminal at Sky Harbor Airport, the sports landscape changed forever in Arizona. There never had been and never will be a bigger sports personality in the Valley. We have seen some major superstars and Hall of Famers like Randy Johnson of the D’Backs, Emmitt Smith and Kurt Warner with the Cardinals and even Wayne Gretzky skate-in to run the Coyotes, but nobody held a crowd with bravado and charisma like Chuck.

I was watching the “Dream Team” documentary the other night, and it occurred to me how modest and humble Charles was during those first couple days in Phoenix. But once he settled in to his sizzling new home after his arrival (by the way, Cotton Fitzsimmons should have raised the roof on his convertible when he drove Barkley away from the airport that smokin’ hot day), Charles let it fly. We all know what a sound bite machine he was (and still is), not to mention his antics on and off the floor that are still legendary. But I will always remember the behind the scenes events from that first year – like the first training camp up in Flagstaff. [Read more...]