Barkley and Bavetta to Race during All-Star weekend

We've all heard about this for weeks, and it has been a topic of conversations during many of the recent TNT Thursday night telecasts. Thanks to the guys at WRBS, via Associated Content, the announcement has been made that Charles Barkley and Dick Bavetta will indeed be racing during the NBA all-star Saturday night festivities. Here at AO we are a fan of the refs, and will surely be rooting for Charles Barkley to go down. We also think it will generate some hilarious outtakes during the All-Star weekend. And I'm sure that Kenny and Ernie will never let the "Round Mound of Rebound" hear the end of it when he loses to a man who "parted the sea with Moses". If you would like to review the timeline... this is when this all started:



Dick Bavetta accepts the challenge:



I love how Marv Albert says... "I think it will be a wipeout!" Hah hah! I kind of agree with Marv. Charles, on the other hand, seems pretty confident that he is going to win this race.

Even Kevin Garnett chimes in with his opinion:



Charles eats donuts as he prepares for Dick Bavetta:



I am really looking forward to this race. Probably looking forward to this more than the game itself.

And finally... AA recently posted this video where Dickie B keeps it simple and says he is just "humble and focused".



If the NBA marketed their officials (particuarly the like-able Bavetta) as much as they market their players, David Stern might actually get the positive PR he is looking for.