In discussing ways in which the Knicks should be improved this season, Barkley said, "I think they have a better coach. This coach probably won't try to kill himself." [...] Barkley, usually not one to shy from potentially insensitive remarks, seemed to sense his attempt at humor had crossed a line. "That's my fault," he said.

Part of Barkley's appeal is a style that is always this close to some kind of disaster. Here, he walked right into it and I suspect, earned some respect from his critics by admitting his mistake. Though I see it as him realizing that, for once, the act he'd worked so hard to perfect during his time in the public eye sometimes just won't cut it.