Talk » losing the first set to beat Poland and advance

NEW YORK -- Charles Barkley calls it friendly fire.When he talks about racial issues, it isnt only whites he risks angering. Some of the biggest complaints come from fellow blacks, who figure hes too rich, too successful to possibly understand their struggles.Like, those people say hes not black anymore, he shouldnt speak on black issues, Barkley said. Im like, `Dude, Im always going to be black, but thats a double-edged sword Im willing to deal with.So not only will he keep talking, he wants to lead the conversation.The basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analyst will debut The Race Card on the network in 2017, a show that wont just be about black and white, because Barkley believes Americas problems are more about rich versus poor.I just want to do a positive dialogue because Im sick of arguing over race all the time, Barkley said. Like, Im very aware that racism does exist, it always has and probably always will, but the media does a really poor job. Theres more good than bad, but the bad pops off the newspaper and on television. And like I said, the truth is somewhere in the middle.On one hand, he seems an unlikely choice to be looking for it. In a Nike commercial during his playing career, he said himself hes no role model , and he still doesnt like the term now. And wearing a Ralph Lauren sweater and matching brown slacks during a lunch at a Manhattan restaurant Tuesday before slipping into a tuxedo for the induction of TNTs Inside the NBA studio show in the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, he does project the image of a comfortable life.But born in Alabama in 1963, the year Ku Klux Klan members killed four girls in a Birmingham church bombing, he sees the same struggles now as during his youth. Like many of todays athletes, hes discouraged by the killings of blacks by white police and the protests, sometimes violent, that have followed.Quarterback Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers has been kneeling in protest during the national anthem, and many NBA players have stood with arms locked during the preseason. Barkley respects their actions but would like to see more.It goes back to the Kaepernick thing, he said. I said, you do what you want to do, youre a grown man. But I challenge all these guys, what are you actually doing in the black community to help our people?For Barkley, thats included donating millions to his high school and colleges in Alabama. But he cant blame todays athletes who grapple with their involvement, a discussion he had with a professor for the show.He says, `First of all, its unfair for all you guys to have to solve the ills of all the black community. Its unfair, you guys arent activists because you all havent lived what those guys have been through, Barkley said. And he says, `I really think its cool that you all are trying, but to try to compare todays black athletes to Jim Brown, Bill Russell, (Muhammed) Ali and those guys, were doing them a disservice because those guys like lived.They never told me I couldnt go to a restaurant or go to the same hotel, Barkley added. I aint never been through anything like that.For the first episode of The Race Card, Barkley interviewed minorities about the way they are portrayed on television. He spent a day with Muslims, finding something in common.We started talking about, like every time I see a mass shooting, Im saying to myself, `Please dont be black. And I said to them, every time you see a bomb, what are you thinking? And theyre like, `Please dont be a Muslim, Barkley said.He spoke with four blacks, who gave very different accounts of their treatment by police. He met with Asians, telling them his perception of them from TV was that theyre really smart and outperforming Americans.Were not that smart and we dont know karate, they replied.He interviewed entertainer Ice Cube, lamenting the criticism they get from African-Americans.And he says its the stupidest thing hes ever heard. Were not supposed to be successful, and like wait, were not black because were successful? Barkley said. First of all, they should be patting us on the back because we made it, instead of saying, `Well, they dont know what its like to be black because they havent been in the hood in so long.But Barkley said he will handle it, because its important to keep talking about social issues. Hes warned his bosses at Turner never to prevent him from talking about what he wants, and while he once desired a chance to run an NBA team as a general manager, he realizes now that job would lessen his platform because it would require staying silent at times.Specifics about the show, including the debut date, are still being discussed, but Turner is eager to see which direction Barkley plans to take it.Charles will tell you himself: There has been no bigger problem in his life than racism. That is why were doing this series with him. He wants to spark real dialogue and get everyone involved, said Michael Bloom, TNT/TBS senior vice president of unscripted series and specials.A political independent who said hes always voted Democrat but once weighed a run for Alabama governor as a Republican, hes disappointed in the presidential campaign and pondering not voting at all. Hes also disgusted by TV coverage he said is often two panelists yelling at each other over the same soundbite.So hes hoping his show can be the one that deals with difficult topics in a proper manner.What Im trying to do with the show is, all the racial BS is somewhere in the middle. Its not black and white ... like everything is not all what it seems, Barkley said. Im just trying to open up a positive dialogue. Thats all Im trying to do.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BriancmahoneyRandy Moss Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Kirk Cousins Youth Jersey . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. 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Chuck Foreman Youth Jersey . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Americans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena received their reward for cruising through pool play and the first round of the Olympic beach volleyball elimination stage: A quarterfinal matchup with the world champions on their home sand.The U.S. men remained unbeaten at the Copacabana venue on Saturday night with a 21-14, 21-15 victory over Austria. That lined them up with Brazils Alison and Bruno, who arrived in Rio as the No. 1 seed.We wanted to play Brazil in Brazil, preferably in the final, said Dalhausser, the 2008 gold medalist. We got our wish, just a little early. Hopefully we can come away with the win.Dalhausser and Lucena won all three pool play matches, but Alison and Bruno stumbled in the group stage and lost to Austrias Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst. That dropped the Brazilians to second in their pool and led to an unlucky draw for the Americans -- one of the other favorites to win the gold medal.The teams have split their four head-to-head matchups on the international tour, with the Brazilians winning a pair of finals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Long Beach, California. The Americans won in Hamburg in a match that Dalhausser said was the best they have played.It will be the toughest test for us, said the 2008 Olympic gold medalist.The Brazilian crrowd taunted the Americans by shouting Zika at them whenever they served, apparently in response to comments from some Americans -- notably womens soccer goalie Hope Solo -- expressing concern over the mosquito-borne virus or mocking the host nation for the outbreak.ddddddddddddDalhausser and Lucena were not among those making the comments. Dalhausser said if he had known what the crowd was saying he would have played along; he then pretended to spray himself with bug spray in the mix zone.In the previous match Saturday night, Australia rallied after losing the first set to beat Poland and advance to a quarterfinal matchup with American women Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross.The American women are 4-0 in their career against Australians Taliqua Clancy and Louise Bawden, who beat Poland 15-21, 21-16, 15-11.In Saturdays other quarterfinals, the Dutch team of Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen advanced to a matchup with countrymen Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst. It will be the third time in the beach volleyball tournament that a team has faced its compatriots.Thats the way it is in beach volleyball, Brouwer said. Sometimes you beat each other. ' ' '