This is a hilarious sequence from tonight’s Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks game where the announcing crew of Kevin Harlan, Charles Barkley, and Reggie Miller believe they are off mic in the first quarter.  However, some wires were crossed and this footage ended up making it on the air.  These hot mic moments have led to more embarrassing episodes in announcing history, but this footage is more amusing than anything else.  Charles Barkley begins by talking about his work with Weight Watchers and the weight he’s lost as a spokesman for the company.  Sir Charles also had this to say about getting paid for losing two pounds a week:

“I thought this was the greatest scam going, getting paid to watch sports… this Weight Watchers thing is a bigger scam.”

Possibly even better was this no holds barred interaction between Barkley and Harlan about the game as it was unfolding in the first quarter.  Ironically enough, the game went into triple overtime where Miami finally emerged victorious:

Barkley: “Man I can’t stand to watch this Atlanta Hawks team play.”

Harlan: “This game is terrible.”

Barkley: “It is.”

Harlan: “Look at this game, 31 percent, God Almighty.”

Barkley: “The Atlanta Hawks, they got nothin but a bunch of nice guys.”

Here’s the full clip…

For Barkley, it’s really nothing he woudn’t say in knowing he was actually on the air.  For Harlan, that’s probably a different story.  It’s fun for us though to see this kind of accident happen and find out what the announcers are really thinking.  Why couldn’t announcers tell us a game sucks when we’re all watching the same game and know it does anyways?  Maybe Charles Barkley’s appearance in the booth will inspire other announcers to take this sort of uncensored approach.  Why shouldn’t Brent Musburger be able to open a six pack and openly root for his gambling picks during the BCS title game?  I for one think that would be a refreshing change!

H/T David Schwab via Richard Deitsch

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