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Barkley says he once played tipsy while with the Sixers

Then-Sixer Charles Barkley says he started drinking upon learning of 'trade' to Lakers, but had to play when deal fell through.

ONCE UPON a time - January 1992 to be exact - there were rumors the Sixers were about to trade Charles Barkley to the Lakers for James Worthy and Elden Campbell.

It never happened, but just the thought of it was enough to drive Barkley to drink.

"I get a call from my agent one morning and he said, 'Philly has traded you to the Lakers,' " Barkley told Sports Illustrated. "So I went to lunch and started drinking. I'm [bleeping] so excited that I am going to the Lakers.

"Three hours later I get a [bleeping] phone call from my agent saying that the Sixers backed out of the deal. I said, 'Oh [crap], I'm feeling pretty good right now.' So I went out and played that night."

Foxsports.com did a little detective work and surmised the game in question was against the Cavaliers on Jan. 11, 1992.

If so, hitting the sauce didn't seem to hurt Sir Charles' game. He had 23 points and nine rebounds in a 108-102 loss.

Fashionably great

Classy move by Duke basketball fans who are expected to wear blue T-shirts sporting a four-letter word beginning with "D" when the Blue Devils host North Carolina tonight.

That's "D" for Dean, not Duke.

It's a fashionable tribute to former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who died on Feb. 7.

Duke alum Aaron Kirschenfeld - currently a North Carolina grad student - proposed the idea for the shirts in a blog post.

According to reports, he got almost 50,000 hits.

Ryan Cocca and Rohan Smith, two North Carolina grads saw the post, and acted on it. The two own Thrill City, a company that produces Tar Heels apparel.

Kirschenfeld, by the way, was the Duke mascot for 3 years. And, former North Carolina star Ty Lawson is an investor in Thrill City.

It's possibly the first, and last, time fans from both schools will want to wear the same shirt.