Charles Barkley says Tiger Woods changed his cell phone number the day after his car accident and is not talking to some of his famous friends.

On a show that airs Sunday on news network HLN, Barkley and filmmaker Spike Lee worry that Woods isn't taking advantage of the invaluable advice that can only be offered by friends who are used to the spotlight.

"You should reach out to your celebrity friends when things go bad," Barkley told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. "They're the only people who understand what it's like."

Barkley appears on "With All Due Respect" with two other Turner Sports analysts, baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and longtime NASCAR driver Kyle Petty. Lee is one of the guests in the one-hour special during which the sports stars discuss a variety of topics.

Turner Sports and HLN are owned by Turner Broadcasting System.

"He's insulated," Lee said during the taping for the show. "If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can't get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves."

Barkley said Tuesday he has not spoken to Woods since the Nov. 27 accident, which unleashed a series of events that resulted in him admitting to marital infidelity.

"I've been trying to get to him and can't get to him," he said. "It's very frustrating."

Barkley said he just wants to tell Woods, "Hey, man, we love you. If you need anything, pick up the phone."

Chatting about subjects ranging from sports to world news, entertainment and current events is a natural for the outspoken Barkley, who has long expressed an interest in entering politics. He said he wants potential voters to be familiar with his views, with include support for abortion rights and gay marriage.

"I hope people get a chance to see where I am on different issues," he said.

While taping the show, the three athletes found they had similar feelings about another of the year's big stories: the death of Michael Jackson. Each felt at peace about the saga after seeing "Michael Jackson's This Is It," the film about the King of Pop's final rehearsals.

During the conversation, Barkley said, "I thought Kyle was going to cry."

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Diva Supreme: You're wasting words on the likes of Barkley. Black men like him are the NEW BIGOTS of the 21st Century. These Othellos & Black Aryans are determined to do what most white men have stopped doing--holding up the last vestige of white supremacey--the white woman. So if Caucablasian, Tiger, is distancing himself from them, so what--isn't that what they too have done? As for Barkley being in politics...Lord let's hope Al Sharpton is still around. This guy runs around with Rush Limbaugh. Get the picture?

by   
Lovelyhoney
December 16, 2009, 12:46 pm
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Barkley and Lee, "Stop kidding yourself!" T. Woods is not "insulated" from you. He never wanted then, nor does he want now to be****ociated with African Americans! The "golden" in him that White-American accepted was not from being Asian, it was from being great at their game! They've been waiting for him to do something so that they can call him Niger instead of Tiger forever!

by   
Diva Supreme
December 16, 2009, 12:13 pm
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