SIR CHARLES STILL WEIGHING NOTIONS OF GOVERNOR BARKLEY?

     The prospects of a '98 gubernatorial run in Alabama by
"conservative" Suns superstar CHARLES BARKLEY is examined by Gene
Owens of NEWHOUSE NEWS.  Owens lists several of Barkley's
"political assets," which on the surface, "seem formidable":   He
is an "articulate conservative, a self-described Republican with
exceptional mass-media connections"; his name is a household word
and "he is worth millions."  On the other hand, Alabama GOP
leaders, while "intrigued" by Barkley, "can quickly sketch the
downside of his potential candidacy" as he has a "habit of saying
what he thinks -- often in jest and just as often at the wrong
time and in the wrong place" (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/31).