Whilest Sir Mixed-Drink-A-Lot dries out ...

"It looks like I was drunk driving a jet ski ... I look like the surface of the earth before there were continents ... I look like Wilson floatin' away from Tom Hanks."

That's Kenan Thompson, as Charles Barkley, on "Saturday Night Live" last weekend, describing "his" police mugshot from a recent incident in Scottsdale, Ariz. One that got Barkley to take a leave of absence from TNT until further notice.

Asked if he was worried that he'd lose his job, Thompson (as Barkley replies): "C'mon man, I work for TNT. You know who else works for TNT? No one you ever heard of .. I'm all they got! I'll see you on Monday. I will be the drunk guy trying to park his car."

Seriously, TNT has decided to replace Barkley with Mike Fratello when the NBA Tip-Off show resumes Thursday night at 5 p.m. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber return to their normal chairs. Remember, Magic Johnson works for ESPN/ABC now.

The studio show leads into the Cleveland-Chicago game at 5:15 (with Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Craig Sager), followed by Phoenix at Denver at 7:30 p.m. (with Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins and Cheryl Miller).

TNT's next big day will be Monday, MLK Day, as it has an exclusive tripleheader:
2 p.m.: Studio show (with Johnson, Smith, Webber and ??)
2:30 p.m.: Detroit at Memphis (with Dick Stockton, Fratello and David Aldridge)
5 p.m.: Phoenix at Boston (with Harlan, Reggie Miller and Cheryl Miller)
7:30 p.m.: Cleveland at the Lakers (with Albert, Collins and Sager)