He is scarier than Stephen King, larger than Big Bird, more outspoken than the young Cassius Clay and one of the best basketball players in the NBA.

He is Philadelphia forward Charles Barkley--the Round Mound of Rebound, the Guru of the Glass--and tonight in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Lord Charles will plant his large frame under the basket, dominate the paint and lead the 76ers to victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Or will he?

Ask New York Knick Coach Rick Pitino how to defend Barkley and he'll admit that he doesn't know. Pitino has tried everything: press, double-team, man-to-man, praying, sending flowers to the Barkley family. But it hasn't worked. The Sixers are the only team in the NBA to beat the Knicks twice at the Garden. They can thank the Bark for that.

Barkley and the rest of the Sixers vs. the Knicks. It is definitely the most interesting first-round NBA playoff series.

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The top 10 scariest things that will happen this summer if the Texas Rangers still have the best record in baseball:

10. Wide lapels and scratchy polyester suits will become the nation's newest fashion rage.

9. Gerry Cooney will return to the boxing ring.

8. Billy Martin will manage the Yankees again.

7. "President Quayle, where are you, President Quayle?"

6. Sylvester Stallone will follow in the footsteps of Olivier and Burton and become the Hamlet of the 1990s.

5. Mike Tyson will marry Margo Adams.

4. Oliver North, Jim Wright, John Tower and Gary Hart will form the country's newest political party, the Has-Beens.

3. Citing personal differences with CBS, Brent Musberger will quit his job, move to Boston and begin to announce every game for the Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox, Boston College football, Harvard hockey and Northeastern basketball.