ON THE SIDELINES : 76er Barkley in Earring Throng

PHILADELPHIA — Charles Barkley doesn’t have an NBA championship ring on his finger, but he does have a winning streak ring on his ear.

Barkley showed up in the Philadelphia 76ers locker room Wednesday night wearing a diamond-studded earring on his left ear, similar to those worn by Mike Gminski and Rick Mahorn as a result of a pact among several members on the team to get their ears pierced if they won 10 straight games

They won 12 straight before losing two last week.

“I said when I was ready to do it, I’d do it,” he said. “We made a pact, and I’m going to stick to it. It’s a permanent fixture.”

According to Gminski, once the team accomplished the 10-game goal, Barkley had talked Mahorn and Gminski into joining him on the earring promise.

“I think once he saw Rick and I had done it, he finally succumbed to peer-group pressure,” Gminski said. “He was, like, back there making the snowballs and we were throwing them, and so he had to finally step up to the plate.”