I am frequently asked if I’m going to write another book, having recently published the story of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. The short answer is that I’m still busy promoting that one. Now, as a result of recent developments on the gridiron, I’m getting asked if I’m going to write a book about the biggest, nastiest rivalry in the history of mankind: the 49ers vs. the Seahawks. I laughed it off until I watched Sunday’s heavyweight classic NFC championship game. It was amazing to hear the deafening, ear-piercing, 6.5 earthquake-jarring sound in that stadium, and that was just in Richard Sherman’s post-game interview with a frightened Erin Andrews. Sherman is my new favorite football player. He’s really good and all that, but in this era of watering down the game by eliminating good old clean football hits, the crackdown on bullying 300-pound men, and the taunting rules, it’s heartwarming to see a gridiron great go gonzo crazy while the NFL PR Machine could only watch in horror.

Actually, the NFL PR Machine, on further review, is gonzo giddy itself over Sir Richard’s antics. Sherman’s rants are ratings gold. The Super Bowl pits Peyton Manning, America’s Quarterback, against Richard Sherman, representing what America truly is today with everybody screaming at each other whether they’re politicians in Washington trying to make laws or road-raging motorists trying to get home on crowded highways. OK, I’ve heard the Sherman defenders. The first thing they can’t wait to tell the world, or at least ESPN, is that Sherman is a Stanford man, an eloquent speaker, a philanthropist, a 3.9 student. Yeh, but what sophisticated Stanford man would scream rudely at Erin Andrews? In fact, why would any guy scream rudely to Erin Andrews? Doesn’t Stanford teach manners? My research discovered that Sherman’s degree was in Communications, which I believe would be a good joke if it wasn’t true. I could not verify this, but I believe he graduated Magna Cum Loud.

I have already professed my man-crush for Richard for shaking up the NFL, but I must warn him not to take things too far. First, it’s interesting, I was thinking, that you don’t see this kind of behavior in baseball. In baseball, a much more humbling game, it’s hard to brag or get in the face of your opponent when even the great ones fail seven times in every 10 at bats. If Sherman gave up seven completions for every 10 passes thrown his way, he’d quickly be an unemployed communications major. But about that warning. Fred Williamson was a DB for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1967 Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers. He was nicknamed “The Hammer,” because he would combine his karate skills with a powerful forearm to knock out receivers. He is remembered as one of pro football’s original self-promoters, or as I would put it, one of the first look-at-me athletes. Williamson predicted he would KO two Packers receivers. In the fourth quarter, with all Packers receivers still present and accounted for, and the Chiefs going down to a 35-10 whipping, Williamson tried to tackle tough-running halfback Donnie Anderson. Anderson’s knee drove into Williamson’s helmet, knocking him out cold. NFL Films captured the moment, as the Packer sideline lit up with the news that “The Hammer got it.”  So Richard, you might think twice before calling out Manning’s receivers during media day.

Quick thoughts about the NFC championship game:

Media analysts who are criticizing Colin Kaepernick for trying to hit Crabtree must have been tweeting or blogging at the time, because they certainly didn’t see the play unfold.This was one of the boldest, heroic, ice-in-the-veins tries I’ve ever seen in a lot of football watching. This was the big stage. Kaepernick is following the likes of team legends Montana, Young, Brodie, Tittle and Albert. All 49ers past and present should be in awe that young Colin was willing to go mano vs. mano with his best (Crabtree) against their best (Sherman) with the Super Bowl berth on the line. Maybe his only mistake was not asking Coach Harbaugh to send in R.C. Owens for the Alley-Oop. Some observers said he should have called a time out, which would have been terrible time management, since they might need it to stop the clock if they had to complete passes in bounds. Also, no one was open downfield on this play. Look at the replay everyone. And here’s the capper: Crabtree beat Sherman, but Kaepernick either waited a split second too long to throw it or simply didn’t put enough on it. Sherman’s incredible athletic ability saved him, as seen in the photos of his desperation leap. The real hero of the play was linebacker Malcolm Smith, who hustled some 20 yards after the throw was in flight to be in position to catch the tipped ball. This is the unfortunate part about Sherman’s rant. Instead of singling out Crabtree,  who had somehow offended this sensitive Stanford man many months ago, he should have put the spotlight on teammate Smith, who in the end, was the Seahawk who truly made the play of the game.

But now it’s on to New York. Start spreading the news. Richard Sherman and his supporting cast are on their way. Sherman tried a lame apology: regrets he had a few, but too few to mention. I’m sure Sherman has gained some fans around the country who say “blessed are the noisemakers.” But be comforted to know that there is at least one place in the nation’s heartland that falls solidly for Manning, and his class and dignity whether in victory or in defeat. That place, of course, is Omaha.

Now brace yourself for two weeks of hype and hollering, but be calmed by the fact that pitchers and catchers will report in a few weeks in peaceful environments where folks such as Erin Andrews can interview athletes without a bodyguard.

Kill the Command Center!

Well, it doesn’t quite have the same feeling as “kill the umpire,” an old baseball phrase used when the arbiters made a call that someone didn’t like. The Replay Command Center in New York will be the place where contested plays will be decided under baseball’s expansion of instant replay.  Baseball Purists shouldn’t be offended because there is still plenty of room under the new rules for an old-fashioned argument with an umpire, since the number of manager challengers is limited. Fans watching at home won’t be frustrated when a call that is clearly wrong based on TV replays goes against them, assuming it can be challenged. Fans at the ballparks will be able to watch the same replays as everyone else, unlike the current system of reviewing home runs where baseball rudely blacked out the video for the paying customers.

Now, let’s review the rules:

* The new system is still very limited, so some questionable or clearly wrong calls are going to stand without review. The manager gets one certain review in the first six innings. If he’s upheld, he gets one more. But the limit is two challenges. From the seventh inning on, it is up to the umpires whether a play is reviewed. Once a manager uses up his challenges in the first six innings, you would expect that he would still come onto the field to beef about a call. After the sixth, it is likely the manager would come out to argue with the umpires if they didn’t review a play the manager felt went against his team. The only way baseball can prevent these traditional arguments is to bar the manager from coming onto the field, as is the case with football. I don’t think anybody wants to see that restriction enacted.

* How the manager decides when to challenge a call is a whole new ballgame. The manager will be in communication, apparently by phone, to a coach or some team representative who will be watching TV in the clubhouse or some designated location at the park. The manager himself will not see the replay, I assume, until he has already challenged it, when the ballpark can then show the play. No time limit for a manager’s decision has been stated, so will stalling for time become a new baseball ritual? For example, a batter can take a little more time adjusting those ill-fitting batting gloves, or going through other gyrations common for hitters today who take forever to get into the batter’s box. If the manager is on defense, he can stretch out the time to decide by having the second baseman come in for a quick chat with the pitcher, or he can send the pitching coach to the mound for a visit. I could imagine an explosive argument from the other manager if his counterpart uses stalling tactics.

* Who will teams use as their TV Replay Guy? This a critical position. Over a season, where a game or two might make the difference between a team reaching the post-season, a choice of when to challenge or if the challenge is a correct one can be a season-changer. Would a bench coach, for example, have to sprint to the clubhouse when there is a potential play to challenge? Would a team have an extra coach whose job would be to watch the game on TV? Would a former coach or player be hired for the task?

* Another reason a Baseball Purist shouldn’t be upset with the change is that the new system adds a fascinating layer of strategy on the manager. Even if it seems clear that an umpire missed a call in the first inning on a safe or out call at first base with no one on, the manager would likely not use a challenge. If a fair or foul call down the line resulted in a two-run double in the first inning, is it worth trying to take the runs off the board? Managers also might be reluctant to challenge controversial calls in the first or second inning, wishing to wait until the fifth or sixth to see how the game is going. But if there are no questionable calls in those innings, the manager risks having made no challenge to an earlier play that might have a major impact on the game.

* I didn’t see anything in the new rules about fights. It’s almost impossible for an umpire to sort out who did what during a brawl. Should baseball consider having the Command Center review a fight to see which players did something to warrant ejection?

* In an earlier post about instant replay, I took the position that I was OK with any changes as long as the fans in the stands could also see the replays. It’s not clear if the ballparks will show the disputed play until it is actually subject to review. Baseball should go one step further and show all close plays at the ballparks so the fans can see what the manager is contemplating. Not doing so will leave the paying fans at a disadvantage from those watching at home.

* It isn’t clear how many people will be making decisions at the Command Center. Big question: Can the Command Center handle multiple challenges? Let’s suppose just about every team is playing at night, and that almost every game is in progress. If there happened to be two or three challenges at the same time, is the Command Center prepared to handle all of them immediately, or would teams have to wait their turn for their play to be reviewed? Also, there is something about baseball having a Command Center that just doesn’t sound right. George Carlin would not have stood for it. His classic baseball-football bit would have Command Center as something that was used in football. How about: “Football has a Command Center, Baseball has a Mediation Room.” I’m also not sure why this can’t be handled at the parks by a fifth umpire. If the fifth ump has access to the same TV footage as the Command Center, it would just be less intrusive than this Big Brother operation on the East Coast deciding a game on the West Coast.

And then, if the fifth arbiter ruled against the home team, the fans could yell: “Kill the Fifth Umpire!”

Jeff Kent would have been the 19th player to be named to the Hall of Fame who played for both the Giants and Dodgers. Of the 18 players, five went to the Hall as Giants, three as Dodgers and 10 as members of other teams. The Giants Hall of Famers who also had some time as a Dodger are pitcher Juan Marichal, first baseman George Kelly, third baseman Fred Lindstrom, and pitchers Rube Marquad and Joe McGinnity. The Dodgers Hall of Famers who also had some time as a Giant are outfielder Duke Snider, manager Leo Durocher and pitcher Burleigh Grimes.

Here is the full list, with career statistics:

Giants HOF names: Marichal (243 wins, 142 losses, 2.89 ERA). In one of the most shocking developments in rivalry history, Marichal was signed by the Dodgers in 1975. Marichal, public enemy No. 1 in Los Angeles for his bat attack on Dodgers catcher John Roseboro in 1965, was ineffective in two outings and quietly retired. Kelly (148 HR, 1,020 RBI, .297 average) played 11 years for the Giants and one year for Brooklyn. Lindstrom (103, 779, .311) had a nine-year career with the Giants, and played one year for Brooklyn. Marquard (201-177, 3.08) had eight seasons with the Giants and six with Brooklyn. Marquard remains a great rivalry trivia question, since he’s the last Giants pitcher to no-hit the Dodgers, that gem coming on April 15, 1915. McGinnity (246-142, 2.66) pitched seven years for the Giants and one year for Brooklyn. McGinnity, nicknamed “Ironman,” won 30 games twice, and set season records in 1903 for innings pitched (434) and complete games (48).

Dodgers HOF names: Snider (407, 1,333, .295) played 16 years for the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. It was odd enough to see Snider in a Mets uniform when the Dodgers sold him to the New York expansion club in 1963, but watching him play while wearing Giants’ colors in his last season in 1964 seemed sacrilegious. Yet, Duke was so respected that I never heard any boo from a Giants fan during his short stay in San Francisco. Durocher was a player-manager for the Dodgers and a manager only for the Giants. He was the skipper of the 1951 miracle Giants team, but he went into the Hall as a Dodger. Grimes (270-212, 3.53), a nine-year Dodger, played one year with the Giants.

Others: Casey Stengel was associated with Brooklyn six years as a player and three years as a manager, and played six years with the Giants, but he will forever be remembered for his 10 pennants and seven World Series titles as manager of the Yankees. Joe Medwick (205, 1,383, .324) played five years with Brooklyn and three with New York, but starred with St. Louis, where he won the Triple Crown in 1937. Hack Wilson (244, 1,063, .307) played three years each with New York and Brooklyn, but went in as a Chicago Cub who he had 56 homers and 191 RBI for in 1930. Willie Keeler, who “hit ’em where they ain’t,” and finished with a .341 career average, played five years with Brooklyn and three with the Giants, but went in as a member of the New York Highlanders, who became the Yankees in 1913. Keeler had a 44-game hitting streak with Baltimore in 1897.

Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm (143-122, 2.52) pitched until he was 49, doing five years with New York and two with Brooklyn. He entered the Hall as a member of the White Sox. Catcher Ernie Lombardi (190, 990, .306) played five years with New York and one with Brooklyn, but went in as a member of the Reds. Shortstop Dave Bancroft (32, 591, .272) went in as a Phillie, and played five years with New York and two with Brooklyn. First baseman Dan Brouthers (106, 1,296, .342) made the Hall as a member of the Buffalo Bisons from the late 1800s, but also played two years with Brooklyn and one with New York. Catcher Gary Carter (324, 1,225, .262) played one season each with San Francisco and Los Angeles, andf entered the Hall as  a Montreal Expo after playing for them for 12 years. Waite Hoyt (237-182, 3.59) pitched three years for Brooklyn and two for the Giants, but his glory came when he went 22-7 for the 1927 Yankees.

If Kent gets into the Hall of Fame some day, he has said he will go in as a Giant.

I was rooting for ex-Giant/Dodger Jeff Kent to be elected to the Hall of Fame, although I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t make it on the first ballot. I loved Kent’s game. Hard-nosed. Old school. He would have fit in during any era. If Ty Cobb came at him at second base with spikes up, he would have gone right back at him. If they put the radar gun on his line drives up the middle, I’m not sure if any slugger in baseball could top the heat he put on the ball.

I was amused when Kent, according to published reports, said he wasn’t even thinking about the Hall of Fame. I don’t buy it. Kent was one of the most competitive players I’ve ever seen. He sparred in the dugout with Barry Bonds, at a time when Bonds was god-like to Giants ownership and fans. But if Kent won’t make his case, I will. If he joined the Hall of Fame right now, he would be No. 1 in home runs among second baseman in the Hall with 377, second in on base percentage at .500, and third in RBI with 1,599. Craig Biggio, a catcher who switched to second base, missed election by two votes. Kent finished 16th of 36 candidates. Kent led Biggio in average, home runs and RBI. I heard one of the most ridiculous reasons for not voting for Kent during a discussion on MLB. The point was that his offensive numbers were diminished because he often batted before Bonds, and thus got more good pitches to hit. OK, let’s get that Babe Ruth plaque out of the Hall right now, since he only got in because he had Lou Gehrig to protect him. And that Hank Aaron fella surely wouldn’t have amounted to anything if he didn’t have sluggers like Eddie Mathews and Joe Adcock batting after him. And do I even mention Willie Mays, who clearly owes his legendary status to the fact that pitchers grooved pitches to him because either Willie McCovey or Orlando Cepeda was up next.

Here is some better evidence for the voters. If you were starting a team, would you draft Bill Mazeroski, Nellie Fox, Ryne Sandberg, Red Schoendienst, Bobby Doerr or Tony Lazzeri over Jeff Kent? Now, I love all these players. They are all legitimate Hall of Famers. But Kent has more impressive numbers than all those Hall of Fame second baseman. Perhaps he was just left out this year because the ballot was so rich with so many good choices, and that he will get the nod in 2015.

On a Giants team where steroids seemed to be part of the post-game spread, and where management looked the other way, Kent played the game with respect. He didn’t succumb to the PED temptation, even it meant being second fiddle to Bonds. He played the game the right way. His numbers were exceptional. Maybe it really doesn’t matter to him. But it should matter to those who appreciate the game. Jeff Kent is a Hall of Famer. You swung and missed this year voters. I hope you make better solid contact next year, like Kent did routinely at the plate, and grant this baseball great the honor he has deserved and earned.