Sanders Gets 3 Strikes; Mccarver Calls Him Out

ATLANTA - There may be times when viewers feel like dousing the verbose Tim McCarver with ice water, but Deion Sanders actually did it - three times.

The drenchings occurred in the Atlanta locker room after the Braves' pennant-clinching victory Wednesday night.

The ice water left McCarver boiling, and he and his CBS superiors have asked National League President Bill White to do something about it.

The Atlanta Journal quoted officials of the Atlanta CBS affiliate, WAGA, as saying that White asked for copies of a tape showing the final confrontation.

McCarver said the first time Sanders doused him, he was so shocked that he pulled a muscle in the right side of his back. After it happened a third time - while he was doing interviews - McCarver said he went in search of Sanders.

"I didn't know what I would do or say, but as I was going toward the middle of the clubhouse, Sanders was creeping up with another tub of water," McCarver said. "He said, `Where's McCarver?' and I said, `I'm right here.'

"He tried to hit me with another tub that missed me, and I said, `You know, Deion, you're a real man, you are a real man.' I thought it was a deliberate, cowardly act."

It was in apparent retaliation for critical comments McCarver made last Saturday about Sanders' plans to play for both the Falcons and Braves the next day.

"How can he leave in the playoffs and go play in a football game?" McCarver said. "The way I look at it, that's just flat wrong and I guess could be construed as a breach of contract."

On TNT last night, Sanders questioned McCarver's label of coward.

"How can you be a coward for throwing water on someone?" Sanders asked. "This guy didn't want us to win and we did. We were throwing water on everybody, he just got wetter than anybody else. It's flat ignorant of him. He's more of a coward."

Notes

-- Braves President John Schuerholz confirmed that Deion Sanders will be retained on the team's World Series roster. Atlanta Falcons officials have also ruled out Sanders, the Pro Bowl cornerback-returner, for Sunday's NFL game against the 49ers. -- CBS yanked producer Ric LaCivita off the World Series, the day after he produced Game 7 of the NL playoffs. There were reports that CBS was planning to fire LaCivita after the World Series. Rick Gentile, CBS' senior vice president of production, alluded to personal problems in announcing the decision. -- Umpire John McSherry remained hospitalized in Atlanta after leaving Game 7 of the NL playoffs complaining of dizziness. McSherry, 48, was listed in fair condition. -- Jerry Crawford of the National League and Mike Reilly of the American League, both 15-year veterans, head the umpire crew for the World Series. Also representing the NL will be 14-year veteran Joe West and 10-year umpire Bob Davidson. From the AL will be John Shulock and Dan Morrison, who have umpired American League games for 13 and 10 years, respectively.