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Hawk On Changing His Style: 'If I Do That, I'll Quit'

By Adam Hoge-

U.S. CELLULAR FIELD (CBS) Ken "Hawk" Harrelson confirmed Friday that he had spoken to both commissioner Bud Selig and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf about his rant in Tampa Bay Wednesday, but don't expect the White Sox broadcaster to change his style any time soon.

"If I do that, I'll quit," Harrelson said.

The broadcaster admitted he had been reprimanded for the outburst at umpire Mark Wegner, but he also said neither Selig or Reinsdorf asked him to publicly apologize.

"I didn't talk to the commissioner, the commissioner talked to me," he said. "I didn't talk to Jerry, Jerry talked to me … Bud is the boss and Jerry is the boss, let's put it that."

So will Wednesday's rant be Hawk's last?

"It happened and I can't sit here and guarantee…" he said, tailing off. "I'll tell you, I'm gonna do everything in my power not to let it happen again, but who can say? I snapped before. You know, I'm getting tired of taking Advil."

Asked if he had any regrets, Harrelson said: "Uh, I don't know. I said it. You know, I said it. It's out there."

Hawk's complaints about Wegner go back years, so should White Sox fans expect the umpire to hold a grudge against the team?

"No they are above that. The umpires are very much above that," Harrelson said.

As for the notion that Harrelson complains about the umpires too much, he actually defended himself, reminding the media that he also compliments them when they deserve it.

"You guys watch the games. You see how much I've been complimenting the umpires this year," he said. "They've been doing a hell of a good job, but when he threw the kid out the other day, I snapped."

For more White Sox coverage, follow Adam on Twitter (@AdamHogeCBS).

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