The Boss

I can't begin to imagine how Yankee fans are feeling as I write this. First Bob Sheppard, and now George Steinbrenner......on the day of the All-Star Game no less. As a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan, I certainly know what it's like to lose someone you grew up with w/ the passing of Skip Caray. Still not even close to being the same listening to a radio call of the game or a TV broadcast.

I've never been a Yankee fan (thanks in no small part to the 1996 and 1999 World Series), but my heart goes out to each and every one that is today. No matter how you felt about The Boss or his way of doing business, you couldn't help but respect him wanting to win and doing whatever it took financially to do so. Very few figures in sports, or any business, are irreplaceable, but we lost one today. Steinbrenner was one of the first owners to become as big or bigger than the team he owned, and THE first to gain that status via hands-on ownership. Those who have followed (Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, etc.) are all just lame impostors, and two of those three have produced nowhere near the results on the field.

Here's an excellent tribute from Bill Nack from ESPN.com........Rest In Peace, Boss.