I've often wondered if the stigma that surrounds the New York Yankees has more to do with its history or with its owner, George Steinbrenner. Honestly, how many professional team owners have the ability to overshadow their team, even if they have 26 World Championships. It seems as though Steinbrenner may have done such a good job of overshadowing his team, that he single handedly "managed" his team to an early exit in this year's playoffs. I wonder if the Yankees players felt any extra pressure to "win one for the skipper?" And I also wonder if Joe Torre felt any extra pressure, knowing his "Boss" had just gave him an ultimatum; either win the Series, or find another job.

New York fans have had more than just a baseball team to cheer for over the years. They've had the longest running soap opera in history. Who can ever forget the Babe Ruth "call", as he pointed to the sky, and promptly sent the next pitch into orbit. And who can ever forget the homerun chase between Micky Mantle and Roger Maris, which was ultimately won by the underdog Maris. The Yankee fans still weren't happy.

Now it's 1973. CBS, who owns the Yanks is selling to a couple of business gurus. Enter George Steinbrenner. This was the beginning of one of the most notorious love/hate relationships in professional sports. Who can ever forget the ongoing soap opera between Steinbrenner and Billy Martin. Billy Martin was either fired, or he resigned, on five different occasions under Steinbrenner. In 1990, George was banned from baseball "for life" following a gambling allegation. This came as a pleasant surprise to Yankee fans, who hadn't seen a competitive Yankee team in almost a decade. However, after only three years, he was reinstated under the condition that he would allow the Yankees farm system to work for them, rather than trading away younger talent for overly expensive veterans. In 1995, that young talent, got the Yanks to the playoffs for the first time in many years. That began a string of four World Championships and 13 straight trips to the playoffs, all under the direction of Joe Torre.

So you can imagine what Joe Torre must have felt when he "heard" that George Steinbrenner had told the media that the Yanks needed to win the World Series in order for him to keep his job. But that wasn't enough. Instead of firing Torre after their loss to the Indians, Steinbrenner decided to make Joe a one year offer, which would reduce his salary by more than $2,000,000. Yes, you heard me correctly. Rather than "man up" and just fire Torre, George decided to insult him by offering him something he knew he would reject. This is the thanks Joe Torre gets for bringing the Yankees from the depths and making them the most feared and successful team in baseball.

There are those who are just classless, and there are those who are just cowards. Well, George, you've managed to show us you can be both. And in the words of Kevin Costner in his film "For Love Of The Game", "I can't think of a better reason not to be a Yankee!" You got that right Kevin. Thanks George, you've just reminded us how truly messed up professional sports is today. Who will you jerk around next, COWARD!!!