Sports fans knew George Steinbrenner for 37 of his 80 years, ever since he bought the New York Yankees in the early 1970s. But the legacy Steinbrenner leaves behind will permeate the offices of sports owners for years to come. George Steinbrenner set the standard for just about all of today’s sports owners.

Embodied within one man though, were many different qualities. Not all flattering. Charitably he’s been described as complex. But he was always larger than life and not to be forgotten.

George Steinbrenner was bombastic, when lesser inclined owners sat quietly behind the scenes. He spent millions on players while his peers failed to successfully utilize free agency like he did. Most importantly – he won. He demanded it. But the ways he went about winning were often over the top, cartoonish at times and occasionally even cruel. Steinbrenner was regularly lampooned by Jerry Seinfeld and Saturday Night Live for his antics. But he didn’t mind being made fun of because it only enhanced the big Boss brand.

Without Steinbrenner, there is no Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder or even Dan Gilbert. Steinbrenner took sports ownership to the ultimate level.

The sports owner is a unique being who can have a special relationship with a community. Some are flamboyant, and extravagant. Others are stingy and greedy. Some are isolated in small markets, just glad to be in the league and hoping not to lose too much money. Some have transformed their sports and made them more accessible like the Rooney family in Pittsburgh. Others, like Bob Irsay and Art Modell, have been vilified for uprooting and relocating their teams.

In other words there are all types of owners in sports. But without them there are no games. They spend millions to make a name for themselves and sometimes even their cities. Which means in most towns you are stuck with them like family members.

It takes big ones to own a team and actually win – your way. It’s your money, your team. Which is why Jesse Jackson thinks Cleveland’s angry owner Dan Gilbert acted like a “slave-master” when LeBron James left his “plantation”. That of course is just one interpretation.

Then there are others like the late Abe Pollin who owned the Washington Wizards. Pollin with little fanfare and even less credit built TWO arenas for his fans, with his own money. That was Abe’s way.

Sports owners indeed have impact. But among them all George Steinbrenner was genuinely unique. More than just about any owner before or since, he changed the dynamics and economics of his sport and other sports as well.

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Yes, LeBron James’ ESPN special Thursday night was overblown, self-indulgent and maybe even cruel. But I couldn’t help watching it. And I’m fairly certain that when the ratings come out, it will be clear that millions of others watched too.

What we learned during the hour-long prime time “Decision” is that Cleveland will never be the same again. But neither will LeBron. The city’s native son is finally leaving home. He is taking his basketball to Miami where he will join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to become the newest and perhaps best Big Three of all time. That’s the basketball and business part of this. The rest is personal.

The hurt and anger over LeBron’s “betrayal” may never subside in Cleveland. Even Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert weighed in with some of the most classless, gutless and angry statements I’ve ever heard about a player. But like the onion that makes you cry, there are a lot of layers to this melodrama.

Cleveland is easily the most disrespected, misunderstood and luckless city in team sports. But for seven glorious years Cavaliers’ fans had hope and the eyes of the world on their town because basketball’s most talented and athletically gifted player was on their team and was actually one of them. LeBron made Cleveland matter. But LeBron leaving means the party is over. It is now midnight in northeast Ohio.

But the other side of this are the enormous expectations placed on a prodigy. Not many athletes have ever been under the pressure and microscope that LeBron has. Because of his precocious talent he has been expected to be the best, to win championships and save a city all while becoming the games most legendary player. It is indeed a heavy burden.

Did LeBron really betray Cleveland or was he just looking out for himself? Its a matter of how you look at it. Does he have the right to do what he feels is best for himself? Absolutely. Should he have stayed? Well the fairy tale certainly would have read a lot better if he had. But LeBron’s story requires a championship. And it became increasingly clear that it might not happen in Cleveland.

And that was the problem – a huge problem and an on-going burden for a guy we all expect to be one of the greatest players of all time. Sorry Cleveland.

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Easily the biggest surprise of this year’s NFL draft is the Denver Broncos’ selection of the University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the first round.

Despite being a Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time national champion, most of the so-called draft experts said Tebow’s style was not at all suited for the NFL. His throwing motion was all wrong they said, and he played in the shotgun, never taking snaps from under center. Some have said he might though make a good fullback or tight-end.

But Tebow long ago broke the mold for what we think quarterbacks are supposed to look like, sound like and act like.

“I’m going to go in there and do exactly what the coaches tell me and do it with all my heart,” Tebow said in an interview with ESPN after he was selected by the Denver Broncos. When asked what he thinks the Denver coaches will expect from him, he answered by saying, ”someone that’s going to come in, that’s going to learn, someone that’s going to work , that’s going to stay out of trouble. Someone that’s going to do whatever they ask.“

A corny, yet somehow disarmingly honest response. That’s classic Tim Tebow, a yes sir, yes ma’am, kind of guy.

For some of us from the old school, its hard not to like Tim Tebow. He’s everything you’d want a young man to be. He is polite, humble, bible-quoting and hungry. Oh and I should add – he claims to still be a virgin. Who says that? Tim Tebow does. The Tim Tebow story is so pure, so sappy, it can’t possibly be true, can it?

For the longest time, I too thought he was too perfect. Too good to be true. But once the so-called experts started telling me that he would struggle in the NFL- if he ever played at all – I became a Tim Tebow guy. Why? Because I have a problem with anyone telling me that what I have seen has no merit.

My own eyes told me, no matter how much I didn’t like him or his Florida Gators, that for four years, Tebow always seemed to make the right play, either with his feet or his arm. I always felt that if Tim Tebow was on the field, somehow he’d find a way for Florida to score. Sheer force of will it seemed. His vocal leadership in exhorting his teammates to play harder is now the stuff of college football legend. His leadership was as much responsible for Florida’s success as his play.

But as much as I am hoping that what Tebow says about himself and his convictions are true, I’ve learned the hard way that I must also be willing to accept that the young man’s image might be artificially enhanced (a lie) and that he might one day disappoint his fans by doing some stupid, insensitive, immoral, maybe even illegal, human stuff.

As a kid I cheered for O.J. Simpson. As an adult I’ve cheered for Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger. Obviously I knew nothing about who those men really were, or what they were capable of doing away from their sports.

So when I hear a guy like Tebow say that he will try with all his heart to do everything expected of him and learn and grow and adds that he will stay out of trouble, I want to believe him and hope it comes true. But all I really know is that Tim Tebow was a great college football player who has a chance to be Denver’s next great quarterback.

For now that’s enough. I’ll cheer for that.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may have escaped prosecution, but he should not elude a suspension and public scorn.

Roethlisberger has never made clear exactly what happened the night he apparently took advantage of an intoxicated woman, who may have barely consented to have sex with him – if she consented at all.

Maybe Roethlisberger explained the circumstances and his thinking to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when they met the other day. Maybe he has offered insight to the Steelers. But I doubt it. And he most certainly has not explained his actions publicly. All he’s done to this point is to casually “read” a statement the other day, in which he offered a vague and less than heartfelt apology and expressed relief that he was not charged.

The problem for Roethlisberger is that while his actions may not rise to the level of criminal behavior, we do know that what he did do was no less than crude, predatory and shameful.

In her statement to police, Roethlisberger’s accuser said the quarterback plied her with shots of alcohol, before leading her to the bathroom where she claimed he had sex with her. Probably because of the drinking she doesn’t remember many of the details. A fact which became a huge problem for the Georgia prosecutor who knew that without more concrete evidence it would be difficult to convict Roethlisberger.

But while criminal laws may not have technically been broken, there is little doubt that Ben Roethlisberger was most certainly morally wrong.

And obviously he learned very little from a similar incident involving a woman last year. Rape charges were not filed but a civil case against Roethlisberger is still pending.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said that the Steelers are poised to take disciplinary action against their quarterback but will wait to coordinate the team’s punishment of Roethlisberger with any actions commissioner Goodell may take.

Certainly the commissioner is frustrated with player behavior and most likely he had Roethlisberger in mind when he issued a memo last week reminding teams and players what their responsibilities are under the league’s conduct policy.

“NFL and club personnel must do more than simply avoid criminal behavior. We must conduct ourselves in a way that ‘is responsible, that promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.’ ”

“These incidents affect us all – every investigation, arrest, or other allegation of improper conduct undermines the respect for our league by our fans, lessens the confidence of our business partners and threatens the continued success of our brand.”

If the commissioner punishes Roethlisberger – and he must – it will send a strong message about what kind of personal conduct is expected of the privileged, well-paid human beings who make up the NFL.

Punishment of Roethlisberger will also provide needed evidence that NFL justice can be colorblind.

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Finally Phil Mickelson lived up to the hype. He played the tournament of his life this weekend at The Master’s.

Although he was presented with the legendary Green Jacket on Sunday, Mickelson got fitted for it on Saturday. Three straight holes may one day define his career. Eagle, eagle, and a near miss eagle that he tapped in for birdie. Sensational shot-making. Dominating and convincing.

In Sunday’s final round Mickelson was not as spectacular as he was on Saturday but he seemed to be even more in control.
He had a number of challengers – Lee Westwood who for awhile appeared to be cruising toward his first major, finished second. Right behind were Anthony Kim, K.J.Choi and of course Tiger Woods.

Woods made The Master’s his first tournament back from the salacious headlines about his personal life. And of course all eyes were on him. But while he started the tournament as the lead story, he fittingly faded to an interesting feature at the end. Tiger finished tied for fourth at 11 under par, 5 shots behind Mickelson. But to finish so well after so much negative attention and pressure is a testament to Woods’ competitive nature. But Tiger’s effort was not enough. And that’s just as well.

Mickelson, who many of us have criticized and called over-rated, changed a lot of minds with the way he played and maybe changed for the good how we look at his career.

When it was over Mickelson found his wife and hugged her tightly. She is bravely battling breast cancer. His children wrapped their arms around daddy too.

It was a powerful image that golf is proud to showcase.

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Martina Navratilova is one of my all-time sports favorites. Her courage to come out as a lesbian years ago, when she could have stayed in the closet, literally cost her millions of dollars. Still she didn’t flinch in speaking out about who she was and in support of others who didn’t have the same platform and influence that she did.

As a tennis player, she was not just good, but to my eyes the best I ever saw. The whippings she administered on her opponents were memorable and needed.

She won more tennis matches than any woman or man ever. In all she earned – 167 singles titles, 177 doubles titles, 18 grand slam singles titles and 31 grand slam doubles titles.

Female tennis players had to up their game just to be sure they were not embarrassed…, including Martina’s arch-rival Chris Evert. Tennis was made better because of her athleticism and commitment. As a sports figure she truly had no peer. She played to win every time, and when she did lose you knew it was not because she didn’t give her all.

As a human being, there have been few as outspoken and intelligent as Martina. She is simultaneously thoughtful and defiant. She didn’t only stand up for gay rights, but for human rights. When she had something to say, she never ran it through a corporate filter, or stuck her finger in the air to gauge public sentiment. She always told it like it was. She continues to tell it like it is. She talks and takes issue, when most other well-paid athletes and legends stay quiet and “corporately correct”.

On Wednesday, Martina once again told it like it was. She announced she has breast cancer. She also owned up to not having had a breast examine for nearly four years, which had she done so, she said, her cancer might been caught earlier. As usual she took responsibility for her actions and her words. She made the announcement on Good Morning America.

I’m rooting for Martina like I always have. I want her to continue to live with courage, dignity and responsible outspokenness.

Get well Martina. You can and will beat cancer like you have beaten everything else.

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The game played out like the Hollywood script it was meant to emulate. Monday night’s dramatic championship game ended with Duke edging Butler 61-59. But that was only the score. It was not the full story. Duke’s 4th national championship was earned the hard way. Neither team ever led by more than six points. It was back and forth all night. Tight defense, missed shots. Clutch baskets. Mistakes. There was suspense throughout.

Then there was the end. Butler with the ball, down by one, 60 – 59. The shot clock is off. All I know is one shot wins the game. A Butler shot. Isn’t that what the script called for?

My heart raced at least 20 beats faster. Could it really happen? Butler’s Gordon Hayward, the Brownsburg, Indiana kid who appears destined to become the next Hoosier legend, has the ball, he drives right. Hayward stops. He arcs the ball ever so slightly over long out-stretched arms. Long enough it seems to throw off the shot. Duke rebound. Butler quickly fouls. Two shots. The first one hits. The second looks like it was deliberately missed. Butler rebound. Less than 4 seconds on the clock. Ball quickly to Hayward.

Hayward takes a couple of dribbles then heaves a half-court desperation shot which finds the mark circles the rim and spins away. If it falls Butler wins. It doesn’t.

Then the stunning realization that there would be no shining moment for Butler. And the “Hoosiers” sequel had ended with a loss.

There are no excuses, but there are facts. When Butler could have taken control of the game, guys missed point blank layups. Hayward missed 9 of 11 shots throughout the game. Butler also missed critical free-throws down the stretch. And Butler’s normally impenetrable defense failed to stop a couple of inbounds passes which turned into easy Duke points. Add up those lapses and you can make a case for Butler comfortably winning the game.

But that is woulda, coulda, shoulda. The fact is, Duke, the long acknowledged masters of college basketball won another title the way the team always does – by being just a little bit more precise. By hitting a few more clutch baskets. By listening to their coach.

I’m still a little numb right now. I was all-in for the magical ending. I really thought Butler would pull it off. And here at the end I thought fate could not have crafted a better ending. But it didn’t happen.

History tells us Duke will more than likely play for another title in the near future. But fairy tales, like the one that Butler just played the starring role in, suggest that the Bulldogs may have been to their first and last Final Four.

While Butler’s magical cinderella season is over, the talent remains. Butler is NOT George Mason. They are not one-season wonders. Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard return next season as do most of the team’s supporting cast. And in the wings there is an excellent recruiting class.

If pollsters are fair, the Bulldogs will enter next season ranked no worse than fifth. Some might even rank them number one.

But before we get too excited Butler needs to do a couple of things first, if the school wants this success to sustain itself and grow.

Capitalize on the exposure and grow the program. The dollar value of the exposure Butler got from this unique run to the Final Four is in the many millions. The team will never be more popular or more valuable than it is now.

Pay the coach a competitive salary and increase the basketball budget. This team can go all the way again next year. And Butler has a lot of good players waiting in the queue. So you can’t let Brad Stevens go now. Find the money to pay him more. Ask Indy’s drug company, Eli Lilly, Stevens’ former employer, to help pay him if you need to.

Sell-out Hinkle Fieldhouse. There should be no more empty seats. Not for this team. Not for future teams. Having a big-time program means you must fill the arena at home.

Butler has arrived as a national power. How powerful is up to the university. But one thing is clear. With all the talent at Butler right now, there is no reason to think they cannot return to the final game. With one more year of experience the team’s core players should be even better next season.

Losing to Duke is not the end for Butler, but a beginning. It is though the end of of Butler’s Cinderella story. The Bulldogs are no longer a secret and will no longer be taken lightly by anyone.

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With Saturday’s semi-final games completed, college basketball’s best ever storybook has just one more chapter to complete. The final game. And Butler, the ultimate Cinderella could not have a more appropriate opponent than Duke – college basketball’s most envied and reviled program.

Butler basketball is the equivalent of Boise State football. The two are extremely successful “mid-major” schools which have fought years for respect. The difference though is that unlike Boise State’s football team, on Monday night Butler gets a chance to prove its worthiness in the championship game. Even better, Butler gets to play it at home in Indianapolis.

But get one thing straight; this is no gladiator mismatch. Butler earned its way into the final game against Duke. The Bulldogs have won 5-straight tournament games. And have held every opponent under 60 points. Importantly too, since December, the Bulldogs have won 25 games in a row.

Still, Duke represents the biggest hurdle yet for Butler basketball. On it’s side Duke has legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is far and away college basketball’s best coach. And as usual Duke has a collection of some of the best players in the nation. Duke basketball is America’s most successful college sports program over the last 25 years.

But the rub is that Duke gets under your skin. First of all they win too much. Three national championships and 12 Final Four appearances. And to make matters worse, too often Duke teams come off as just a little too smart and entitled, with the referees seemingly always calling it the Blue Devils way.

But rest assured Duke’s game against Butler will be a fight. To those who don’t know or who haven’t been paying attention, Butler has been planning on going to this Monday night party for at least 15 years. The school has been steadily building a basketball program that can compete with anyone.

Butler has won more games than any college basketball team in the state of Indiana over the last decade. More games than Indiana, more than Purdue, more than Notre Dame. But few noticed, and it seems, even fewer cared. The name on the jersey said Butler, which simply meant to the uninformed that these guys can’t really be that good.

But if you believe in the magic of sports, and what your own eyes have actually seen, then keep an open mind about how the Butler/Duke championship game plays out.

One of basketball’s biggest ever stories happened in the city of Indianapolis more than 50 years ago. An even bigger and better story will happen Monday night should Butler beat Duke.

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I have at times been pretty critical of women’s basketball, particularly this year with the University of Connecticut’s mind-numbingly boring winning streak of 76 straight. But be assured, there is at least one UConn game that I am looking forward to watching.

I want to see how Baylor University’s Brittney Griner, matches up against the powerful Lady Huskies this Sunday night in the women’s Final Four.

Will the long-armed 6’8“ Griner be able to block the shots of UConn’s All-American tandem of Tina Charles and Maya Moore? Can she smackdown college basketball’s best women’s team, or will she be intimidated or frustrated?

Griner who now holds the all-time record for blocked shots, controls the paint like no other female I’ve ever seen. And while she is a load on the defensive end, its her slam dunks that have been her calling card.

She can dunk like the guys. I mean really jam it – not those – “just barely dunks”, like the few other women who’ve done it. Brittney Griner in a word is a phenom. She is the female Wilt Chamberlain – a transformational player for the women’s game.

Still, Griner will likely have to play the game of her life if Baylor has any chance to be competitive against UConn. Notice I did not say that Baylor and Griner will beat UConn. Right now I’m just hoping Baylor can give UConn a decent game and that Griner plays well.
But that will be hard. UConn does not just beat teams they humiliate them. To get to the Final Four, the Lady Huskies outscored Florida State by 40 points. UConn’s wins during this streak have all come by a margin of at least 10 points. And each of UConn’s tournament victories this season have been won by no less than 30 points. It’s almost unfair. UConn could probably win the WNBA title let alone the college national championship. Really.

While I am not a fan of the women’s game, I have admired a number of outstanding female players over the years. Cheryl Miller, now in her late 40’s and long retired from the game, will always be for my money the best all around lady ballplayer. She truly had game. So too did former WNBA superstar Cynthia Cooper who is also retired. Current pros Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi and the soon to be retired Lisa Leslie are pretty good as well.

Yet none of those women approached the potential that Brittney Griner has.

But while I salute Griner, many others think she shouldn’t be playing in the Final Four. Four weeks ago she sucker-punched and broke the nose of a Texas Tech player who she said was taunting her. Griner was suspended for a couple of games for her actions. Many believe the punishment was not nearly long enough. But I’m not one of them.
That would have deprived us of the only possible suspense this tournament has.

My friend Rick, a UConn professor, and obviously biased, thinks Brittney Griner and her Baylor teammates will be taught a lesson. But I think there is a chance Brittney Griner will be doing the teaching, win or lose.

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There are many, many legendary basketball stories in the state of Indiana, but Butler’s appearance in the Final Four could turn out to be the biggest Hoosier story of them all.

Butler has been building up to this moment for nearly 15 years. In the mid 90’s the small private school located in a comfortable northwest Indianapolis neighborhood, began a winning tradition that many initially compared to the rise of another school with the Bulldog nickname – Gonzaga.

And like Gonzaga, it has been hard for Butler to shake the stigma of the so-called “mid-major” label and be taken seriously as a legitimate basketball power.

But with each successful season, and every proving-ground victory, Butler is winning over the doubters. And by getting to the Final Four, Butler has now gone even farther than Gonzaga. But that said the reality is that it will still likely take winning the national championship for Butler to get its just due.

Doubts not withstanding, the stars may have finally aligned for Butler. The team is riding a 24-game winning streak and gets to play the biggest game in school history just 15 easy minutes from its campus at Lucas Oil Stadium.

While many around the country are just getting to know the Butler Bulldogs, Butler has long has had a place in basketball lore.

For decades, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler’s home gym which was built in the 1920s was the nation’s largest basketball arena.

Also, one of the most talked about basketball games in history happened at the fieldhouse, 56 years ago, when tiny Milan High School with all of 161 students defeated the much larger basketball power Muncie Central High School to win the state championship.

That game inspired the movie “Hoosiers”.

While I’m an Indianapolis native clearly biased for Butler, I know it will take Butler’s best game to beat Michigan State. The Spartans have one of college basketball’s best coaches in Tom Izzo. Izzo has led Michigan State to its second straight Final Four and the school’s sixth Final Four appearance in Izzo’s 15 seasons as coach. Izzo’s Spartan’s won the national championship in 2000.

Still Butler’s has several valuable pieces of it’s own. Butler is led by two sophomores, both who may one day play in the NBA – Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack. Two other starters are also underclassmen. This means that you can expect Butler to compete for another Final Four perhaps as soon as next year.

And no coach has ever had more wins in his first three seasons than Butler’s 33 year-old baby-faced Brad Stevens. Stevens has won nearly 90 games in those three years.

It will not be a fluke if Butler wins the national championship by beating Michigan State and then the winner of West Virginia/Duke. Despite being undersized, Butler plays lock-down team defense. They are always in the passing lanes and in your face. They have held all four tournament opponents to less than 60 points.

No, this is not just any Cinderella. Butler can actually win it all.

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