George Steinbrenner brings back floods of memories, and certainly hearing the news of his passing today brings it all up front.

I am sure my colleague John Amato will have more than ample eloquent words to say on this legend and no doubt more tributes will come as the day goes on. So all I can do is add an excerpt from this interview Steinbrenner did with Howard Cosell in 1982 when rumors flourished over his possible sale of the Yankees as a reminder of who we lost today.

George Steinbrenner: “There is no way that I’d really want to sell the New York Yankees, because that more than anything I can think of is a privilege. It isn’t to own the Yankees, be the principle owner I should say, of the Yankees. It’s something you take and you assume. It’s not just owning an ordinary ball club. It’s owning a great tradition, it’s owning pride. It’s owning the top representative, the best team in the history of sports.”

RIP: George Steinbrenner.