RIP, George Steinbrenner

Sad news from the sports world this morning as New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died following a massive heart attack. This news comes just two days after legendary PA announcer Bob Sheppard died.

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died, a high-placed source with the team told the Daily News.

Steinbrenner died around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in Tampa, the source said.

Steinbrenner, who celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4, has been the owner of the Yankees since 1973.

Steinbrenner turned what was about a $1 million investment into what today is a multi-billion empire that has resulted in seven World Series titles and a television network. While for years Steinbrenner was reviled by many and was thrown out of baseball for a couple of years back in the early 1990s, in later years he helped return the Yankees to glory.

RIP, Boss.

Torre: 'A-Fraud' Obsessed With Jeter

Well, things are always interesting around the Yankees. Now a book by Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci chronicling Joe Torre's years with the Bronx Bombers is grabbing front-page headlines. Naturally, Alex Rodriguez takes a beating.

Scorned skipper Joe Torre is blasting the Yankees - calling many of his former players prima donnas, confessing he stopped trusting the powers that be years before he left the team and charging that general manager Brian Cashman betrayed him.

In an explosive new book called "The Yankee Years," Torre gets most personal in his attacks against Alex Rodriguez, who he says was called "A-Fraud" by his teammates after he developed a "Single White Female"-like obsession with team captain Derek Jeter and asked for a personal clubhouse assistant to run errands for him.

Torre, who left the Yankees and became manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2007 season, says Cashman never told the brass that the manager wanted a two-year deal and instead remained silent during Torre's tense final sitdown with the bosses.

The book also reveals that, during spring training in 1999, team doctors revealed to owner George Steinbrenner that Torre had prostate cancer - even before informing the manager himself.

The 477-page tell-all, which The Post purchased from a city bookstore last week, is written by co-author Tom Verducci, a longtime Sports Illustrated reporter.

Verducci weighs in tonight.

RIP, Bobby Murcer

The first Yankee centerfielder of my youth has passed away.

RIP, Bobby.

Bobby Murcer, the Yankees outfielder and broadcaster, died on Saturday at age 62. He had been battling brain cancer since being found to have a tumor on Christmas Eve in 2006.

After Mickey Mantle’s retirement in 1968, Murcer was one of the few bright spots in the Yankees universe as the team struggled to compete in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and was considered by many to be the most popular Yankee during this time.

More here.

"Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well-liked and a true friend of mine," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. "I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy."

Murcer was traded for Bobby Bonds and later returned to the Yankees in 1979. It's a shame he missed out on those 1977-1978 World Series teams.