Heller wrote an extensive blog post about the spat, wondering why a full-page ad for her book, which from my understanding is sort of a love letter to the team, was not approved:

While my book does have enough salty language to make a sailor blush, it's hardly "controversial," unless you count the night I begged my husband to follow A-Rod into a restaurant men's room so I'd have a funny anecdote to write about.

When I told a friend what had happened, she said sarcastically, "So the Yankees blackballed their #1 fan. Good PR on their part."

This incident has become popular thanks to today's Page Six mention and Heller has received plenty of support, even an offer from another publishing house to run her ad in a Yankee Stadium commemorative edition. The person at this company shared their own tales of the difficulty of dealing with the Yankees, including this incident that happened with a furniture company that wanted to advertise in the Yankees program:

This company designed an ad for the Yankees program showing a row of seats at the Stadium, one of which had a type of office chair super-imposed on it. George Steinbrenner wouldn't approve the ad because he thought the office chair was too wide and would insinuate that Yankee fans were fat.

It's stories like these that almost make the Seinfeld caricature of Steinbrenner seem remarkably accurate.

The Yankees And I Are Going Through A Rough Patch [Confessions Of A She-Fan]

A new biography of Steinbrenner talks about George's generous support of amateur athletics and alleges that back in the day, he even gave financial support to figure skaters Nicole Bobek and Tonya Harding. Presumably, that money was to support their training, but Harding found something else it could be used for.

It later emerged that Harding's husband, Jeff Gillooly, hired a goon to smash Kerrigan's knee to help his wife's chances at the 1994 Winter Games. "After he gave money to Harding, it turned out that some of the money was used for the 'hit,' " Golenbock writes. "When George heard that, he wanted to hunt down Harding and get his money back." But Steinbrenner's rep told us: "George's people have no recollection of giving money to her and have found no records."

Maybe he should have cut out the middle man and just had Danny Tartabull hit Kerrigan with a fungo.

STEINBRENNER'S WEIRD TONYA 'LINK' [New York Post]
Steinbrenner Went Gillooly [Josh Q Public]

*Unless that sentence was, "Tonya Harding will fight a crippled George Steinbrenner on Pay-Per-View next month."

It's kind of like Mr. Burns handing over the power plant to Homer; the end of an era, with hilarity sure to ensue. Not like things weren't interesting with George in charge. Love him or hate him, you'll never duplicate him. Guys like Eddie DeBartolo and Robert Irsay have tried, but lacked the requisite churlishness, the unmitigated hutzpah, the unique Steinbrennian eau de bastard. Face it; even though he famously declined to play himself on the show, Big Stein's 35-year reign was one extended Seinfield episode.

"What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for? He had 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs last year! He has a rocket for an arm! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE DOING!"

But, you know, there were those titles.

The Yankees regained their former glory under his ownership, winning six World Series titles and 10 American League pennants from 1976-2003. They also have transformed themselves into a billion-dollar business that owns a cable television network and food concession company. But the 78-year-old has been in declining health following fainting spells that required hospitalization in December 2003 and October 2006.

Some good accounts of the transfer of power here, and here. And now somewhere, Steinbrenner and Fidel Castro, weak, feeble and no longer in control of their empires, will meet on a sunny Caribbean beach and trade war stories. And Fidel will stop the conversation halfway thorough and exclaim, "Man, and I thought I was ruthless."

It's Official: George Steinbrenner Hands Yankees Over To Son Hal [New York Daily News]
Yankees' Control Shifts To Steinbrenner's Son Hal [New York Times]

Many of his descriptive events include sexual harassment and stalking (and an identity theft scheme that allowed George Steinbrenner to get the money for A-Rod's contract, he details), but here's your money allegation:

I have known Defendant Steinbrenner since 1988 when I was a 12 year old boy. I met Steinbrenner at St. Roman Catholic church in Philadelphia, PA in back of the Alter. We exchanged telephone Numbers. Steinbrenner would send me candy bags with blow pops and tootsie rolls and gay comic books. Steinbrenner told me to call him "Daddy Steinbrenner" and not to tell anyone.

Aside from Yankees season tickets for the 2012 season, he's seeking "$100,000,000.00 million dollars," which technically is $100 million million, so $100 trillion. Scott Boras is intrigued with his negotiating tactics.

Oh, and he's also suing Isiah Thomas:

I've known Isiah Thomas since 1993 when he played basketball for the Detroit Pistons. I lived near Coatesville Pennsylvania where current NBA guard for the Detroit Pistons Richard "rip" Hamilton" is from. We all used to play basketball pickup games at CASH Highschool on Rt. 30. This is where I had my first encounter sexually with Isiah Thomas around October 1995. After a pickup game, Isiah Thomas took me in back of some porta potties and began French Kissing me. He pulled out $1,000 dollars and told me not to tell my mother and he will continue to send me money in return of him sending me love letters.

An Embarrassment of Riches [The Smoking Gun]

• Suck It, New York. So I was a bit wrong on Paul Byrd. I convinced myself that I wanted to see Sabathia go Monday night but Byrd pitched well... 5 innings, 2 runs, 8 hits... can't ask for much more than that. Well done Paulie. Now C.C. and Carmona pitch Game 1 and 2 in Boston. That is gonna be fun. Please everyone pick Boston (oh God... the Sports Guy's team in a playoff series against a Cleveland team... I may go insane). [Random Thoughts]

• Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch Changes ... Shamefully, A-Rod is going to get most of the media coverage blame for his team's lackluster performance and it may be the final straw that drives him out of town. What should not be overlooked is the fact that True Yankees Wang, Jeter, and Posada were all downright offensive in their own right. As for the ALCS, all I can say is Go Tribe! I no longer care what happens the rest of the season as long as the Red Sox aren't the last team standing at the end of October. [Pinstripe Alley]

• Yankees Out: What Next For Torre?. I think it's a little ludicrous to think that George Steinbrenner is of sound enough mind to make this decision. I find it strange how the mainstream media has danced around the topic of Steinbrenner's declining health. Why won't someone simply utter: "Alzheimer's" (or whatever debilitating disease is turning the Boss into a shell of his former self)? [Dan Shanoff Blog]

• ALCS ... At Last Cleveland Stars. "The Cleveland Indians are a force to be reckoned with," says Frank Thomas, TBS commentator. Thanks Frank, but we knew that and so did you. As a matter of fact, now Skip Carey and his crew know it. They'll have to stop rooting for the Yankees now and put on their Sox hats and Bostonian accents. That's OK, we like the incentive you provide. That is some of the worst baseball coverage I have ever witnessed. [Indian Fever]

• End Of The Road For Joe Torre. Based on the grim look on Brian Cashman's face and the way the players and staff lined up to hug him on the way out, Torre is done. It was like a wake in the clubhouse. I would expect him to hold a press conference in the next few days and say good-bye. The Yankees should do it right but there is little chance of that. Steinbrenner or one of his minions will leak the news, there will be a frenzy and that will be that. My instincts tell me the next manager will be Don Mattingly. I find it hard to believe he would come out of retirement and work as the hitting coach for several years without knowing there was some reward at the end. [The LoHud Yankees Blog]

• Game Story: Sox Sweep Angels! Some great Red Sox celebration photos, just because. [Over The Monster]

He looks dreadful. His body is bloated; his jawline has slackened into a triple chin; his skin looks as if a dry-cleaner bag has been stretched over it. Steinbrenner's face, pale and swollen, has a curiously undefined look. His features seem frozen in a permanent rictus of careworn disbelief.

Whatever a rictus is, that sounds terrible. We worry for George, but we worry more for the Yankees fan, who is having a tough enough time as it is. Every Yankees fan we know is summed up rather perfectly in today's Dugout post.

Baseball And Steinbrenner [Conde Nast Portfolio]
Roger Clemens Is Human? [The Dugout]

Yankees officials aren't confirming it, but sources tell Fortune that the network could be on the block ... and that's the ridiculous potential asking price.

YES brought in $340.5 million in revenue in 2006, up about 6 percent from the prior year, according to Kagan Media Research estimates. (YES doesn't release official financial data.) Kagan believes that 40 percent of that revenue - about $136 million - translated into cash flow.

The cash flow, of course, is the key to YES's valuation. John Mansell, a prominent sports-industry analyst, notes that stakes in other regional sports networks have traded hands recently at 19 times cash flow. So if YES, which is the cable home of the Yankees and Nets, can grow its cash this year by 8 percent or more - as Mansell thinks it will - a $3 billion valuation seems well within reach.

Christ; we had no idea "Yankeeography" could be so freaking profitable. Meanwhile, with George Steinbrenner "declining," it's possible the Yankees could be sold in the next few years anyway. Come on, Mark Cuban!

The Dismantling Of The Yankee Empire [Fortune]

"The season is still very young, but up to now the results are clearly not acceptable to me or to Yankee fans," Steinbrenner said in a statement released through his personal PR man, Howard Rubenstein. "However, Brian Cashman our general manager, Joe Torre our manager and our players all believe that they will turn this around quickly. I believe in them. I am here to support them in any way to help them accomplish this turnaround."

"It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of. Let's get going. Let's go out and win and bring a world championship back to New York. That's what I want."

As always, Steinbrenner was nowhere to be seen, talking instead through faxed press releases. We have decided we've had about enough of this silliness. Everyone likes to believe that Steinbrenner is the overlording godfather, looming above everyone and firing thunderbolts down at the mere mortals. But that Steinbrenner hasn't existed in a decade. He's just a sick, old man, protected and shielded with a myth, whom we suspect isn't even aware much anymore that the Yankees are even playing. He dodders down there in Tampa and occasionally propped up for public appearances. Why people still play around and humor this notion that Steinbrenner is a presence anymore is confounding. Perhaps we need Steinbrenner, we need to believe that baseball owners aren't just faceless corporations who care far more about their revenue sharing and online media deals than whether their team wins or loses. But it's not true: Steinbrenner is a mirage from an older time, hiding behind press releases so we don't see how decrepit he has really become. Perhaps it's time to give up the ghost.

Torre Gets Off With Warning [New York Daily News]

Ben Affleck has signed on to narrate a quirky new Boston Red Sox DVD aimed at turning young children into die-hard fans. RED SOX BABY: RAISING TOMORROW'S BOSTON RED SOX FAN TODAY is an educational film, which also prepares infants and pre-school children to become Red Sox fans. The sports-centered children's DVD series features Red Sox footage, graphics and merchandise to help teach counting, spelling, shape and colour recognition.

Crawl away, babies! Crawl with all your might! As troubling as all of this is, what they're not telling you is that, for some reason, Steinbrenner's in a Yankees video as well. Poor, poor babies; learning to count from a guy who signed Carl Pavano.

Actually, the baseball movie we'd love to see starring Affleck would be The Steve Bartman Story. Get to work on that, Kevin Smith.

Affleck To Star In Baseball Video For Babies [Contact Music]
Kids' DVD A Homer For Affleck [The Boston Globe]
Affleck Runs Afoul Of Fans [SFGate]

Pauper Players' Sunday afternoon performance of "Cabaret" was cut short when Department of Public Safety officials responded to a call that a man was suffering from chest pains, DPS spokesman Randy Young said.

Sophomore Emily Riehl, who was in the audience, said the man was New York Yankees principal owner, George Steinbrenner.

Steinbrenner, 76, was in attendance to watch his granddaughter, junior Haley Swindal, perform the lead role of Sally Bowles.

Young said the man was "conscious, alert and breathing" when DPS officials arrived at Playmakers Theatre between 3:30 and 3:41 p.m.

Steinbrenner's "incident" caused the show's cancellation at intermission, which is a real tragedy, because "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is the traditional show-stopper. Deadspin commenters, let me know: What's your favorite Kander and Ebb tune?

Steinbrenner incident halts campus play [Daily Tar Heel]

Steinbrenner — believed to have had a meeting with general manager Brian Cashman at his midtown hotel yesterday — decided to keep Torre after two days of canvassing his Inner Circle about the positives and negatives of firing Torre and bringing in Lou Piniella.

Maybe he canvassed, maybe he didn't. We prefer the image we have in our head right now, of Steinbrenner sitting on a park bench, wistfully feeding pigeons, and then suddenly having an epiphany. "Yes ... I guess I really do love him! Damn it, I'm going to propose!"

More likely? Steinbrenner, feeding pigeons in his robe, 3 a.m., as his nurse finally finds him and escorts him back to bed, pausing only to text Cashman from Steinbrenner's phone: "Do what you have to do." And then, aw, Steinbrenner's pooped himself again!

He's Joe-ing Nowhere"> [New York Post]

For Steinbrenner, $5,000 is throwing dollar bills in the air. Everything counts, don't get me wrong, but it's disappointing. And A-Rod, he plays $1,000 a hand in poker, he might as well throw $1,000 in our dugout. I don't want Steinbrenner's money. I want A-Rod's money. He's making $20 million a year.

It's just as well. From what we know of the Staten Island kids, they'd just blow the extra money on booze and cigars. The team plays what will most likely be their last game today.

Oh, and Johnson had also tried to get the Mets to fork over a little cash. One can probably guess what happened there ... they never got back to him.

A-Rod, Boss Ripped By N.Y. Little League Boss [MSNBC]
From The Mouths Of Unusually Large Babes [Deadspin]

The notion of Bowa at third base is outstanding enough. (We imagine Bowa chasing down Gary Sheffield after he ran through his stop sign and kneeing him repeatedly in the cup.) But imagine this guy as the actual manager in Yankee Stadium. You think Billy Martin was bad? Wait until Bowa starts giving Mike Lupica swirlies and calling into radio shows just to test the five-second delay. Not much out there would make us happier. Quit now, Joe!

Yanks Offer Bowa Third-Base Coaching Job [MLB.com]
Sweet Bleep [Yard Work]

• Jeter, in a shocking betrayal of clubhouse etiquette, says that teammate Jason Giambi is "an easy person to root for and support."
• Owner George Steinbrenner is "like his father," but "more difficult to deal with" but that he's "able to motivate himself."
• His parents love him, he loves them and sometimes he'll tell his mom in the stands — using his eyebrows — that he's going to try to hit a home run for her.

The expose runs Sunday night; your world shall be rocked like it has rarely been rocked previously.

Jeter Speaks On Giambi [CBS News]
Mike Wallace's Dogged Pursuit Of Truth [Deadspin]

Fan Jumps From Upper Deck At Stadium [Yankees.com]