George Steinbrenner deadThe All Star Break is anything but for the New York Yankees.

Owner George Steinbrenner was rushed to a Tampa, Florida, hospital with a massive heart attack, and he passed away this morning.

Ironic for a guy who once said, "I will never have a heart attack. I give them."

This came two days after legendary Yankees Stadium announcer Bob Sheppard passed away at his home on Sunday. The Yankees have been in full-on mourning for the 99-year-old Sheppard, whose voice is still heard in a recording when Captain Derek Jeter comes to the plate.

That included Steinbrenner, who told ESPN he was mourning Sheppard as "a great member of the Yankees family and his death leaves a lasting silence. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Mary, and their family."

Meanwhile they're trying to mount an offense for the American League in the All-Star game tonight with Clipper Joe Girardi managing the team and Jeter and Robinson Cano in the starting lineup.

But if there's one thing the Yankees have always proven, when the going gets tough, they're New Yorkers ... they play through. And if Sheppard's legacy is his voice, Steinbrenner's will be his hard ass attitude.

Need proof they won't let a little hardship take them down? Just look at some of the most memorable quotes from their infamously loud-mouthed owner over the years:

1. "I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers, and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch."

2. "As I've always said, the way New Yorkers back us, we have to produce for them."

3. "People keep coming up to me and asking, 'How does it feel to be banned for life?' Banned for life. I wasn't banned for life. There was never a word of suspension, probation, or ban in that agreement. It was never meant to be part of it."

 

Image via Splash News