I know this is not about basketball, but I love the sport of baseball.

It looked like Joe Torre was going to be back with the Yankees. He flew down to Tampa and it looked like a deal was done.

Oops.

If you ever have the opportunity to meet Torre, then you know he is one of the classiest people you'd ever want to meet. There is no way in the world that I felt George Steinbrenner would let him walk away from the Yankees, even with the edict made to the Bergen Record when he stated that if the Yankees didn't beat the Indians, he would not return.

I was on the "Mike and Mike" radio show a few weeks ago and I said Torre would make the call, that whether or not he returned would be in his own hands. It would have been a public relations nightmare to follow through and let the popular Torre leave without making him an offer. The manager did not deserve not to at least have a chance to return as the Yankees skipper.

Think about it … four World Series rings, nine divisional titles, 12 consecutive seasons in the playoffs and all sorts of pressure operating in New York City. It is win, win and win and he always responded, keeping the clubhouse under control. The players loved Torre, guys like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and A-Rod all treated Torre like he was Mr. Popularity.

Class in every way possible, and the Yankees absolutely humiliated Torre in the way they handled this scenario. It was dragged out with headlines of whether he would be back or not. Are you serious? A man with that resume and record should not have to put up with that nonsense.

Ultimately he made the decision when the Yankees tried to save face by saying we made him an offer, we did not let him go without a fight. The offer was $5 million plus incentives, and Torre said it was time to move on.

I say hooray for Torre, but it is unfortunate because his career should have ended in Yankee pinstripes. How beautiful would it have been to see him there when the Yankees opened up the new park in 2009. Now we have to see how the soap opera goes on, with a number of free agents in the Bronx.

I feel Torre will come out of this smiling and on top. He will have his choice of managing or going back to TV. Imagine, he could join us at ESPN, or maybe in the dugout in St. Louis, where he was a dynamite hitter. He will be a Hall of Famer, but more importantly he is a Hall of Famer in the game of life.