Hall of Fame Manager, Tom Lasorda, always says he œbleeds Dodger Blue. Well there are plenty of blues to go around these days in Chavez Ravine and the environs of Southern California.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank McCourt have brought the once proud franchise to its knees. Single-handedly , or I guess dual handedly, they have taken a franchise that was an automatic 2,000,000 in attendance and, on occasion, much more and reduced it to who knows what in 2011.

In the work my company does, one of the basic operating principles is œRelationship is the Key to Everything. The McCourts relationship has crashed into the daily workings of the Dodgers organization such that people are refusing to support them the way they have for years and years.

Do they still love baseball? Of course they do. Do they still love the players in Dodger Blue? Absolutely. Are they willing to spend their hard-earned cash to be at the ballpark when the word is that the Dodgers might not be able to make payroll?

So what happened? Consider that the McCourts relationship and life-style drowned the Dodgers in a sea of arrogance. In this case I am defining arrogance as a narrow point of view. Their lives became all about them.

It is my experience that when ownership in professional sports is consistently in the public eye, it means trouble is brewing. Great leadership is mostly behind the scenes, coming to the forefront only on rare occasions.

For example there has been talk that Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, might be a candidate to spend some of his billions to buy the Dodgers and get them out of their financial dilemma. Before this years NBA Finals I would have said that would be a really bad idea.

Another arrogant, self-absorbed owner didnt seem to be what the doctor was prescribing. However, I tip my hat to you, Mr. Cuban (not that you give a hoot). You comported yourself with grace and aplomb throughout the series. This is, of course, a view form my easy chair in front of the TV. Maybe it isnt a coincidence that your Mavs played so well.

The children (players) want a Dad (owner) who sets the standards and holds them to them whether they like it or not. They may not appreciate it in the moment but they will down the road. They dont need a pal they need a leader.

They also want to know that Dad is there for them and backs them up without, of course, condoning unproductive behavior. The œkids want to know that they have someone they can count on. This can be tough to do in this free-agent, made-for-TV world.

The smart owner sets it up so that in the matter of performance the manager/coach is œthe man. There were so many distractions that Joe Torre œretired from the Dodgers. Im not so sure he was all that prepared to be sitting in a rocking chair on his front porch.

I think that Mark Cuban allowed Rick Carlisle to be œthe man and it showed up on the court. I am on the outside looking in at this but it isnt my first rodeo either. Mark Cuban, for what it is worth, I thought you matured as much as your team. One last œ2 cents worth. Your MVP for the final was Jason Kidd. You dont win it without him.

Back to the Dodgers. L.A. fans, dont punish the players for the antics of a couple of spoiled brats. Matt Kemp and some others are playing good baseball. Dont fool around and lose the franchise. Nobody wants that.

Get Coach Todds latest book, œThe Art of Losing, Coaching Athletics and Thriving in a Made-for-TV World. You can find it on Vervante.com or lulu.com.