Last night, the St. Louis Rams family lost there beloved matriach, as majority owner Georgia Frontiere lost here battle with breast cancer at the age 80.  The driving force behind relocating the Rams from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995, Frontiere spent the last couple of years in obsecurity, fighting a battle that most outsiders had no idea she was up against.  Up until this year, Frontiere found a way to make it to a handful of games each year, making the trek to the West Coast to spend time with her team.  She leaves behind a team that is worth an estimated 908 million dollars, and her kids inherit the 60% share that she has.  However, because NFL rules state that only one person can have be the majority owner, that title falls in the lap of Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom. 

Those close to Rosenbloom say he has some sense of obligation to his deceased father to keep the Rams franchise in the family. (When Carroll Rosenbloom drowned in a swimming accident in 1979, wife Georgia — Chip's mother — took control of the team.)  The problem is Rosenbloom has a full career as a film producer, one that might force his hand when it comes to being the majority owner.  Should he decide to sell, minority owner Stan Kroenke has the right to first refusal.  But because Kroenke now owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, the NFL's cross-ownership rule would prevent him from taking majority ownership of the Rams.

The cross-ownership rule reads as follows:

"No person who owns a majority interest in, or has direct or indirect operating control of an NFL member club, may own or acquire any interest in a club in another major team sport (baseball, basketball, hockey), except for a club located in: a.) his/her NFL club's home city, or b.) a non-NFL city that is not a potential NFL city."

Kroenke is thought to be interested in owning a majority interest with the Rams, but to do so, he must seperate himself from the Nuggets and Avalanche organizations.  Should he decide to make that move, he the league must vote and approve it.  The Rams need someone at the top to help stabilize a franchise that struggled through its worse year in St. Louis.  If Rosenbloom decides to step down, now or in the forseeable future, Stan Kroenke would be the perfect man for the job.  He's a smart businessman who is well-liked and respected in NFL circles.  Success starts at the top, either with Rosenbloom or Kroenke, and the Rams need to right the ship quick, or there will be many more years of 2-14 football on the horizon