SARASOTA, Fla. - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner fainted Saturday at a memorial service for football great Otto Graham but was alert by the time medics arrived, an emergency official said.

''Right now, he's fine,'' Paul Dezzi of the Sarasota County Fire Department told The Associated Press.

''He fainted. When we arrived, he was alert and oriented. He was very talkative in the ambulance,'' he said.

The 73-year-old Steinbrenner was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. He was given oxygen, an electrocardiogram and intravenous fluids in the ambulance, Dezzi said.

Based on the preliminary tests, ''Everything showed up fine,'' Dezzi said.

''There's nothing obvious from our side,'' he said. ''I just talked to someone who was with him in the hospital, and Mr. Steinbrenner seemed OK.''

Dezzi said he understood that the church was full for the service. Graham, a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, died Dec. 17 at age 82. He was a longtime friend of Steinbrenner, who grew up in Cleveland.

Hospital spokeswoman Lynn Cassan did not comment to the AP, citing patient confidentiality. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune confirmed Steinbrenner was at the hospital.

Yankees spokesman Rick Cerrone said he had no information on Steinbrenner. Team president Randy Levine had no immediate comment, and Steinbrenner publicist Howard Rubenstein did not immediately return telephone calls.

Steinbrenner, who has owned the Yankees since 1973, lives in Tampa, Fla.