Looks Like No Cuban for the Cubs

Published reports are that the sale process for the Chicago Cubs is proceeding more slowly than Tribune owner Sam Zell wanted or expected. Even before the credit crisis, Zell had hoped for a quick sale so that the proceeds could be used to pay down some of the crushing debt load he incurred in the Tribune Company buy-out. With the credit crisis and the depression that has hit the newspaper industry, the need for a quick sale has only gotten that much greater.

However, one can never push the Lords of Baseball, who march to the beat of their own drummer, especially Lord High Commissioner Bud Selig. Zell has likely favored the bid of Dallas Mavericks owner, and fan favorite, Mark Cuban, because Cuban was willing to pay top dollar (read roughly $1 billion) and close quickly. Cuban, is not exactly the Commissioner's idea of a member of the baseball club, despite the testimony of David Stern and other basketball owners. He is too brash, too loud and too fan friendly. Not only that, he is a damn fine businessman who takes ownership of his sports teams as a serious business. The longer the sale takes, the more likely it is that the buyer will be someone more to the Commissioner's liking. In fact, the Sun Times is now reporting that Cuban is out and the likely buyer will be the group led by John Canning, Jr., the front runner all along. Why, the front runner? He is Selig's friend and has been a minority owner in the Brewers - you remember the team that Selig used to own.