FanHouse CubsForSale

It seems like everyone is dismissing Mark Cuban's chances to buy the Cubs, simply on the basis that Bud Selig and his cronies would never allow him to enter the exclusive club of being a baseball owner. From the sounds of things, that hasn't discouraged him one bit. From MSNBC:

Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, indicated Monday on Fox Sports Radio that he was interested in buying the Chicago Cubs.

"I'm going to try, but that's all I can say," Cuban told the radio station. "They made it real clear that I can't comment on anything. Otherwise I would. But I had fun, I was at the game the other night, it was a great comeback. That should tell you where my heart's at."

Good for him for playing along and not saying too much -- you have to figure Selig and Co. are just waiting for a chance to disqualify him for making the wrong move. If he keeps jumping through the right hoops and ponies up enough dough in the end, is there really anything Selig can do to prevent a sale? Yes, the rest of the owners will have to approve it, but Selig doesn't technically have a vote. And the Tribune Co. is not only eager to unload the team, but it's also a publicly traded company that would have a hard time justifying allowing Selig to influence it itno not selling to the absolute highest bidder. Cuban's net worth is estimated to be a cool $2.3 billion, and he seems just crazy enough to pour half of that into buying the Cubs just to get his way if that's what it takes.

Previously on FanHouse:
There's a Cuban Embargo at Wrigley Field
Mark Cuban in Wrigley Field Bleachers: A First-Hand Account

When a celebrity attends a sporting event, most of the time the television cameras can't get enough of them. When Mark Cuban attends a Cubs game, though, the television cameras pretend he's not there. From the Chicago Tribune (via SPORTSbyBROOKS):

Mark Cuban's wild night in the right-field bleachers Monday wasn't mentioned during the Comcast SportsNet broadcast of the game, and there was a reason for that.

According to sources, the Cubs told CSN not to show Cuban or even to talk about his presence at the park during the telecast.
...
Cuban came to the game wearing a Cubs jersey and, according to some who sat in the section, the fans sitting around him treated him like royalty.

You know why they treated him like royalty? Because instead of acting like a stuck-up billionaire, he wore a jersey, waved a sign and cheered for the team. In other words, he acted like a true fan. The sources didn't explain why the team was adamant about keeping Cuban off the telecast, but we can probably safely assume it was related to his interest in buying the team -- and perhaps even the MLB's establishment's reluctance to let him own it. As Derek Lee said after the game:

"Is he really a possible owner?" Derrek Lee asked. "From what I'm hearing, they're not going to give him a shot."

If it comes to that, that's a damn shame. Cuban may be outspoken but his presence has done nothing but help the Mavericks, and by extension, the NBA. Major League Baseball should be so lucky to have such an enthusiastic owner in their club.

I got a phone call from my buddy Monday night.

"Take a guess who's sitting in front of me at the Cubs game right now?"

"Someone sweet I'm guessing."

"Mark Cuban."

"Make sure to get a picture."

And thus it went from there. My friend ended up getting what he called a "great picture." But alas, I have stuck this image, courtesy of TBL in the post. Why you ask? Long story short, someone he was with has the picture on an digital camera in their possession, minus a chord to hook it up to a computer. I suppose that's what I get for relying on a friend's cousin's friend. (Literally.) Instead of sitting on this another day or two, I decided to throw his first-hand account after the jump. Better to keep it fresh and relevant, I suppose. If I ever get a hold of the picture, I'll make sure to update this post. (UPDATE: I have pictures now. The one up top and one more after the jump.)

So follow along after the jump for yet another tale of Cuban being one altogether amicable guy. It's not all that mind-blowing, but hey, it's not everyday you run into a billionaire NBA owner sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley Field, no?

The Cubs are for sale, but don't expect a deal to be struck anytime soon. According to USA Today, the Tribune Co. has been dragging their feet in getting the process started:

Tribune put the team and historic Wrigley Field on the block in April, saying it would sell the team after the season and intended to do so by the end of the year. But its bankers have yet to send out detailed financial information to prospective bidders and are not expected to do so until mid-September, jeopardizing that timetable.

A source familiar with the sale process said there's no chance of the sale being completed this year, with a more realistic target now baseball's opening day in spring 2008. The source, who declined to be identified out of concern of disrupting the process, said "five or six legitimate groups" have emerged as would-be buyers, but declined to give details.

I have to wonder, might Tribune be slow-playing this in order to see how the playoffs shake out? Think about it: if the value of the team and all of its assets (Wrigley Field and a 25% stake in the local Comcast sports channel) is currently pegged at $1 billion, what might it be worth if the Cubs actually won the World Series this year? Even if it doesn't drive the final price up, Tribune would still be in a good position to collect revenue through the post-season. It's probably foolish to look that far ahead, but it's something to think about.

But what having the sale postponed does mean is that the Cubs front office won't know this winter whose money they're spending and how much they're allowed to dole out. That didn't stop the team from spending on free agents last winter (or extending Carlos Zambrano last month), but it may have been the reason why the Cubs pulled out a prospective deal at the last second earlier this summer that would have sent Jacque Jones to the Marlins.

(hat-tip: Biz of Baseball)