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Sox Shuffle Continues
Initial bids on the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field were due Friday and word is slowly getting out now about who seems to have made the cut. Among those who didn't make the cut were Chicago Wolves owner Don Levin and the group led by Madison Dearborn Chairman John Canning. Canning's group was considered the odds-on favorite to win the bidding, in part due to Canning being a part-owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and a friend of Major League Baseball Asshat Commissioner Bud Selig. Up to five of the MLB-approved bidders on the Cubs were invited by the Tribune Co. to continue in the process. All of the approved bids topped $1 billion according to media reports. Only three separate (and cheaper) bids on Wrigley Field alone were allowed to the second round.
One person who apparently made the cut (and that we're kind of excited about)? Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. While speculation is that many baseball owners may not approve of Cuban's antics during Mavs games (yelling at refs, coming onto the court to argue, etc.) it's hard to ignore his genuine passion for his team as well as his business successes. Besides turning one of the NBA's most beleaguered franchises into a perennial (though still title-less) contender, he's also got a business acumen that may appeal to owners. After all, the overriding message sent by the Tribune Co. in this process has been "money talks" as the company, led by new owner Sam Zell, looks to climb its way out of massive debt. [Trib, S-T]
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It might be nice to have an owner who actually cares about the team.
Im not really a cubs fan but I think Mark Cuban would make the cubs better and would at least be interesting.
Cuban would make the most of the fanatical support that the Cubs have maintained over the years despite the title-less status.
Having an owner of a billion dollar professional sports franchise "care" about the team to me is irrelevant. Yes the owner should and will "care" because winning usually means more profit. But as an owner all I care is that they are committed to putting smart and capable people in charge of running the team and not under minding them by meddling with their decisions. I think the trib gets no credit for the job they have done in the last ten years in their effort to field a winner. They haven't been the best in baseball, but I think they have done well.
Imagine being a gm and having your boss Mark Cuban over your shoulder telling you to trade for so and so because they just had a great game. Or if you were the manager and at batting practice you got Cuban telling you where to bat your players. Or even being a player and having Mark freaking Cuban question why you did or didn't do something. I can't stand that guy, and I don't want him to be the owner of the Cubs.
I'm afraid the Cuban would turn the Cubs into a circus...I mean an even bigger circus
all these cub fans seem to think that mark cuban will be the savior who gets them the world series.
Don't be so sure. Sure, he spends lavishly on the Mavericks. And he's got a ton of money. And he doesn't treat his teams so much like investments as like toys for his amusement.
But, how many NBA titles have the Mavericks won since Cuban bought them?
How many NBA finals have the Mavs been to?
It's easier to buy a championship team in the NBA than in baseball. Just look at the Lakers when the bought up Jackson, Shaq, Bryant, and company. Or the current Celtics.
Its much harder in MLB. The Yankees do buy a lot of them, but there are plenty of years where they miss. The Mets spend like drunken sailors and still make the world series only once every 10 or twenty years.
And, in recent years, the Tribune has spent like a drunken sailor and gotten the cubbies no closer to the promise land. The Cubs have one of the top 5 payrolls in baseball every year.
i'll take a world series once every 10-20 years over one in a 100....
Oh yea, one more round to go: http://www.cubanandthecubs.com
"How many NBA finals have the Mavs been to?" - by Clueless Person
They were there 2 years ago..for the first time ever. Ask Dallas Mavs fans if they're happy to have Cuban as an owner and I think you'll discover that he's widely approved of as making the playoffs every year is generally considered to be a positive.
With Cuban, we know what we're getting, and it's someone who wants to win every year. With "Business Group X" we have no fucking idea.
To me, the means an owner will use for profit are relevant.
I am not sure if I want Cuban as my team's owner. However the answer to toyota's question about how many Finals have the Mavs been to is as many World Series as the Cubs have been to in the last 63 years.
I would be delighted to see Cuban own the cubs. Can't you just see him, rushing onto the field, screaming at umpires, being tased.
Wrigleyville is already a yuppie ghetto, Cuban would bring even more of the Chad and Trixie spirit to the area.
I want to see that whole stretch of Clark turned into one big seething sports bar hellhole.
If the cubs are going to be a joke, they might as well be a funny one.
Imagine being a gm and having your boss Mark Cuban over your shoulder telling you to trade for so and so because they just had a great game. Or if you were the manager and at batting practice you got Cuban telling you where to bat your players. Or even being a player and having Mark freaking Cuban question why you did or didn't do something. I can't stand that guy, and I don't want him to be the owner of the Cubs.
There's been no evidence of him doing any of that stuff in the time he's owned the Mavs. Sure he sits behind the team and cheers like a fan, but has never come close to any of the ridiculous scenarios you're imagining.
It seems like El Cubano is more interested in hanging out in the bleachers. maybe he'll get himselfa special section out there. it'll keep him away from the dugout and away from the umps.