Tribune Sets Thanksgiving Deadline for Next Round of Cubs Bids; Cuban Out?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 11, 2008 7:10PM

As the Cubs close in on acquiring Padres ace Jake Peavy, the Tribune Company has informed bidders their next round of proposals are due by Thanksgiving Day. And this time, there's an added twist: prove that, in this current economic clusterfuck, you can actually pay for the team. It seems the Trib, like everyone, is in dire financial straits.

On Monday, Tribune reported a net loss of $121.6 million across its operations for the third quarter, compared with a profit of $152.8 million for the same period a year ago. Revenue declined 10.5 percent to $1.04 billion.

"We are operating in an exceptionally difficult financial and economic environment," Chairman Sam Zell said in a press release. "The newspaper industry continues to see extraordinary declines in ad revenues, and Tribune is no exception."

In case you need a refresher on who exactly is bidding on the Cubs, this Trib article features a handy-dandy drop-down menu that allows to scope out some nifty info on possible future owners. Front and center, of course, is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. But don't get your hopes up; an anonymous source within Major League Baseball told the Sun-Times' Chris De Luca, ''There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen. Zero chance.'' Let's see: Major League Baseball preventing a forward-thinking, fan-friendly owner from taking control of one of it's jewel franchises? Sadly, we are not surprised in the least. And the source also told De Luca even more optimistic news: 'We'll be standing here at next year's [2009] GM meetings and this will still be unresolved.'' Another season in limbo! Hooray!

AP Photo/David Zalubowski