Ian Schrager, the co-founder of Studio 54 in New York, purchased the Ambassador East hotel (1301 N. State Parkway) and its renowned Pump Room restaurant this week in an approximately $25 million deal. Although the 285-room hotel hasn't been doing too well in recent years, Schrager has announced plans to renovate the hotel and restore the Pump Room to its old self. Currently, the Pump Room runs on a part-time basis and doesn't have a dinner menu or live entertainment. more ›

As we mentioned earlier today, the Chicago Cubs could be close to being officially sold. Meanwhile, one man who many fans and players favored for the team was Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who's bid took a hit with the announcement last fall he was being investigated by the S.E.C. for insider trading. Today, Cuban took to his blog to discuss the Cubs, his proposal, the obstacles to his bid, and the credit crisis. An excerpt is below, but you can check out the whole thing here.

My sense of the entire situation was that whoever the new owner of the Cubs would be, it was in the Sox best interest for things to stay business as usual. Published TV ratings and other published measures showed that the Cubs were more popular than the Sox, yet before I even started looking at the Cubs, I knew from my discussions with people in the NBA that the Cubs and Sox were treated as equals in their business dealings. That was great for the Sox, not so good for the Cubs. Im guessing the people in the Sox organization knew, that if I bought the team, particularly at the price point that was being suggested in the papers, there was no way I would just accept parity in future business dealings. I was going to have to try to negotiate the very best deals possible for the Cubs, even if it was at the expense of the White Sox. more ›