Lost amongst the Blackhawks is the historic shuffling going on in college football. We've touched on it here, even posting on the Nebraska move earlier today, but an even bigger Big 10 get is in the works. According to a report this afternoon from KCTV in Kansas City, it looks like the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M are bidding the (soon to be defunct?) Big 12 and making for the Big 10 while Oklahoma is in talks to move to the SEC. With Oklahoma State reportedly heading towards the Pac-10, that would leave the Big 12 with Kansas, Kansas State University, Mizzou, Baylor, Texas Tech and Iowa State (Colorado defected to the Pac-10 earlier today). Ouch. 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 ›

In a development that won't help his already long-shot bid to buy the Cubs, Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur Mark Cuban has been charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Wall Street Journal explains it all thusly:

Mr. Cuban sold his entire 6% ownership stake on June 28, 2004, after learning that Mamma.com was raising money through a private investment in a public entity, or PIPE. The next day, on June 29, the company announced the PIPE financing and shares of the company dropped by more than 10%. By selling his stake, the SEC alleges, Mr. Cuban avoided more than $750,000 in losses.