AP stgory that ran earlier today.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban wants to buy Cubs
By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer
Mon Oct 8, 5:07 PM ET

CHICAGO - Mark Cuban wants to become a billionaire bleacher bum if he buys the Chicago Cubs. The Dallas Mavericks owner, known for noisily cheering his NBA team and berating officials from courtside, reiterated strong interest Monday in owning the Cubs.

“Everybody thinks I’m going to be on the sidelines, in the dugout, jumping up and down. That’s not where I’ll be,” he said on the Mike North Morning Show on radio station WSCR.

“When I went to the Cubs game a couple weeks ago, I sat in the bleachers, and I’ll have a seat marked out for me and my friends. We’ll be out in the right-field bleachers — that’s the best place to watch a game.”

Tribune Co. announced six months ago that it would sell the club after the season in connection with an $8.2 billion buyout of the media conglomerate led by real estate magnate Sam Zell. But the process has moved slowly and many don’t expect a sale to be completed until well into 2008.

Cuban said he hasn’t made a final decision on whether to bid for the team. But once Tribune provides full details about the assets for sale, presumably including Wrigley, he expects to be in.

“It’s a great sports town, it’s a great franchise with a storied history. There’s so many opportunities here,” he said. “When a team that’s so iconic and such an amazing team like the Cubbies come up, it’s an opportunity I couldn’t let slip by.”

After last month’s bleacher experience, the Pittsburgh native said he’s becoming a Cubs fan.

“People think that because I’m not from Chicago, that’s a big deal,” he said. “I grew up in Pittsburgh, and there’s no bigger Dallas Mavs fan now.”

“If all this goes down ... if you cut any part of my body, you can see Mavs blood and you can see Cubbies blood coming out.”

Cuban faces stiff early competition for the Cubs, including several Chicago groups. One front-runner is thought to be the group headed by John Canning, chairman of private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and a longtime friend and business partner of baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

I think Fred just accurately identified tomorrow’s back page slop.

Well done my friend, my well done.

Nice job, Fred. I’ll be astounded if we’re “treated” to another Mark Cuban love letter.

I heard Steve Stone on the radio this afternoon talking about Cuban. He made a very knowledgeable argument against Cuban owning the Cubs. He basically said Cuban isn’t close enough to the situation and hasn’t done the required research about what this team needs going forward. He went on to say that the established prospective ownership groups are already analyzing their needs/wants and will be in a much better position to run the club.

He cited the aging veterans with huge contracts and said any new ownership group would have to hit the ground running because the championship window is closing rapidly, and a group that comes in unable to make the required moves rapidly would most likely squander their best chance at a title.  That’s not to say Cuban might not be a good owner in the long run, but with the backloaded contracts, this team is built to win next year or possibly not all.

I was shocked, SHOCKED, that Stone was able to dissect Cuban’s possible ownership without making disparaging comments about Selig or Reinsdorf. I didn’t even know that was possible. It just shows the difference between a guy who knows what he’s talking about and some jerkoff who’s only skill is pissing people off.

Because it’s time!

Stonie for Pres?

I’m not sure I agree with Stoney’s argument.  It’s not like Cuban would sit at a desk all by his lonesome with some cookies and milk and say, “Hmm, how can I make the Cubs champions?” He’d hire some people who are in the know about the Cubs and very knowledgeable about winning, period.  Look what he did with the Mavs.  He’s not stupid.

Also, you know that he’d sink a couple of hundred million to bring A-Rod to the Cubs.  And, as we all know:

A-Rod + Cubbies = WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP BABY!!!!

Hooaah!

Come on, Jeter, take your smarmy paws off A-Rod!

ny-exchicagoan - 09 October 2007 12:48 PM

I’m not sure I agree with Stoney’s argument.  It’s not like Cuban would sit at a desk all by his lonesome with some cookies and milk and say, “Hmm, how can I make the Cubs champions?” He’d hire some people who are in the know about the Cubs and very knowledgeable about winning, period.  Look what he did with the Mavs.  He’s not stupid.

Also, you know that he’d sink a couple of hundred million to bring A-Rod to the Cubs.  And, as we all know:

A-Rod + Cubbies = WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP BABY!!!!

What I think I forgot to mention (a big oversight on my part) was that Stone was basing his comments off a report that claimed Cuban said that he had no idea what the Cubs needed and he’d have to sit down and hire some advisors, form a plan, etc.  So what Stone is saying is, with the “championship window closing,” a better prospective owner would be someone that already has the advisors in place, the plan ready to go, etc.  And apparently the front running groups already have these things. 

If Cuban is still looking for the right baseball people, or rushes into picking his guys, he might squander the winter meetings and, in Stone’s mind, blow the chance at striking while the iron’s hot.

But like I said in my post, Cuban might be the best guy for the job long term, but they need someone that’s ready to go now.

And BTW- See the Yankees for many, many reasons why sinking a ton of money into a baseball team isn’t always a guaranteed answer.  Unless you were being sarcastic, in which case, good point!

Yes, I thought that the picture depicting A-Rod as Jeter’s homosexual lover suggested sarcasm on my part.

Although I certainly wouldn’t mind putting A-Rod in at SS on the club, if that was possible.

If every idiot who sat in the bleachers decided that he or she wanted to own the team, it would make for a very long process.  Unfortunately, one of them is a billionaire, so we have to put up with his musings about buying the team.  Although money talks, bullshit walks, which should put an end to his bid right there.

Here’s an idea, Mark: buy the Pirates and make Tinky your PR director.  Nothing like home-town ownership and management, right?

Hey, what is it about you bastards that don’t want the Cubs to win?

First, when the whole A-Rod to Chicago thing came up, no one wanted him and started saying he’s a little bitch who just whines and makes teams better only by leaving them.

Then Mark Cuban, a billionaire who cares more about winning than selling tickets, expresses interest, and all of a sudden he’s nothing but a bitchy moron who doesn’t know what he’s talking about and would sink the Cubs into the ground.

See, this is the problem with Cubs fans, except me of course.

You all LIKE having “lovable losers” who can’t play.  You want this shit to continue so you can always be those special fans who elicit “Awww, look at ‘em, those loyal fans” bullshit.

Well, I for one am sick and tired of this crap.

I’m sure Tinky loved this one about Mark Cuban.

What were the allegations against Ruth? That he ate too many fucking hot dogs and drank too much beer? Or was it that having extramarital sex with blondes enhanced his slugging ability? No wonder F***tard likes smoking Cubans.

ny-exchicagoan - 09 October 2007 02:51 PM

Hey, what is it about you bastards that don’t want the Cubs to win?

First, when the whole A-Rod to Chicago thing came up, no one wanted him and started saying he’s a little bitch who just whines and makes teams better only by leaving them.

Then Mark Cuban, a billionaire who cares more about winning than selling tickets, expresses interest, and all of a sudden he’s nothing but a bitchy moron who doesn’t know what he’s talking about and would sink the Cubs into the ground.

See, this is the problem with Cubs fans, except me of course.

You all LIKE having “lovable losers” who can’t play.  You want this shit to continue so you can always be those special fans who elicit “Awww, look at ‘em, those loyal fans” bullshit.

Well, I for one am sick and tired of this crap.

Maybe my problem is that I’m not a Cub fan?

rockybiddle - 09 October 2007 04:20 PM

Maybe my problem is that I’m not a Cub fan?

Whaaa?

Cuban should hear another one of Bruce Wolf’s quips today. 

“Barry Bonds has proven he’s not half the man Marion Jones is!“‘’

Maybe this is why Steve Stone doesn’t want Cuban to buy the Cubs-

Stone, a former major league pitcher, longtime Cubs television analyst and current baseball analyst for WSCR-AM 670, would become the general manager if the Weisbach group were to land the team, the Tribune has learned.