CUBAN AND CUBS

Will It Happen?

So the Chicago Cubs are for sale; and Mark Cuban is a-buyin'.

The Nation's most lovable losers; the Chicago Cubs, are the most recent sports franchise to hit the market.

Although the Cubs currently maintain a 99-year World Series drought; they are a national franchise.

Which is probably one of the reasons why Mark Cuban recently submitted his application to Major League Baseball to purchase the the team.

The cost for the Chicago Cubs franchise is estimated at around $600 million.

Tribune Co. announced in April that it would sell the Chicago Cubs after the season. Tribune purchased the Cubs along with Wrigley Field in 1981 for a reported $21
million.

The media conglomerate is one of the nation's top companies whose holdings consist of WGN, The Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Tribune Co. will also sell its 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

If there is a such thing as a high-profile owner; Cuban would fit that description. The Cubs are a high-profile franchise that could really benefit from Cuban's savvy marketing intelligence.

Cub fans will appreciate Mark Cuban as the owner of the Cubs. He will do whatever it takes to help his team win. From spending the money on a marquee player, to providing free hot dogs for fans at Wrigley Field after a shutout win.

But along with his bags of cash, are his bags of arrogance and animated behavior.

But no worries Cub fans, because Cuban will have just as much passion for the Cubs as you.

Cuban is a fan's owner. This is the kind of guy you're likely to strike up a conversation about NFL playoff match-ups at a bar in the airport; and can get a good stock quote while you're at it.

MLB could use a mind like Cuban's. His extraordinary marketing ideas and strategies would be an asset to Major League Baseball just as it has for the NBA.

Behind all the fines and irritating whining is an incredibly innovative individual who happens to have the money to back all his ideas.

Can you imagine the impact Cuban would have on the MLB; in particularly the umpires and the strike zone?

Will Cuban alienate umpires like he has over the years with NBA officials?

Who can even fathom Mark Cuban and current Cubs manager Lew Pinella working together? Just imagine Lew storming out of the dug-out; you add Cuban to the picture and you've got yourself one Major League Soap-Opera.

And how does baseball's Commissioner Bug Selig really feel about Cuban wanting in Major League Baseball? Given Cuban's history with confronting authority in the NBA; along with his several run-ins with NBA Commissioner David Stern; Bug Selig is probably not too fund of Cuban's ownership portfolio. And if you're thinking Commissioner Bug Selig won't have any say on who gets the Chicago Baseball franchise--you'd better think again.

But Selig shouldn't worry at all. Can you imagine what a fine for Mark Cuban could amount in MLB? He could be looking at an annual total of 5 million dollars in total fines from both the NBA and MLB if he decides to carry his act into baseball.

If it's one thing that Chicago Cubs fans are guaranteed from an owner like Cuban; it's his commitment to winning. His record shows with the complete transformation of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.

Perhaps, the dot-com billionaire seeks the challenge of bringing the old glory days back to Wrigley Field.