Sullivan - Cuban moving up on the outside

[David]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080802-mark-cuban-chicago-cubs,1,6430716.story

 

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has gone from being a long shot to one of the favorites in the bidding to buy the Cubs, picking up support from NBA Commissioner David Stern and others as the field of prospective owners narrows.

 

Crain's Chicago Business recently quoted one of the bidders as saying Cuban is now "the lead guy" in the battle to buy the Cubs, while Boston Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to the New York Times that he could think of "no one better suited to reverse the fortunes of the Cubs for the long term" than Cuban.

[XZero771679666304]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080802-mark-cuban-chicago-cubs,1,6430716.story

 

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has gone from being a long shot to one of the favorites in the bidding to buy the Cubs, picking up support from NBA Commissioner David Stern and others as the field of prospective owners narrows.

 

Crain's Chicago Business recently quoted one of the bidders as saying Cuban is now "the lead guy" in the battle to buy the Cubs, while Boston Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to the New York Times that he could think of "no one better suited to reverse the fortunes of the Cubs for the long term" than Cuban.

 

This is good. Especially to see another MLB owner publicly supporting Cuban's bid.

[inari]

Awesome! I really believe this will happen.

[David]

I'm starting to believe more too.

 

I hope it happens...

[badnews]

You're being duped! All this is is the traditional raising of the hopes and starting to belief before the crushing of said hopes. It's what the organization excels at!

[third eye]

You know, there are a lot of things going on this year with this team that are out of character. Is it possible that we are undergoing a similar transition to the Red Sox of a few years ago? New ownership, new management, new tradition? Let a brother dream...

[CyHawk_Cub]

You're being duped! All this is is the traditional raising of the hopes and starting to belief before the crushing of said hopes. It's what the organization excels at!

 

That's kinda my reaction too. Though I have to admit that I've been paranoid about Selig & his buddies tampering w/ the sale all along. I'm interested in seeing whether Canning ends up throwing in w/ another ownership group--such a group might be able to outbid Cuban. I've been eating a lot of crow lately as it pertains to the Cubs, so I hope come this winter, I'll end up being wrong again & Cuban is the owner.

[badger1679666666]

I can't let myself believe. I'm only going to be let down no?

 

God, sometimes I hate being a Cubs fan, and I wonder why I'm making my 2 year old niece a Cubs fan too. Seems like it should be considered child abues.

[Peoriaman]

There are no concerns that any of the possible bidders will not be approved by the other owners. That is a done deal. Edited August 3, 2008 by Peoriaman

[mcgoobs]

Given the openly contentious relationship between Stern and Cuban, it's surprising he's giving Cuban a supporting word.

[C.C.]

It's a done deal. Cuban will be the new owner of the Cubs. You heard it here first.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If Cuban buys the Cubs, I'm throwing a party!

[CUBZ99]

Cuban would be great, but I have no complaints about the current ownership. They have opened up the purse strings and put together one of the better Cubs teams I have witnessed in my lifetime.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

The NYT has an article on Cuban's bid for the Cubs today as well.

 

Link

 

And this part is great!

 

And none have had an exchange on radio like the one Cuban had in May on Dan Patrick’s syndicated radio show. Imagine what his rivals or the sitting Major League Baseball owners thought when they heard him respond to Patrick’s line of questioning about whether pursuing the Cubs was like chasing the girl who’s “expensive and you may not have a shot at her.”

 

Cuban: “If there’s a hooker you want, it all comes down to price, right? And I think that’s a better analogy.”

 

Patrick: “So the Cubs are your hooker?”

 

Cuban: “Well, yes, bad choice of words.”

 

That might be sig worthy.

 

But, more along the lines of why I personally like Cuban...this is noteworthy.

 

For all his excesses, Cuban, 50, is a successful owner. The Mavericks have averaged 57.3 wins in eight full seasons with him as their courtside benefactor, have reached the playoffs in each of those seasons and lost to Miami in the 2006 finals.

 

and then this is interesting...

 

“The best references I have will come from other N.B.A. owners who know what my contributions as a partner are,” Cuban wrote, adding that “multiple N.B.A. owners have asked if they could participate in our attempts to purchase the Cubs.”

[Fro]

Cuban would be great, but I have no complaints about the current ownership. They have opened up the purse strings and put together one of the better Cubs teams I have witnessed in my lifetime.

 

They're doing well this year, but if Lou hadn't come around to the fact that OBP is important they'd still be clueless.

 

Cuban's very much a SABR guy, so the "Red Sox of the NL" is a good analogy.

[Soul]

Given the openly contentious relationship between Stern and Cuban, it's surprising he's giving Cuban a supporting word.

 

Is it though? Public squabbles aside, Stern likely realizes more than most just how much Cuban has done for the NBA in that area of the country. His support shows the other owners that whatever incidents have happened with Cuban as an NBA owner, the benefits have far, far outweighed the negatives.

[Sammy Sofa]

Given the openly contentious relationship between Stern and Cuban, it's surprising he's giving Cuban a supporting word.

 

Is it though? Public squabbles aside, Stern likely realizes more than most just how much Cuban has done for the NBA in that area of the country. His support shows the other owners that whatever incidents have happened with Cuban as an NBA owner, the benefits have far, far outweighed the negatives.

 

He's the Manny of sports franchise owners.

[jiml60]

Cuban would be great, but I have no complaints about the current ownership. They have opened up the purse strings and put together one of the better Cubs teams I have witnessed in my lifetime.

 

They're doing well this year, but if Lou hadn't come around to the fact that OBP is important they'd still be clueless.

 

Cuban's very much a SABR guy, so the "Red Sox of the NL" is a good analogy.

 

Plus the Cubs are spending someone else's money at this point. I'm not convinced that if the Cubs were up for sale, they would be spending like this, especially if MacPhail stayed.

[shnsajax]

Given the openly contentious relationship between Stern and Cuban, it's surprising he's giving Cuban a supporting word.

 

Is it though? Public squabbles aside, Stern likely realizes more than most just how much Cuban has done for the NBA in that area of the country. His support shows the other owners that whatever incidents have happened with Cuban as an NBA owner, the benefits have far, far outweighed the negatives.

 

He's the Manny of sports franchise owners.

 

I think he is more like the Jerry Jones of the NBA

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Given the openly contentious relationship between Stern and Cuban, it's surprising he's giving Cuban a supporting word.

 

Is it though? Public squabbles aside, Stern likely realizes more than most just how much Cuban has done for the NBA in that area of the country. His support shows the other owners that whatever incidents have happened with Cuban as an NBA owner, the benefits have far, far outweighed the negatives.

 

He's the Manny of sports franchise owners.

 

I think he is more like the Jerry Jones of the NBA

 

That's probably an accurate analogy. Cuban like Jerry is a bit of a maverick, but isn't completely off kilter. Both owners want to win and don't mind spending money to do so. Both are well liked by their players and both have detractors because neither will avoid the spotlight or shy away from controversy.

[Post Count Padder]

Please let this happen.

[David]

Cuban would be great, but I have no complaints about the current ownership. They have opened up the purse strings and put together one of the better Cubs teams I have witnessed in my lifetime.

 

You have to consider that a big part of that is likely because the team is up for sale, though.

[David]

There are no concerns that any of the possible bidders will not be approved by the other owners. That is a done deal.

 

Are you hearing that from your guy?

[Peoriaman]

Yes. The other owners have to approve who even gets to bid. Cuban was approved to get a bid package and both parties (Cubs and Cuban) wouldn't waste their time if the buyer wasn't acceptable.

[David]

Yes. The other owners have to approve who even gets to bid. Cuban was approved to get a bid package and both parties (Cubs and Cuban) wouldn't waste their time if the buyer wasn't acceptable.

 

But are the requirements for being approved as a bidder a bit more lax than for being approved as an owner?