[TomSportsHack]

The Tribune Corporation has sold itself to a man whose reputation is as a guy who sells off the parts of companies he can get good money for, then burns down the rest.

The good news for Cubs fans is that said man (Sam Zell) plans to sell off the Cubs. But not until after the season.

http://tinyurl.com/2z9zt8

Early Monday, following a weekend of heated negotiations, the company's board accepted a revised $34-dollar-a-share proposal from Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell to take the company private in a complex, $8.2 billion deal structured around an employee stock ownership plan.

In addition, the Tribune said it intends to sell the Chicago Cubs and its 25 percent stake in local sports cable channel Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Zell is a minority owner of the White Sox, which is why he's putting the Cubs on the market. MLB rules prevent people from having an ownership stake in two teams. Sadly, Zell himself might be the best choice for a long-term owner --- he's a Chicago resident with an estimated net worth over $4.5 billion, and to say he has personality is understating the matter. But he's not interested in being the Windy City's version of Steinbrenner, or even its version of Mark Cuban. Of course, Zell is worth about 2-1/2 times Cuban.

It goes without saying that the Trib is putting the best possible spin on itself that it can. For a more unbiased look at the sale, I recommend the Chicago Sun-Times, which at the moment is picking up the AP's coverage:

Its strength as a sports franchise -- and the lure of potentially steering them to their first championship in a century -- has attracted the interest of many potential buyers. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, actor Bill Murray and columnist George Will are among those rumored to have interest, along with numerous Chicago business figures.

Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and former owner of both the Suns and baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, told The Associated Press in November that he would have ''great interest'' in buying his hometown baseball franchise if it became available and had already held preliminary discussions with others who might join him in a bid.

Others who expressed interest in buying the Cubs recently include Chicago businessman Don Levin, owner of the Chicago Wolves minor-league hockey team, and a prospective ownership group of 15 investors that includes Tom Begel, chairman of Chicago-based TMB Industries.

As a survivor of the newspaper industry I can honestly say that this should be much better for the Cubs in the long run, even though the Trib has loosened up the purse strings a bit in the past few years. The current crop of newspaper managers are trying to squeeze blood out of every penny to maintain a profit margin that the Mafia would give its eye teeth for.

Cuban would make an interesting MLB owner but the Cubs are expected to sell for $500 million, if not more. He'd have to drop over a quarter of his net worth to buy the team, and given the sheer number of projects he has going (HDNet, a movie production company, a movie theater chain and several Internet companies), a half-bill might be more than he can swing.

[jammin' jamey]

As a survivor of the newspaper industry I can honestly say that this should be much better for the Cubs in the long run, even though the Trib has loosened up the purse strings a bit in the past few years.

I would have to agree with you (believe it or not) on this subject. Yes, the Tribune Company has loosened it's purse strings on FA's, however some of the personnel they've spent their money on is interesting - Jason Marquis and Ted Lily to anchor their pitching staff behind Zambrano is a good example. Plus, they overpaid for Soriano without a doubt.

The announcement of the sell on the eve of the start of the season was a bad move IMO. Lou Pinella held a players meeting this morning trying to keep the players focused on the game on the field and not in the front office before their loss to Cincinnati.