qwerty Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 Now i can usually care less about the cubs but i found this interesting... Cuban can't discount notion of owning Cubs July 15, 2005 BY CAROL SLEZAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Cubs owner Mark Cuban. It has a certain ring to it, don't you think? Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, will play the role of guest conductor during the seventh-inning stretch today at Wrigley Field. But in the future, he conceivably could play a much larger role in the Cubs organization. Or so Cubs fans can hope. Cuban is a born-and-bred Pittsburgh Pirates fan, but he knows a good investment when he sees one. If the folks in Tribune Tower ever find themselves in the mood to talk sale, Cuban would listen. "The Cubbies are such an institution, if they became available, it would certainly be exciting to consider,'' he said via e-mail. Of course, it is merely a notion at present. But who knows what the future might bring? The forward-thinking Cuban, who made his fortune from the creation -- and subsequent sale -- of an Internet broadcasting company, typically is a step ahead of most sports executives. For instance, Cuban recently made headlines after broaching the issue of advertising on NBA jerseys on his Web log at www.blogmaverick.com. "Commissioner [David] Stern and the NBA have made a significant investment into making the NBA an international league,'' Cuban wrote in May. "Starting with the Dream Team in 1992, the visibility and popularity of the league and our players have exploded. Hundreds and hundreds of millions have watched our games in China. Our games are shown in more than 212 countries. Our merchandise is sold around the world. We are probably the second most popular game around the world, behind only soccer. "What the NBA doesn't have at this moment ... is a way to sell all of those fans and eyeballs to international companies that market globally.'' The answer, Cuban says, is to have companies pay a huge fee to have their logo stitched onto NBA uniforms. And why not? When Spanish soccer club Real Madrid invades Soldier Field on Saturday, its players' jerseys will carry sponsorship logos. And both NASCAR drivers and their cars brandish sponsor logos. "Putting a logo on our jerseys is the way for us to open the door to every major international company who may only do limited business in the U.S. to become a customer of the NBA and its teams,'' Cuban wrote in his blog. When asked about the possibility during the NBA Finals, Stern said he "didn't doubt'' that it would eventually happen. When Cuban and Stern, who have famously feuded, feel similarly about something, you know it's only a matter of time before that something becomes reality. (According to Cuban, he and Stern are getting along famously these days. "If both of us weren't already happily married, we would probably date, things are so good,'' Cuban said.) http://www.suntimes.com/output/slez...pt-carol15.html If this potentially happened alot of sox fans would probally not be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 The Trib is making too much money. They would never sell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitetrain8601 Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jul 15, 2005 -> 01:15 PM) The Trib is making too much money. They would never sell Got that right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 Cuban has an email address that he supposedly responds to himself. A friend of mine has emailed him a couple times and once joked to him that he should buy the White Sox. If I remember correctly he responded that owning a baseball team is bad investment. This was probably a couple years ago. FWIW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 As the Cubs stand now they are a money making machine for the Tribune, there's no way they sell them. In fact I wouldn't be suprised that if the Cubs fail to make the post-season this year the higher ups in the Tribune Tower make the Cubs cut payroll, since they still will draw huge attendance with a .500 ball-club Various radio talk shows have discussed this scenario as this is really a make or break year for the Cubs as far as payroll goes, if they fail it will be a youth movement next year, that's one of reasons speculated why their GM is unwilling to get rid of young talent, he knows he might need some of it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dam8610 Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Hey, maybe he'll get them out of that dumpster they play in now. Other than that, I don't like the idea, because I like Mark Cuban. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Jul 15, 2005 -> 10:46 PM) As the Cubs stand now they are a money making machine for the Tribune, there's no way they sell them. In fact I wouldn't be suprised that if the Cubs fail to make the post-season this year the higher ups in the Tribune Tower make the Cubs cut payroll, since they still will draw huge attendance with a .500 ball-club Various radio talk shows have discussed this scenario as this is really a make or break year for the Cubs as far as payroll goes, if they fail it will be a youth movement next year, that's one of reasons speculated why their GM is unwilling to get rid of young talent, he knows he might need some of it soon. Don't look now, but the Cubs are in a great position for 2006. They have a $100 million payroll now, and over $20 million coming off of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wise Master Buehrle Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 QUOTE(marsh @ Jul 15, 2005 -> 02:26 PM) Cuban has an email address that he supposedly responds to himself. A friend of mine has emailed him a couple times and once joked to him that he should buy the White Sox. If I remember correctly he responded that owning a baseball team is bad investment. This was probably a couple years ago. FWIW <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Your right. I shot Cuban an email a LONG time ago about buying the Sox and he responded with he will never buy a baseball team but also said it would be a thrill to f*** over the Cubs. Now he's calling them the "Cubbies". What a f***ing moron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fry the twinkies Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 It said in the article he wants to buy the Pirates. If he bought the Cubs, MLB would have 2 teams w/ corrupt business: The Cubs and the Yankees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 QUOTE(fry the twinkies @ Jul 17, 2005 -> 11:28 PM) It said in the article he wants to buy the Pirates. If he bought the Cubs, MLB would have 2 teams w/ corrupt business: The Cubs and the Yankees. That would at least make sense. From a business standpoint, the Cubs are worth as much as they are going to be worth. As with Cuban's purchase of the Mavericks, he would be looking for something he could get some value out of. He would definately be looking at the perpetually downtrodden teams where with some changes their value could potentially explode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fry the twinkies Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Don't look now, but the Cubs are in a great position for 2006. They have a $100 million payroll now, and over $20 million coming off of the books. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They're already free from So-So's contract. They payed Baltimore $16M to take So-So. There was even an article in Tribune business section that that payment hurt 1st-quarter earnings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 QUOTE(fry the twinkies @ Jul 18, 2005 -> 06:35 PM) They're already free from So-So's contract. They payed Baltimore $16M to take So-So. There was even an article in Tribune business section that that payment hurt 1st-quarter earnings. So which years budget did that affect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSox05 Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 I think he wants to buy the Pirates. It probably wouldnt hurt, that Franchise is dead in the water. I mean there best player is canadian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFanForever Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Jul 20, 2005 -> 03:59 PM) I think he wants to buy the Pirates. It probably wouldnt hurt, that Franchise is dead in the water. I mean there best player is canadian If he did buy the Pirates I bet he could turn them around into a contender pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Jul 20, 2005 -> 10:43 AM) If he did buy the Pirates I bet he could turn them around into a contender pretty quickly. Yeah, I agree. For starters he would increse the buzz automatically and jack up season ticket sales, which is extremely imporant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 16, 2005 -> 09:15 AM) Don't look now, but the Cubs are in a great position for 2006. They have a $100 million payroll now, and over $20 million coming off of the books. Yes but they have to pay Prior and Zambrano and Maddux is due liek $12M isn't he. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I would be thrilled if Cuban bought the Pirates. He would make them contenders in a couple of years which is good because they have a good fanbase if they put together a good team... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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