The Chicago Cubans?

Except for George Steinbrenner, how many owners of major league baseball teams can the average person name? Sorry, Ted Turner sold his interest in the Atlanta Braves years ago. Unlike their counterparts in other major professional sports, baseball owners like to remain in the background and they certainly don't like it when someone tries to rock the boat.

It appears that prominent boat rocker Mark Cuban is the highest bidder to purchase the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and all that comes with owning that franchise. But is being the highest bidder enough? In 2002, Charles F. Dolan, the chairman of Cablevision, was denied the opportunity to purchase the Boston Red Sox because the other owners and commissioner Bud Selig didn't feel he fit in. Instead, the franchise was awarded to the third highest bidder, John Henry, who, in a slight ironic twist, is now a major Cuban supporter.

All of this is examined in an interesting story in today's New York Times. But one question that is not answered is whether, if Cuban is successful in his pursuit of the Cubs, he will sell the Dallas Mavericks. It is generally agreed that the Mavericks' window of opportunity for an NBA title is shut and it will be a long time before it re-opens. With all the improvements in Western Conference teams, there is genuine concern whether the Mavs will even make the playoffs this year. This is arguably the best time for Cuban to sell if he has any desire to. However, Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer posed exactly that question to Cuban recently and the Mavs owner dashed one of his famous e-mails to Wilonsky telling him in no uncertain terms he had no intention of selling. In fact, it was in the same no uncertain terms Hillary Clinton used when she said she had no intention of dropping out of the presidential nomination race until the Democratic National Convention later this month.