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Cuban High Bidder for Cubs: Could America’s Team Go To An Anti-American?
RFFM.org ^ | August 7, 2008 | Dan Gura

Posted on 08/07/2008 8:28:23 AM PDT by Daniel T. Zanoza

Mark Cuban’s Funding of Movies Criticizing U.S. Armed Forces Make Cuban a Poor Suitor for Chicago Cubs

On April 2nd, 2007 the Tribune Company announced their intention to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team following the 2007 season. This decision was made because shareholders compelled the newspaper (TRB: NYSE) to market itself for sale as well as divest certain component parts--including their baseball team.

Like any smart seller in a buyer's market, they spruced up the old ballpark (the second oldest in the major leagues) to make it more saleable. The long overdue rebuilding of the playing surface at Wrigley Field began immediately after the Cubs were eliminated (in a sweep) from the first round of the playoffs. The Friendly Confines, which had previously been valued at $90 million, most certainly will now fetch top dollar.

And a potential buyer has stepped forth, one with enough assets to make the team a perennial World Series contender. Mark Cuban, controversial owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, has expressed a desire to purchase this venerable baseball franchise. He told ABC News, "when a team that's so iconic and such an amazing team like the Cubbies come up, that's an opportunity I couldn't let slip by." Cuban reportedly is set to offer $1.3 billion for a team which Forbes magazine valued in 2005 at $448 million (1). But does the perfect smile which Cuban flashed as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC) hide a darker secret? ...

(Excerpt) Read more at rffm.typepad.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Military/Veterans; Society; Sports
KEYWORDS: chicagocubs; chicagotribune; markcuban; wrigleyfield

1 posted on 08/07/2008 8:28:23 AM PDT by Daniel T. Zanoza
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza
Could America’s Team Go To An Anti-American?

Obama is bidding on the Cubs?

2 posted on 08/07/2008 8:29:36 AM PDT by Always Right (Obama: more arrogant than Bill Clinton, more naive than Jimmy Carter, and more liberal than LBJ.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

Might as well, we don’t seem to have any problem selling out the the rest of the anti American world.


3 posted on 08/07/2008 8:33:12 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Voting Conservative isn't for the faint of heart.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

The Cubs are America’s Team? Hah! Since when?


4 posted on 08/07/2008 8:35:38 AM PDT by pgkdan (Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions - G.K. Chesterton)
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To: pgkdan

Since WGN started broadcasting almost all of their games all across the country. That’s why I became a Cubs fan growing up in Tulsa.


5 posted on 08/07/2008 8:41:33 AM PDT by demshateGod (the GOP is dead to me)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

The Cubs are America’s team?


6 posted on 08/07/2008 8:45:38 AM PDT by popdonnelly (Boycott Washington D.C. until they allow gun ownership)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza
The Cubs are America's Team?

Why not the Padres? Or the Pirates?

7 posted on 08/07/2008 8:47:11 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

For a minute I thought the high bidder was Fidel Castro ... this other ‘Cuban’ is just as bad.


8 posted on 08/07/2008 8:52:08 AM PDT by bassmaner (Hey commies: I am a white male, and I am guilty of NOTHING! Sell your 'white guilt' elsewhere.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

Cubs fan here in Sweet Home Alabama!!!


9 posted on 08/07/2008 8:52:52 AM PDT by 2nd Bn, 11th Mar (The "P" in Democrat stands for patriotism.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza
As a cubbie fan, I can't say they are America's team, although they do have a huge following and there is a soft spot in many sports fan's heart for them over the years.

On one hand, I think Cuban would be a great owner and would o well to continue their current success, as he has done in Dallas. On the other hand, he has proven to be a real horses ass with his camera hogging and this anti-war movie BS. He does seem to compartmentalize his business interests, though, so I doubt it would be an issue.

plus, the anti-war thing has pretty much been played out. The movies were all duds, and the world knows now that we are winning.

10 posted on 08/07/2008 8:54:09 AM PDT by ilgipper
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

He’ll make sure Dan Rather proofreads the paperwork


11 posted on 08/07/2008 8:56:35 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: demshateGod

Glad you like them...still doesn’t make them America’s team. I think that claim is absurd.


12 posted on 08/07/2008 9:17:34 AM PDT by pgkdan (Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions - G.K. Chesterton)
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To: popdonnelly

Not as far as this American is concerned.


13 posted on 08/07/2008 9:18:09 AM PDT by pgkdan (Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions - G.K. Chesterton)
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To: bassmaner
this other ‘Cuban’ is just as bad.

He really isn't. He is just someone that got a bit lucky in life (but bear in mind that he MADE that luck with a lot of personal effort) and doesn't always realize the consequences of investments. He is no more (or perhaps no less) a villain than someone who has bought shares in Philip Morris.

There is a lot about Mark Cuban that doesn't get mentioned on the news that if you knew about might change your mind. Talk to the families of some of those wounded or killed in Iraq (or just do a search for "Fallen Patriot fund") and you'll probably change your opinion of the man.

Mark Cuban is a Texan by choice. That alone says something about the man.

14 posted on 08/07/2008 9:27:35 AM PDT by Technogeeb
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

A century without a world series title? Maybe the team for the masochists of America.


15 posted on 08/07/2008 9:33:59 AM PDT by xp38
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To: Technogeeb

I wasn’t aware of the Fallen Patriot Fund.

Although I have to say, residing in Texas must save Mark Cuban a boatload in taxes, considering how Texas does not have a state income tax.


16 posted on 08/07/2008 9:35:12 AM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Yes, Mr. Pickens, we CAN drill our way out of this.....)
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation
Although I have to say, residing in Texas must save Mark Cuban a boatload in taxes

I hope so. He certainly deserves the money more than the government does since he's the one that created it. He also seems to be doing a lot better job of helping others with the money than any government social program ever accomplished.

Bear in mind that he made his way to Texas long before he became wealthy, so the choice wasn't merely one of low taxes. People don't generally move to Texas because they are rich, they move to Texas because Texas is a great environment for becoming rich (where "rich" is a relative term, and includes things like open space, land ownership, and a greater level of personal freedom than can be found in most other states).

17 posted on 08/07/2008 9:55:26 AM PDT by Technogeeb
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To: pgkdan

If any team is America’s team, who would it be other than the Cubs? Anytime they show up at a ballpark in any city, they have a large amount of fans. Boston, New York, and St. Louis are the same way but aren’t nearly as represented as the Cubs.

The claim might not be true but it isn’t absurd either.


18 posted on 08/07/2008 2:09:32 PM PDT by demshateGod (the GOP is dead to me)
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To: Technogeeb

You’ve made some excellent points.

I’ve always assumed people moved to Texas because it’s a good place to establish a business with a minimum of government interference. It’s always helps to have politicians at the state and local level who advocate low taxes and less regulations.

Plus, the reasons you mentioned......wide open spaces, lots of land, less interference in people’s life by government, etc.

I remember one time, a caller asked Rush Limbaugh where he (the caller) should move in order to live in a conservative area of the country. Rush suggested the caller move to the northern part of Texas.


19 posted on 08/07/2008 3:25:46 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Yes, Mr. Pickens, we CAN drill our way out of this.....)
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