The Cubs sale finally gets off the ground

At long last, the on-going sale of the Chicago Cubs has finally started, with opening bids having been submitted on Friday. According to the article, 7 groups submitted bids for the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the Tribune Company’s 25% stake in Comcast Sports Net Chicago. Sources say Mark Cuban was one of the bidders. Experts predict that the sale will fetch over $1 billion, helping Sam Zell knock off some of the $13 billion in debt he owes on the company, in particular, a lump sum payment of $750 million that is due in June 2009. Whether or not the deal gets done by then remains to be seen, and if it goes past that, what will happen when Cuban outbids Canning, but MLB accepts Canning remains to be seen as well. My personal wishes are that this sale drags beyond June 2009, making it more likely that if Cuban is to be rejected despite having the highest bid, Zell will sue saying he is entitled to the highest bid.