Most of this Crain's Chicago Business article was completely over my head, but I believe I've grasped the essence of it:

Potential buyers of Tribune Company aren't exactly clawing at each other to get to the head of the line. As a matter of fact, they haven't even materialized.

According to the piece, buyout firms are staying away because of the generally depressed state of the traditional media business and a dramatic fall-off in the Trib's advertising revenue.

If bids, which are due in March, come in low or not at all, the company might have to consider spinning off and selling individual properties: the tv stations, the newspapers, and, I would have to guess, the Chicago National League Ballclub.

I think the upshot of this is that an individual, either by himself or as the front man for a group of investors, could purchase the team directly from Tribune Company.

I have a picture in my mind. In it, Mark Cuban is sitting directly behind the Cubs dugout, wearing an Alfonso Soriano jersey. And the only time the words "Chicago Tribune" are seen or spoken in Wrigley Field is when they buy an ad on the centerfield message board, just like everybody else.


Note: John Kass offers an unfortunately sympathetic column about WSCR's Mike North in the Wednesday Tribune. North, the subject of Tuesday's post, reiterates how sorry he is for having called Jae Kuk Ryu "a Chinaman."

(I forgot to mention yesterday that in addition to being a dimwit and a rumor-monger, North is also a practicing bigot.)