Three Bidders Left in Cubs Sale, One of Whom You May Know

This morning, I ever-so-briefly covered the news that John Canning's ownership group, long considered the frontrunner for Cubs ownership, had its low offer laughed out of the room. Initially, it seemed Canning would be able to submit a second, higher bid, but according to the Associated Press' source that's not the case. Canning is out of the picture, and only three remain. This should be fun:

Included in the second round are Internet billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban; the Ricketts family, which founded the online brokerage that is now TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Sports Acquisition Holding Corp. that includes former baseball home run king Henry Aaron and former Republican Congressman Jack Kemp. The last group is believed to be teaming with another bidder who submitted an offer in the initial round.

One name sort of sticks out, doesn't it? All eyes are on Cuban now, as the Tribune Company has officially proven they care far less about Major League Baseball's ownership politics -- the idea that Cuban is too brash for baseball doesn't seem to bother Sam Zell -- than the amount of zeros on the napkin.

How many zeros? All three remaining bidders bid at least $1 billion. (For the Chicago Cubs. That actually happened.)