In our country's history of bizarre endorsements, I don't think Peter Gammons calling Mark Cuban's purchase of the Cubs a "great fit" is quite as shocking as say, Hunter S. Thompson rising from the grave to declare the need for another four years of Dubya, but it's pretty bizarre.

Gammons is as old school as it gets in baseball, but according to his most recent blog post, he wholeheartedly endorses Cuban as Cubs owner, despite the possibility that there may be forces (the obviously evil and heartless Commissioner Bud Selig) working against him.

But there is increasing speculation that Sam Zell, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Tribune Company, is not going to allow the Commissioner's Office to puppeteer the sale, and that Mark Cuban is in this thing far deeper than Selig and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf want to believe. NBA commissioner David Stern has told those associated with Cubs that Cuban is one of the NBA's best partners, and everyone appreciates that Cuban understands fans and marketing, and is one of the creative pioneers of the world of new media and would create a tremendous buzz throughout baseball that would be nothing but beneficial to the industry.

Nothing about Cuban is surprising anymore ... except perhaps that David Stern is giving him positive reviews. I kid, I kid. Kind of.

Cuban and Stern have gone head to head on plenty of stuff in his tenure as Dallas Mavericks owner, but the fact that he turned the team around and continues to be an innovative owner, desperately trading for Jason Kidd aside.

The "Mark Cuban for Cubs Owner" lobby is gaining steam. I just received an e-mail from a gentleman who has started a "Bring Cuban to the Cubs" campaign. The gist: all money raised will be donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, but only if Cuban is allowed to buy the team. The choice is clear, Major League Baseball: either you welcome the entrance of a new-money loudmouth into your sport, or you hate Jackie Robinson.

Kidding. The movement, at least, is interesting, and there are plenty of arguments for Cuban as Cubs owner. Doesn't mean I can't make fun of him.

Today's Dugout is after the jump. Special note: Cuban's screen name was imagined by B a long while back, and it's one of my all-time favorites.

The impending Cubs sale follows Mark Cuban everywhere he goes, but it's not like he's taking a cruise in Alaska, either; of course, if he hangs around the Cubs, he's going to make things even worse. Oh well: Cuban showed up to Kerry Wood's annual bowling charity event last night, and was subjected to some surely genius questions about the Cubs, which he answered politely and with a large dose of discretion.

Hey, Mark Cuban can be quiet! Who knew?

"This isn't about me; I'm just here to support a good organization," Cuban told a large media gathering outside the venue. "The Cubs have smart, smart people here," he said. "The team is doing great things. I just stay out of the way. Believe it or not, I can stay out of the way."

Showing up at Kerry Wood's charity event is not exactly what I'd call staying out of the way, but Cuban is playing this perfectly -- he's building his brand with Cubs fans as a reserved, yet fun, owner, balancing trips to the bleachers in Wrigley with the discreet quotes of a CEO. Not too shabby for a long shot.

Yesterday, we heard the news that Mark Cuban did something people as rich as Mark Cuban can do -- he bid a remarkably high $1.3 billion for the Cubs, well above common estimates of the Cubs value. That's, um, a lot of money for a baseball team, especially one that hasn't won a World Series since 1908.

Still, Cuban can apparently afford it, and that high bid mixed with his name recognition suddenly has him as the favorite to take the franchise:

Crain's Chicago Business recently quoted one of the bidders as saying Cuban is now "the lead guy" in the battle to buy the Cubs, while Boston Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to the New York Times that he could think of "no one better suited to reverse the fortunes of the Cubs for the long term" than Cuban. [...]

"I think the only thing we care about is that whoever gets it is committed to winning," he said. "We don't want someone coming in here and all they care about is making money and cutting payroll and putting it in his pocket."

If there's one thing Cuban's huge bid and general insane-but-sort-of-awesome demeanor suggest, it's that winning would be the top priority. Even at the cost of Cuban's antics, to Cubs fans, that has to sound like a pretty fair trade.

It hasn't exactly been a secret that current Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has long been interested in owning the Chicago Cubs. Whether he's sitting in the bleachers downing beers with the fans, or next to the Cubs dugout with the Tribune Company brass, Mark has made his intentions pretty clear.

The only question is whether or not Bud Selig and his buddies would ever allow Cuban to enter their exclusive fraternity of stuffy old white guys. It doesn't seem likely, so if Mark is going to have a real shot, he's going to have to blow away every other bidder for the team. Word on the street is that Cuban has already put in the biggest offer for the team, as he pulled $1.3 billion out of his pocket and put it on the table.

Cuban is reported to be the top bidder, at nearly $1.3 billion, but the auction will begin soon, after the applicants and their bankers delve further into the assets books.

"The Cubs are an amazing franchise and brand," Cuban wrote in an e-mail message. "I think the owner of any major sports franchise has two jobs: first, it's to work hard to win a championship year after year, and second, to be the caretaker of the franchise in the community."

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.)

There are some rumors that will never, ever go away. Mark Cuban's desire to buy the Cubs is one on of them. Today he went on the radio in Chicago to throw some more kindling in the fire. From the Chicago Sun-Times, here's the transcript of the key part of the interview:

Where are you on this whole thing about buying the Cubs:

Cuban: The books hopefully will come out today, Monday or Tuesday. Who knows, and then I'll get to work. All the accountants will start doing their things. Hopefully I'll be in the mix. I think I have a shot.

Are you an approved buyer in MLB:

Cuban: Naw, I'm gonna sneak in. I'm like, you know, I got a billion bucks, maybe I can sneak in. ... Yeah, I'm approved and that's why I'll be able to get a copy of the book and so hopefully I have as good a shot as anybody.

While I'm a little surprised that he's on the approved buyer's list, I'm still sticking with my gut feeling that while Selig might be happy to let Cuban own a low-tier franchise like his hometown Pirates (who are still not for sale), he's never going to let a potential loose cannon run one of his marquee franchises. Unless, of course, he let's Cuban's billion bucks do the talking.

OK, so the Mavericks are out of the NBA Playoffs, which to Mark Cuban has to feel like the equivalent of ending a long, arduous work day. You know what's great after a long, arduous work day? The Cubs, and a cold beer:

On other visits to Wrigley Field, he sat in the bleachers. But on Wednesday night, Mark Cuban sat in Tribune Co.'s front-row seats next to the Cubs' dugout. He declined to talk with media before the game, except to say he wanted to enjoy the Cubs and a beer. [...]

"Major League Baseball doesn't need me," he said. "I'm just a fan."

See? Beer 'n a ballgame -- it'll cure what ails you. Of course, unlike most fans, Cuban can not only afford to sit in the Tribune Company's first-row seats, he can afford to put in a realistic bid to purchase the Cubs from that capitalist dog Sam Zell. Whether he will choose to do so is still up in the air. Whether anyone should care every time Mark Cuban shows up at a Cubs game is yet another (considerably more valid) story altogether.

The ownership situation with the Chicago Cubs still hasn't been figured out yet, but it's already got some people wondering what new ownership is going to bring to this city.

There are some Cubs fans out there holding out hope that somehow Mark Cuban will buy the team, and magically transform the franchise from lovable losers to despised winners, but that's just not going to happen. Get it out of your head now, Cubs fans.

The reality is that whoever takes over the Cubs probably isn't going to do much to make things better as much as they're going to try and find a way to squeeze every last cent out of this team.

But how do you get more money out of Wrigley Field? The Cubs already have sent out a letter to season ticket holders letting them know that they're raising ticket prices again-somebody's gotta pay for Alfonso Soriano's contract-anywhere from 20-25% depending on where the seats are. Aside from raising ticket prices, the new ownership will probably start selling advertising everywhere they can squeeze it in.

But still, with the ivy on the walls of Wrigley, space is limited. So new owners will have to find another way to make money, and one thing they may possibly do is start selling personal seat licenses, or PSL's to season ticket holders.

If it seems like the Cubs should have been bought and sold already, well, you may be right. Since the team went up for grabs in April, the process has been going slow -- very slow. And, it doesn't appear as if things are rounding into form anytime soon.

From Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune:

.. it was believed that incoming Chairman Sam Zell would spin off Wrigley Field and the team occupying it at some point in the final quarter of 2007. But two highly placed MLB sources confirmed Thursday that Commissioner Bud Selig had been unable to keep the process moving at that timetable, ruling out a sale before the end of the year and making one before the Cubs go to training camp next spring highly unlikely.

"I'm afraid that is right," a source said. "I can't say for sure why this is moving at the pace it is, but the pace of it has been frustrating. We had hoped it would pick up some steam, but it hasn't."

[ ... ]

The slow pace of the process may be aggravating to the potential purchasers, but it doesn't appear to be causing any complications in the operations of the Cubs. General manager Jim Hendry believes he will have the authority to fill the team's needs this winter, saying he has received assurances the payroll will increase.

You know, this is just fantastic. Think if you're Jim Hendry right now. Heard the payroll is increasing and you don't know who the owner is going to be? Spend, spend and spend, baby. If it turns out to be Mark Cuban, I'm sure he won't mind.