Kuzul

Bud Selig lives the thug life—at least that’s the word from disgruntled Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. 

The NBA owner spoke with Jay Leno on Thursday’s The Tonight Show and discussed a great many things, most of which did little to help his cause to one day own an MLB franchise. 

The video posted covers what he has to say about the MLB commissioner and the suspension levied against Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. 

The Dallas Morning News transcribed Cuban’s thoughts on Rodriguez’s suspension: 

Horrible. I think it’s disgraceful what major league baseball is trying to do to him. Not that he doesn’t deserve to be suspended. He does. But they have policies in place, first-time offender 50 games, second time a 100. 214 games? That’s personal. 

It should be noted Rodriguez has been suspended 211 games—a suspension he formally appealed on Wednesday, allowing him an opportunity to play out the rest of the season. 

Cuban then went on to recount the time he attempted to bid for the Texas Rangers. As ESPN reminds us, the successful Mavericks owner bid $1.3 billion for the Cubs in 2008 but was not allowed into the final bidding process the following year. 

He then attempted to procure the Rangers with a bid of $600 million to no avail—giving him a sense the majors are indeed a “good ol‘ boys” club, and he doesn’t mind sharing that sentiment. 

We don’t pretend to know exactly why Selig or MLB officials would apparently shun Cuban. It’s clear the outspoken Mavericks owner, who is known to chirp at NBA referees, would bring a voice and persona that, while beloved by fans, might make the league uncomfortable. 

Of course, that is all conjecture, much the same as Cuban’s sentiments that Selig is not a man who likes to be tested. 

In an odd turn, Rodriguez has an ally in Cuban. Unfortunately for the Yankees star, that doesn’t help his cause, because Selig doesn’t seem to be all that fond of the Cubes. 

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Yankee fans probably know by now that the son of George shot down reports in the New York Daily News earlier this week that the Yankees were for sale.

Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner, who now runs the most famous franchise in American sports with brother Hank, called the report “complete fiction.”

He said he expected his family to own the Yankees for years to come.

Perhaps the Daily News doesn’t have a reliable source but I don’t think that’s the case. For all we know someone in the Yankees organization leaked it to see what the reaction would be.

Or perhaps the topic was broached at a meeting of the Yankee higher-ups who were speculating what the franchise would get given the $2.15 billion that a group led by Magic Johnson paid to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, as an old Brooklyn Dodger fan I know the Boys of Summer are also one of the iconic sports teams. They are not, however, the Yankees. A story that ran in USA Today and other publications quoted experts saying the Yankees may be worth around $4 billion.

That is a staggering amount given that it was only in March that Forbes named the Yankees the most valuable Major League Baseball franchise, worth $1.85 billion.

Obviously the sale of the Dodgers is a game-changer and a primary reason why the Steinbrenner family might actually contemplate selling the team for what amounts to all the money in the world.

First, there is no replacing George Steinbrenner, the tyrannical Boss who micro-managed the Yankees back to prominence when he bought the franchise from CBS for $10 million in 1973.

George Steinbrenner brought about the free-spending ways of sports owners, paying lavishly for free agents and then demanding they earn every dime he paid them.

Imagine what he would be saying about the 2012 Yankees?

Neither of George’s sons can ever hope to emulate their bombastic father, although my feeling is that Hank Steinbrenner might try.

Hal, however, is managing partner and appears to be the voice of the family. And perhaps he would be more inclined to end the Steinbrenner era and sell for a price he probably never imagined.

Nothing is forever and the Steinbrenners know that when their father bought the team, it was no longer the powerhouse it had been in the 1950s and early 60s. With an aging roster and saddled with a huge payroll that will be difficult to trim, it is conceivable that the Yankees will have a few lean years in the near future.

Why not get out and let another ego-maniac have the stage.

The problem is who can afford $3-4 billion? It might take a village, as the saying goes.

But there has to be a front man and there are some candidates who might not be able to resist.

Here are a few: 

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For the second time in the last three years, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has fallen short in his quest to purchase a Major League Baseball team.

A couple days ago, we learned that Cuban put a bid on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are currently for sale by current owner Frank McCourt.

Via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, here’s the bad news for Cuban:

Seeing as how there were more than 10 opening bids placed on the Dodgers, it’s not exactly a shock that Cuban didn’t make the first cut.

We don’t know what Cuban’s bid was, but we do know that he told Shaikin back in November that he thought McCourt’s price tag was too high. McCourt has been known to value the Dodgers at anywhere between $1 and $1.5 billion.

“At that price, I wasn’t interested,” Cuban said in November.

Cuban tried to buy the Texas Rangers in 2010 but was outbid by Nolan Ryan’s group. USA Today called it a “victory” for Major League Baseball, as the league blocked Cuban from buying the Chicago Cubs and likely would have been slow or even unwilling to accept his ownership of the Rangers.

With Cuban’s bid for the Dodgers falling short, MLB is now 3-for-3 against Cuban.

There are a lot of Dodgers fans out there who are going to be disappointed with this news. Cuban may not be well-liked by the higher-ups in the league office, but he’s a fan favorite. 

The good news for these same Dodgers fans, according to Shaikin, is that Magic Johnson and Joe Torre are still in the running, as is hedge-fund mogul Steven Cohen.

So when this thing is all said and done, somebody with a lot of money is going to own the Dodgers. That should be music to the ears of the franchise’s fans.

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It would have been nice to be the first to report this idea, but they’re the L.A. Times, so whattaya gonna do?

Still, it’s nice to examine the possibility, as there are chances the Los Angeles Dodgers and their legion of loyal fans could see the team come under new ownership by a man determined to be a champion.

Looking at the dollar figure Mark Cuban put on the auction table, a cool $598 million (Yes, that’s 598 followed by six zeros), Dodgers fans have confidence Cuban has the cash.

That’s currently concern No. 1 for the Dodgers organization, as it appears their allowance is tied up in deciding who gets the frequent flyer miles.

In addition to recent reports of how much money Cuban is willing to invest to own an MLB team, there have been reports that the judge hearing Frank and Jamie McCourt’s case may force Frank to sell the team if they can’t settle their squabble soon.

Thus far, putting the Boys in Blue up for sale seems more and more like a feasible situation.

Other reports have leaked information on the McCourts’ spending habits, including therapy sessions and lavish vacations spent apart. The McCourts have even employed a kind of palm reader in efforts to reconcile their differences.  

If Cuban were to enter into the bidding for the Dodgers, it would be the third team in Major League Baseball he has tried to snag.

The tenacious owner of the Dallas Mavericks first tried to buy the Chicago Cubs, but the Ricketts family beat him to the punch.

Recently, it was the Texas Rangers that caught Cuban’s eye, and this time he even put in a higher bid, but was foiled by former Ranger Nolan Ryan and business partner Chuck Greenberg.

However, Cuban didn’t seem at all distraught about losing out again, which may indicate his plans to keep trying as long as the fish stays on the hook.

Cuban would bring a fiery, winning attitude to Los Angeles, along with guaranteed financial stability, free from drama and angry estranged wives attempting to take him for all he’s worth.

Having come in second place for the Rangers, it would appear Cuban no longer has fierce competition. 

So now Dodgers fans play the waiting game while being tortured by one shutout loss after another. General manager Ned Colletti saw his allowance cut significantly, but did what he could before the deadline. The Dodgers remain without a power bat in the lineup, and no money or trade bait to work with.

The certainty: Things won’t get better any time soon, but the oasis of a championship run may be a shorter trek across the desert if the Dodgers receive an owner like Mark Cuban.

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This is the day a lot of people have been waiting for since the decision came down that the Texas Rangers would go up for auction. At this moment it’s a two team race, so to speak, as to who will be the new owners of the Texas Rangers. The two teams are groups headed by Attorney Chuck Greenberg and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan up against Houston businessman Jim Crane and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban .

What we learned earlier today was that the group led by Crane and Cuban had the highest bid over Greenberg and Ryan by more than $25 million. At that point, the attorney’s for the Greenberg and Ryan group wanted 12 hours to look over the Crane and Cuban bid. The judge gave them one hour and asked that they come back and tell him where they were.

If you think this has been a clean battle, you’d be dead wrong. Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News, Dan Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal, Bob Nightengale of USA Today, and Brian Dolgin with the Texas Rangers are all on hand, and all have reported several heated arguments between the attorneys from both sides.

Dolgin and Kaplan both reported, via Twitter, that Louis Streubeck and Thomas Lauria, respective attorneys for both sides, got into a shouting match and cussed at each other during a confrontation in the hallway of the courtroom.

We may not know the resolution of the proceedings today but what we do know is Major League Baseball is not a fan of Cuban and does not want to see him become the owner of any team let alone the Texas Rangers. After his attempt at buying the Chicago Cubs from The Tribune Company, Cuban wrote on his blog , “On the flip side, my dedication to winning could also make my job of getting approval with MLB baseball much harder.”

Whether Major League Baseball approves Cuban and Crane as the new owners of the Texas Rangers is still yet to be seen. However, if the creditors get their way, they will urge the presiding judge to award the Cuban group for no other reason than to get more money.

If you ask a lot of the Ranger fans, at least those not after the “big name” owner, they’ll tell you that the best ownership group for the foreseeable future is the group led by Ryan. However, it might not be so far fetched to think that Cuban can’t bring a championship to North Texas. He has the kind of money that can bring in the players needed for the Rangers to compete in not only the AL West but also in the American League year in and year out. He can take the money from ticket sales, concessions, and advertising among other avenues, and put it back into the players on the field.

I’m not saying Ryan won’t do the same as he’s been a big part of the rebuilding process of this team over the years, however,  Cuban isn’t a bad owner and Dallas Maverick fans will tell you the exact same thing.

What those around Major League Baseball object to is his constant questioning of NBA officials as well as the members of the NBA front office as well. Major League Commissioner Bud Selig gets questioned enough by those around baseball, having Cuban’s outspoken manner might not go over so well in baseball circles.

Whatever comes of the court proceedings over the next few days, I believe the Rangers will be in good, and capable, hands going forward.

One thing you can take away from both Cuban and Ryan is the fact that both of these guys will be committed to winning and both will show that as the owners. I’m not going to say one is better than the other, but what I will say is one knows baseball, the other has admitted at previous times that he is not a baseball guy. I’ll leave you to figure out which is which.

The bids are in and Cuban is the lead horse at this moment with a bid of $335 million, much to the chagrin of Ryan and Greenberg who’s offer currently stands at $320 million. There’s been no response from the Greenberg/Ryan camp and the judge has said that he’s willing to work through the night to have a resolution by morning.

Though there’s been some talk of stopping for the night, the two sides have ordered themselves dinner to be delivered to the courthouse so it looks like they are ready to work through the night as well.

This is a long ways from over and, if today was any indicator, there are more fireworks still to come.

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No, there is no talk of a new prospective owner of the Rangers moving the team to Cuba. But will the Rangers soon be a Cuban team?

The well-publicized bankruptcy of the Rangers becomes more of a headache with each passing day. Every day this situation goes unresolved is like throwing gasoline on a fire.

The Greenberg/Ryan group, comprised of Chuck Greenberg and legendary Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, had a deal in place months ago to acquire the organization. However, creditors went up in arms and have delayed the deal, claiming the $525 million bid from Greenberg and Ryan was not the highest bid—simply the bid that MLB executives and owners wanted to accept, since Ryan would remain the team’s president.

Creditors were quick to argue that the highest bidder should have gained control of the organization, purely because it would’ve meant more money repaid to the creditors than from the Greenberg/Ryan group.

Many more details emerged through the months that clouded the water even further, leading to the August 4th auction of the Rangers. Any new bid must enter the auction at no less than $530 million, with consequential bids requiring an increase of at least $2 million per bid. A further detail that emerged over the last few months was Mark Cuban and his strong interest in acquiring the organization, after he appeared to have no interest in the franchise whatsoever a few months ago.

Cuban is known for his radical attitude and actions as owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. It was said that even if Cuban were to place a bid on the Rangers, Major League Baseball would not approve him as an owner due to his radical ownership beliefs. Cuban attempted to purchase the Chicago Cubs last year and it was rumored that his bid was strongly opposed by Bud Selig and MLB.

However, details emerged early on July 22 that confirmed Cuban had expressed interest in placing a bid for the organization and that MLB has approved his request to place that bid.

Would this be good for the Rangers? And for MLB?

Yes. It would be very good.

At the very least, it would be exciting and entertaining. And for a franchise that has only one playoff win in its history, a change of pace and a radical owner may be the spark that gets this young, exciting team over the hill.

Look first at what Cuban did for the Mavericks. Yes, his antics and behavior have cost him multiple fines for millions of dollars. But the Mavericks have become one of the most valuable NBA franchises in the league, the team has won 50-plus games for 10 consecutive seasons, and he brings a fresh attitude to the game. He is not afraid to spend money in order to make the team better. (Please take notes here, Tom Hicks.)

Imagine, what would that type of owner do for a franchise stuck in a rut for the last 38 years? And for a franchise beginning to come into its own and gaining national attention as a legitimate World Series contender? Could Cuban turn the young Rangers into a Braves-like dynasty for the next 15 or 20 years? I think he could.

Critics are skeptical and fear that Cuban would taint the league and the Rangers. It wouldn’t happen. Cuban would retain Nolan Ryan and, more than likely, Chuck Greenberg. They would form a front office three-headed monster that would be rivaled and well-respected around the league. The Rangers would finally be seen as a legitimate organization and be recognized around the league as a title contender, year after year.

Mark Cuban has done nothing but good things for the Dallas Mavericks and has helped improve the NBA. Why not let him do the same for the Rangers and MLB?

With all the possible suitors for a new owner, the team could go in any number of directions, based on who ultimately gains ownership. If Cuban wins the auction, you can feel confident that the organization would be in trustworthy hands. 

Jump on the Cuban train. It promises to be a good ride.

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