Zell plays by his own rules

Since Bud Selig took over as commissioner (really just president of the owners), usually when a baseball team gets sold it's because he approves of it. MLB has an anti-trust exemption, the only major sport that does, so they can stop team moves and sales. Selig likes to reward his friends and those who will play by his rules.

Sam Zell, the new Cubs owner, just wants to maximize the amount of money he gets and doesn't give a fig about Bud Selig and the rest of the owners. Selig's favorite group? They underbid, probably thinking they could slide through thanks to Selig's support. But now they are out:

Canning declined to comment. He represented a group that included Aon Corp. Chairman Patrick Ryan, business leader Andrew McKenna and restaurateurs Richard Melman and Larry Levy, among others.

“His bid was not at a high enough level. He’s out,” a source said. “He could rebid. He could say, ‘I’m sorry, I forgot a decimal point.’ But as of now, he’s out.”

Who is in the final five? They only tell us of one, and it's going to give Selig heartburn:

Making the cut as the Cubs winnowed the list of bids from an original 10 respondents was Mark Cuban, owner of basketball’s Dallas Mavericks, said a source familiar with the process. The identity of the other finalists couldn’t be learned.

This just tells me that the more I hear about Zell, the more I like the way he works:

The bold move points to escalating tension between Tribune Chairman Sam Zell, trying to maximize the price for the Cubs, and the lords of baseball. Rules specify that 75 percent of the owners must approve any sale, and they could look at factors other than price in settling on a suitable Cubs buyer.

Thake that, Bud! Your buddies are going to cough up more money. Zell is in a unique position of having to maximize the Tribune Company's assets to pay off debt. He doesn't give a rat's patootie about who it goes to.