In the Cubs Ownership Fiasco, It Pays to Be Bud Selig's Friend

The Cubs' sale trudges onward, and little or no detail has trickled out. The candidates -- which include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Chicago rich dude John Canning -- are, along with their chances of owning the team, still relative unknowns. Who's going to pony up the cash?

The Chicago Tribune reminds that the money question might be the least important one. Instead, it will matter who is "most acceptable" to Major League Baseball, which we all knew but which has never been made as clear as it is today:

Canning is the leading contender not only because of his wealth and local ties, but also because he's part-owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, a team once controlled by Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig. [...] Selig has stated publicly that Canning is a "very close personal friend of mine," as are other members of Canning's group, which includesMcDonald's Corp. chairman Andrew McKenna, who served as chairman of the Cubs early in Tribune's ownership. Canning declined to comment on his relationship with Selig or his front-runner status.

[...] "If you're not acceptable to baseball, it's something that doesn't really resolve itself," Stone said. "There will be somebody else around who is acceptable."

In other words, if Canning bids the same amount of money as other prospective owners (including Cuban), Canning will get the team because ... he's friends with Bud Selig. That seems fair, and by fair, I mean incredibly nepotistic. And wrong.