Reports and rumors from various media outlets including the venerable Chicago Tribune suggest that Mark Cuban's bid to buy the Cubs is not only gaining ground, but that Cuban may do things that will force baseball and accept him.  And from my perspective, a billionaire owner who loves all things sports would be an absolutely wonderful owner for the Chicago Cubs, and would drive all the other MLB owners totally insane.  And to me, that's the best part of all!

Talk about high profile.  You can bet that Bud Selig wants *nothing* to do with Cuban - now, or ever.  It's usually once a year or so that Cuban flies off the handle about his Mavs, and accepts the giant fine levied by David Stern, and then just continues doing what he thinks is best.  A maverick is both the most dangerous and best thing that any group can have.  Dangerous - he's willing to stick his neck out, say things and destroy the status quo if he sees a reason to do so.  The best thing - again, all the same reasons.  A maverick is not in it to maintain the status quo - a maverick is out to do things, force change and maybe make significant differences.  Change is terrifying to many people, and I can imagine 29 other baseball owners horrified at the thought that a maverick like Cuban may one day enter their ranks.  Because you know it won't be long before he's doing something - calling out umpires publicly, calling out other owners, doing things to disrupt the "delicate" balance among owners.  He just doesn't care - and imagine the fun of a media war between Cuban and Steinbrenner.  Sports people will be eating it up! 

I also think that Cuban will inject the right kind of attitude in Chicago.  The loveable losers may no longer be able to have either title, because under Cuban they will be under the gun to win, and that may turn some people surly.  And the losers part?  You can forget it.  How bad were the Mavs until Cuban rescued that franchise?  Sure, he's not won it all, but the Mavs are important again.  They are relevant.  And the Cubs have been irrelevant for far too long. 

I hope that Mark Cuban wins the bidding for the Cubs, and becomes an owner of this historical baseball franchise.  I would enjoy that.  The other owners won't, and I'll bet the players won't like it in the long run, but if there's one thing that Cuban, as a maverick owner can do, is to create change.  And that might be the best thing of all for baseball.