There was a lot of buzz last week when Mark Cuban showed up at Wrigley Field. He was asked the usual questions like, "Have you seen the financials yet?" and "What would it be like to own the Cubs?" and "What can you dothelp Major League Baseball as an owner?"

These are all questions with interesting answers.

But the best question to ask was not asked, probably it would not have been directed to the media darling that is Mark Cuban. The real lede of the story was the SECOND lien of the article, not the first:

Mark Cuban sat in Tribune Co.'s front-row seats next to the Cubs' dugout.

Now, why would the Tribune (read: Sam Zell) give Mark Cuban access to their front row seats at Wrigley and send Tribune Broadcasting head Ed Wilson to accompany him?

Simple.

The Trib is sending a message to Bud Selig. There will be no sweetheart deal in selling this team.

Zell needs every last penny to pay down the debt he incurred in taking the Tribune private. By giving Cuban high profile seats, the message to Bud and the 29 other owners from Sam was, "I'm selling this team to the person I want to sell it to, not who you tell me to sell it to."

That's heartening because, as fans, you want the next owner to be a person who wants it as their own personally yacht, not as the next investment in their portfolio.