Crain's on the case:

Tribune gets OK for Cubs sale

A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware has approved the Tribune Co.'s sale of the Chicago Cubs.

The judge on Thursday authorized Tribune to enter into transactions to sell the team to the family of billionaire Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade. The family agreed to buy a 95 percent stake in the team and its Wrigley Field home for $845 million.

The deal also needs approval from Major League Baseball.

The Tribune plan calls for a separate bankruptcy filing by Chicago National League Ball Club, an affiliate not involved in the company's Chapter 11 case. The Cubs bankruptcy should last only a few days but is needed to ensure that sale is free of all liens and claims, and that contracts can be assumed and assigned.

The owners will approve this via a conference call as quickly as they can. Any delay risks seeing the deal fall apart and the purchase price of the team fall.

And that would dilute the values of every other franchise.

This is going to be over very, very soon.

:::UPDATE:::

From the Chicago Tribune, all the objections to the sale have been cleared:

Former Cub Shawon Dunston had filed a handwritten letter last week seeking college money he said the baseball team owed him. On Tuesday, Dunston dropped the request.

And Delta Tau Chi was just hoping for a new pledge!