Tom Ricketts just put Tribune Co. in the black

The Tribune Co. has held the Chicago Cubs and their fans for 28 years.

Their reign of terror is over.

Billionaire Tom Ricketts, who grew up a Cubs fan and met his wife in the Wrigley Field bleachers, has purchased the Cubs for a whopping $900 (pinky finger to the edge of my lip) MILLION DOLLARS!

So, finally, the Cubs and their fans have a face instead of a corporate building downtown to relate to. They have someone who cares about the team as much as they do. That's nice. Now go win a pennant.

Let the record show that Ricketts paid $879.5 million more than the Tribune did when they bought the team back when dinosaurs, 8-tracks and polyester ruled the world.

There are a few things that really heighten my interest in this story.

Numero uno: When you spend $900 million on purchasing the baseball team, how can you go about affording the day-to-day baseball team stuff. You know? Free agents. Taxes. A hot dog at the ball park. I have a problem spending money on beers, hot dogs and more beers at a game. How can someone not flinch at the idea of spending $900 on an entire franchise?

I guess it pays to be rich.

Numero dos: Tom Ricketts is a Cubs fan ... is that a good thing? Will he be willing to throw money at the Cubs as if he was PacMan Jones and the Cubs were his personal strippers? Does he care? Is he going to lead the Cubs to the promiseland?

Numero tres: Will he introduce me to my wife in the bleachers? Dear God I hope so.

Numero quatro: Did Tom Ricketts just save Tribune Co.? Seriously, when you get $900 million for a baseball team, shouldn't that take you out of the red? I think so. Because I know if the DE just added $900 million after selling a baseball team, we would be good for the next ... oh ... 900 million years!

Maybe we should buy the Miners.