With Sam Zell probably selling the rights to Wrigley Field, we at TTCS felt we should have some say as to which corporation should purchase the naming rights. With that said, here's the list.

(Sorry for lacking images, I do not know what could capture viewer's eyes with this post though.)


10. Cardinal Health
Zell, being the baseball expert he is, has no idea what division the Cubs are in, so we can't expect him to know who the team rivals are. But when St. Louis comes to town in late September, who will really have home-field advantage at the new "Cardinal Stadium?"

9. Hilton Hotels
While it would probably get old seeing the Hilton girls running around the stadium like 12-year-olds all the time, this could actually be a really cool idea. The company would probably throw down double the cost as long as they could knock down all the apartments on Sheffield and Waveland to make an awesome hotel, changing the name of the area from "Wrigleyville" to "Hiltonville." (Credit to Fred Church)

8. Blockbuster
The naming rights will be the only blockbusters that Cub's fans will see as long as penny-saving-Sam is in charge. That is unless any particular deal will bring the pay-roll down.

7. John Deere
Sam, a man's man who loves power would love to sell to this company. I can picture the sales pitch now; Zell is talking to a JD associate in one of the sky-boxes at Wrigley while a group of three or four guys with power tools are showing the companies efficiency by cutting down the ivy in eight minutes flat.

6. El Paso
Could this be foretelling? Texas has always been dying for a third baseball franchise, and I have this funny feeling that with Zell's age, a move to the sunny South would be ideal. Plus, the Sox have dominated the cities fan-base anyway, so Chicagoians wouldn't miss the Cubbies in the slightest. Uh-huh.

5. CostCo-Wholesale
I love CostCo, and Zell has to also. (Who doesn't) But for the Northsider's sake, I hope selling the rights to this company is the only wholesaling going on. Unfortunately, the only thing I see happening after this business transaction is a baseball transaction that includes big contracts of Soriano, Zambrano, and Lee for a few prospects and a one-year-free club membership.

4. Conseco
The last time he probably watched a baseball game was in the late 1980's when a duo from Oakland was smashing dinger after dinger. Zell assumes that one of them has since gone down as one of the most influential hitters of all-time, and decided to sell the rights to Conseco, because after all, that was one of the guy's names, right?

3. Toll Brothers
I don't know what this corporation from Pennsylvania is, and neither does Chicago's new Slammin' Sammy, but the name of the corporation alone would be the reason to jack up prices on everything he owns... just the way he likes it.

2. Ebay
The only person holding him back from using Ebay as a tool to sell off all his assets, players included, is Bud Selig, MLB Commish. If there is anything this company knows how to do well, it's to shop victoriously, something it would do if it were in the running.

1. Chicago Tribune
While this would make absolutely no sense from a financial aspect, Zell selfishly purchases the rights to the stadium he already owns, and renames the field for no reason. "The Zell" has a unique ring to it.

While I would be upset if the rights were sold, (even as a Sox fan) can you really blame Zell for wanting to get an extra $100 mil? Think about it, he cares zero about sports, much less baseball, so how is that any different than me owning historical place of gathering like, say, the Grand Ole Opry? I don't really care that much about music, much less country. People around the U.S. would be extremely upset if I sold those rights, but I would probably do it for the cost of a fantasy baseball team, because I simply don't care. Sorry Garth and Dunn.