All Deliberate Haste

The sale of the Chicago Cubs has entered the 1,325th round, and should be wrapped up no later than the epoch after next:

The sale of the Chicago Cubs is progressing toward a second round of bids on Dec. 1, Major League Baseball's No. 2 executive said on Wednesday as the final two-day quarterly Owners Meetings of the year got under way . . . "The second letter has gone out, and the bids are expected [just] after Thanksgiving," DuPuy said, "and Mr. Zell says the team continues to be for sale and that they're moving forward with it and continuing to solicit the bids."

The process has obviously been complicated by the fact that, when bidding began, there were only 16 owners whose approval was required, but since expansion began in the 1960s that number has increased. Last we heard, however, everyone still believes that Commissioner Chandler's stated wish to have the Cubs sold within 25 years of his death is still attainable.