http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122693827604333637.html

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, for allegedly dumping shares in Mamma.com upon learning it was raising money in a private offering (full text of complaint).

The SEC alleges in a civil action that Mr. Cuban sold his entire 6% ownership stake on June 28, 2004, after learning that Mamma.com was raising money through a private investment in a public entity, or PIPE. The next day, on June 29, the company announced the PIPE financing and shares of the company dropped by more than 10%. By selling his stake, the SEC alleges, Mr. Cuban avoided more than $750,000 in losses.

In a PIPE transaction new shares are issued at a discount to the current trading price. An announcement of a PIPE transaction is often followed by a drop in the stock price as shareholders anticipate their stake will be diluted.

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http://www.suntimes.com/sports/deluca/1266088,CST-SPT-deluca07.article

Throw out Sam Zell's idea of selling the Cubs by the end of the year because he still hasn't reached his goal of narrowing the field from five bidders to two. And sources close to commissioner Bud Selig sounded an alarm this week during the annual general managers meetings: Forget about Mark Cuban buying the Cubs.<!--dropend-->

Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks' owner, was the fan favorite, the guy who liked to drink beer, watch the game from the bleachers and spend money. He was the most appealing bidder to Zell's group, who knew Cuban could swing the quickest transaction for a team and ballpark that at one time figured to fetch $1 billion.

Global financial crisis or not, baseball's old guard plans to stand firm against letting Cuban into the club. ''There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen,'' a Major League Baseball source said this week. ''Zero chance.''

Hmm -- I guess this is good from a Mavs' fan standpoint, although IMO it wouldn't have greatly affected the Mavs

The other thread was filling up fast....

Here's hoping JD pulls off something that nobody is reporting..I love the sneaky...

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4) Josh Hamilton. Hamilton already had an interesting career path through one year ago, but it's even more so now. See, Hamilton's injury problems last year spread his rookie season out in a way that arguably prevented the league from adjusting to him. Hamilton missed two weeks around Memorial Day, five weeks in July and August, and the last two weeks of the season. Hamilton played more than six games against just three teams, and against two of those, the Astros and Pirates, he posted terrible overall lines.

Getting traded to the Rangers over the winter extended this nominal honeymoon period new league, new pitchers, new faces. Hamilton is off to a .330/.379/.591 start, comparable to last season's, but I think it's important to note that he hasn't had to go through the adjustment period many young players do.

Hamilton is a fantastic story and obviously a tremendous baseball talent. In his career, though, he hit .295/.342/.476 in the minors, and he's at .303/.371/.564 in the majors, all of that coming after playing not a lick from 2003 through 2005, and getting just a few weeks of play in 2006. There's enough wackiness in that kind of information, and in his path through two leagues over the last 13 months, to warrant some healthy skepticism about his ability to sustain his performance.

I guess he's probably right, but from what I've seen of watching Hamilton bat, he's making adjustments during AB's let alone from team to team.  I think an OPS around .900 is not too much to hope for from Hamilton.

http://trsullivan.mlblogs.com/trsullivan/2008/03/opening_day_lin.html

Seriously? Broussard vs. Bedard?  Why even have Botts on the roster?

Also, why is Bradley not ready for the cleanup role?  If the guy is healthy enough to bat, why does it matter what position he holds down in the lineup?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/03/17/heyman.hamilton/index.html

Pretty much nothing new if you've been reading the local papers, but still a good read.

People are predicting absolutely massive numbers for him -- and that makes me so excited for the baseball season.

Can someone give me the link or the exact quote when Hunter said he wanted to play for Ron Washington?

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