Now that Tom Ricketts has put his foot down ans stood up to the Wrigleyville rooftops, the feud is back on! Cubbieland Pax Romana is over!
So now we actually have something worth talking about this summer at 1060 W. Addison. Make no mistake, I have no sympathy for the Wrigleyville rooftops, and almost all of Chicago feels the same way. There’s pretty much no one crying out to defend them. Nor should anyone.
This is not a story with two sides. Many issues are one-sided; with a pretty clear right and wrong. This is one.
And if you’re bored of the 2014 Chicago Cubs, then this comes at the perfectly correct time.
We’re all BORED of celebrating Wrigley Field 100.
We’re done talking about the current team, since they look destined for 100 losses. And 2015 looks extremely bleak too.
The well has run dry when discussing the unique promotions and publicity stunts the Cubs have pulled this year to take your mind off the awful product on the field, but still keep your eye on the ballclub. They’ve been like a minor league club in that regard. We’d rather talk about the throwbacks uniforms, dumpster birthday cake, sign painting, bobbleheads of New York Yankees given away at Cubs games etc. etc. than the starting lineup.
So….let’s get some conflict going!
Here’s what the spokesperson for the Wrigleyville rooftops sent out this morning in response to Ricketts establishing himself and doing thew right thing:
“The Ricketts family’s decision to unilaterally end negotiations with their contractual partners is another refusal to accept any of the proposed win-win solutions that could have funded the modernization of Wrigley Field and enhance the team’s competitiveness. In fact, it appears their zeal to block rooftop owners who pay them millions of dollars a year in royalties knows no bounds. Unfortunately, this decision by the Ricketts family will now result in this matter being resolved in a court of law,” said Ryan McLaughlin, spokesman, Wrigleyville Rooftops Association.
It should be noted current Cubs president Crane Kenney and legal counsel Mike Lufrano negotiated the contract with the rooftops over a decade ago.
Here’s the video Ricketts sent out to the public today. And the story on it from Carrie Muskat at MLB.com
Good for the ownership, moving forward as talks with the Wrigleyville rooftops have stalemated.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks, a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, has been featured in numerous outlets including NFL.com, Forbes and the History Channel. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)