A city hall source in Chicago says an NFL team interested in
playing in Chicago should the Bears leave has "put out feelers"
to the city, according to the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. While the
identity of that team has not been formally disclosed, the SUN-
TIMES' Spielman and Gillis report that when asked if it was the
Cardinals, the source said, "That's a very good guess." The
contact from the team comes on the same day Chicago Mayor Richard
Daley met with other mayors of NFL cities to examine how to
restrict teams from relocating (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/15). The
TRIBUNE's John Kass reports that Chicago's "back-channel"
diplomacy with the Cardinals is seen by some as a way to "kick-
start" negotiations with the Bears. Kass adds the report "lost a
bit of its edge" when Cardinals General Counsel Thomas Guilfoil
said he was "personally unaware of any meaningful communication"
between the team and Chicago. Kass adds that Cardinals Owner
Bill Bidwill and the McCaskey family are "good friends" and that
Bidwill is unlikely to "undermine" the Bears' negotiating
position (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/15).
