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Chicago Sports Team Owners Gather Together Under One Roof For First Time

The various owners of the city of Chicago's six major sports teams on Thursday were all together at one place taking questions, "side-by-side in what longtime observers believed was an unprecedented event," according to David Haugh of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. For Chicago sports historians, the sight of the owners -- Bulls and White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf; Fire Owner Andrew Hauptman; Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts; Blackhawks Chair Rocky Wirtz; and Bears Chair George McCaskey -- all together at the Media Advertising Club of Chicago panel discussion "was priceless." Nobody "broke blockbuster news or manufactured 'gotcha' moments but the enjoyable 60-minute session was revealing in how real the setting made the sports CEOs seem." They "showed a relaxed side the public seldom sees when fending off questions about bad hires and disappointing seasons." For example, Ricketts revealed that he "punched the glass in his Wrigley Field suite after his Cubs blew a lead to the Yankees." Haugh: "Surprised that Wirtz's sports bucket list includes awarding the winner of the Westminster Dog Show? Who knew McCaskey reserved the right to veto a trade because of character concerns? How about Reinsdorf admitting he cried in 1989 after the Sox traded Harold Baines?" Reinsdorf "stole the show with sarcasm and storytelling." Meanwhile, McCaskey said of his family's intent to hold onto the Bears, "We've been in it for 95 years (and) my brother likes to say we will be owners of the Bears until the second coming -- it's not about the money for us. ... We have a passion for this. We have a responsibility to Bears fans and the city and we think we're uniquely qualified to carry out that responsibility. So, no sale" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/17).

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