The bankrupt Tribune Co., which has been steadily laying off staff for almost a year now, finally settled on a new owner for the Chicago Cubs. The Ricketts family will reported pay $900 million for the Cubbies, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet.

The deal is worth $200 million more than the previous highest value paid for a baseball team — the Boston Red Sox in 2002 — but still well below the $1 billion figure some analysts predicted the club would fetch in 2007.

While there are still hurdles to clear — details must still be hammered out and 23 of Major League Baseball's 30 owners must approve — the team expects to have its new owner in place by opening day, just in time to watch its new club begin a new campaign to not win the World Series.