Mayor's 'Bet': If Dodgers Lose, Zell Must Sell 'L.A. Times'

By: Mark Fitzgerald Putting a satiric spin on the traditional "bet" between mayors with teams in a championship series, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is proposing that if the Los Angeles Dodgers should lose to the Chicago Cubs -- Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell should have to sell the Los Angeles Times.

"If the Cubs win, Chicago can take back Sam Zell," Villaraigosa said in a statement released by his press office. "It would be a tremendous blow to the City of Los Angeles to lose such a great corporate citizen such as Mr. Zell, so in unlikely event that the Dodgers lose, I'd insist that as a consolation he sell the L.A. Times back to an L.A. owner before heading back to Chicago."

Chicago Mayor Daley, for his part, put up a basket of locally produced items such as Lemonheads candy and Vienna Beef hot dogs, Lemonheads.

"But considering the magnitude of the series and the great history of the two baseball franchises, Mayor Villaraigosa decided to up the ante," his press office said. If the Dodgers win, the mayor proposed, "Los Angeles gets Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid."

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