KRGV.com

CHICAGO (AP) As the baseball season began, Chicago buzzed about plans to upgrade wilting Wrigley Field.

Then word spread that the patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs considered bankrolling a racially tinged campaign against President Barack Obama, at the same time the team sought financial help with its renovation.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the president's friend and former chief of staff, has since refused to negotiate financing or even take phone calls from the team chairman. A best-selling author has vowed never to step foot in Wrigley again.

Now fans are left wondering if the complicated financial deals and presidential politics mean the Ricketts family will put more money into the stadium, and less into building a winning team.