Jim Crane

Turns Out, Jim Crane May Own an AL West Team After All ... the Houston Astros. Wha?

​The Houston Astros are this close to being sold, as Drayton McLane is set to sell the franchise to Jim Crane for $660 million, pending league approval. (And, yes, that's the same Jim Crane who tried to buy the Texas Rangers out of bankruptcy last year.) The deal's expected to be done in a matter ... More >>

A Rangers Repeat? History Suggests Odds Are Long.

One Hit Wonders

Surprise, Surprise. Chuck Greenberg is ... Poof.

​And just like that, the man who saved Nolan Ryan's job with the Texas Rangers has been replaced. By Nolan Ryan. I heard rumblings about this a couple weeks ago. Even hinted in a Whitt's End and on 105.3 The Fan that there were - seemingly out of nowhere - cracks in the foundation of the re ... More >>

Mark Cuban and Jim Crane Abandon Efforts to Get Refund on Their Bid for the Texas Rangers

Sam Merten​Couple of months back we noted that Mark Cuban and Jim Crane were trying to get back a few mil after unsuccessfully bidding on the Texas Rangers during the August auction. Cuban wanted $1.121 million; Crane, $1.527 million. The reason? The men behind Radical Pitch LLC figured that since ... More >>

Do the Rangers' New Owners Have the Money and Will to Build on a Winning Formula?

MLB Says Texas Rangers' Lawyers "Decided to Rewrite History" in Request for $5.4 Million in Bankruptcy Fees, Claims Tom Hicks "Appeared" to Use Bidding Process to Hold Onto Franchise

Sam MertenFormer MLB president and COO Bob DuPuy (foreground) and attorney Sandy Esserman leave Fort Worth's federal courthouse during this summer's bankruptcy hearings. DuPuy, who resigned effective October 31, was credited by MLB.com with helping broker the Texas Rangers' sale and facilitating neg ... More >>

In Other Rangers News, Mark Cuban and Jim Crane Still Fighting to Get Their Bid Refund

Sam Merten​A few weeks back we noticed that Mark Cuban and Jim Crane wanted their millions back for trying to buy the Texas Rangers out from under Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan (and Ray Davis and Bob Simpson). Long story short: Cuban and Crane, as Radical Pitch LLC, figured they're owed a refund ... More >>

After Driving Up Price of Rangers at Auction, Cuban and Crane Want a Few Mil Back

Sam Merten​For a long while during the auction of Your Texas Rangers on August 4 -- and into the wee small hours of August 5 -- it looked as though Mark Cuban and Jim Crane's Radical Pitch LLC might indeed take possession of the team. Every time Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan's Rangers Baseball Ex ... More >>

Cliff Lee, The Texas Rangers New Pitching Ace, May Have A Sweet Stay In Arlington, But Also A Short One.

So What Exactly Were Mark Cuban's Intentions When It Came to Driving Up Rangers' Price?

Sam Merten​As we outlined in last week's paper version of Unfair Park, the lenders owed approximately $600 million from the default of HSG Sports Group's loans tied to the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars had been pissed that around $75 million of the pre-auction bid by the Greenberg-Ryan group ... More >>

Rangers Auction Delayed While Greenberg and Ryan Challenge Cuban and Crane's Bid

Updates: Sam will be posting via Twitter: @sammerten ​So, the 9 a.m. start time for today's auction of Your Texas Rangers has been pushed back -- how far, Sam's not sure. He's in the courtroom at this very moment, and Judge Russell Nelms, who's supervising the proceedings, has yet to show. That's ... More >>

Auction Update, or: How Much Does Mark Cuban Want to Own the Texas Rangers?

Sam Merten​This much, per Sam's latest series of tweets from the Fort Worth courtroom where the Texas Rangers auction drags on ... and on ... and on. After Mark Cuban and Jim Crane submitted the highest bid earlier this afternoon, Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan counter-offered. Which is where we p ... More >>

One Day Before Texas Rangers Go to Auction, A Familiar-Sounding Song From Liverpool

Keep in mind -- this man could wind up owning Your Texas Rangers. Not a sure thing, sure, but not impossible.​Spent the last hour trying to summon the strength to write this, if only because at this late date the thought of spending one more second on Tom Hicks's attempts to sell his sports teams ... More >>

Texas Rangers Auction Showdown: Mark Cuban vs. Nolan Ryan

Chuck Greenberg: Chief Stalking Horse​In advance of tomorrow's bankruptcy auction in Judge Michael Lynn's Fort Worth court room, initial bids must be in by 8 tonight. Up for sale: The Texas Rangers. Prospective buyers: Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan and Mark Cuban. While Dallas businessman J ... More >>

The Texas Rangers Thrive while Owner Tom Hicks' Sports Empire Crumbles.

Before the Rangers' Skipper Takes the Stand, the Box Score From Yesterday's Hearing

Sam MertenRangers manager Ron Washington will step off the field and into a Fort Worth federal courtroom on Thursday.​Tuesday's testimony in the Texas Rangers bankruptcy case from the court-appointed chief restructuring officer and one of the lenders revealed four potential competitors to the ... More >>

This Morning, Questions About Whether Bud Selig's Balls Will Strike Out Rangers Sale

​What was it Tom Hicks said Tom Hicks said Saturday night? Ah, yes: The sale of Your Texas Rangers -- to Chuck Greenberg, Jim Crane, Mark Cuban or The Still-Living Ghost of Brad Corbett -- is a "complex proceeding." (What's wrong with the family-friendly "clusterfudge"?) But those needing some sum ... More >>

Tom Hicks Hasn't Said Much About Rangers Sale Lately. Except Tonight. About Parking Lots. Not, Oh, JPMorgan's Suit Over Ballpark Lease.

​Seldom is Tom Hicks drawn offside. There's been hardly a peep from Hicks whilst attorneys battle it out over the auction, or not, of Your Texas Rangers -- even after JPMorgan Chase filed a separate suit yesterday contesting Hicks Sports Group's right to sell Rangers Ballpark as part of the packag ... More >>

If You Want to Buy the Texas Rangers, You Now Have Till August 4 to Submit Your Bid

​At this very moment, Sam is sitting in the parking lot outside the federal courthouse in Fort Worth, where, moments ago, details concerning the auction of Your Texas Rangers were announced. Sam reports that the auction will take place at 9 a.m. on August 4 in Judge Michael Lynn's courtroom. T ... More >>

Rangers Win Again on Field, Stumble Again in Court

​Tweak it. Or trash it. That's the charge from the bankruptcy judge in the Texas Rangers' proposed sale from Tom Hicks to Chuck Greenberg. When the judge decries that the Rangers have to modify their current plan - but not add more money to the deal - it seems like a win for the creditors, ri ... More >>

Judge Agrees With Rangers' Attorney: Hicks Didn't Have to Sell Team to Highest Bidder

Sam MertenIn federal court this morning, Nolan Ryan looked much like he did at the presser announcing the team's prepackaged bankruptcy -- totally defeated.​With his broad shoulders squeezed in tightly next to Chuck Greenberg, Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan looked like he'd rather be tossi ... More >>

In Advance of Tomorrow's Big Hearing in Rangers Bankruptcy, Some Key Revelations

​Actually, it's more or less one key revelation -- and we already had an idea what it was anyhow, which is: Houston's Jim Crane offered more for the Texas Rangers than Chuck Greenberg. And, according to e-mails from Hicks Sports Group's legal counsel and Major League Baseball made public in legal ... More >>

At Last, Monarch Alternative Capital Breaks Its Silence Over Stalled-Out Texas Rangers Sale

Monarch's managing principal Andrew Herenstein​Still no word from Major League Baseball concerning its imminent seizure of Your Texas Rangers in order to expedite the sale to Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan's Rangers Baseball Express. But, finally, there's been direct contact with Monarch Alternat ... More >>

Reports: MLB Will Seize Rangers and Nullify Creditors' Loans, Which Means ... Bankruptcy

To be honest, I really thought we'd be done with this picture by now. Apparently not.​On the field, they're Your Texas Rangers -- back atop the American League West, fresh off the first four-game series sweep since '07 and headed into an early season showdown with one-game-behind-'em Oakland, ridi ... More >>

Report: In the "Best Interests of Baseball," MLB May Seize, Then Finish Sale of Texas Rangers

​A couple of weeks ago Major League Baseball threw a brushback pitch at Tom Hicks's head and told the for-now owner of the Texas Rangers: Do not foul up this sale to Chuck Greenberg by going behind our backs and cutting a side deal with Jim Crane, who's offering more money than Greenberg. Today co ... More >>

Tom Hicks, Say It Ain't So. Uh-Oh, It's So.

​Because of Tom Hicks and some rich dudes at Monarch Alternative Capital, Nolan Ryan may no longer be a vital part of your Texas Rangers. As I hinted at earlier this week, there are last-minute problems with the sale of the team from Hicks to prospective new owner Chuck Greenberg. Big problem ... More >>

How Hicks is Trying to Foul Up Rangers' Sale and Why MLB Won't Let Him

​Yesterday, Tom Hicks all but told reporters gathered in Boston that the pending sale of the Texas Rangers to Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan's Rangers Baseball Express is dead. But why, the very week Greenberg had hoped to have the deal done, did Hicks choose to say it now? That's the $570-million ... More >>

Would-Be Owner Chuck Greenberg has the Money and Moxie to Lead the Texas Rangers Back to Relevancy and into the Playoffs

Texas Rangers Fans Can Again Dream Of A Merry Baseball, With The Departure Of Owner Tom Hicks

Thomas O. Hicks: In Memoriam

​With his decision to sell the Texas Rangers to Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg, long-time owner Tom Hicks will willingly, yet grudgingly step into the shadows of Metroplex baseball. But how will he be perceived? While Greenberg, 48, and his group seek approval from Major League Ba ... More >>

Liverpool FC Fans Boast a Sunday Protest Kept Tom Hicks From Attending Arsenal Match

​Randy Galloway, Evan Grant and I received an e-mail at 4:20 this morning from Spirit of Shankly organizer Paul Gardner, in which he writes that a fans' protest before Liverpool FC's Sunday-afternoon match against Arsenal kept the owners out of Anfield: "Tom Hicks was turned away a few hundred yar ... More >>

Whitt's End: 10.30.09

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *I take absolutely no very little joy in D Magazine's Inside Corner sports blog going belly up any second now. Evan Grant is a solid baseball Xs and Os writer and I'll follow his work back to Dalla ... More >>

Rangers, Hicks Continue to Speed Date Would-Be Buyers. This Week: Dennis Gilbert.

Dennis Gilbert​Last month, the Startlegram outed former Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco agent Dennis Gilbert as a would-be buyer of Your Texas Rangers, which the Beverly Hills-based Gilbert wouldn't confirm at the time. That made sense: He's still in pro ball (he reviews contracts for the Chicago Whi ... More >>

Would-Be Owners of Your Texas Rangers Have Been Parading Through Arlington This Week

​Reuters was right: Last week, the news service reported that the three parties interested in taking the Texas Rangers off Tom Hicks's hands would be in Arlington this week to meet and greet with team bigwigs. And, so far, so good: According to Official Statements from the LeMaster Group, which ha ... More >>

The Rangers May Be Out But They Are Not Down--Not Come Next April

Whitt's End: 10.2.09

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Former Carter High School star Michael Crabtree may not be a bad guy, but he's following some horrible advice. Friend of a friend of Crabtree tells me that he and the 49ers remain $10 million ... More >>