why doesn't Drayton sell this club to Ryan !!!!! they are holding up Ryan's group to buy the Rangers.... sell him the Astros and let him fix them..... he has done an amazing job with the Rangers !!!!
Because he doesn't want to sell the team. He'll listen to offers and if he's wowed, he'll consider it. But he's not actively looking to sell.
The exclusive asset purchase agreement for Ryan's group expires on August 12. The creditors to the bankruptcy keep talking about there being other bidders out there...but so far no one has put anything up. Nevertheless, the creditors seem to be doing a pretty good job of derailing Ryan's group's purchase of the Rangers. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gB7_q42vn6pVMhH1hb5mnOMtAOJgD9H2BPD00 Creditors raise new concerns over Rangers' sale By ANGELA K. BROWN (AP) – 16 hours ago FORT WORTH, Texas — Angry creditors in the Texas Rangers bankruptcy case are raising two issues that could delay or even stop the team's sale. Creditors have filed a sealed motion, saying they object to the bidding procedures approved last week for the club's auction, set for Aug. 4. A separate lawsuit seeks to remove the Rangers Ballpark lease from the team's sale. JP Morgan Chase Bank says the team's parent company, Hicks Sports Group, transferred the lease to the team just before the bankruptcy filing. The bank says it wasn't given a chance to consent to the lease transfer, which is required in its loan agreement. Experts not involved in the case say potential buyers would be hesitant to bid if the lease were not part of the sale.
now we know the identity of the "other" bidder the creditors were talking about http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/07/21/mark-cuban-is-a-serious-bidder-for-the-texas-rangers/ Mark Cuban Is a 'Serious Bidder' for the Texas Rangers 7/21/2010 3:05 PM ET By Josh Alper During a bankruptcy hearing involving the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, a Dallas lawyer showed up and told the court that he represented an undisclosed bidder for the team. A lawyer for prospective owner Nolan Ryan quickly revealed the name of that bidder: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Cuban's interest in buying a major league team is no secret to anyone who has followed the billionaire in recent years. He wanted to get in on the bidding for the Cubs in 2008 and has been linked to the Rangers for a couple of weeks as the courts try to sort out the mess created during Tom Hicks's stewardship of the club. Also well known is Major League Baseball's aversion to welcoming Cuban to their club, something that Ryan and Chuck Greenberg, whose bid is supported by MLB, are trying to make clear as part of their effort to avoid postponing an Aug. 4 auction of the team. Funny that MLB is so concerned with keeping Cuban out while they were more than willing to let Hicks do anything he wanted while owning the club. Had he not put himself at the mercy of lenders, the team could have been sold to Ryan and Greenberg with no problems whatsoever. In other words, you reap what you sow. Cuban's involvement makes that postponement seem a lot more likely. The lenders owed money by Hicks have said that they are willing to risk losing the Ryan/Greenberg bid -- their financing has an expiration date of Aug. 12 -- if they could get a better deal in the end. Cuban's resources, whether he goes it alone or joins with one or more of the other bidders for the franchise, give them reason to believe that a better deal is coming. William K. Snyder, the chief restructuring officer appointed by the court, also seems to be leaning toward a more extended process. "I don't think this team is a melting ice cube," Snyder said. "Another month is not the end of the world. ... I don't think it would hurt that much." It wouldn't. Things are chaotic now and will remain chaotic until the deal is done. It hasn't seemed to hurt the Rangers much on the field and doesn't figure to cause them much more pain off of it as the whole thing gets sorted out.
Cuban v Ryan. Let Cuban buy the Rangers and Ryan buy the Astros. It would be so awesome. He already owns the minor league teams.
Cuban is IN as a bidder for the Rangers....Nevertheless, he still has to meet the approval of 75% of the MLB owners if he wins at auction. I wonder how many bidders there were ultimately be. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/072310dnsporangsale.40ec012.html Rangers' auction date is Aug. 4; Mark Cuban OK'd to bid 01:15 AM CDT on Friday, July 23, 2010 By BARRY SHLACHTER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH – Mavericks owner Mark Cuban , cleared by Major League Baseball to bid on the Rangers, prefers to go it alone but may join another bidder because so little time is left before an Aug. 4 bankruptcy auction date, his attorney said. Also on Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Lynn rejected a push from major lenders to postpone the auction date until Sept. 30. The lenders are owed more than $525 million by Hicks Sports Group, the team's owner, and want more time for prospective bidders to assemble financing. "It's real simple: We're going to get it done Aug. 4 and 5," Lynn said. But Lynn said that bidders, including a group headed by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg, could make offers that omit controversial provisions contained in the current Greenberg-Ryan deal that major lenders have challenged. These include a $70 million side deal for stadium parking lots, partly owned by team owner Tom Hicks, at a price called highly inflated by lenders, and Hicks' legal fees if he is sued for sale-related issues. Andrew Leblanc, an attorney for lenders, told the court that such action was under consideration. Lynn also said he would clarify the $10 million "breakup" fee that the Greenberg-Ryan group would receive if it loses the auction. Lenders have complained that the dollar amount "chilled" other bidders by, in effect, handing the group a $10 million credit toward any offer on Aug. 4. "The breakup fee may change," the judge said without elaboration. Greenberg, attorneys for the major lenders and the court-appointed chief restructuring officer all declined comment after the hearing. Cuban's attorney, Clifton Jessup of Dallas, expressed hope that there would be no issue with his client's possible "collusion" if he teams with other bidders. The judge did not address that concern. Cuban has just 12 days to forge an offer before the Aug. 3 deadline for bids. The auction would be the next morning. The Dallas billionaire must sift through lengthy and detailed records now that he has access to team data, as well as arrange financing, Jessup said. He declined to say if those challenges posed too high a barrier. MLB approved Cuban as a bidder Wednesday night. Still, 75 percent of all team owners must vote in favor of the auction's eventual winner for the franchise to be transferred. Lynn said he wants it all wrapped up before Aug. 7, the date of his niece's wedding. Rangers manager Ron Washington testified Thursday that postponing the auction beyond Aug. 4 could hurt the American League West leader's spirits. The judge reassured him that the proceedings would not affect operations, saying any team concerns should be brought to the court's attention. Asked how the team's morale is holding up, Washington said: "Unbelievably good, unbelievably exceptional." The judge assured Washington that there would be enough money for the team, referring to MLB's commitment to provide an ample line of credit during the bankruptcy period. "We don't have as much money as the Steinbrenners," the judge joked. "I can't help that. But I'm not going to make the team give up their jet and ride a school bus." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
There's really no reason why a guy like Cuban shouldn't be allowed to own a baseball team, except that he's not a member of Bud Selig's good ol' boy network. I still think it's a travesty that Bud's pal Jeffrey Loria was allowed to buy the Marlins.
I was listening to radio yesterday, and I forget who, but someone brought up this exact point. They said they only people who dont want Cuban are those who are close to Selig or as you put it, are in his "good ol' boy" network
