Texas Rangers

Ryan: 5 observers from Major League Baseball attended Wednesday's auction

Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg might be the choice of Major League Baseball, and many fans, to be the new owners of the Rangers, but bankruptcy court doesn’t work that way.

A weary Ryan said Wednesday evening that MLB sent five observers to the auction but that they weren’t interceding in any way. He said the proceedings have gone on so ong that he had to run out to the pay parking lot to get his car keys from the attendant before the lot closed.

"Broke a sweat," he said, which pretty much describes the entire day at the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse, where events began at 8:30 a.m.

-- Pete Alfano

'Blank-you. No, blank-you.' The cussing begins in Rangers bankruptcy court

Meanwhile, at the Rangers' bankruptcy hearing ...

An angry exchange erupted in the corridor between Greenberg-Ryan’s top attorney, Tom Lauria, and the counsel for the chief restructuring officer, Lou Strubeck.

The two had just left the courtroom after hearing that the Cuban-Crane bid was $25 million above Greenberg’s starting bid of $306.7 million, the cash portion of a $510 million that includes assumed liabilities.

But the team’s attorney told Judge Nelms that the $25 million would be discounted and so the exact difference between the offers was not immediately available.

Lauria apparently was upset by the bidding process and because his side would get less than 12 hours to examine Cuban-Crane’s bid.

As Strubeck passed in the hallway, Lauria spat, “You’ve been trying to stick it up my a— for the last hour."

That set off an exchange of F-bombs.

-- Barry Shlachter

Stampede of lawyers returns to courthouse; auction under way soon?

A stampede of lawyers entered the federal courthouse at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, indicating that proceedings in the delayed Rangers' auction could get under way soon.

This has been worse than sitting through a rain delay at Rangers Ballpark.

A court officer made an announcement that there were too many people among the interested parties and not enough seats in the rows allotted them.

He asked them whittle their legions and sent some to the bullpen, er, make that the break room. There would be no standing-room available.

If the Rangers drew crowds like this, Hicks might not have had to sell the team.

-- Pete Alfano

Greenberg working hard to keep from bidding against Cuban

The cat-and-mouse games being played out behind the scenes must be fascinating.

Too bad they are not in open court.

The Rangers auction may now be delayed until sometime this afternoon, which Judge Russell Nelms apologetically told the court is not unusual in these cases.

All the maneuvering suggests that Chuck Greenberg is trying to win without actually having to bid against Mark Cuban and Jim Crane in open court.

The machinations have fallen short thus far, including Greenberg's challenge of the Cuban-Crane bid.

-- Pete Alfano

Rangers auctioned rescheduled after ruling on Cuban's bid

The Rangers bankruptcy auction has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday after a judge ruled that Mark Cuban's bid was qualified. Read the latest here.

Rangers bankruptcy auction gets under way in Fort Worth

Here are the morning's first reports from the Rangers auction:

Hearing starts things off: At 8:30 a.m., everyone made a beeline to Federal Judge Michael Lynn's courtroom for a closed hearing. The men in suits included Mark Cuban, and the room was standing-room only. What was this about? We'll know soon. -- Pete Alfano

Ryan supporters in the house: Ryan's wife, Ruth, and his old friend from Houston, Don Sanders -- a former minority owner of the Houston Astros -- are at the courthouse with him today. -- Anthony Andro

Which way is the federal courthouse?: Just look for the television cameras outside the main entrance. TV reporters searched the people entering looking for a familiar face. They should put names on the back of the lawyers' suit jackets or give them numbers. Wait. We know Mark Cuban even in a suit. The Mavericks owner and prospective bidder walked quietly through security and joined the hordes taking the stairs to the courtroom where the auction was to be conducted. Reporters milling outside the room were told to go inside at one point because prisoners in handcuffs and orange jump suits were being escorted down the hall. -- Pete Alfano

Follow the day's events here and on Twitter, where Rangers beat writer Anthony Andro is providing updates from the courthouse.

Arlington, Fort Worth mayors weigh in on Rangers ownership

Now, the mayors of Arlington and Fort Worth have decided to weigh in on the saga of the Texas Rangers bankruptcy.

At a hastily called news conference on Monday, Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck and Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said they believe that the team will be better off with Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg in the driver's seat.

Standing in front of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the mayors said they were compelled to speak out on behalf of Rangers fans by supporting the Ryan-Greenberg bid to buy the bankrupt club at Wednesday's auction.

Both said that they are not against other potential bidders -- which apparently include Mavericks owner Mark Cuban -- but that they believe the team could reach the World Series with Ryan in charge. He currently is the team president.

-- Susan Schrock

Judge rules auction will go forward even with enhanced Greenberg-Ryan bid

UPDATE: Although he said his preference was to approve a "substantially enhanced" bid that would enable Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Texas Rangers President Nolan Ryan to purchase the baseball team from beleaguered owner Tom Hicks, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Lynn ruled today the auction will go forward on Wednesday as scheduled.

Lynn said his ruling ultimately was based on satisfying the lenders "because it is their money," and after being assured by lawyers for Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston businessman Jim Crane that their clients have had enough time to conduct due diligence and arrange financing for a bid.

The attorneys said their clients are ready, either separately or in tandem, to bid for the Rangers on Wednesday.

Cuban was unsuccessful in trying to buy the Chicago Cubs three years ago. And according to earlier reports, Crane might have difficulty being confirmed by MLB owners after his failed attempts to purchase the Cubs and Houston Astros. Both, however, have been approved to bid for the Rangers.

Lenders, who are owed $525 million by Hicks Sports Group, have objected to the Wednesday auction date, arguing it does not give bidders enough time. But Lynn said the auction needs to proceed because the Greenberg-Ryan will lose their financing on Aug. 12, "and I am not going to sink their bid."

FRIDAY MORNING

Here's the latest in the continuing, sometimes (often?) confusing saga of the Rangers' bankruptcy story:

William K. Snyder, the chief restructuring officer appointed by the court to try to work things out among the parties, has negotiated a "substantially enhanced" bid deal with Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg, who is working with current Rangers President Nolan Ryan to buy the team from beleaguered owner Tom Hicks.

The news was announced at a hearing Friday in federal bankruptcy court in Fort Worth.

All side deals -- which have been a sticking point for big lenders who questioned the fairness of the Greenberg-Ryan bid -- have been stripped out.

That apparently means that Hicks won't receive the $70 million he had negotiated to receive from Greenberg-Ryan for parking lots and a centerfield office building at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

If Judge Michael Lynn approves the new deal, which was negotiated without the knowledge of the other potential bidders, the auction scheduled for next Wednesday could be postponed or called off.

Greenberg's attorney, Tom Lauria, said the auction could simply be postponed for two weeks.

It's not yet clear if this means the end of the torture for Rangers fans. The hearing was continuing Friday morning.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston's Jim Crane, two of the other possible bidders, aren't happy with the latest development. Nor are lenders at Monarch Alternative Capital, a New York-based private investment firm that specializes in lending to distressed firms.

Cuban's attorney, Clifton Jessup, attacked the new deal, saying that if the auction is held, Cuban would bid aggressively and possibly even beat the new terms. Crane's attorney said he has found new investors and is interested in making a bid, either alone or jointly with Cuban.

Jessup described the secret negotiations as an "October surprise" and said that even if Lynn doesn't approve the new deal, it will make an auction more difficult and "chill the bidding."

He said Cuban has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars doing his due diligence on the organization in anticipation of joining the bidding.

Snyder said he and Greenberg negotiated from Tuesday night to Thursday morning before striking a deal. He called the original deal, in which Hicks and Major League Baseball accepted the Greenberg-Ryan bid complete with the Hicks side deals, "a stinky process."

He said all the side deals had been removed without exception.

The terms of the new agreement are confidential and details were vague, but the cash amount of the new bid is apparently at least $40 million higher than the previous Greenberg-Ryan offer, which would bring the cash price close to $350 million.

The lenders say they are owed $525 million by Hicks' parent company, Hicks Sports Group, and they pushed to reopen the bidding process after the team declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sent the matter into court.

When Greenberg-Ryan agreed to buy the Rangers in January, they gave Hicks a side deal worth about $70 million for parking lots, a centerfield office building and other assets around Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Hicks has said that the real estate holdings are separate from the team and weren't used as collateral on his sports loans.

-- Barry Shlachter