By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – The Texas Rangers have been slapped with a lawsuit accusing them of breaching an agreement with the team's prospective buyers, a group led by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg.
The suit filed Monday in the Rangers' bankruptcy case accuses the court-appointed restructuring officer of trying to "hijack" the case by reopening the bidding process.
The suit says the Greenberg-Ryan group was chosen to buy the team after a lengthy and fair process last year. It says the group even raised its offer by $10 million after it was chosen as the winning bidder because the team was still negotiating with other interested buyers.
The group wants the bankruptcy judge to order the Rangers to sell the team to the Greenberg-Ryan group to comply with its purchase agreement.
Lottery postpones bid selection date
The Texas Lottery Commission has pushed back its date for deciding which company will get the new state lottery operations contract.
The commission initially said it expected a September decision, but lottery spokesman Bobby Heith confirmed Monday that lottery officials have delayed the decision until Nov. 12.
Heith said that will give the committee making the decision more time to evaluate three bids for the lucrative contract. It'll also be after the November election, and that could prevent any political controversy over the selection process.
Bids have come from GTECH Corp., which currently operates the lottery, Scientific Games Corp. and Intralot Inc.
The lottery generates some $3.7 billion in sales per year, and the state has paid GTECH $101 million in the last fiscal year to operate the games.
Ex-Cowboy seeks damages for injuries from collapse
A former Dallas Cowboys player who was inside the team's indoor practice facility when it collapsed last year claims he suffered a career-ending injury in the disaster and is seeking damages from the builder and companies operated by team owner Jerry Jones.
Jamar Hunt says in a court filing that he suffered "serious, disabling and permanent injuries" when the tentlike structure fell in May 2009. Hunt was a rookie free agent from the University of Texas at El Paso trying to make the team as a tight end and deep snapper at the time.
Hunt's attorney, Michael Guajardo, said the player suffered a herniated disk in his neck when a steel support fell on him.
Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the team isn't commenting on Hunt's claim.