• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 08 / 05 / 2010

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FORT WORTH, Texas -- In a courtroom drama that lasted nearly 15 hours, Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan fended off a rival bid from Mark Cuban and emerged victorious in a bankruptcy court auction, winning the right to purchase the Texas Rangers with a $385 million cash bid

The two sides bickered and bid for the right to purchase the team from Wednesday morning until well past midnight in Texas, until the final bid from Greenberg, submitted at about 12:25 a.m. CT, was not answered. Houston businessman Jim Crane, who partnered with the Dallas Mavericks owner on his bid, shook Ryan's hand and told the current Rangers president they were done bidding, ending a contentious and dramatic battle.

"I'm too tired to be happy," Greenberg said afterward outside of court. "There were so many times we thought we had it. I think I've become temporarily, physiologically, too tired to be elated."

It was a costly battle, too. Including assumed debt, the price tag for Greenberg's group will be $593 million, he said, as they first pay off creditors assembled in the wake of current Rangers owner Tom Hicks' bankruptcy filing. But the night clearly was a victory for not only the Greenberg-Ryan contingent, but also Rangers fans hoping that Ryan, a Hall of Famer and Texas icon, would remain a relevant voice in the organization going forward. As the bidding intensified, the Rangers rallied to defeat the Mariners in Seattle, pushing their surprise lead in the American League West to a season-high nine games.

And it was a victory, presumably, for Major League Baseball, which rebuffed Cuban's efforts to purchase the Chicago Cubs and likely would have heavily scrutinized his bid to buy the Rangers. Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission appealed a lower court's decision to throw out insider trader charges against the Dallas Mavericks owner.

"I'm disappointed, but we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish," said Cuban, who said he would have kept Ryan on in his new regime. Later, he tweeted his well-wishes, saying, "Congrats Chuck and Nolan. Go Rangers!"

By Bob Nightengale

Source: http://content.usatoday.com