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Reports: Tom Hicks’ Liverpool Debt To Be Refinanced

UPDATED, 3:02 pm CDT with quotes from Tom Hicks, confirming Royal Bank of Scotland’s commitment.

The BBC is reporting that Royal Bank of Scotland will refinance a debt of £350 million that was due to be paid in July. There are, however, still negotiations ongoing with Wachovia, which also is due part of the loan.

What I found most interesting from the BBC story is this:

“The RBS revelation comes days after Liverpool co-owner George Gillett agreed to sell one of his major assets in a deal which would ease financial pressures at the Premier League club.

He is selling his 80% stake in the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team, in a deal reported to be worth at least $550m (£332.9m).

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LAX Fans Are Invited To A “Flinging Four” Watching Party On Saturday In Addison

Virginia heads to New England as the No. 1 seed after defeating Johns Hopkins in its regional final. (Photo: collegelax.us)

The local BRIDGE Lacrosse organization, dedicated to involving inner-city kids in lacrosse, is holding a “May Madness” watching party on Saturday at the BlackFinn American Saloon located at 4440 Belt Line in Addison for the NCAA Division I men’s semifinals (Duke-Syracuse and Cornell-Virginia) being played at Foxboro … Foxborough … where the Patriots play. Included will be a drawing for a trip for two to next year’s semifinals in Baltimore (airfare, hotel and tickets).

The opener is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and the second at 1:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for children under 18. At the door, it’ll be $20 and $10. Appetizers and drinks will be 50 percent off. And from noon to 2, complimentary beer and wine.

Syracuse is the defending national champion and is 14-2, facing Duke (15-3). Virginia (15-2) is the top-ranked team in the country, taking on Cornell (12-3).

Tickets can be ordered online at this site.

A Tough Couple Of Days For T.O.M.

Liverpool needed a miracle on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League semifinals after losing at home to Chelsea 3-1 in the first leg last week. And playing without captain Steven Gerrard, sidelined with a groin pull. But such a miracle appeared at hand when the Reds scored twice in the first 29 minutes at Stamford Bridge on London’s west side. But a Chelsea goal went in off the Liverpool keeper early in the second half, and from there it became a scoring circus. Final: a 4-4 draw that sends Chelsea through.

Making the final eight in Europe would be nice were it not for the presence of Chelsea and possibly Manchester United and Arsenal in the semifinals. Like it was nice for Pitt to make the NCAA regional finals, expect that UConn and Villanova reached the Final Four.

Read on for details on why Wednesday will be a particularly tough day for Liverpool and its fans.

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Nolan Ryan Talks Beef and Burgers on SideDish

Nolan Ryan has more than baseball on his plate.

LAX-tra following Patriot Cup

As advertised, I’m back today to go into more detail on a couple of aspects of Dallas-area lacrosse following the two-day Patriot Cup that ended Saturday night at SMU’s Ford Stadium. In case you missed yesterday’s 12-hour thread, about 7,500 folks took in the games compared to 2,500 last year.

Now, without further ado … (more…)

Saturday LAX at SMU

It’s the second and main day of the two-day Patriot Cup lacrosse event at Ford Stadium. Five matches today beginning in just a few minutes. We open with St. Mark’s facing St. Mary’s from Annapolis, Md. at 9 a.m.

Then, college play will dominate the day. Notre Dame vs. Vermont at noon, Air Force against Bucknell at 2:30, a club match at 5 between Nazareth and Western New England, and a college finale with SMU hosting Texas A&M at 7.

Visit back during the proceedings. Better yet, drop by. (more…)

Men With Facemasks, Bearing Sticks Invade SMU this Weekend

You know you are a big-time sports blog/website when you start getting official press releases about events. And you know you are really big time when you just start ignoring them. But we here at The Corner are nothing if not attentive to the needs of the North Texas Lacrosse Playing Community (NTLPC or Nottlepuck, if you prefer). Anyway, a bunch of high school and college lacrossters are descending on SMU’s Ford Stadium this weekend for the Patriot Cup, an event that benefits the Wounded Warrior Project.

You can read the full release and get the schedule after the jump. (more…)