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Chiefs vs. Cowboys: Tribute to Lamar Hunt and Why I Don’t Like the Cowboys

Go Texans. I mean Chiefs.

I’ve never been a Dallas Cowboys fan. In fact, I’ve hated them from the moment they played their first game at the Cotton Bowl in 1960. I’d been at the Cotton Bowl the day before to watch my beloved Dallas Texans play. Fifty years later, I’m still bitter. I’ve always blamed the blue and silver for forcing my team to move to Kansas City. My friends, all members of the Dallas Texans Huddle Club, cried when we learned that Lenny Dawson, Abner Haynes, and, my favorite, Chris “#88” Burford were moving.

The Texans won the AFL title in 1962. I was ten. My dad, a member of the Spurs Club, gave me the championship ring that the team gave him as a loyal supporter of the team. (Please don’t ask me what I’ve done with it.) However, I still have an autographed picture and football that I keep at my desk. As you can see, I’m not quite over the move.

And neither is my baby brother, Bill Nichols. He writes a  lovely story about the Chiefs and the birth of the Cowboys. At noon, the Chiefs will host the Cowboys. I will watch the game, but only to see the Chiefs decked out in the original Dallas Texan uniforms as a tribute to owner Lamar Hunt who passed away in 2006. That’s not true. I will watch because I’d love to see the Chiefs kick the hell out of the Cowboys. Payback time. Go Chiefs. You still have fans in Dallas.

UPDATE: OH, YES. @:23. Do you go for two or the tie?? Tied at 20. (Hey Clark, send me one of those Texans caps.)

UPDATE: Miles Austin.

Tom Hicks On Potential Sale Of Majority Rangers Stake: “We Want To Stay Involved In The Way We Are Now”

LAST UPDATED: 9:39 p.m.

D-tails
Mark Cuban: “Not interested in buying any other sports franchises at this time.”

Texas Rangers-Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks acknowledged that the struggling market and the sluggish economy have led him to alter his plans to sell a minority stake in the baseball team.

“We been in the process the last six months to try and find quality minority ownership,” Hicks said Thursday morning. “We are finding there is a lot of interest in baseball out there, but also finding that a lot of those quality groups want to have some degree of control. Our objective is to say involved with the club in the way we are now. The bottom line is that Hicks Sports Group has debt that has to be retired and we’ve had to broaden the process.”

Hicks said he’s hired a new broker, headed by former Goldman Sachs media banker Joseph Ravitch to help explore the market and build a group of partners. Hicks would be part of that partnership. Hicks said he’s hopeful the search for partners could be concluded by the end of the year. He did not deny the possibility of adding Houston’s Don Sanders and current Rangers President Nolan Ryan as part of the ownership group.

“I think it may involve [Ryan-Sanders],” Hicks said. “But it requires more than just that. In my mind, it would be important for Nolan Ryan to be involved in the club. The important thing is to find quality partners. If we do that, I could be involved in a lot of different ways.”

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Tom Hicks Quote On Wall Street Journal Default Story

Some of you may have read a Wall Street Journal story this morning discussing the official default filing against Hicks Sports Group for its failure to make an interest only payment of approximately $10 million on a $525 million loan. If you didn’t buy a hard copy of the Journal, you’ll have to ante up for a subscription to the online version to see the full story, but ol’ Fingers of Fury (at least that’s what they call him in the office) Robert Wilonsky blogged about some of the key points of the story this morning at Unfair Park.

The most provocative assumption made in the story is that Hicks could lose control of either the Rangers or Stars or both. I’ve been told repeatedly by sources within HSG that there is zero chance of that happening. Hicks said nearly two weeks ago that he has been in close contact with commissioners from both MLB and the NHL regarding HSG’s decision not to make the payment and the leagues approve of his plan to re-negotiate the loans. The leagues would also offer a significant level of protection against any foreclosure attempts.

Here’s the statement from Hicks that was just recently sent out:

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Bounce House: Rangers See Impact Of Crisp Season Opener

ARLINGTON - Nolan Ryan has attended season openers for more than 40 years now. This is what he had to say about the Rangers performance on Monday:

“Best season opener I’ve ever attended, watched, been a part of.”

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Josh Hamilton Contract Talk Update

ARLINGTON - The final spring training game for the Rangers usually means two things: The season is just around the corner and any ongoing contract negotiations are halted.

Will the latter hold true regarding the Josh Hamilton talks?

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Update On Hicks Sports Group’s Loan Situation

The Rangers/Stars owner is at The Ballpark for today’s game with Kansas City. Visited with him for just a few minutes to get clarification on yesterday’s story regarding Hicks Sports Group’s decision not to make the interest payment on loans of $525 million that were due March 31. The loans are expected to be officially placed in default this week

While Hicks tries to sort through the tangled web of 40 banks, hedge funds and CLOs to get access to the interest reserve account that would make the interest payment for him, he reiterated that the upshot of all this for fans is. … well, nothing.

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Rangers/Stars Owner Tom Hicks: “We Want The Banks To Be Reasonable”

Rangers/Stars owner Tom Hicks said he is asking bank lenders “to be reasonable” regarding the interest payment on more than $500 million in loans relating to the two clubs and the assets of Hicks Sports Group.

Before we go any further, we should probably explain to our British friends that Liverpool Football Club is not among the HSG holdings and neither are any of Hicks’ other business interests.

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