The Mets this season bypassed the September swoons that ruined their 2007 and 2008 seasons; they fell apart in mid-summer. Their list of wounded is well chronicled, negating the signing of Francisco Rodriguez, and general manager Omar Minaya emerged with the support of owner Fred Wilpon.

But Minaya has had a rough couple of years since he and his multi-cultural team made the cover of SI in 2007. The early ’08 firing of manager Willie Randolph turned into an awkward, late-night affair on the West Coast. Last season, the Mets fired V.P. Tony Bernazard following an ugly incident in the minor leagues that was first reported by New York Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin. During the news conference to announce Bernazard’s ouster, Minaya said Rubin had lobbied him for a position in player development, which left the impression that Rubin’s report was connected to his desire to join the Mets. (A report from that news conference.) Minaya later apologized to Rubin.

Going into the ’09 season, Minaya elected to re-sign 28-year-old lefty starter Oliver Perez and apparently pass up 35-year-old righty Derek Lowe. The erratic Perez managed only 14 starts and three wins while Lowe went 15-10 in Atlanta to help the Braves stay in wild-card contention well into September. Pedro Martinez told Fox Sports that Minaya offered him a 2009 contract loaded with incentives. Maybe it was best for the Mets not to re-sign him for what he wanted over a full season, but that won’t matter much when he starts Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium for the Phillies.

All of this in a season during which the Yankees ended their one-year post-season “slump.” Short of getting swept by the Phillies, their arrow appears to be pointed up for the first time in six years.

It would appear the Mets must at least drastically improve in 2010 for Minaya to remain G.M. And if that doesn’t happen … and if the Rangers play anywhere close to what they did in 2009 … and depending on what happens with the Rangers’ ownership situation, would the Mets look at New Yorker Jon Daniels as a potential replacement for Minaya in 2011?

Could be Daniels has been away from New York long enough that there’s no pull to “go home.” Could be he’s settled here and wants to play out his role with the Rangers as long as he can. But the Mets have resources that the Rangers probably never will have . Conversely, the Mets’ resources can’t match the team up in the Bronx.

You tell me if this scenario makes any sense.

With Hicks and Gillett in attendance, Liverpool fans held their latest gathering in protest of the American owners. The four consecutive losses in combined league and Champions League play marked the worst stretch for the Reds since 1987. Sunday’s win improved Liverpool to six wins and four losses in the Premier League, fifth place in the league and six points behind first-place Arsenal.

Next up for Liverpool in league play will be a visit to Fulham (3-4-1) next Saturday.

This has been more than simply a forgettable week for Tom Hicks’ Liverpool FC. It has been bad, bizarre and getting worse.

The Reds have lost four consecutive matches for the first time in 22 years, fallen well off the pace in the English Premier League only nine games into the season and are in danger of failing to advance out of opening-group play in the Champions League. They lost in stoppage time on Tuesday at home against Olympique Lyonnaise, and that wasn’t the worst of their week. Try losing when you give up a goal off a beach ball.

Last Sunday, Liverpool lost to Sunderland 1-0 with the goal by Darren Best eluding Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina after it caromed off a beach ball sitting a few feet in front of him. (Seems the YouTube shot has been removed, but here’s a slide show of the episode.) The daffy defeat leaves Liverpool with five wins and four losses after losing only twice all of last season in the EPL. Next up? Manchester United at Anfield this Sunday.

Then came Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Lyon. Liverpool took a 1-0 lead into the second half despite opening without injured starters Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson, then losing captain Steve Gerrard in the 25th minute due to an aggravation of a groin injury. Lyon tied the score in the 72nd minute and won in extra time, both goals scored by substitutes. Here’s a match report if you’d like to pore over the details. The Reds are stuck in third place in four-team Group E halfway through round-robin play, and manager Rafa Benitez is predictably under attack.

I didn’t expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.

ARLINGTON – Amid increased internet chatter Wednesday that Tom Hicks’ sports group – Hicks Sports Group – financial woes are deepening and that the club has borrowed money from MLB’s rainy-day fund, team officials took a strange approach.

They went silent.

The chatter arose Wednesday after a local blog reported hearing on a national radio broadcast the team had borrowed $15 million from MLB to make its most recent payroll obligations and to fund ongoing operations. Asked about the reports, Hicks referred questions to team spokesman John Blake, who said the team would have no comment on the financial situation. Club president Nolan Ryan declined to comment after the Rangers’ 9-7 win over Los Angeles, which pulled them within a half game of the Angels in the AL West.

Club sources, however, said the team has paid its employees for the most recent pay period and that Hicks remains in control of the organization.  According to a source familiar with the situation, the Rangers are continuing normal operating procedures and have financial resources to sign both draft picks and international free agents. The source, however, did not mention the possibility of increasing payroll at the trading deadline.

According to a source, a scenario has been in place for several weeks that would have allowed the Rangers to borrow from the MLB fund. It would not mean MLB would take control of the club, but under those circumstances, it’s likely MLB would have much more say on spending matters. The Rangers top two draft picks, LHP Matt Purke and RHP Tanner Scheppers, are both demanding bonuses well in excess of the current MLB-recommended “slotting” system.

Since late March, when Hicks announced a willingness to sell a minority stake in the club, the problems have widened. Hicks went into default over an interest-only payment on a $525 million loan to his U.S. based sports operations. Earlier this season, he acknowledged a willingness to sell a controlling interest in the team and has talked to potential investors such as Ryan, Houston-based Don Sanders and car dealer David McDavid. In June, the Rangers laid off a little less than 10 percent of their front office staff in an attempt to further trim costs.

Last week, GM Jon Daniels said he had not explicitly been told the club would be unable to add payroll at the deadline, but the Rangers were proceeding as if taking on extra financial commitments was not a viable option. The Rangers did not get involved in trade talks for versatile former Ranger Mark DeRosa, who Cleveland traded to St. Louis last week. DeRosa was still owed about $3 million in salary at the time of the trade.

(Dallas, May 28, 2009) – Texas Rangers Owner Thomas O. Hicks said today that he has hired
Raine, a new firm being created by media, telecommunications and sports expert Joe Ravitch, to
identify potential investors for the Major League Baseball club. Ravitch and partner Jesse
Jacobs will work jointly with Merrill Lynch, the group led by Shelly Stein that has been advising
Hicks on possible investors for the club. Hicks said he has directed his team of professionals to
examine all possible scenarios to secure new investors.

“My family and I want very much to stay involved with the club,” said Hicks “but we understand
that we have to be open to solutions that may include partners who own a controlling interest in
the Rangers. That is not our preference, but there are some potential buyers who won’t consider
having only a minority interest. Personally, it’s a difficult issue for us however, we must look at
those alternatives because that’s in the best interest for the franchise, the fans and everyone
associated with the Rangers.”

Hicks said a concrete timeline with a thorough and exhaustive process will be established.
“Although we don’t know the end result, I don’t want any ofthis to be a distraction to the team
or our fans,” said Hicks. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Simply put, our family is
pursuing the best strategic alternatives for the Rangers, and we will work to keep everyone
informed on our progress.”

“I am selling part of the Rangers,” Hicks told Galloway in a column written much in the style of a news story. ” I don’t know how big of a part. Yes, I’d be open to selling more than a minority share, but it depends on who the partners are.”

This morning, Hicks has yet to comment. A week ago, via email, he declined to discuss the state of his search for investors. He did not discuss the topic with reporters when he briefly visited the field on Monday before the first-place Rangers began a series with the New York Yankees. We’ve heard plenty of whispers about the state of his financial troubles, but were hoping that Hicks would discuss those rather than attribute provocative statements to unnamed sources.

This, however, is a huge story. As we wait for principals involved to speak let’s try to answer a couple of questions:

Q: How much would it take to buy the team?
A: The San Diego Padres sold for $500 million just before the start of the season and Forbes annual team valuation list ranked the Rangers a bit ahead of San Diego before the sale was announced. I’ve been told $600 million would be a realistic asking price, but if Hicks’ financial situation is deteriorating, it could become a buyers’ market for the club. In theory, it could drive the price for the team and its various assets down closer to the $500 million range.

Q: Is Nolan Ryan a candidate to buy the club?
A: When the topic was minority interest, it made no sense for Ryan to get involved on the ownership side. As club president, he had all the authority he could want short of setting payrolls and budgets. As a minority owner, he’d have no more authority or power than he does now. But make him the managing general partner of a majority ownership group and the stakes change. Ryan and Houston-based partner Don Sanders own two minor league teams together, so there is definite appeal to taking that to the next level. The question always comes down to money. Sanders’ investment group has seen its cash flow decrease by 41 percent from last year, according to CFFO Daily. But virtually every business has taken a significant cash flow hit. Based on the amount of money the group manages, its likely Sanders could put together a solid group with Ryan remaining as the face of the organization. On the surface, at least, a Ryan-Sanders partnership would have to be considered the most likely group to get involved. Partnering with Ryan/Sanders might even allow Hicks to hold on to enough of the club that he could theoretically some day by his way back to majority ownership.

I typed all that before the Rangers allowed five runs in the ninth inning. Now this questions confronts us: The Rangers got the win tonight, but how much of the club’s confidence might the Angels’ ninth-inning rally dampen.

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.

April 15 will mark the 20th anniversary of the English soccer tragedy that cost 96 Liverpool fans their lives. Liverpool was to play Nottingham Forest in the semfinals of the FA Cup in Hillsborough, at the home field of a club called Sheffield Wednesday. Because of previous hooliganism in England, the seating areas for the teams’ fans were set apart and huge fences surrounded the playing surface.

The area for Liverpool fans wasn’t large enough to satisfy the demand, and fans entering that portion of the stadium began crushing their brethren up ahead without realizing it. Six minutes into the game, play was stopped once authorities recognized what was happening. Ninety-four Liverpool fans died that day, another died a few days later and another spent about four years in a coma before dying in 1993.

Here is an in-depth look at what happened from BBC’s online site.

Hicks has said he supports coach Dave Tippett despite missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season. And he has yet to decide about the twin-GM set-up with Brett Hull and Les Jackson.

Said Hicks on the GMs: “We’re going to have our end-of-the-year meeting sometime next week or the week after that, so I’d be premature to say anything until after I hear what they have to say.”

Placed in the unique role replacing Doug Armstrong in November 2007, Hull-Jackson was/were hailed when the Stars upset Anaheim and San Jose last season before losing the Western finals to Detroit. Along the way, they made the deadline deal for Brad Richards.

For this season, they successfully put the Stars in position as Fabian Brunnstrom’s second option in a competitive market, which came through after Brunnstrom’s first NHL choice made a front-office move that eliminated his main contact. Sean Avery came and went. Philippe Boucher was replaced with the third run of Darryl Sydor. Injuries mounted, particularly to key personnel. This year’s key deadline acquisition was Brendan Morrison. And they decided before the season that Tobias Stephan would spell Marty Turco.