PHOENIX — A group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf has pulled out as a potential buyer of the Phoenix Coyotes just as the NHL and a partnership of Canadian and American investors filed separate bids in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to purchase the team and keep it in Arizona.
The NHL announced its bid filing a few hours before word came that the investors’ group, known as Ice Edge Holdings, had met Tuesday’s court-imposed deadline.
Ice Edge chairman Keith McCullough said in a news release that the plan was to “revitalize NHL hockey in Arizona and the southwestern United States.”
Reinsdorf’s group said it was unable to meet the deadline for submitting a firm offer. It also complained of an “unwilling seller” and “an organized publicity effort designed to provide negative and misleading information to interested parties.”
The flurry of activity Tuesday leaves the NHL and Ice Edge as bidders that would keep the team in Arizona. Neither organization revealed the size of its bid. Earlier, Ice Edge said it was prepared to offer about $150 million.
Austrian ski great Sailer dies
VIENNA — Austrian skiing great Toni Sailer, who in 1956 became the first skier to win all three alpine gold medals at a Winter Olympics, died Monday after a long illness. He was 73.
Hawks sign forward Smith
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks signed forward Joe Smith, who averaged 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in the regular season while playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
• Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is back behind bars after he was accused of violating probation by not showing up for work in Tampa, Fla.
Texas powers way to victory
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Travis Daves and Wyatt Willis each hit two-run homers to lead San Antonio past Chula Vista, Calif., 6-3 at the Little League World Series. In other games:
• Marcelo Martinez struck out 12, and Reynosa, Mexico, held off a late rally to stay undefeated with a 3-2 victory over Taoyuan, Taiwan.
• Katie Reyes‘ two-run single helped Vancouver, British Columbia, rally after blowing an eight-run lead in a 14-13 victory over Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany.
• Peabody, Mass., used a nine- run third inning to pull away from Russellville, Ky., in a 12-3 victory.
• Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, scored five runs on just one hit during a sloppy first inning by Maracaibo, Venezuela, in a 5-3 victory.
Dream routs Monarchs.
Iziane Castro Marques scored 30 points and Angel McCoughtry added 20 to help the Atlanta Dream beat the visiting Sacramento Monarchs 103-83 in WNBA action.
• The Storm went on a 31-9 early run to defeat the Washington Mystics 78-68 in Seattle.
• The Los Angeles Sparks pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the visiting Chicago Sky 75-63.
• Katie Smith scored 19 points and the Detroit Shock beat the Connecticut Sun 90-70 in Uncasville, Conn.
The Associated Press
