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September 03, 2009
Coyotes auction stalled again
And the verdict on whether Jim Balsillie can enter the auction to buy the Phoenix Coyotes is ... going to wait for yet another hearing. Everyone gathered in Judge Redfield Baum's bankruptcy court yesterday as promised, at which point the following transpired:
- Baum hinted that he'd like to leave Balsillie in the auction, saying he wanted as many offers to consider as possible.
- Baum told Balsillie that he should reconsider his self-imposed September 14 deadline for gaining control of the team, since he thinks they'll still be in court then.
- The NHL raised concerns about setting the schedule for the 2009-10 season, at which point Balsillie's lawyers huddled and offered to keep the team in Phoenix for a year before moving it to Hamilton, Ontario. NHL representatives immediately rejected the offer.
At that point, in the words of the Toronto Star, "The judge admonished both sides for negotiating in court, suggesting they do it in private and offered to have them go home and come back Thursday." From the sound of it, though, the next hearing will actually be on either September 10 or 11, which doesn't bode well for the Coyotes auction taking place on the 10th as planned. Maybe Baum will just lock both sides in a room and wait for somebody to explode.
