Major League Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A judge ruled baseball owners must disclose documents on discussions about contraction, including information about loans between Twins owner Carl Pohlad and commissioner Bud Selig.
Hennepin County Judge Harry Crump issued his order Friday in response to a request by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission for information on contraction.
The ruling comes in the aftermath of disclosures this month about four loans between baseball teams and owners, including a $3 million loan from a Pohlad family company to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Selig was the interim commissioner and Brewers’ CEO at the time of the 1995 loan.
That loan has brought accusations that Selig’s plan to eliminate two teams in 2002 – the Twins and the Montreal Expos are considered the most likely candidates – represents a conflict of interest. He has denied any conflict.
Crump rejected the arguments of a lawyer for baseball owners that he should wait until the Minnesota Court of Appeals rules on other aspects of the case.
“We think it’s very positive for fans of the Minnesota Twins and the people of the state of Minnesota,” said Bill Lester, executive director of the Sports Commission, which operates the Metrodome.
This is the second major ruling by Crump concerning the Twins’ fate. On Nov. 16 he issued a temporary injunction, sought by the commission, ordering the Twins to play their 2002 season at the Dome and barring owners from disbanding the team.
The owners appealed and an Appeals Court panel heard the case Dec. 27. It has not announced a decision.
National Basketball Association
SAN DIEGO (AP) Alex Hannum, the first coach to win championships in both the ABA and NBA, has died. He was 78.
Hannum, who coached for 16 seasons and won NBA titles with St. Louis and Philadelphia and an ABA championship with Oakland, died Friday at his home in San Diego. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Hannum was selected coach of the year for the NBA in 1964 and the ABA in 1969. He coached 12 Hall of Famers, including Wilt Chamberlain, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.
He had a 471-412 record in his 12 years as an NBA coach and a 178-152 record in his four years as an ABA coach.
Born July 19, 1923, in Los Angeles, Hannum went to Hamilton High School and then the University of Southern California. His time at USC was interrupted by service in World War II.
After playing three seasons for the Los Angeles Shamrocks, an Amateur Athletic Union team, Hannum was signed by the NBA’s Oshkosh All-Stars in 1948.
He moved between teams before becoming a player-coach with the St. Louis Hawks in 1957. He guided the Hawks to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Boston in seven games.
Hannum led the Hawks to the NBA championship the next year, and in 1967 he coached the Philadelphia 76ers’ championship run.
He then took the Oakland Oaks to the ABA championship in 1969.
No funeral information has been released.