GREENVILLE —
Hall of Fame legend Nolan Ryan shared the challenges of being owner of the Texas Rangers during a luncheon inside the Roy Q. Traylor Athletic Complex at Greenville High School on Tuesday.
“With the history of our organizations, I knew we had some challenges to face,” Ryan said. “I was much more familiar with the Astros organization and Houtston that with the Rangers organization.”
Before Ryan could face the challenges of being an owner, he had one person standing in his way in the bidding for the Rangers, current owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban.
“The day of the auction I wasn’t a friend of Mark Cuban,” he said. “but when they stopped bidding and I had won, I was more of a Cuban fan.”
Ryan said he didn’t think he had too great of a shot of becoming the owner during the bidding war.
“I really felt like they were going to outbid us,” he said. “I was totally shocked when Cuban walked up and told me they weren’t going to bid anymore.”
According to Ryan, that was the longest day of his life.
“We started the day at 8 a.m. and I couldn’t get to bed until 2 a.m.,” he said. “It was an emotional rollercoaster over the 24-hour period.”
Ryan said he was met with a surprise the next day when he went into the office.
“The entire office employees were there with a bottle of champagne to celebrate,” he said.
Ryan still had many challenges to face, but according to him, they would be easier if they could find the right talent for the team.
“We were very fortunate because a lot of those people like Elvis, Murphy and Holland have made a big impact on the Rangers,” he said.
Ryan said his first priority when he took over the Rangers was to work on the pitching.
“We really felt like we needed to improve the pitching,” he said. “And one way to do that is to improve our defensive players.”
That’s when he made a move to bring up Elvis Andrus.
“We moved Michael young to third base and moved Elvis up to shortstop,” he said. “I couldn’t be any happier with what he’s accomplished.”
Ryan also complimented Rangers General Manager John Daniels.
“He has grown into that position and has listed to people and their reccomendations well,” he said. “He has dedicated his life to being the best GM he can be. We have high respect for each other.”
Sports
Expressing his thoughts
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Bobby Holley shoots 720 series
Bobby Holley led all league bowlers for the past week at DB's Sports Grill & Bowling in Greenville with a 720 series in the Guys Night Out league. Holley's high game was a 268.
Kerry Sheehan led the women with a 552 series in the Monday Summer Mix.
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A&M-Commerce adds softball to athletic program
Coming soon, Texas A&M University-Commerce will no longer be the only school in the Lone Star Conference to not have a softball program.
A&M-Commerce President Dan Jones made the announcement during a press conference held inside the Alumni Center on Monday.
“I am thrilled about the addition of this program,” he said, mentioning that A&M-Commerce is one of the oldest universities in Texas and the only charter member left of the original LSC. “As long as we’ve been here, we’ve never had a womens softball program.” -
No. 1 Pilot Point stops Commerce
Pilot Point’s Skylar Cagle showed why she’s one of the state’s top pitchers while leading the Lady Bearcats to a sweep over Commerce in a Class 2A regional semifinal softball series on Friday night.
Cagle struck out 22 batters in 14 innings as No. 1 state-ranked Pilot Point won 1-0 and 3-2 to advance to the regional finals. Cagle improved her season record to 23-0 as Pilot Point upped its team mark to 36-2.
Commerce finished the season with a 27-7 record after advancing the farthest in the playoffs in school history.
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Commerce Lady Tigers to face No. 1 ranked team
Tonight the Commerce Lady Tigers will play Pilot Point, the No. 1 ranked softball team in the state.
But to Commerce Jeff Davidson, it’ll be just another game.
“It’s still another game,” he said. “It’s their best against our best.”
The Lady Tigers will face Pilot Point at 6 p.m. in Mount Pleasant at Northeast Texas Community College in the first game of a best-of-three Class 2A regional semifinal playoff series. Game two is set for 8:30 p.m. and if need be, game three is at 10 a.m. on Saturday. -
Northeast Texas Trail ride planned
The organizers of the new Northeast Texas Trail (NETT) have scheduled its inaugural event to introduce the multi-use trail to potential users.
On Saturday at 7 am, teams of cyclists and equestrians will begin separate relays from trailheads in New Boston and Farmersville. The meeting point will be Love Civic Center in Paris (2025 S. Collegiate Dr.). Estimated time of arrival is at 2:30 p.m. Golden spikes will be driven into the ground at various points along the route which was originally a railroad corridor. -
Wilson wins gold, silver at state track meet
Buck Wilson of Commerce won gold and silver medals this weekend at the state meet while Rains pole vaulter Charlotte Brown won over a lot of hearts.
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GHS athletics hands out awards
The Greenville Lions held their Athletic Banquet at the Greenville High School Auditorium Saturday evening.
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Storms test area athletes' patience
Patience was a necessity for local athletes competing on Friday at the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Championships in Austin.
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Local MMA fighters set to compete
Three members of Chop Shop Mixed Martial Arts, a Greenville-based mixed martial arts gym, will compete on May 11 in Ascend Combat’s Mayhem 3 in Shreveport, La.
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Royse City runner seeks to improve at state meet
Last year Ulisses Lopez of Royse City took fifth in the Class 4A 800-meter run at the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Championships in Austin.
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