U.S. District Judge D. Michael Lynn set a mid-June hearing on the Rangers' plan to pay the $75 million of the club's debt tied up in owner Tom Hicks' financially strapped ownership group. That would remove the team from the additional claims by creditors against Hicks Sports Group, which is not part of the bankruptcy filing.
Matters could be finalized at a July 9 hearing.
HOCKEY
The Kings agreed to terms on a two-year contract with left wing Scott Parse, who just completed his rookie season with 11 goals and 24 points. His plus-13 rating in 59 regular-season games ranked first among all rookie forwards in the NHL.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A former Oklahoma State assistant basketball coach who sued Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith over an aborted hiring was awarded nearly $1.25 million by a jury.
The jury found that Smith falsely represented that he had the authority to hire Jimmy Williams when he called Williams in 2007 to talk about an assistant coach position in Minnesota. Williams claimed Smith offered him the job and that after that conversation, Williams resigned from his $200,000-a-year post at Oklahoma State.
But Minnesota officials backed away from Williams after Athletic Director Joel Maturi pointed out that Williams had NCAA recruiting violations in his past.
