Jim Balsillie

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The National Hockey League on Wednesday rejected Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie's application for ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team but gave its approval to two groups vying to buy the bankrupt club. The North American sports league said owners unanimously approved the application of sports tycoon Jerry Reinsdorf and ruled incomplete the filing by a group of investors under the name Ice Edge Holdings. But the league said Ice Edge could continue its efforts to buy the team. The NHL, which does not want Basillie moving the Coyotes to Canada, said in a terse statement said owners voted unanimously not ... Read Full Story

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is firing back at BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie. Melnyk has released a statement Thursday that reads like an open letter to Balsillie. He addressed claims by the Research In Motion co-CEO that Melnyk lacks personal integrity and expressed dismay over Balsillie's attempt to buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Melnyk acknowledges in his statement that he's paid fines to the Ontario Securities Commission for "administrative oversights" but notes that it was a far from the sanctions that have been levied against Balsillie and his company Research In Motion. In the statement, Melnyk indicates he once felt bad for Balsillie but now ... Read Full Story

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie wants the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to allow him to probe the rationale behind the NHL owners' overwhelming rejection of him as a potential owner of the Phoenix Coyotes. The Canadian, in a court filing on Monday, also contends that Judge Redfield T. Baum has the authority under bankruptcy law to award the bid to Balsillie despite the actions by NHL owners. The filing by PSE Sports & Entertainment, the company Balsillie formed to pursue the Coyotes, comes after the NHL said he was rejected as an owner by a 26-0 vote with three abstentions and one absentee, because he was ... Read Full Story

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie says there is an inescapable fact concerning the Phoenix Coyotes: They are bankrupt, no matter who owns or controls them. The NHL filed motions in an Arizona bankruptcy court Wednesday. The league contends Balsillie's attempt to buy the Coyotes out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and move the team to Hamilton is a "sham." "Who owns or controls the team is a distinction without a difference," Balsillie said in a statement Thursday. "The team itself is still bankrupt, voluntarily or not. The owner of the team has a fiduciary obligation towards the creditors." The NHL says Coyotes majority owner Jerry Moyes ... Read Full Story

Attorneys for the NHL and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie prepared for a court showdown Tuesday over whether the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes can be sold and moved to southern Ontario despite the league's objections. The hearing centers on the crucial question of whether U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Redfield T. Baum should grant the sale of the franchise to Balsillie for $212.5 million, a bid that is contingent on moving the team. The NHL is fighting the move, saying it wants the team to stay in Arizona, where the league insists it could be valuable with better management and a better team. The Coyotes have lost $314 ... Read Full Story