Crane hopes Astros, CSN Houston can strike deal

HOUSTON (AP) Houston Astros owner Jim Crane hopes Comcast SportsNet Houston will agree to pay his team what he calls a fair amount for its media rights, and they can boost carriage after a season where only 40 percent of the city could view the games.

But for now the situation has gotten uglier. The network recently filed bankruptcy, followed by the Astros filing a motion to dismiss that case. The Astros say the network filed the motion to gain leverage over the team in the dispute.

Crane says the team can't take a ``20-year bad deal.''

He says the media rights deal is integral to the future of his team. He says the team's payroll, which was below $30 million this year, will be ``significantly higher'' next season no matter what.