“Yeah,” sports executive Chuck Greenberg was saying to Paul Stewart, a former Dallas Symphony 
Orchestra official, “I’m gonna try to make it two in a row!”
Greenberg (pictured at far right with Stewart) has kept a low profile since being ousted as Texas Rangers CEO earlier this year. But there he was at a party last night at the W Hotel penthouse where sports entrepreneur Kirby Schlegel lives, talking openly to guests about his interest in acquiring the Dallas Stars.
Greenberg and Kirby’s father, Canadian-born Pavestone founder Bob Schlegel, who was also in attendance, years ago tried (unsuccessfully) to buy the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres team.
Leaning casually against one wall, Greenberg confirmed press reports that he’ll be a contender for the Stars, saying he’s worked hard on his bid for the last six or eight weeks or so. He said he will not be partnering on the deal with Mark Cuban, as some early reports had it, and that he sees his toughest competition coming from the “stalking horse” bid of Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi.
The team’s winning bidder, Greenberg said, will be “the one who wants it the most, the one who has the most belief in the future of the franchise.”
Greenberg was a star attraction–but not the only one–at the Tuesday night bash, which was a joint presentation of Kirby Schlegel and Country Music Television.
Billed as “The Best of Texas, celebrating Texas elite from the worlds of entertainment, business, 
fashion, philanthropy and sports,” the party at Schlegel’s 12,000-square-foot penthouse (he shares it with one of his sisters) featured a number of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the stars of CMT’s Texas Women reality series.
A show about the cheerleaders (Making the Team) has been on CMT for six seasons–it’s the network’s longest-running show–and the Texas Women finale is tomorrow night.
One of the Texas Women stars, rodeo stock contractor Anna Hunt, was hobbling around on crutches in the penthouse with her friend Hannah Helvey, Anna’s roommate on the show.
Anna, who explained that she’d recently twisted her ankle “falling down the stairs” at Hannah’s place, said she’s headed back to Coalinga, Calif., soon to tend her string of rodeo bulls. Hannah (pictured at far right with Anna) said she’ll continue to do “modeling a little bit” here and in Fort Worth.
Asked what she thought of the Texas Women show, Hannah replied: “It’s interesting.”
Meantime, CMT development head Jayson Dinsmore, who lived in Mesquite following college, said “Texas has been under-represented” lately on the tube, so the network is aiming to change that.
A new show called CMT Made will feature still more Texas women, he said. And another program will focus on a couple of wedding planners living near San Antonio who are trying to save their family homestead.
Toward the end of the night, everybody–reality stars, network officials, Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, other beautiful women in short skirts, slick guys in untucked shirts and three days’ worth of stubble–gathered in the main room, and Kirby gave a little pep talk about how great Dallas people are.
Then, because it was also Kirby’s 33rd birthday, everybody sang “Happy Birthday” to him and sipped flutes of champagne.
