Houston Astros owner Jim Crane has sued Comcast Corp. accusing the cable company of fraud in selling him a stake in the "overpriced and broken" regional broadcast venture, Comcast SportsNet Houston, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Comcast, which owns part of the regional sports venture, pushed it into bankruptcy in September, blocking a drive by Crane to force co-owner Comcast out of its spot as broadcaster. Comcast denied the charges of fraud in the lawsuit and said it would defend against allegations that the November 2011 sale of the Astros baseball team and more than 40 percent of the network to Crane was founded in "knowing misrepresentations" about the network's financial prospects.
