Astros owner Drayton McLane has confirmed that he has an agreement in place to sell the team to a group led by Houston businessman Jim Crane. He hopes to be able to sign a sales-purchase agreement by the middle of next week. McLane, who announced in November he was trying to sell the club, said both sides were finalizing the paperwork and it would take four-to-six weeks for the deal to be approved by Major League Baseball. "We have an understanding, and Jim's an honorable person, and I am, too," McLane said. "We have an overall agreement, but things come up. Lawyers draw up complicated contracts, and we have to get all those portions of it done."