When the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission voted last week to accept a legal settlement to end their lawsuit against the Twins and baseball owners, most thought the case was over.

But the pesky matter remains of what to do with thousands of still-private internal baseball documents turned over by owners that are under lock and key in Hennepin County Judge Harry Seymour Crump's office.

The documents were turned over to Crump after he ruled that owners had to make all contraction-related documents available to commission attorneys as they prepared their case arguing that the Twins had to honor their lease this season and next.

That was the suit that was settled, but not until Crump ordered the Twins to play ball this season in the Metrodome. The settlement didn't discuss how to dispense the documents.

Baseball owners have sought return of the documents to ensure they stay private, while several Twin Cities news outlets -- the two daily newspapers, The Associated Press and KARE-TV -- have petitioned Crump to make the documents public.

"The information was collected by a public agency, namely the sports facilities commission, and the Data Practices Act creates a presumption that those types of documents are accessible to the public," said John Borger, an attorney representing three of the news organizations.

The material, provided on CD-ROM, won't be destroyed or returned to the Twins until Crump decides their fate, said Andy Shea, a commission attorney. Twins' attorney Roger Magnuson didn't immediately return a call.

The documents were sought by reporters across the country in the wake of last November's announcement by commissioner Bud Selig that baseball owners intended on buying and folding two teams.

Selig didn't name the teams, but speculation immediately rested on Minnesota and Montreal amid speculation that Twins owner Carl Pohlad was seeking to have his team part of contraction plans.

Selig said the decision was a financial one, that folding the teams was a necessary move given the huge losses he said many teams face annually. It's believed the documents would shed light on the normally secret financial books of teams.