(Reuters) – Fox Sports stepped up its battle with Frank McCourt, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying he needed to “get out of the way” and let the bankrupt team return to the business of baseball.

Fox, which broadcasts Dodgers games, has vigorously opposed the team’s plan to sell its future media rights earlier than expected as part of a plan to auction the team and exit bankruptcy.

In documents filed on Thursday, Fox asked Delaware’s bankruptcy court to reject the team’s request to sell its future broadcast rights, saying such a sale was unnecessary to bring the team out of Chapter 11.

“Moreover, Mr. McCourt is not necessary to this process. He should get out of the way and let everyone return to the business of baseball,” said Fox in court papers.

Fox, a unit of News Corp, also said that for the Dodgers to maximize the value of the team, they should include the land under the Dodger Stadium in the team’s sale.

McCourt, who made his fortune on real estate, owns the land through a company that is not part of the bankruptcy.

The Dodgers said in a statement on Thursday that recognizing the full value of the future media rights in conjunction with the sale of the team would be in the best interests of the team, fans and Major League Baseball.

“The fact that Fox thinks it should now opine on real estate is just plain foolish,” said the statement.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June shortly after baseball’s commissioner, Bud Selig, rejected a plan by the team to sell the future media rights to Fox for a reported $3 billion.

Baseball and McCourt spent months battling for control of the team. Earlier this month, McCourt agreed to sell the team and baseball agreed to allow the sale of the media rights.

Fox and the Dodgers have been ordered by the court to try to settle their dispute through mediation that is scheduled to begin Monday in Los Angeles, where Fox is based.

The team sales process is expected to be wrapped up by the end of April, in time for the start of the 2012 Major League season, sources familiar with the process have told Reuters.

The case is In re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Sue Zeidler in Los Angeles, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball agree to ‘court supervised process to sell team’

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired the first female head athletic trainer in major professional sports.

Sue Falsone was also the first female physical therapist in Major League Baseball when she was hired by the Dodgers in 2007. She held the position through the 2010 season.

“This is a very special day not just for Sue, but for the Dodgers and Major League Baseball,” general manager Ned Colletti said. “The Dodgers have always been an organization of firsts and this promotion for Sue continues in that tradition.”

Falsone, 37, said in a statement that it was “a true honour” to work with a progressive and historic organization.

“My work with the Dodgers over the past few years as well as my time with [Athletes' Performance] will serve me well in taking this next step,” she said. “I look forward to helping develop innovative and creative programs to reduce injuries and keep our players on the field so that they can achieve their potential.”

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in the major leagues when he debuted for the Dodgers in 1947. The Dodgers were also the first team to have a Korean-born player and a Taiwanese player on their big league roster.

Their signing of Hideo Nomo in 1995 paved the way for Japanese players to compete in the majors.

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired the
first female head athletic trainer in major professional sports.

Sue Falsone was also the first female physical therapist in Major League
Baseball when she was hired by the Dodgers in 2007. She held the position
through the 2010 season.

“This is a very special day not just for Sue, but for the Dodgers and Major
League Baseball,” general manager Ned Colletti said. “The Dodgers have always
been an organization of firsts and this promotion for Sue continues in that
tradition.”

Falsone, 37, said in a statement that it was “a true honor” to work with a
progressive and historic organization.

“My work with the Dodgers over the past few years as well as my time with
[Athletes' Performance] will serve me well in taking this next step,” she
said. “I look forward to helping develop innovative and creative programs to
reduce injuries and keep our players on the field so that they can achieve
their potential.”

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in the major leagues
when he debuted for the Dodgers in 1947. The Dodgers were also the first team
to have a Korean-born player and a Taiwanese player on their big league
roster.

Their signing of Hideo Nomo in 1995 paved the way for Japanese players to
compete in the majors.

The Sports Network

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a role for season ticket holders in the baseball team’s bankruptcy, which the team said it will take longer to resolve than once thought.

The Dodgers have been in bankruptcy since June and are waging a battle with Major League Baseball over control of the team, which struggled this year on the field.

A group of fans, led by the three children of the late entertainer Frank Sinatra, had sought a season ticket holders’ “official committee,” which would have had standing to raise objections and have its expenses paid by the team.

The season ticket holders agreed to drop the request for their own committee and in return they accepted two seats on the unsecured creditors committee, according to papers filed with Delaware’s bankruptcy court late Monday.

Fan boycotts and fears about security at the stadium drove Dodgers’ attendance down nearly 20 percent in 2011 to its lowest level in a decade.

The unsecured creditors committee also includes a representative of Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan who was beaten so badly at the Dodgers’ opening day game that he ended up in critical condition.

Separately, the Dodgers said in court papers they will need more time to bring the team out of bankruptcy. The team asked the court to extend until next baseball season the period in which the Dodgers have the exclusive right to propose a bankruptcy plan.

The team argued it will need more time to negotiate with Fox Sports, a unit of News Corp, before it can auction the right to broadcast games.

The team landed in bankruptcy after the league rejected a deal for those media rights. Now the team wants to try to sell those rights again, but this time the team hopes to convince bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross to overrule the league’s objection to the sale.

The league shows no sign of backing away from its insistence that the only way out of bankruptcy is a forced sale of the team.

The league said McCourt is draining the financial lifeblood from the team and said McCourt took more than $61 million from the Dodgers to pay off his personal debts, according to court documents filed on Tuesday.

In addition, the league said McCourt’s recent divorce settlement with ex-wife Jamie McCourt, reportedly worth $130 million, would worsen the owner’s finances and require a new owner for the team.

The court has scheduled a four-day hearing beginning October 31 to determine the best way out of the bankruptcy. McCourt and the league’s commissioner are expected to testify.

The bankruptcy case is In re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.