McClatchy news services

• Published December 22, 2011
Modified December 21, 2011

Creditors of the Los Angeles Dodgers are joining the team in urging a federal district judge in Dover, Del., to allow implementation of a bankruptcy court order authorizing the Dodgers to begin a process for selling television rights to future games.

That’s all the news for today.

DOVER, Del. — Creditors of the Los Angeles Dodgers are joining the team in urging a federal district judge not to halt implementation of a bankruptcy court order authorizing the Dodgers to begin a process for selling television rights to future games.

In a filing Wednesday, the committee said there’s no guarantee that a sale of the team without the TV rights will result in Dodgers creditors being paid in full.

The committee noted that the Dodgers face several unreconciled claims, including a lawsuit filed on behalf of a San Francisco Giants fan who is represented on the creditors committee and was critically injured in an assault outside Dodger Stadium on opening day.

Fox is challenging the proposed media rights sale, saying it violates the company’s rights under an existing contract with the Dodgers.

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I think things are starting to look up for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger fans too. Off the field, the sale of the team, with the approval of owner Frank McCourt and MLB is moving forward. A recent court ruling in the Dodgers’ favor regarding the sale of broadcast rights means things do look good for a sale by this spring. The bidding process is expected to open January 13 and go until April 1, with a sale by April 30.

Los Angels Dodgers.
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After some big signings of players like Matt Kemp and Mark Ellis, Dodgers’ GM Ned Colletti is making some moves behind the scenes. I think the team struggled this year and I was disappointed to see Colletti just moving people around instead of bringing in new blood. I’m ready for a new owner to come in and I hope he fires Colletti and brings back Kim Ng.

I still think the team has not recovered from the departure of former assistant GM Kim Ng, who is now working with Joe Torre in the MLB commissioner’s office. She should have been named GM instead of Colletti and I would have left the mess that was the Dodgers too. She’s now the senior vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner’s office and her name is always mentioned as the best candidate to become the first female general manager in professional baseball. This possibility is endorsed by the great Joe Torre himself, who said “I think she’s ready,” in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

As far as front office changes, Vance Lovelace, who may have the greatest name in Dodgers’ front office history, is now the director of professional personnel. He was a special assistant to the GM and director of player scouting. Lovelace was a Dodger pitcher, coming to the team from the Chicago Cubs in the 1983 Ron Cey trade.

Rick Ragazzo is now the director of pro scouting, so I hope he’s out there scouting for the next big deal the team can make to further booster its 2012 roster. He was formerly a special assistant to the GM. He’s been with the Dodgers for four years, after 17 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, where he worked with Colletti. The team will retain special assistants Bill Mueller, Aaron Sele, Mark Sweeney, Juan Castro and Jose Vizcaino, who are all also former players.

Freddy Sherman grew up in Philadelphia, which didn’t make being a Los Angeles Dodgers fan easy. He has lived in Los Angeles for twenty years, now able to follow the Dodgers openly and attends games frequently. You can follow him on Twitter -@thefredsherman.

More from this contributor:

Barry Bonds Sentence is a Joke: Fan’s Opinion

Dodgers’ Matt Kemp Wins Top Player GIBBY: Fan’s View

Dodgers Vs. Fox Update: Fan’s View

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

There is the quick update of the day.

Fox Sports Net West 2 LLC filed an
appeal seeking to block the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers
baseball team’s television-broadcasting rights.

The News Corp. (NWSA) unit’s so-called notice of appeal is the
first step in its attempt to persuade a federal district court
to overturn a decision by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the
Dodgers’ case to allow the team to solicit bids for the rights.

The filing didn’t include any legal arguments or details
about why Fox believes the Dec. 8 decision by U.S. Bankruptcy
Judge Kevin Gross in Wilmington, Delaware, should be overturned.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is selling the team, which
filed for bankruptcy in June. To increase the value of the team,
the Dodgers are soliciting separate offers for the rights to
televise future games, which Fox holds through next year.

Gross gave the team permission to begin trying to sell the
rights months before the Dodgers’ current contract with Fox
allows. Fox argued in court that it will be harmed by
accelerating negotiations.

The case is In re Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, 11-12010, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Steven Church in Wilmington at
schurch3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
John Pickering at
jpickering@bloomberg.net

Comment Below!.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

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Reuters is reporting that the judge overseeing the court-supervised sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in bankruptcy court ruled yesterday that owner Frank McCourt can sell the team’s media rights.

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McCourt wants to sell the future local television deal that would begin with the 2014 season because it would increase the value of the sale of the team, Dodger Stadium and lease to the surrounding parking lots. The Dodgers are the most indebted team in baseball history and McCourt has already extracted a small fortune from future revenues by securitizing ticket sales and getting an advance on his cable deal with Fox.

Fox Sports, owned by Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp., sued the Dodgers in September to prevent the sale saying it would financially harm the channel. Last month the Dodgers counter-punched, suing Fox, claiming it was interfering with the Dodgers ability to sell its television rights.

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that even if McCourt wins the right to sell the television rights Fox rivals Time Warner, Comcast and Walt Disney-owned ESPN cannot take equity in a new regional sports channel that would feature the Dodgers.

We valued that Dodgers and the revenue from its related assets at $800 million in March, and I wrote earlier that the main benefit of bidders for the Dodgers, like Mark Cuban and Magic Johnson, would get from the judge siding with McCourt on the sale of future tv rights would be to use some of the proceeds from a deal, which could be worth $120 million annually over 17 years, to help finance the purchase.

The ruling on the media rights may not mean a quick sale of the team, however. Blackstone, the investment bank handling the sale of the team for McCourt has yet to provide a sale book to potential bidders, meaning they have no official financial figures to appraise the Dodgers. On Wednesday, the judge granted a six-month extension for McCourt, giving the Dodgers until April 25 to file a reorganization plan and until June 25 to solicit votes on the plan from creditors, which means McCourt could still be running the team through the 2012 All-Star game.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Reuters is reporting that the judge overseeing the court-supervised sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in bankruptcy court ruled yesterday that owner Frank McCourt can sell the team’s media rights.

Image via Wikipedia

McCourt wants to sell the future local television deal that would begin with the 2014 season because it would increase the value of the sale of the team, Dodger Stadium and lease to the surrounding parking lots. The Dodgers are the most indebted team in baseball history and McCourt has already extracted a small fortune from future revenues by securitizing ticket sales and getting an advance on his cable deal with Fox.

Fox Sports, owned by Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp., sued the Dodgers in September to prevent the sale saying it would financially harm the channel. Last month the Dodgers counter-punched, suing Fox, claiming it was interfering with the Dodgers ability to sell its television rights.

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that even if McCourt wins the right to sell the television rights Fox rivals Time Warner, Comcast and Walt Disney-owned ESPN cannot take equity in a new regional sports channel that would feature the Dodgers.

We valued that Dodgers and the revenue from its related assets at $800 million in March, and I wrote earlier that the main benefit of bidders for the Dodgers, like Mark Cuban and Magic Johnson, would get from the judge siding with McCourt on the sale of future tv rights would be to use some of the proceeds from a deal, which could be worth $120 million annually over 17 years, to help finance the purchase.

The ruling on the media rights may not mean a quick sale of the team, however. Blackstone, the investment bank handling the sale of the team for McCourt has yet to provide a sale book to potential bidders, meaning they have no official financial figures to appraise the Dodgers. On Wednesday, the judge granted a six-month extension for McCourt, giving the Dodgers until April 25 to file a reorganization plan and until June 25 to solicit votes on the plan from creditors, which means McCourt could still be running the team through the 2012 All-Star game.

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What are your opinions.

Image by Getty Images North America via @daylife

It looks like Los Angeles Dodgers fans will have to put up with Frank McCourt for most of next season.

According to reports, a federal bankruptcy judge has given the Dodgers until April 25 to file a plan and until June 25 to solicit votes on the plan from creditors. That means the embattled owner could be running the Dodgers through the All-Star game.

McCourt, saddled with a crushing pile of debt,  is selling the team, its television rights, Dodger Stadium and the lease to the stadium’s parking lots in a bankruptcy-supervised auction for what should be at least $1 billion.

The Dodgers average home attendance was 36,236 last season, 11 out the the league’s 30 teams and down 17.6% from 2010. The team’s fsns have been rooting for a quick sale of the team and during the summer thousands of them boycotted the Dodgers, refsusing to support them in any way. Prolonging the sale could result in hurting ticket sales and revenue for the upcoming season.

Among those who have said they are interested in bidding for the team are Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, and talk show host Larry King.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers accused News
Corp. (NWSA)’s Fox Sports of trying to avoid competition in its pursuit
of the bankrupt baseball team’s television rights.

Fox has sought to prevent the team from soliciting offers
for the TV rights before an exclusive negotiating period with
Fox ends next year.

Fox’s complaints “have no merit and are designed to
prevent the debtors from engaging in any effort to expose the
debtors’ telecast rights to the marketplace to the extent an
agreement is not reached with Fox,” the Dodgers said in papers
filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June with plans to sell
the television rights, which Fox Sports Net West 2 LLC holds
through the 2013 season. The team wants to accelerate the
marketing process for the rights by first giving Fox 45 days to
extend its contract. Should that fail, the team would seek other
bids, according to court documents.

Fox claims team owner Frank McCourt is wrongly trying use
bankruptcy to break the team’s current TV contract with Fox’s
Prime Ticket unit. Fox has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross to dismiss the team’s bankruptcy case.

Gross has ordered the two sides to try to resolve their
differences through mediation. The mediator, retired U.S.
District Judge Joseph Farnan, helped the Dodgers and Major
League Baseball resolve their differences.

Under the deal with MLB, McCourt agreed to sell the team
and MLB agreed not to oppose a separate bidding process for the
television rights. Under the proposed rules, no sale of the TV
rights can go forward without approval from MLB, Gross and
whoever wins the bidding for the team.

The Dodgers will be in court Nov. 30 to ask Gross to
approve the proposed marketing rules.

The bankruptcy case is In re Los Angeles Dodgers LLC,
11-12010 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware
(Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Steven Church in Wilmington at
schurch3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
John Pickering at
jpickering@bloomberg.net

What do you guys think about this.

(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)

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(Reuters) – Fox Sports wants the Los Angeles Dodgers thrown out of bankruptcy, saying the baseball team is using Chapter 11 to enrich club owner Frank McCourt.

Earlier this month McCourt ended a bitter feud with Major League Baseball over control of the team. As part of that deal, he agreed to sell the team and the league agreed to drop its opposition to the team’s plan to sell future media rights, a source told Reuters.

Selling the media rights is expected to enhance the value of the team ahead of a sale and ultimately put more money in McCourt’s pocket.

While that agreement settled one legal battle, it opened a new one pitting the team against Fox, which broadcasts Dodgers games. In order to sell the media rights to games beginning in 2014, the team plans to alter an exclusive negotiating period with Fox, which operates as Prime Ticket.

The broadcaster opposes those changes, saying in a court filing late Wednesday that they are being done “to transfer additional economic value from Prime Ticket to McCourt.”

Fox has also accused the team of contacting other potential bidders for the media rights, violating Fox’s exclusive negotiating right.

Fox, a division of News Corp, asked the court to postpone a hearing on the Dodgers’ media rights request until it considers the request to end the bankruptcy. Fox said it intends to file that request shortly.

The Dodgers said in a statement that Fox wanted to postpone the media rights hearing because “they are not prepared for the hearing or they think they will lose.”

“Given that the (media rights) motion has been pending for roughly two months, there is no excuse if they are not prepared. That means they think they will lose,” the statement said.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June after the MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, rejected the team’s proposal to sell the rights to broadcast its games for $3 billion.

While McCourt and Selig have agreed to a settlement, they have not said how they plan to sell the team in a way that satisfies both sides.

The bankruptcy 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; editing by John Wallace)

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.