One last ghastly nightmare of Dodgers and Frank McCourt

And now to scare the living bejeebies out of you …

One of the more interesting names to surface this week out of the group that has submitted bids for the Dodgers is Stan Kroenke.

That would be the Kroenke who owns the NFL’s St. Louis Rams. The Kroenke who also owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the MLS’ Colorado Rapids and is the largest shareholder of the  Premier League soccer team Arsenal. Also, it should be noted he started his own regional sports network for his teams in Denver.

Now, I’m just playing devil’s advocate here because, you know, it’s so much fun. But what if Kroenke doesn’t want to just buy the Dodgers, but to follow up on the proposal first suggested by Peter O’Malley and later picked up briefly by Frank McCourt, and also build an NFL stadium in the Dodger Stadium parking lot?

And bring the Rams back to Los Angeles.

Kroenke’s Rams have an opt-out in the stadium lease at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis after the 2014 season.

The Rams return, USC’s Jeff Fisher is back as head coach, the Embraceable Ewes live again!

Only now for the scary part. Taking the what-if game a step further, let’s say McCourt really does plan on staying in town. Let’s say he really does want to keep those parking lots. And let’s say –- this is the part where you brace for shivers –- he agrees to sell the Dodgers to Kroenke if he can become a minority owner in the new Los Angeles Rams and together they build an NFL stadium on his land.

Cue the haunted-house laughter.

A major stretch? Yeah, sure. Which doesn’t mean it isn’t a possibility, either. McCourt, the most despised human being in town, gets an opportunity to turn things around and be the man who brought the NFL back to Los Angeles.

Don’t tell me that wouldn’t appeal to McCourt. We know the NFL has lusted for the Dodger Stadium site for years. And this isn’t the first time it’s been suggested the sale of the Dodgers could lead to the return of the NFL to Los Angeles.

Kroenke buys the Dodgers and starts up his own regional sports network. And McCourt gets to hang out in the Rams owner’s box and never goes away.

Hey, I’m just thinking out loud. Don’t blame me if you can’t sleep.

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-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke appears at a news conference on Jan. 17. Credit: Tom Gannam / Associated Press