Dodgers ownership finalists include Magic, Torre, Cohen [UPDATED]

The finalists in the bidding to own the Dodgers include a group led by Magic Johnson, a group led by developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers Manager Joe Torre, and East Coast hedge-fund giant Steven Cohen.

Blackstone Advisory Partners, the investment bank handling the sale for outgoing owner Frank McCourt, started to notify bidders Friday on whether they would continue in the process. At least eight bidders have advanced, a person familiar with the process said.

"The round of preliminary bidding has been completed successfully," the Dodgers said in a statement. The statement did not say how many bidders had advanced or set a timetable for the process. McCourt has agreed to identify the winning bidder by April 1.

MLB has agreed to approve up to 10 bidders, after which McCourt will select the winner.

ALSO:

Report: Dodgers went hard after Prince Fielder

Richest man in L.A. might join a bid for the Dodgers

One last ghastly nightmare of Dodgers and Frank McCourt

-- Bill Shaikin

Photo: Financial mogul Steven Cohen speaks to members of the media at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. Credit: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg

Steve Garvey's Dodgers bid signs up heavy hitter [UPDATED]

One of the power brokers in American sports has aligned himself with former Dodger stars Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser in their effort to buy the team, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Harvey Schiller, the former president of the International Baseball Federation, would provide Garvey and Hershiser with expertise in the business side of sports, particularly in television.

[UPDATED, 5:23 p.m.: Garvey confirmed that his group has joined forces with Schiller.

["We are fortunate and blessed to have a partner of Harvey Schiller's stature, who shares our vision for the future of the Dodgers, the city of Los Angeles and our great baseball fans throughout the world," Garvey said.]

It is uncertain whether Garvey and Hershiser have secured enough financing to advance in the Dodgers ownership derby, and their bid is considered a longshot. Schiller has met with other bid groups and could join one if the Garvey-Hershiser bid is rejected, one of the people said.

[UPDATED, 9:33 p.m.: Schiller has consulted with the Garvey-Hershiser group but has no formal agreement or official role with the group, according to a person who spoke directly with Schiller.]

Schiller formerly was the chief executive of YankeeNets, the onetime parent company of the New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils. That entity spawned YES Network, the kind of team-owned cable sports channel that the new Dodgers owner would have the option to launch.

Schiller also is a former president of Turner Sports and executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The Dodgers' contract with Fox Sports expires after the 2013 season. A new owner could expect to reap about $4 billion in a new deal with Fox or Time Warner Cable -- or could start a Dodgers cable channel in the hope of making even more money. Outgoing owner Frank McCourt hopes that media companies will try to secure the Dodgers' television rights by buying the team outright, which could push the sale price above $1.5 billion.

Schiller was not available for comment Thursday.

ALSO:

Report: Dodgers went hard after Prince Fielder

Richest man in L.A. might join a bid for the Dodgers

One last ghastly nightmare of Dodgers and Frank McCourt

-- Bill Shaikin

Photo: Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Dodgers bidders court richest man in L.A.

The richest man in Los Angeles has not bid for the Dodgers.

However, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong could join the Dodgers sweepstakes soon -- not by bidding on his own, but by joining one of the groups already in the running to buy the team. Soon-Shiong has met with several prospective bidders, and he had dinner recently with outgoing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

Soon-Shiong purchased Magic Johnson's ownership stake in the Lakers in 2010. Johnson, who has teamed with longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten to try to buy the Dodgers, also has paid his respects to McCourt.

However, Soon-Shiong has not committed to join with Johnson or any other bidder, according to his representative, Chuck Kenworthy.

"We have not teamed up with any group at this time," Kenworthy said. "We do know and have a great deal of respect for a number of the groups that are bidding for the Dodgers."

Soon-Shiong is a doctor, biotech investor and philanthrophist. Forbes estimated his net worth at $7 billion in September.

In a November interview with ESPN, Soon-Shiong said he was much more passionate about basketball than baseball, but he said he would not rule out investing in the Dodgers.

"My commitment is to Los Angeles, so whatever helps this continue to be a great city, that's what I would be focused to do," he said, "and the Dodgers are certainly iconic to Los Angeles."

-- Bill Shaikin

TV money could push Dodgers bidding above $1.5 billion

A new name surfaced in the Dodgers' ownership sweepstakes on Monday, beyond such familiar contestants as Mark Cuban, Magic Johnson and Peter O'Malley. That Leo Hindery is involved in the bidding could give Frank McCourt more confidence that the Dodgers might sell for more than $1.5 billion.

Hindery founded the YES Network, according to the website of his company, InterMedia, an investment firm that focuses on "cable television, broadcast television, print, programming, and broadband opportunities." The Dodgers -- and, more specifically, the chance to launch a Dodgers cable channel -- could be one of those opportunities.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Hindery had bid on the Dodgers. He was traveling and unavailable for comment Tuesday. 

However, his involvement could trigger a surge of media interest that could lift the Dodgers' sales price. That could make it more likely that McCourt gets a figure in the range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion, rather than in the range of $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

The Dodgers' television contract with Fox Sports expires after the 2013 season. The new owner can launch a Dodgers cable channel -- or leverage that threat to spur bidding between Fox and rival Time Warner Cable.

Fox and Time Warner Cable each have expressed interest in acquiring minority ownership in the Dodgers, so as to secure the team's television rights. In September, the Dodgers told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that Charter Communications, Dish Network and DirecTV also could be interested in the rights. In December, a team attorney suggested in court that AT&T, CBS or Verizon might also be interested.

In October, former NBA TV President Ed Desser, who represented the Lakers in their negotiations with Time Warner Cable, said he believed the Dodgers' television bidders likely would be limited to Fox and TWC.

Dodgers didn't need to be in on bloated Prince Fielder deal

There, now, feel better?

Prince Fielder has finally signed, and a shock to no one who has ever heard the name Frank McCourt, it was not with the bankrupt Dodgers. Which as it turns out, is a good thing.

Scott Boras — and his name isn’t normally preceded with "super-agent" for nothing — got Fielder a nine-year, $214-million contract with the Detroit Tigers. A team, it should be noted, that wasn’t even supposed to be in on Fielder.

That is not only a stunning amount of dinero, but a stunning number of years too.

Now, I know there was undeniable logic to the Dodgers signing Fielder and it was dreamy and all, but at that price and those years, they should have passed.

Even if ownership was stable, I’d have taken a pass. Even if flush, I would have resisted.

I don’t trust that body (5-11, 280) to stay healthy and at the same productive level over the course of nine years, or even close. And do you really want to be shelling out $214 million to Fielder when you’re paying $160 million to Matt Kemp? And a big payday still looms for Clayton Kershaw?

Why Dodgers -- despite it all -- can still win the NL West

Because they play in a division where there is always hope. Every season, for most every team. Like it's required.

Parity hasn't simply arrived in the National League West, it's taken up residence. Not some shingle temporarily hung on the wall, but carved in granite at the front door.

The Arizona Diamondbacks finished last in the NL West in 2010 and then won the division last season. In five of the last six seasons, an NL West team coming off a losing season advanced to the postseason the next year.

The Dodgers are filled with "ifs" and crossed fingers and gambles. Not unlike every team in the division.

If Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe return to form, if James Loney hits like he did in the second half, if Matt Kemp approaches his 2011 season, if Juan Rivera can keep up his RBI form, if Dee Gordon can perform over a full season, if young closers Javy Guerra and Kenley Jansen can keep it going, if new starters Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano pitch effectively ... then the Dodgers win!

There is no juggernaut in the NL West, no powerhouse team, nothing even approaching a dominant club.

Getting all emotional about purchasing the Dodgers

Do you love the Dodgers? Do you just love them sooo much? So much than when reason screams — “Stop, what in the hell are you thinking?” — love whispers — “Ah, come on, what’s another $100 mil?”

Love can do that to someone, of course, get them all out of whack, making goofy decisions that turn the rational side of their brain into goo.

And this love affair comes equipped with something money can buy — status. Not just red-Porsche status or even side-by-side Malibu homes status. That’s just so common.

We’re talking the super-elite. Owning not just a Major League Baseball team but one of the most iconic teams in baseball history, situated in one of America’s most glamorous cities.

Bids for the Dodgers are due Monday, and all indications are the investment firm handling the auction could receive up to 20 preliminary proposals.

And one of them is apparently going to pay way more than the team is actually worth. Last March, Forbes estimated that the Dodgers were worth $800 million. Now they’re expected to fetch well over $1 billion. Maybe much more.

Which means you can look at all the flow sheets and income projections and potential TV media rights packages you want, but in the end if you want to come out on top of the auction, the bankrupt Dodgers are going to cost a lot more than makes practical business sense.

Dodgers Web musings: Last 100 days of Frank McCourt

Come on, join the countdown! Every Dodgers fans should be in on it. A reason to get all giddy.

Some count the days to when catchers and pitchers report, some to opening day. But as Mike Petriello points out at Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness, there is something bigger for Dodgers fans to compute as the 2012 season looms.

It’s now down to the final 100 days of Frank McCourt, bankrupt Dodgers owner.

Now doesn’t that make you smile?

Initial bids to join the team’s auction are due Monday. Major League Baseball will then whittle the list down to an approved group. McCourt has until April 1 to select the winning bid. And then on April 30, he is to hand over the keys and ride into the Beverly Hills sunset, hopefully sans parking lots.

Also on the Web:

-- ESPN’s Lester Munson takes an in-depth look at the looming lawsuit between McCourt and the Bingham McCutchen law firm that botched up his postmarital agreement with ex-wife Jamie.

Munson wrote there is little doubt it is shaping up as one of the largest malpractice lawsuits in American history, and estimates that if the team auction goes badly, the award could be as high as $500 million.

That seems pretty outlandish, considering he’s only paying Jamie $131 million in their divorce settlement, and she was going to probably get that anyway. McCourt would have to prove the botched PMA forced him to sell the team. And it seems that only rings true in that his taking the team in to $573 million in debt might not have come to light without the divorce.

-- Clayton Kershaw visited the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. MLB has the video:

  

-- The Dodgers have added a pair of catchers, Matt Wallach and Griff Erickson, to their list of nonroster spring invitees. Matt is the son of third base coach Tim Wallach.

-- ESPN/LA’s Jon Weisman has a list (updated) of players he argues were team MVPs during their days as a Dodger and on a competing club.

-- Forbes’ Mike Ozanian examines the unusual concessions McCourt was able to get MLB to agree upon in order for him to agree to sell the team.

-- The Times’ Jim Pelz on Dodger Stadium again hosting supercross Saturday night.

-- Thanks to Paul Oberjuerge for uncovering this post from The Baseball Diaspora on the 2011 Bobblehead All-Americans. Andre Ethier, in throwback baby-blue jersey, makes the team.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Dodgers put debt at $573 million

The Dodgers told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday exactly how much they owe: $573 million.

The Dodgers included the figure in their reorganization plan, the formal document that explains how a company intends to get out of bankruptcy. For the Dodgers, that way is a sale of the team.

The Dodgers said all creditors would be paid in full, primarily with proceeds from the sale of the team. The new owner will inherit deferred player contracts, according to the plan.

The plan is set for court approval April 13, with the winning bidder for the team identified before then.

The plan does not specifically address how the ownership transfer might affect the Dodgers' legal issues with the family of Bryan Stow, the San Francisco Giants fan beaten and critically injured in the Dodger Stadium parking lot last March. Stow's family has filed a claim in Bankruptcy Court and has sued the Dodgers in Los Angeles Superior Court.

"LAD disputes liability for Mr. Stow's injuries and intends to challenge Mr. Stow's proof of claim," the Dodgers' filing read, with "LAD" used as an abbreviation for the Dodgers. "To the extent that LAD ... may be found liable to Mr. Stow, the debtors believe that this claim may be covered by insurance."

Mark Cuban on buying Dodgers: 'L.A. would never be the same'

 

All the super rich who claim they want to buy the bankrupt Dodgers are facing Monday’s deadline for getting their initial bids in, and that could put a damper on the pre-purchase quotes.

Bidders are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, meaning they’re not supposed to be discussing the process with the media, outsiders or their favorite latte baristas.

Where’s the fun in that?

Apparently Mark Cuban has already signed up, since he went on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" Thursday and was ever so careful not to spill any negotiating secrets, which could simply prove a negotiating tactic.

Leno asked Cuban about the rumor he "might be buying the Dodgers. Any truth to that?” Guess it’s a rumor on late-night talk shows.

Answered Cuban, “I’m not allowed to really talk about it, but …” At which point Leno interrupted and said, “That means yes.” Laughs all around.

Leno tried again, “Would you like to buy the Dodgers if it was possible?” Do his writers read newspapers (or blogs)?

“It could be fun," Cuban said. "Could you imagine? L.A. would never be the same.”