Jamie McCourt is "expected to ask a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to order the immediate sale of the Dodgers," according to sources cited by Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. The request, if granted, "could spare Commissioner Bud Selig from deciding whether to seize the club from owner Frank McCourt and risk a legal challenge to the powers of the commissioner's office." Judge Scott Gordon today is "expected to set a date to hear Jamie McCourt's request." Jamie McCourt's position is that the "actions of Frank McCourt ... have endangered the value of the Dodgers." Sources said that she wants Gordon, the judge overseeing the couple's divorce, to "order that the club be put up for sale so both parties could reap the maximum value for the primary asset of their marriage." Frank McCourt met with Selig last week and said he "emphasized the importance of timing" with regard to approval of a $3B TV contract with Fox. McCourt is "in danger of missing the Dodgers' May 31 payroll." If he "cannot meet payroll, Selig could pay the salaries, seize the team and put it up for sale" (L.A. TIMES, 5/19). A Dodgers official termed Jamie McCourt's action "nothing but another money grab" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/19).
BUDGET COULD INCREASE UNDER RIGHT SITUATION: Tom Schieffer, the MLB-appointed monitor of the Dodgers, said he has told Dodgers GM Ned Colletti the club is "operating within a budget," but that if there is a "situation in which they're in the race and they need to expand their budget that we would consider it at that point in time." Schieffer notes the Rangers "had a similar situation last year in which the club was in bankruptcy, and they acquired Cliff Lee." Lee ended up being the "final piece that got them to the World Series." He noted the budget "was set before I came on board, and as long as he stays in that budget, I'm not much in the picture" ("In Business With Margaret Brennan," Bloomberg TV, 5/18).
KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE: In L.A., Baxter Holmes noted last night's game was the first between the Dodgers and Giants at Dodger Stadium since a fan was "brutally beaten" in a stadium parking lot after the March 31 home opener. As several Giants fans entered Dodger Stadium yesterday, they "mentioned being initially concerned about another possible clash with rival Dodgers fans." But more than a few added that the "heavy police presence, which was evident several hours before the game when 31 LAPD cruisers were clustered in the lot beyond center field, helped put them at ease" (LATIMES.com, 5/18).
STAYING TOGETHER: The Dodgers and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau yesterday announced that they have renewed their partnership. It will mark the third consecutive year that both organizations will have co-branded in-stadium, in the L.A. market and in Taiwan. The team also will host Taiwan Community Night at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 13 (Dodgers).
