Frank McCourt is dragging the Dodgers down his personal road to ruin

You have to give Frank McCourt credit for one thing. He never gives up. And since he's mired in a financial tar pit primarily of his own making, you'd think that's about the only credit most people will give him.

Just when you think things can't get any worse for the Dodgers, it somehow does. Early Monday morning, McCourt filed for bankruptcy protection and received a $150-million loan that would help him cover Thursday's payroll and hold on to the team for the foreseeable future.

If a judge approves the loan, then the ride to hell in a handbasket is far from over for the franchise or its fans. It means you can expect several new lawsuits to be filed as well as the continued settlement of Frank's divorce from Jamie.

But never at any time has Frank McCourt thought of selling the team and walking away. Instead he has pressed forward, doing whatever he can to keep the team under his auspices - or at least keeping it away from his estranged wife. For the fans, that has been the most frustrating part. Despite all of the McCourts past flowery language about doing what's best for the franchise and its fans, their behavior has proven the opposite.

Frank and Jamie McCourt used the team as their own discretionary account, living the high life while running the team under MLB-style austerity measures. It's actually fitting that the one major deal they signed, (Manny Ramirez's 2-year, $45 million contract) is what could help to bring them down. But what is even more apropos is that two people who have shown themselves to be selfish, greedy, vindictive people somehow found each other. And that selfishness, greed and vindictiveness ultimately led to the dissolution of their marriage. In that way it's not unlike many Hollywood divorces that came before or will inevitably come after.

The difference is that most Hollywood divorces don't jeopardize the status of a local treasure.

If Frank McCourt truly wanted to do what was best for the team, he would sell it. Not a portion of it. All of it. Then walk away and leave his successor to right the ship. With Fox eager to complete its long term television deal with the team, he has already succeeded in raising the value of the franchise and could easily bring in enough to cover any and all financial obligations he has.

Instead, he employs different legal maneuvers one after the other with the hoped for goal being that Frank McCourt is made whole. Meanwhile, thousands of empty seats have become the norm at Dodger Stadium as fans show their disgust with the sideshow by their absence. The team on the field is floundering and two of its centerpieces - Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier - are nearing the end of their contracts. Ethier has already suggested that his days in Dodger blue could be numbered. With all of the ongoing turmoil it wouldn't be a surprise if he or anyone else started looking for greener pastures.

Perhaps in Frank's wildest dreams, he is able to sign the deal with Fox, become flush with cash, put a winner on the field and get himself back in the city's good graces. But that day, if it ever comes, is light years away. Meanwhile, Frank McCourt continues to drive the team down the road to ruin.

The walls are closing in on Frank McCourt

It looks like it's only a matter of time before Frank McCourt's tenure as owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers is over. Despite agreeing to the framework of a divorce settlement with his estranged wife, Jamie, last week, Frank isn't nearly out of the woods yet.

Right now, his hope is resting on MLB's approval of his proposed $3 billion television deal with Fox. Despite conflicting reports on Monday morning over whether that deal had already been rejected, the consensus is that Bud Selig is not going to allow the deal to happen. For the long form (and very well done) explanation of what that means for Frank McCourt and the franchise as a whole, check out Josh Fisher's column from ESPNLosAngeles.com.

The short version is that with no Fox deal, the divorce settlement is invalid. It also means there's no realistic chance that Frank McCourt can cover the team payroll on June 30th and Major League Baseball will likely seize the team. A lawsuit from McCourt against baseball is almost guaranteed to follow.

While Dodger fans have been left hanging in the balance, they are not sitting quietly. Much has been made of the poor attendance numbers at Dodger Stadium - spurred mostly by a fan revolt. But it's gone even further. The Save the Dodgers movement is once again soliciting donations to help buy a billboard to better publicize their goals.

Even the L.A. City Council has gotten into the act, passing a resolution in support of a plan that would allow fans to purchase a stake in the team. The chances of something like that actually happening are pretty remote, but it speaks to local frustration about McCourt's ownership and the fan's desire for this all to be over. If Frank's deal with Fox is rejected, however, this could still have a ways to go.

McCourts reach divorce settlement, squabbles may not be over

A divorce settlement was announced between Frank and Jamie McCourt on Friday morning, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. But the settlement doesn't mean that Frank McCourt is out of the woods as far as his battle to remain the Los Angeles Dodgers' owner.

The settlement is contingent upon Major League Baseball's approval of a long-term television contract that has been reached between the Dodgers and Fox. If Commissioner Bud Selig were to reject the agreement, the settlement would be voided and the parties would resume proceedings in divorce court.

You can read a copy of the settlement agreement here. A rejection of the Fox deal means that McCourt's whole ownership situation could be thrown back into turmoil. LA Times reporter Bill Shaikin reported on his Twitter account that Jamie McCourt's attorney expects a decision on the Fox contract by Tuesday.

This settlement now puts Bud Selig in an awkward position. Ever since Major League Baseball began their investigation into the Dodgers' finances, Frank McCourt has said that the league was unfairly looking to force him out of ownership. Up until now, it appeared that Selig was willing to sit by and wait until McCourt hung himself. So far that hasn't happened. Now the only thing standing between McCourt and making payroll at the end of June is whether or not MLB will allow this deal with Fox to go through.

With the framework of a settlement in place between Frank and Jamie McCourt, if the deal is vetoed, it lends much more credence to Frank's complaints. If the deal is allowed and McCourt is able to keep his hold on ownership, the fan revolt at Dodger Stadium may get stronger. The team's money problems have contributed to much of the fan anger. But just as much of it has been fueled by the ongoing embarrassment that the McCourts' behavior and subsequent divorce proceedings have brought to the organization. Either way, someone is going to end up unhappy.