The Los Angeles Dodgers file for bankruptcy.

---
Much more as the day develops, maybe here, maybe somewhere else. For now, here is one of the five filings made today in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware:

Los Angeles Dodgers LLC

And here is the statement of the Los Angeles Dodgers, released this morning:

Press Release FINAL

I wrote about the possibility of bankruptcy last month. The takeaway was that Jamie probably couldn't keep Frank from putting the Dodgers into bankruptcy, and that this course of action might be Frank's last best chance to force baseball to green-light the Fox deal.

In the time since then, Frank and Jamie McCourt reached a settlement that was almost immediately nullified by baseball's rejection of said TV deal. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has reported that Fox would not join forces with Frank should he file bankruptcy, and it is unclear at this point whether the embattled owner has, indeed, won Fox's support.

Much of the chatter so far this morning has focused on the list of the Dodgers' unsecured creditors, prominently featuring former Dodgers Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, and even Marquis Grissom. There are other, larger creditors out there, likely including inter-Enterprise debt, but for now a list of players and minor trade creditors is all we've got.

The most interesting part of the filings, to me, is that all five Dodger entities which are now in bankruptcy list between $500 million and $1 billion in assets. Just one, however, shows any significant debt. That one: the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
---