Dodgers Ownership Search: Mayor Villaraigosa Wants An LA Owner, Maybe His Old Boss?

The Los Angeles Dodgers need new leaders at the top, and if Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had his way, he'd get someone from inside the city to do it. Dan Weikel of the Los Angeles Times filed this report.

He called current owner Frank McCourt's decision to sell the Dodgers a "new chapter."

"I'm looking forward to local ownership," Villaraigosa said. "I want the owner to be from Los Angeles. I want someone who loves this town and believes in this city."

It's funny that Villaraigosa would stand so hard for someone from his city when one of the potential bidders is his former boss. From the same article, check out one bidder for the Dodgers.

Southern California businessmen Ron Burkle, Alec Gores and Alan Casden also could be bidders. Burkle and Gores have ties to professional sports, and Casden pursued the Dodgers before McCourt bough the team.

If the name doesn't sound familiar, let me refresh your memory.

He befriended a few Assembly speakers who came later, among them Antonio Villaraigosa, who worked for Burkle during his brief time out of office before becoming Los Angeles mayor.

So it's quite possible the mayor has a vested interest in having his old boss take over the team, even over such luminaries like Mark Cuban. Why the mayor would want an inside interest rather than someone who could potentially draw the big bucks to his franchise like Cuban is beyond me, but sometimes that's how things work in the politics of the MLB.

For more on the Dodgers and their potential ownership sale, go to True Blue LA.