Boys of Summer

The Los Angeles Dodgers, one of baseball's most storied franchises, drew such scant interest when last on the sales block that Frank McCourt bought the team in exchange for only a Boston parking lot.

Now, after McCourt's sordid divorce turned the club into a soap opera and led him into bankruptcy, everyone seems to want a piece of Hollywood's team. McCourt and his investment bankers received more than 20 bids Monday to purchase the Dodgers, according to a high-ranking baseball official familiar with the bidding process but unauthorized to speak publicly. McCourt, who bought the team in a heavily-leveraged, $430 million transaction in 2004, anticipates receiving $1.5 billion, a record for a North American sports franchise, when he sells in April.

Magic Johnson, who led the Lakers to five NBA titles, is among the bidders for the Dodgers. Larry King, Joe Torre and Mark Cuban are also part of groups that submitted bids.