June 2011 - Los Angeles Dodgers Wiretap

Billionaire hedge-fund executive Steven Cohen is interested in buying the Dodgers, according to sources. Cohen has engaged notable sports architecture firms to propose renovations to Dodger Stadium, allied himself with one of baseball's power brokers, secured the support of at least two prominent Angelenos and met with several major league owners. He was joined in those meetings by Arn Tellem, an influential sports agent who could run the Dodgers if Cohen were to buy the team. Cohen is among the first bidders submitted to Major League Baseball for approval, according to a person familiar with the process. Initial bids are due Jan. 13. Cohen, 55, is the founder of SAC Capital Advisors, a Connecticut-based investment firm that controls $14 billion in assets. In September, Forbes estimated his net worth at $8.3 billion.

A U.S. District Judge in Delaware on Friday dealt a significant blow to the Dodgers' plans to sell the media rights to future games, halting the sales process while he consider an appeal by Fox Sports. Judge Leonard Stark also said he likely will agree with Fox's position that a bankruptcy judge who authorized the sale process erred when he determined that certain protections granted to Fox in its existing contract with the Dodgers were unenforceable in bankruptcy.

A U.S. District Court judge in Delaware is considering whether to halt a bankruptcy court order approving a process for the Dodgers to sell the media rights to future games until he rules on a Fox Sports appeal. Judge Leonard Stark heard two hours of arguments Thursday but did not immediately rule on Fox's request for an emergency stay while he considers its appeal of the original bankruptcy court ruling. Stark is set to hear arguments on the merits of Fox's appeal at a Jan. 12 hearing.

Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario must serve a 25-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, according to a source. Belisario has received a visa valid for the next five years and is expected to be in Arizona for the start of Spring Training. The source did not say exactly how Belisario violated the policy.

In an effort to minimize the effects of their low budget this winter, the Dodgers added a number of free agents at relatively low cost. Los Angeles has signed seven free agents to Major League contracts so far with Aaron Harang's two-year, $12 million contract standing as the most expensive. Their 2012 roster is nearly set with Christmas approaching.

The Giants fan that was nearly beaten to death on Opening Day has spoken on camera for the first time since the attack. In the video clip aired on San Francisco's NBC affiliate, Dr. Nancy Snyderman of the news magazine show "Rock Center" introduces herself to Bryan Stow, who is sitting on a bed. After she introduces herself, Stow asks Snyderman: "How are you?" She says she's doing well, and Stow replies: "That's good." "Rock Center" released the video to preview its full report on Stow's recovery at an undisclosed rehab center. The video is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Monday. A paramedic and father of two young children, Stow spent months in a medically induced coma after being punched in the head, kicked and slammed to the ground outside Dodger Stadium last March. He was moved from the hospital to the rehab center in October as he continues to recover from a traumatic brain injury.

The Dodgers have agreed to terms with Tony Gwynn Jr. on a $2 million, two-year contract. The agreement came on Monday night just before the deadline for tendering contract offers to players who, like Gwynn, are eligible for arbitration. A source with knowledge of the situation said Gwynn will get $850,000 in 2012 and $1.15 million in 2013.

The Dodgers tried to trade for Mets infielder David Murphy during last week's Winter Meetings, according to a baseball source. Los Angeles may still try to make another run at Murphy this offseason. Murphy, 26, is a left-handed hitter who played 155 games in 2009, missed the entire 2010 season with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee and hit .320 in 109 games in 2011 -- when he played first, second and third base.

Legendary Pictures announced Friday that it has cast Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey and Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in an upcoming film about the ballplayer-turned-civil rights icon. Brian Helgeland, the author of "L.A. Confidential" and "Mystic River," has been tabbed to write and direct the story about Robinson famously breaking baseball's color barrier in 1947. Boseman, who portrayed former NFL running back Floyd Little in the 2008 film "The Express," has done a lot of work on television and will star in the upcoming feature "Kill Hole." A Brooklyn native, Boseman is best known for his work on programs "Lincoln Heights" and "Persons Unknown."

The Yankees have denied a report that they have extended an offer to free-agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda has spent the last four seasons with the Dodgers. A report out of Japan claimed that New York offered the right-hander a one-year, $12 million deal, but a club official said "there has been no offer." The Yankees engaged in trade discussions regarding Kuroda with the Dodgers this past July, but the starter would not waive his no-trade clause.