at long last, the mccourt era is over in los angeles. the dodgers have been handed over to one of the city's great icons. last night, a group of investors that includes lakers legend magic johnson agreed to buy the team from frank mccourt for a record $2 billion. in a statement, johnson said "i am thrilled to be part of the historic dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by frank mccourt as we drive the dodgers back to the front page of the sports section in our wonderful community of los angeles." that's a statement from magic johnson. the $2 billion price tag is the most ever paid for any sports franchise. it also shatters, of course, the sales record of other baseball franchises. the next closest being the chicago cubs, purchased for $845 million in 2009. the deal, which still has to be approved in federal bankruptcy court, would be finalized by april 30th. that is the same day, incidentally, that mccourt is scheduled to pay his ex-wife $131 million in a divorce settlement. dodgers fans, it looks like yo

mccourt rushed to his optometrist. >> he said, you know, it is better. well, hallelujah.wait and postpone the surgery and so forth? he said no, it's better. you don't need any surgery. >> reporter: this isn't something that just gets better, though, is it? >> no. it never gets better. that's the point. >> reporter: a miracle? >> i will have to say my understanding is less than complete. i believe it. i feel it. but i'm an engineer. i don't know the causation. i don't know the mechanics of how that happened or how it could happen. all the doctors say don't worry about it because it can't happen. that's why it's a miracle. >> reporter: when sister marie kevin learned about mccourt's eye, she took the case directly to dr. ambrosi in rome. >> i must say that what struck me about the story was the speed of his recovery of sight in just one night. >> it just sort of snowballed from there. the next thing i knew, we were in indianapolis at a canonical trial collecting evidence for submission to rome. which is really kind of cool. it was all translated into italian and in this red

mccourt rushed to his optometrist. >> he said, you know, it is better. well, hallelujah. wait and postpone the surgery and so forth? he said no, it's better. you don't need any surgery. >> reporter: this isn't something that just gets better, though, is it? >> no. it never gets better. that's the point. >> reporter: a miracle? >> i will have to say my understanding is less than complete. i believe it. i feel it. but i'm an engineer. i don't know the causation. i don't know the mechanics of how that happened or how it could happen. all the doctors say don't worry about it because it can't happen. that's why it's a miracle. >> reporter: when sister marie kevin learned about mccourt's eye, she took the case directly to dr. ambrosi in rome. >> i must say that what struck me about the story was the speed of his recovery of sight in just one night. >> it just sort of snowballed from there. the next thing i knew, we were in indianapolis at a canonical trial collecting evidence for submission to rome. which is really kind of cool. it was all translated into italian and in this re

last fall franc mccourt gave up and agreed to settle the team.ets off the record-breaking $2 billion sales price. >> the biggest reason is the media rights. the dodgers figure in the next year or two to sign a deal in excess of $3 billion. >> reporter: what makes these media rights to valuable? >> sports is really where the money is going because it's the last place where you have an audience that demands to watch it live and will be subject to the commercials. >> i'm excited. i'm a laker fan and a dodgerer fan. >> reporter: for the fans, it's just good to have their team back in local hands. even if those hands are more comfortable holding a basketball than a baseball bat. >> and rebecca jarvis joins us. we end the story with magic johnson. when i heard it on the news this morning, i went, magic johnson? >> he had the home court advantage because he's from l.a. a lot of analysting at different bidders who may end up with the dodgers says magic johnson has it. it's not just magic johnson, you also have sam cassin, former president of the washingt

the mccourt era is over in los angeles.off to one of the great icons in the history of that city. the group of investors including magic johns the team from frank mccourt for $2 billion. johnson said, i am thrilled to be part of the historic dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by frank mccourt. the $2 billion price tag the most ever paid for any sports franchise. among baseball teams, the next closest, chicago cubs, purchased in 2009 for $845 million. the deal still has to be approved in federal bankruptcy court and could be finalized by april 30. that is, coincidentally, the day frank mccourt is scheduled to pay his wife $131 million in a divorce settlement. >> look how happy they look there. >> mike, can you characterize quickly how bad it was in l.a. for the last year? why this had to happen, why dodger fans are desperate for this? >> obviously, because the dodgers are one of the four jewels of major league baseball in terms of franchises. it had been run into the ground. they had lost a

many dodger fans say getting mccourt out of the front office was the first priority.owners is magic is an added benefit. >> something needs to be done for the team to move forward. i think for the city to move forward along with the team. >> i think magic is a wonderful individual. he'll be a great buyer for the team. >> reporter: not everyone shares the same optimism. after the mccourt years, some fans say they're still angry and wondering if the new owners will have any money left over to spend on players and stadium improvements. rob hayes reporting for abc news. >> i think that's a perfect fit. you think l.a. sports, you think magic johnson. so -- >> the community is going to embrace him. i might find myself going west go to a couple of dodgers games. >> the weather is better. >> like hot dogs. nachos and cheese. >> did you ever play baseball? >> i played softball. >> were you any good? >> my first game sophomore year, turned a double play. >> really? >> boom. outfielder. >> next to a hero, folks. >> then i switched to infield, second base. no, i can't play becaus

segÚn un anuncio realizado anoche por la oficina de prensa de los dodgers, el actual dueÑo frank mccourtdiÓ finalmente el grupo al que le venderÁ la novena que estÁ sumida en un proceso de quiebra y el grupo afortunado es el encabezado por el ex armador de los angeles lakers, ervin ' 'magic' johnson, una de las figuras mÁs respetadas y amadas en la ciudad. johnson no es el Único comprador, pero si el mÁs famoso de los inversionistas. la compra es de 2 billones de dolarles. noches seguramente usted ya sabe que no hubo ganador en el mega million, pero sabe a cuanto subio la astronomica cifra? de eso hablamos al volver!!! amplon... gran expectativa hubo anoche en relacion al premio del mega million pues el acumulado fue de 363 millones de dolares... y bueno esa expectativa crece aun mas porque no hubo quien acertara los seis numeros de la loteria... ahora el bote, el premio o el gordo como otros le llaman se acumula a un aproximado de 476 millones de dolares para este proximo viernes 30 de marzo... como siempre, esperamos su sintonia para que se entere si usted le toca la suerte y se convie

real estate developer frank mccourt has owned the dodgers since 2004, but mccourt has had financial troublesrs including an expensive divorce with his wife, jamie, who was ceo of the team. magic johnson says the sale will start a new chapter for the dodgers. he told epsn i'm thrilled and honored to be one of the owners of the los angeles dodgers. we're very happy for the dodger fans in l.a. and all over the country. >>> major league baseball's regular season began today in tokyo with the mariners beats the oakland a's. they traveled to the devastated tsunami zone and put on a clinic for local little leaguers. mlb officials presented a check for half a million dollars for restoring a stadium. the players served lunch to the kids and families struggling one year after the earthquake and tsunami hit. >>> sean payton will decide later this week whether to appeal a year-long suspension for the team's bounty program. payton says he plans to name an interim coach by the end of the month. one name being bantied about is retired coach bill parcells. >> he's a great teacher. certainly i'm biased havin

magic and his group are the new owners heading the frank mccourt era with the dodgers. lakers down two when kobi bryant took over. again, kobe same spot, same results. lakers take the lead with 30 seconds to win it 104-105. an early 6-point lead and then the chance came roaring back with two of his team-high 21. the mavs took the lead for good in the third. dallas rallied to win it 90-81. football 2012 will kick off with the giants hosting the dallas cowboys. the game was moved up a day to avoid a conflict, but president op's speech at the democratic national convention. buffalo peeking at the right time, won their fifth straight, 5-1. they are now on the outside looking in with just five games left. finally, one of the teams washington is chasing is florida. the panthers on the verge of clinching their first playoff spot in 12 years. >> back from the ocean depths, director james cameron attends a launch of a different kind. your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, foot odor may be one of life's unfortunate realities. but for one boy, it's someth

>>shepard: the guy who owns it, frank mccourt, he is making out fine.>trace: he walks away with a bundle. he bought the dodgers in 2004 for $430 million and he has $579 million in outstanding debt and he owes his ex-wife $130 million and you add it up, pay it off and he still walks away with hundreds of millions. and he get dozen keep the land surrounding dodger stadium including the parking lot which a lot of fans are not happy about. >> it is a curious thing. and it is something that a lot of people are going to have questions about and be upset about but he made a business decision and is coming out of knit a very good way and that is his right. >>trace: the most expensive united states sporting franchise to date $1.1 billion paid for the miami dolphins a couple of years ago. >>shepard: thank yous trace, from los angeles. now to syria. the president said he would go along with the cease fear and they are saying stop killing your own people, stop murdering thousands of women, children, and men and he said, sure, no problem and now a lot of experts are

let's talk about declining value of the dodgers under frank mccourt.ved soon. less than 37,000 fans per game last year. that's only the third time that's happened for the dodgers in the last 20 years. reduced ticket prices. hard to go up from there. they have their work cut out. hundreds of millions of dollars in dodger stadium renovation ahead and there's a lot of challenges that don't make this an automatic home run. how does magic johnson and the crew get $2 billion for a team that mccourt only paid $430 million for in 2004? certainly the big money is in tv ri right fees. the bigger money is in starting your own regional sports network. the issue is can these guys start up with enough cash not to include carriers, foxes, time warners as owners? you do that the true value will decrease and that's where rubber meets the road here. i did speak with one baseball owner who loved the valuation on the dodgers now as it raises the value of all teams. if it's not seen as an outlier. there are concerns the new owners may spend too much putting the team in alm

. >>> in 2004, frank mccourt bought the dodgers for $430 million.or $2 billion, and the front man is magic johnson. no word on how much magic put in. but there is a group, the guggenheim organization, which includes warrior co-owner peter guber. mike walter will be the head of the organization, but magic is front and center, mr. los angeles rolling in, and they will take over reportedly the end of april, everybody's ben checked out, everyone vetted. this is going to be a quick turnaround. magic johnson and the lakers no longer are hooked up. it's magic johnson and the dodgers. and they are going to spend and spend big-time. >>> set your alarms! in 3.5 hours, baseball opens for real! the open as in japan playing seattle. you remember my words earlier today? >> yes. you called the decision to do this asinine. >> if you're a baseball fan -- >> you never hear during my part of this newscast, but i listen to you. >> i sit through an hour and a half of bloodshed. my stuff is the toy department, and you're happy. your stuff is kind of sad some nights. >> y

and frank mccourt, the outgoing owner, was able to get major league baseball to let him sell the team at an auction, rather than let baseball steer it to a preferred bder. that might have ultimately doubled the final purchase price. >> sreenivasan: what's the logic behind it? how do they plan to make this kind of money back? >> well, it's a long-term investment, and i don't think anybody goes into sports teams thinking it's the year-over-year profit so much as the appreciation and franchise value. in this case, the dodgers are also fortunate in terms of timing because their television contract expires at the end of next year. there are two cable giants in los angeles who are going to fight tooth and nail to get the dodger games. the dodgers also have the leverage to starttheir own channel, much likehe nkee or thred sox, and there are people who think that the television contract could be worth $4 billion or twice the purchase price for the team. >> sreenivasan: so let's talk a little bit about the magic factor here. almost all the headlines today, he's just one of the owners of the gr

the team's previous owner frank mccourt was deeply in debt, forcing that sale. >> magic has turned out to have the magic touch when it comes to businesses. >> let's hope. >> yeah, take another live look outside this noon a perfect day from a stroll on the promenade at the inner harbor, meant over sunshine overhead, your complete first warning weather forecast is just ahead. >> but first here is a look at today's midday stocks and last night winning lottery numbers. ,, if you have copd like i do, you know how hard ,, it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriv

the team has been struggling as mccourt fut retain ownership during his divorce.ays it is time for the dodgers to turn things around. a little magic out there. >> what has magic johnson not done in the last 20 years? he had a talk show. now part owner of the dodgers. >> $2 billion. did you get that reference? >> is that an austin powers thing? >> yes. oh, really? i'm sorry. >> that was $2 million. >> thank you, paula. >>> here's your wednesday weather. a chance of afternoon thunderstorms around nashville. from boston to d.c., showers from kc to memphis. showers in florida, louisiana and texas. heavy snow in the northern rockies, the sierra range and the cascade. >> 50 in seattle and the twin cities. 60 in sacramento, new york and detroit. 70s in omaha and hotlanta. >> if we win the megaball, power ball, whatever it is, we could buy the dodgers. >> amen to that. >>> those of us who work overnight know there's something about exhaustion. sometimes it's too much effort to get into bed. >> that's exactly what happened to a little boy named bodie. he was so wiped out a

angeles dodgers a group including magic johnson and baseball executive offering the dodgers owner frank mccourt arecord 2 billion dollars subject to the approval of the federal bankruptcy court. >>> a tough loss for the maryland lady terrapins. notre dame earned a second berth in the regional final. >>> people are lined up all over the country trying to get a chance to take home one of the biggest jackpots ever. >> you may not have been lucky -- you would be more lucky being struck by lightning but that didn't stop many people from trying. >> 1 in 176 million is your odds of winning. >> he wants people to think hard about the real odds of winning the lottery. listen up people. he held a class and says you will more likely to be a professional athlete, be the president or anything else or being struck by lightning than winning that loot. >> if you are curious here are the numbers for last night's mega millions. numbers 9, 19, 34, 44, 51 and 24 and no one hit it. so you still have a chance even if it's one in 176 million. >> you are saying there's a chance -- there's a chance. >> you never know.

he was working with special operations, green berets or navy seals to train afghans, lewis mccourt said extras could have an factor. >> years away from my wife, my kids, my family, my community. stressful. >> reporter: lewis mccourt in washington state is the same base home to the army's first corps headquarters and fifth striker brigade from which a kill team of five u.s. soldiers were found guilty of killing civilians and checking body parts as trophies. u.s. military is not releasing the name until charges are brought against this alleged shooter, but sentences for previous atrocities tried by military courts have delivered shockingly short sentences. in haditha, where 24 were killed, staff sergeant frank wooterich was given three months and calvin begins of given life in prison but eligible for parole in # years. the military says in this case they are confident only one u.s. soldier was involved. >> i can tell you that we're pretty confident that this was just one individual acting tonight. -- acting alone. i can tell you one of the reasons we know that is because when was noticed

dodgers from frank mccourt, who bought the team in 2004, eventually drove it into bankruptcy.film "butler" about a real life white house staffer who served eight u.s. presidents including ronald reagan. interesting to see the pictures side by side. >> also one of the lead girls in aaron sorkin's movie coming out this summer. she's going to make the ted turner roll which is the best part of it. >> aaron sorkin is a cable news junkie. >> yeah, yeah, you're right. he ain't up at this hour on the west coast. "this is your captain freaking" the cover of "the new york post" a pilot freaking out at 30,000 feet. coming up after the break, the new tape, breaking down what happened and how the passengers played an integral role and could have saved people from a terrible outcome. [ director ] cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be hom

magic and his group behind the baseball management are new owners, ending the frank mccourt era. >>>lakers taking on the warriors. final minutes, lakers down two when kobe bryant took over. the jumper from the corner tied the game at 97. moments later, kobe again, same spot, same results. lakers take the lead with 30 seconds to play and go on to win it 104-101. >>> now to dallas. rockets build an early 16-point lead. then the champs came roaring back. dirk nowitzki ended the first half with two of the team-high 21. rockets up just three at break. mavs took the lead for good in the third. never underestimate the heart of a champ. dallas rallies to win 90-81. >>> football. the 2012 regular season will kick off with the super bowl champion giants hosting the dallas cowboys wednesday, september 5th on nbc. but the game was moved up a day to avoid a conflict with president obama's speech at the democratic national convention. >>> hockey. sabres rolled into washington and took the final playoff spot in the east from the capitals. buffalo won their fifth straight and the caps are on the out

theteghas been marred -- team has been marred by frank mccourt's bitter divorce and low attendan attendance. the deal has to be approved in bankruptcy court. >>> the caps lost its chance to take advantage in the playoff race. they have an uphill battle now keep the season alive. the caps let a critical game slip to the buffalo sabres 5-1. after three unanswered goals, alex ovechkin's scoring streak was halted with the only goal coming further alexander semin. there are five games to go. heartbreaking. just hurts me. >> yeah, painful. he should have answered the goals. you can't do that. >> you can't do that. we were on a mini winning streak, i was hoping we would seal the deal last night. >> on a what -- a mini winnie -- >> minuti winning streak. >> okay. >> oh, all right. save me, tom. what's going on? >> eating up all my time with your winning streak talk here this morning. >>> we're going to be on a winning streak temperaturewise. now well above freezing unlike yesterday morning. we're in the 40s much of the region. 48 now at reagan national. montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george

the owner frank mccourt was thrown a curve when his wife wanted more than half, and they filed for bankruptcy. >>> being thin in israel is no longer chic. the government is banning underweight models on catwalks. models have to provide certificates proclaiming they're healthy, and even then if too thin, they may not be allowed to work. >> reporter: in israel's fashion week, a parade of models in all their skinniness. critics say this waif-like image glamourizes extreme thinness, encouraging eating disorders, and israel has become the first country to formally legislate against it. >> something happened the last 20 years. always the model was skinny, but not too skinny. i found the difference with skinny, thin and too thin, it's a difference between life and death. >> reporter: at his studio in tel aviv, addy barcan, is the fashion photographer behind israel's new law. it bans underweight models from catwalks and commercials, using body mass index as a way of estimating healthy weight to decide who can model and who can't. anyone with a bmi less than 18.5 is out. >> even the super model, nobod

after the mccourt divorce, it coincides with the start of the official major league baseball season todaymariners against the a's played in tokyo and it has been in extra innings. they forgot to say that the game is happening with the nfl opening day and opening night. opening bell just rang on wall streeto it's time for the market run down. what you got? >> i didn't know about the opening day stuff going on there. you are right. no idea. we are looking at the opening bell. we are opening up relatively flat. what's happening with oil prices. off another couple of bucks and happening on stories that are out there and said just that france and britain and the united states are all talking about the will have a release and timed in the next fee weeks. the first newspaper that is reporting this today got traders nervous that you are seeing pressure for a second consecutive day and that does not take away from gas prices continuing to and reaching near $4 a gallon. that has more people concerned that are weaker than expected. we had durable -- and it looks like we are flat. back over to you. >

. >> shepard: and frank mccourt owned the thing or his wife did and they lad the divorce and now he willk away with millions and millions and millions and millions and more millions. >> he bought the dodgers back in 2004 for $430 million and ran up $600 million in debt and has to pay his wife $130 million. he can pay all of that off and can walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars. on top of that, he still owns the land around dodgers stadium including the parking lot. listen. >> if i were the new ownership i would be concerned because i would want complete control. but at the same time he is only running the parking lot, he is not running the team and that is a good thing but, yes. >> only running the parking lot. the dodgers by the way have not won the world series since 1988. magic johnson is hoping to change that this year. >> shepard: trace good to see you, thanks. >>> you would have to win this week's mega million jackpots four times if you wanted to buy the dodgers at that price. just reached a half a billion dollars. a lump couple of $359 million. of course, the odds aren't

stow's family is suing the dodgers and outgoing owner frank mccourt for failing to provide adequate security at dodgers stadium. in exchange for the lawsuit moving forward, the lawsuit agreed to limit the money -- the family agrees to limit the money they can possibly receive. the dodgers say that could be up to $300 million. bryan stow was severely beaten on opening day of last season in the parking lot after a gian giants/dodgers game in l.a. >>> sexual harassment accusations are surfacing in the alameda county probation department. chief david muhammad has been suspended after an employee filed a lawsuit against him today. the deputy officer's attorney claims muhammad harassed her on multiple occasions for four months last year. she adds the board was negligent in hiring muhammad because an employee who worked for him in washington, d.c., had similar complaints. the investigation is being handled by the office of state attorney general harris. >>> three suspected bank robbers are behind bars tonight after leading police on a chase down 101 before finally giving up. this morning three susp

>> and the man selling the team, frank mccourt, drove the team into bankruptcy. is he going to profit? >> quickly here. >> he's going to make over $8800 million. that's after paying his ex-wife the divorce settlement, all the attorney fees and so forth. it should be added he put the team into bankruptcy delivery to keep bud selig from forcing him to sell it. >> and there we go. we appreciate it so much. there you have it. >>> it's one of the biggest cases of our times, whether everyone should have health care coverage or not. the justices sfefkically analyzed the dom knee effect, that is if this individual mandate, requiring all americans, if that is struck down, can the rest of the law remain in effect? can it vooifr? it sounds like at least one justice believes it can. >> there's so many things in this act that unquestionably okay. we concede that reauthorizing the indian health care improvement act changes to the black long benefits. why make congress redo those? it's a question of whether we say everything you did is no good, now start from scratch. >> and on

the los angeles dodgers may have new owners, frank mccourt selling the team for an alleged $2 billionhe deal includes lakers star magic johnson. it needs to be approved in bankruptcy court. it is expected to be finalized by april 30. now back to "on the record." whw barack obama caught red-handed by a hot mike, going public. >> greta: well, that was yesterday. today, the president trying to joke his way out of the plainpainfully embarrassing moment. president obama looked at russia's president and put his hands over the microphone, but despite the smiles, he tried to explain away the whispered comments and missile defense and the election. >> when you think about the new treaty that we were able to hammer out and get ratified, that was a pain-staking two-year process. i don't think it's any surprise that you can't start that a few months before a presidential and congressional election of the united states. and at a time when they just completed the elections in russia and they're in the process of a presidential transition where a new president's going to be coming in -- in less that