Stow case fodder for both sides in Dodgers vs. MLB

The headlines in the Dodgers bankruptcy case today havefocused on a number: 189.16 million. Thats the amount Major League Baseballsays Dodgers owner Frank McCourt looted from his team, according to a reportin the Los Angeles Times.But a local angle is taking shape as the Dodgers and MajorLeague Baseball battle for post-bankruptcy control of the team, and it involvesbeaten Giants fan Bryan Stow.The Times said that in Mondays court filings, both sidesare using the Stowcase against the other.All along, baseball commissioner Bud Selig has maintainedthat McCourt, whose messy divorce from wife Jamie catapulted his teamsfinancial difficulties into the spotlight, has mismanaged proceeds from theDodgers -- sometimes in the form of extravagant personal purchases, and to help fundMcCourts 130 million divorce settlement. This, they say, rather than reinvesting themoney back into his team.Bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross previously ruled that theDodgers' stadium security issues, specifically the Stow beating case from March 31, 2011, is relevantin the proceedings in terms of determining the clubs financial condition. Stows attorneys saytheir clients medical bills could top 50 million. The following claims were made on both sides in Mondays courtfilings, amounting to the equivalent of a bankruptcy-court ping-pong match:Major League Baseball says the investigation into the Stowcase revealed inadequacies in Dodgers stadium security under McCourts watch;the Dodgers say such claims are a result of the Commissioners fabricating thepublic misimpression that the security at Dodger Stadium is somehow inadequate.The team also says the 197 LAPD officers on duty on the day Stow was beaten wasthe highest number ever at a Dodger game'; Baseball says the team omitted thefact that McCourt removed uniformed officers before the 2011 season, includingthe opening game when Stow was so seriously injured.'Among baseballs claims are more alleged deficiencies in Dodgerstadium security, such as inadequate lighting in the parking lot, a frontoffice that lacked experienced executives in stadium security and the ease ofunauthorized access to the stadium.'Stow, 42, was severely beaten following the Giants Opening Day game in Los Angeles. Two suspects are in custody. Stow was released from SF General Hospitallast month and sent to an undisclosed rehabilitation facility as the fatherof two attempts to recover from significant brain injuries.Read more on the case in the L.A. Times here.
You can follow Bryan Stow's progress here.