Bidders

OMAHA — Even as the Olympic swimming trials blossom into a major national sporting event, USA Swimming has not ruled out a return to Long Beach. Long Beach was one of 16 cities represented at a recent informational meeting for potential bidders for the 2016 trials. Bids will be solicited this fall, and USA Swimming hopes to announce the winning city next May. The trials were held in Long Beach in 2004, at a temporary outdoor pool with the Queen Mary as a backdrop. The event then moved to Omaha, with a temporary pool on the floor of an indoor sports arena, and with room for 14,000 spectators.

Dodger Stadium turns 50 this year. In 2008, as owner Frank McCourt unveiled plans to revamp the stadium and surrounding area, Vin Scully explained why. "Few stadiums last even 50 years," Scully said on a team promotional video. "The truth is, we can't dream of this one lasting another 50 without a lot of love, care and, yes, investment. "Without that care and capital, Dodger Stadium might fade away, in disrepair. But that idea just doesn't fly with Frank McCourt. " Nor does it fly with the bidders jockeying to buy the Dodgers from McCourt.

It was a story that garnered attention around the world. The crypt above Marilyn Monroe's had sold for more than $4.6 million on EBay. When it came time to collect, though, the deal fell apart. The winning bidder, from Japan, backed out. But because 11 other bidders had offered at least $4.5 million, certainly one of them would come through. None did. No one even tried to make a low-ball offer at the $500,000 minimum. "They were all phony balonies," said Elsie Poncher, who was selling the crypt that holds the remains of her husband, Richard.

Following a week of uncertainty, a federal bankruptcy judge in Seattle confirmed that actor Patrick Dempsey beat out bidders such as Starbucks to win control of Tully's Coffee. The stud known as McDreamy emerged triumphant after a court hearing Friday in which Judge Karen Overstreet decided that the “Grey's Anatomy” actor could take over bankrupt Tully's for $9.15 million. “I'm thrilled that we prevailed,” Dempsey said in a statement. “From Day One, we have been focused on saving jobs, keeping Tully's independent and infusing new life and enthusiasm into the company.” Dempsey's company Global Baristas - which pitched its interest in Tully's as a way to save the company's 500 jobs - had gone up in an auction earlier this month against six other suitors, many with larger offers.

Billionaire Philip Anschutz said Thursday he has decided not to sell AEG, the entertainment giant that controls the Staples Center, LA Live and the Los Angeles Kings. Anschutz said he plans to resume a more active role in the company. He announced in September that he was seeking bidders in a sale that some insiders said could fetch $7 billion. AEG: A look back Potential bidders for the company were said to be Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, and well-known names such as Mark Cuban and powerhouse Santa Monica investment firm Colony Capital.

Magic Johnson and Steven Cohen are among at least six bidders remaining for the Dodgers, after the field was cut for the second time on Monday. The bidders so far identified as surviving the second cut include groups led by Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten, Connecticut investment king Cohen and longtime Los Angeles agent Arn Tellem, and New York media executive Leo Hindery in partnership with Tom Barrack, chairman of Santa Monica-based...

Steven Cohen, a billionaire eight times over, is bidding for the Dodgers in a process tilted toward the high bidder. However, the East Coast hedge-fund executive is not content to let his wealth speak for itself. He has engaged one of America's 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.

The state's Treasury Department has some of the hottest tickets around--to the NBA Finals--and will sell them to the highest bidders. The department got the tickets Wednesday. They were part of the assets seized in a drug raid last month in Bloomfield Hills, and under state law, the department must auction perishable items to the highest bidder. Treasurer Robert Bowman said that means the $25 tickets will go on the block today, a few hours before Game No. 2 between the Detroit Pistons and the Lakers at the Palace in Auburn Hills.

Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley and Los Angeles investor Tony Ressler have joined forces and re-entered the bidding for the Dodgers, a person familiar with the sale process said Monday. Ressler, a minority investor in the Milwaukee Brewers, is believed to be the only remaining bidder currently involved in MLB. The Heisley-Ressler bid would be the eighth submitted to Major League Baseball for consideration. MLB has agreed to approve up to 10 bidders, after which outgoing owner Frank McCourt will select the winner.