Magic Johnson and Dodgers: Lakers Legend Will Redeem LA from Embarrassing 2011

It can only go up from here for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After spending a year mired in the embarrassment brought on by former owner Frank McCourt and ex-wife Jamie, the franchise was sold to a group led by Lakers legend Magic Johnson for a record $2 billion.

The sale is still subject to approval in federal bankruptcy court.

The Dodgers, regarded as one of the most storied franchises in baseball, have undergone a swift downfall under the leadership of McCourt's group, which bought the team from Rupert Murdoch's News Corps. in 2004. It all came to a head in 2011, a year Frank and Jamie McCourt spent in the midst of very public divorce proceedings.

Among the controversies that plagued the Dodgers last year were the beating of a Giants fan in a Dodger stadium parking lot, accusations that McCourt used $189 million in team revenue for personal use and a request with the Bankruptcy Court to order a sale of the team because of McCourt's financial mismanagement that landed the Dodgers $579 million in debt as of January.

As if all of the behind-the-scenes drama wasn't bad enough, the Dodgers finished last season in third place in the NL West at 82-79, missing the playoffs. The last time LA won the World Series was in 1988, long before McCourt was in the picture.

Johnson will lead an ownership group that also includes longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten, movie executive Peter Guber and financial services executive Mark Walter.

There are very few owners who could have restored hope and excitement to the Dodgers in the midst of all of the current turmoil the way that Johnson will. His name is synonymous with the city of Los Angeles, where he is regarded as a sports hero, and of course with the Lakers.

Johnson spearheaded the 1980s "Showtime" Lakers and delivered five championships to the city during his 13 years with the team. He is a Hall of Famer, a league MVP and someone who is widely respected for his courageous fight against HIV, which forced him into an early retirement from the NBA. Since admitting he is HIV positive in 1991, Johnson has been one of the most recognizable and vocal supporters of the fight against the disease.

There are very few sports figures who are as beloved anywhere as Magic Johnson is in LA. He gives a new face to a once-storied franchise that has become an embarrassment to the city, paling in comparison to the Lakers and the Angels.

As Johnson said as part of a statement, it's time to get the Dodgers back on the front pages of the sports sections in LA. There were very few prospective owners who could have provided the same hope that this was possible, that pride could be restored to the franchise.

Plus, as evidenced by his five rings, Johnson knows what it takes to build a winning team. And as far as the Dodgers are concerned, that is perhaps the only thing more important than putting a famous face in front of the team.