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High & Inside: Baseball Notes

Divorce Court There are two formidable obstacles for Frank McCourt to overcome in his bid to continue to own the Los Angeles Dodgers after he and his ex-wife Jamie reached a binding agreement Friday in their less-than-amiable divorce.

Divorce Court

There are two formidable obstacles for Frank McCourt to overcome in his bid to continue to own the Los Angeles Dodgers after he and his ex-wife Jamie reached a binding agreement Friday in their less-than-amiable divorce.

Obstacle No. 1: Frank McCourt must receive MLB's approval of a 17-year TV contract with Fox reported to be worth up to $3 billion. Under the settlement, McCourt would receive $385 million upfront, most of which would be used for Dodger-related expenses.

"Baseball has been very clear," McCourt said outside court. "They wanted to see this divorce settled, and all this white noise gone, or they wanted Jamie's consent for the Fox transaction or they wanted a judge to give them an order to move forward. Today we have achieved all three."

Obstacle No. 2: A one-day "characterization" trial Aug. 4 to determine if title to the Dodgers is in Frank McCourt's name or if the team should be considered community property and sold.

Stay tuned. It ain't over.

Padres to retire closer Hoffman's number

The Padres will retire Trevor Hoffman's No. 51 in a ceremony Aug. 21 after their game against the Florida Marlins. Hoffman, baseball's all-time leader with 601 saves, retired in January after playing 18 big-league seasons.

He was picked by the Marlins in the 1992 expansion draft, made his big-league debut in 1993, and was acquired by the Padres on June 24, 1993, in San Diego's "fire sale" - which involved five players, and sent slugger Gary Sheffield to the Marlins.