Today was a huge day in the ongoing McCourt soap opera.  Frank who has refused to discuss much of anything with the media, held a press conference in New York after meeting with MLB executives (minus Bud Selig). McCourt said MLB denied the FOX media deal which would have put $300 million up front which would have been invested into the team immediately.  “I signed an agreement that $300m up-front from Fox deal would go directly into the Dodgers, not for divorce or any personal matters.”

McCourt for the first time also publicly apologized for his personal spending habits and for his messy divorce and added that the divorce has been very difficult for him.

Then the topic of MLB hiring Tom Schieffer to oversee the day-to-day operations was brought up and McCourt said: “Nobody handed the Dodgers to me and nobody’s going to take them away. I’m not going anywhere.”

Reports have suggested McCourt plans to sue MLB, but he was non-committal when that subject was broached on Wednesday, saying: “I’m very committed to my position, and I have not decided exactly what we’re going to do.”

Shortly have McCourt’s press conference ended, Tom Schieffer’s press conference began. Schieffer did not comment on anything McCourt said specifically but did say: “We don’t want to be disruptive, we want to be helpful. I hope it will give some confidence that the instability and turmoil is coming to an end, and that we are getting to the bottom of whatever the problem is. Los Angeles and Major League Baseball need the Dodgers to be a healthy franchise.”

Familiar face Joe Torre was also at the press conference and said that he will be assisting Schieffer in the investigation. “Joe is a great baseball guy and has been in L.A., so I hope to pick his brain and get any thoughts he may have,” Schieffer said. “If you have Joe Torre available, you use him, and that is what I intend to do.”

Schieffer has yet to talk to McCourt in person but said: “I look forward to talking with him, having a nice visit and seeing what he is concerned about, but I am here to help the franchise get back on its feet and be successful again, and I think that is the Commissioner’s biggest concern.”

But the comments didn’t stop there as MLB VP Rob Manfred later provided this response to McCourt’s comments: “There has been no seizure of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mr. Schieffer has been appointed as a monitor, and a multi-page written directive from the Commissioner describing his role has been provided to Mr. McCourt,” he said in his statement. “In our meeting, no one from the Dodgers asked a single, specific question about the terms of the document setting forth the monitor’s role. … Finally, Mr. McCourt is well aware of the basis of Baseball’s investigation and has been provided an eight-page document describing the issues of concern to Major League Baseball.”

Unfortunately, things are only going to get worse before they get better for the Dodgers and their loyal fans.

Quotes and other information were obtained via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.