Group led by Magic Johnson reaches agreement to buy Dodgers

Former MSU basketball player Magic Johnson is set to become the third Spartan to actively own a professional sports team

A group led by Johnson has reached an agreement to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2 billion. Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Tom Gores (Detroit Pistons) are other MSU alumni who currently own pro sports teams. Drayton McLane, who got his MBA from MSU, had owned the Houston Astros since 1993 before selling them in November.

"I am thrilled to be part of the historic Dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by Frank McCourt as we drive the Dodgers back to the front page of the sports section in our wonderful community of Los Angeles," Johnson said in a statement.


Johnson grew up in Lansing and played basketball at MSU for two seasons, winning the school's first national championship in 1979. Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, where he spent his entire career.

Since his retirement from professional basketball in the early 1990s, Johnson has been an active businessman and owned a stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for 16 years before selling it in 2010. Johnson's group will buy the Dodgers from McCourt, who bought the team in 2004 for $430 million. Another MSU alumnus, Eli Broad, almost bought the Dodgers in 2004 and had been talked about as a possible owner this time around.

Magic Johnson on WhoSay

Thoughts on MSU's 57-44 loss to Louisville, Draymond Green's career

(Box score here)

Kalin Lucas' eyes were starting to water.

The guard's career had just ended after he committed a traveling violation at the end of MSU's first game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. It was MSU's worst season in more than a decade and the Spartans were bounced in the round of 64 because he had a terrible night. From the playing at the highest level, to coming back from a ruptured Achilles, Lucas had been through a lot. But his brilliant career had ended in a wreck.

The first question in the postgame press conference was asked to Lucas, and he couldn't hold the tears back any longer. He put his head down, so no one could see him. Tom Izzo was tearing up as well. After a few seconds of silence and sniffles, Draymond Green spoke up. 

"I know it had to be rough for him. I mean, I'm just going to answer from my perspective. I feel like he had a great career, and he hasn't had many games where he just couldn't get anything to fall. You know, they did a great job defensively on him. They pretty much keyed on him the whole entire defense, and he did a great job of still getting everybody else involved. He still had five assists and he did some great things for us and got me some open shots. It hurts me. You know, I'm a big fan of my guys reaching milestones, and the loss hurts me, but I think I'm kind of hurting because he came up four points short of 2,000. And for everything he did for this program, you know, I get to come back for another year so I can be sad about the loss later. I think I'm hurting more about him not getting them four points."

When reporters ran out of questions, Green let everyone know how Lucas had told him to keep his head up during his freshman year and helped Green throughout his career.

It was never about him. Over four years, Green always stuck up for his teammates, kept them involved. It was his emphasis on keeping this year's team together that helped them overachieve to heights no one expected. While Green's career also ended in a heartbreaking way, it still wasn't about him. He was the last MSU player to leave the court, congratulating all the Louisville players and high-fiving kids on the way out.

Magic Johnson: Draymond Green will 'definitely' make NBA

Former Spartan and NBA great Magic Johnson held a teleconference this afternoon and talked about a variety of topics.

Along with talking about the NBA, the upcoming documentary on his announcement that he had HIV and the Magic/Bird Broadway play, he answered some questions about the Spartans. (Full transcript here).

On MSU's success this season:

"I think they share the ball.  This is the best passing team we've had probably since Mateen's team, Mateen Cleaves and them.  Also the way they play with each other has been outstanding.  They really pull for one another.  This is Tom Izzo type team, Coach Izzo type team.  He has done a wonderful job of coaching them. 

ESPN doc on Magic Johnson to air in March

ESPN will air a documentary on Magic Johnson's announcement revealing that he had contracted HIV. It's not a "30 for 30," but these ESPN films have always been spectacular. The documentary will air at 9 p.m. on March 11.

Here is a New York Times story on the film, and below is the trailer.

Can Draymond Green reach the steals record?

Last week, I looked at the hypothetical question of would Delvon Roe had broken the MSU blocks record had he played this season?

Draymond Green is closing in on the rebounds record, but he's also in reach of Mateen Cleaves' steals record.

Here is my MLive post breaking down what Green needs to do to get there (with an appreciation for just how good Magic Johnson was).