Magic Johnson has joined a group bidding to buy the beleaguered Dodgers, hoping to restore the luster of a once-glamorous franchise that has been sullied during owner Frank McCourt’s messy tenure.

Johnson, the longtime Los Angeles Lakers superstar and former part-owner of the NBA club, is partnering with former Atlanta Braves executive Stan Kasten and wealthy investor Mark Walter in the upcoming auction for the Dodgers, who filed for bankruptcy protection in June. McCourt finally agreed last month to auction the team at an undetermined future date.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to be part of the Dodgers legacy & bring a World Series championship back to LA,” Johnson tweeted Friday.Johnson has joined a heavyweight group in what’s expected to be a tough competition for the Dodgers: Kasten is the former president of the Braves and Washington Nationals, while Walter is the CEO of a global financial services firm managing more than $125 billion in assets. Their organization will be called Guggenheim Baseball Management, and Walter’s vast financial resources could put the group up front in the bidding.

The Los Angeles Times first reported Johnson’s interest in the Dodgers. The news was greeted with enthusiasm across Los Angeles from fans who count Magic among the most popular athletes in Southern California sports history.The three-time NBA Most Valuable Player has become a successful businessman since his second retirement in 1996, with investments in several sectors of commercial real estate. But Johnson’s passion still is sports, and he has spent several years looking for an ownership role in a pro franchise, most recently expressing his interest in returning the NFL to Los Angeles.- http://sports.yahoo.com