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Tag: LA Clippers

  • Steve Ballmer Makes Semi-Rhythmic Body Movements to Fergie at Clippers Game

    Here’s former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer having a seizure at a Clippers game:

    Here’s another angle of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer having a seizure at a Clippers game:

    We hope that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is ok.

    According to reports, the episode was induced by something called a “Fergie”.

    It’s been a fun week for former Microsoft CEOs.

  • Steve Ballmer Becomes Owner Of Clippers

    Steve Ballmer Becomes Owner Of Clippers

    Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is now the proud new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA released the following statement:

    The transaction in which Steve Ballmer purchased the Los Angeles Clippers closed today following the entry of an order by a California court confirming the authority of Shelly Sterling, on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, to sell the team.

    The NBA Board of Governors previously approved the sale and Ballmer is now the Clippers Governor.

    Ballmer paid a reported $2 billion for the team. Just to put that into perspective, Snapchat is said to be worth $10 billion.

    The deal, of course, came after the controversy that erupted when previous owner Donald Sterling made racist comments, which were recorded and highly publicized, leading to his ban from the NBA.

    Ballmer’s agreement to buy the team was first made public in late May.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Steve Ballmer Agrees To Buy Clippers For $2 Billion

    Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has signed an agreement to buy the Los Angeles Clippers from the Sterling Family Trust for a record $2 billion, according to a source that spoke with CNN on Thursday night.

    The NBA would still need to approve the sale at a Board of Governors meeting. Sterling has vowed to fight the sale, Sterling’s attorney told CNN Thursday. Sterling has “emerged from his emotional state” and hardened his resolve, according to Maxwell Blecher, and is considering suing the NBA if the league forces him to sell the team.

    On Monday, the NBA “initiated a charge” seeking to terminate all ownership rights of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise. Sterling will be allowed to make a presentation at a June 3 Board of Governors meeting.

    In order for the NBA to terminate the Sterlings’ franchise rights, 75 percent of the 30 team owners would have to vote to sustain the charge and force a sale of the Clippers.

    Blecher told CNN’s Situation Room that the embattled owner wants to meet with league officials and work things out. “[Sterling] wants to be vindicated. He doesn’t want his tombstone to say, ‘Here lies Donald Sterling, racist.’ And the NBA has the power to make that right.”

    Several buyers have submitted bids to Shelly Sterling for the team, according to other CNN sources. The bids have been between $1 billion and approaching $2 billion. Steve Ballmer’s bid, if approved, would be a record for an NBA team.

    Donald Sterling has been the owner of the Clippers since he bought the team in 1981 for $12 million.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Donald Sterling Wants ‘Another Shot’

    Donald Sterling hopes the world can forgive him.

    More specifically, he wants a second chance. While most people have no remorse for the conflicted LA Clippers’ owner, he hopes other NBA owners and those he offended can eventually forgive him. During the second part of his interview on Anderson Cooper 360, he made his sentiments quite clear.

    “I want to show all of the people that are associated with basketball and the world I’m not a racist,” Sterling said during the 80-minute interview, which aired Wednesday evening. Sterling also shared his perspective on race relations in the United States. The 81-year-old business magnate feels that Americans handle racism better than most foreign countries.

    “I don’t see it. I’m not an African-American,” the former lawyer and billionaire real estate investor, said. He also gave an example of his point of view with a reference to last month’s Jewish Center shootings near Kansas City, MI. “You know, take Judaism … I don’t think the Jews have any problem. I mean there’s a couple of people that they killed that are Jews coming out of a synagogue.”

    http://youtu.be/HnCaLeS64PM

    He also recounted his years as a lawyer, and his professional interactions with people outside of his race. In his profession, he stated that race was not a factor, as he only judged people based on their legal expertise.

    “I wouldn’t think he (a black attorney) was any different than a white  lawyer. … I think America has worked well with that. Maybe not as well as the African-Americans would like, but I’m a Jew. I watch what’s going on with us, too,” Sterling explained. “I think it’s better than it’s ever been. Doesn’t mean there isn’t anti-Semitism, there is … a lot of it, especially in the South. But it doesn’t matter.”

    Throughout the interview, Sterling was also very apologetic for his actions. He claimed that he was “baited” into making the “terrible remarks” that were recorded. He also noted that he generously supports minorities. The millions he’s pledged over the years have been given to a number of foundations for good minority causes. “I support minorities, God has been so good to me,” he said. “I’m so lucky, and so I want to give, and that’s what my life is all about. Giving and helping wherever I can.”

    “I’m apologizing and I’m asking for forgiveness,” he said. “Am I entitled to one mistake? After 35 years. I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. … It’s a terrible mistake, and I’ll never do it again.”

    Image via Anderson Cooper 360, Facebook

  • Frankie Muniz Defends the LA Clippers

    Bad press doesn’t begin to describe the negativity experienced by the NBA’s LA Clippers over the past week. Team owner Donald Sterling was caught last week being quite racist in an audio clip made public by TMZ. The scandal has led the NBA to ban Sterling and fine him $2.5 million. The NBA will also seek to push Sterling out of ownership of the Clippers.

    Both the NBA and the LA Clippers have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from Sterling. That hasn’t stopped fans and critics alike for blaming the Clippers and calling for boycotts and other actions. This, in turn, has caused Clippers fans to come forward to defend their favorite basketball team.

    Though plenty of famous people claim to be Clippers fans, few have stuck their neck out into this controversy – until now.

    Actor Frankie Muniz, best known as Malcolm in the long-running Fox series Malcolm in the Middle, this week delivered an impassioned plea to basketball fans. Muniz stated that he is not a fan of Sterling, calling the man’s racist comments “disgusting.” However, Muniz revealed that he has supported the team’s players and coaches for two decades and is now calling on fans not to boycott the Clippers, if only for the sake of the players and the employees at the Staples Center.

    Muniz’s long, well-worded statement was released through the actor’s Facebook page. The rare post makes it clear that Muniz is a die-hard Clippers fan and doesn’t want Sterling’s racism to color the team now that the Clippers are finally competitive:

    Post by Frankie Muniz.

    In coming out against Sterling while defending the Clippers, Muniz no doubt speaks for thousands of fans throughout the US. It also demonstrates just how damaging Sterling’s comments have been to both the Clippers and the team’s fandom.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • David Geffen: Business Magnate Interested In Buying LA Clippers

    Buyers have been showing their interest in purchasing the Los Angeles Clippers after Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, said that he is pushing for the team’s sale and is also urging league owners to push for the sale as well. The news came out following the lifetime NBA ban of the team’s owner Donald Sterling.

    The lifetime ban was a sanction given to Sterling for making racist comments during a recorded conversation that resurfaced on Friday. In the recording, Sterling was being critical of his girlfriend V. Stiviano for associating with “black people.” He was also heard asking Stiviano not to invite Magic Johnson and other minorities to Clipper games. Stiviano, however, describes herself as being of African American and Mexican descent.

    Audio of conversation between Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano

    Magic Johnson reacts to Sterling tape

    Aside from the lifetime ban, Sterling is also being asked to pay a fine of $2.5 million, which is the maximum amount allowed according to the NBA constitution.

    According to Forbes, the Clippers’ present value is at $575 million. Sterling was able to purchase the team at $12.5 million in 1981. The valuation puts the team as the league’s 13th most valuable franchise.

    One of person that is very interested in buying the team is business magnate and entertainment mogul David Geffen. The email that came from his office said that Geffen is interested “if the Clippers become available.” They also said that Geffen is not available to make a comment. Although he has shown his interest, he has not made an offer yet.

    Geffen, who is estimated to be worth $6.2 billion, was interested in buying a controlling stake of the team in 2010, but was refused by Sterling.

    Aside from Geffen, there are also a few others who are said to be interested in purchasing the team. Some of them are former Lakers player Magic Johnson, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., real estate agent and billionaire Rick Caruso, Chief Executive of Oracle Larry Ellison, and billionaire doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong.

    Bidding groups had already formed even before Adam Silver’s announcement was made on Tuesday.

    Who is David Geffen?

    Image via YouTube

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Sterling GF, Media ‘Caught’ Him

    Former Los Angeles Lakers star and former Clippers assistant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, wrote an op-ed column for Time.com about his take on the Donald Sterling scandal.

    Abdul-Jabbar said while Clippers owner Sterling – who was banned from the NBA for life – should have been held accountable years ago for his bigotry, blame for this latest incident should be shared with the media and his girlfriend, who he contends duped him into revealing his bigotry in an audio recording.

    “And now the poor guy’s girlfriend (undoubtedly ex-girlfriend now) is on tape cajoling him into revealing his racism,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “Man, what a winding road she led him down to get all of that out. She was like a sexy nanny playing “pin the fried chicken on the Sambo.” She blindfolded him and spun him around until he was just blathering all sorts of incoherent racist sound bites that had the news media peeing themselves with glee.

    “They caught big game on a slow news day, so they put his head on a pike, dubbed him Lord of the Flies, and danced around him whooping,” he said. “I don’t blame them. I’m doing some whooping right now.”

    Abdul-Jabber conveyed his relief that Sterling was finally called out, but says evidence of his racism goes way back and should have been exposed long ago.

    “He was discriminating against black and Hispanic families for years, preventing them from getting housing,” Abdul-Jabbar says. “It was public record. We did nothing. Suddenly he says he doesn’t want his girlfriend posing with Magic Johnson on Instagram and we bring out the torches and rope. Shouldn’t we have all called for his resignation back then?”

    After the news broke Monday about Sterling’s lifelong ban, Abdul-Jabar told reporters that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handled the incident “the right way.”

    In his column, Abdul-Jabber says the Sterling scandal should be a point of inspiration to fight against racism in America.

    “Racists deserve to be paraded around the modern town square of the television screen so that the rest of us who believe in the American ideals of equality can be reminded that racism is still a disease that we haven’t yet licked,” he says. “What bothers me about this whole Donald Sterling affair isn’t just his racism. I’m bothered that everyone acts as if it’s a huge surprise.

    “Let’s use this tawdry incident to remind ourselves of the old saying: ‘Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.’ Instead of being content to punish Sterling and go back to sleep, we need to be inspired to vigilantly seek out, expose, and eliminate racism at its first signs,” he added.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Shelly Sterling Blasts, Then Defends Husband

    The estranged wife of L.A. Clipper’s owner Donald Sterling can’t seem to make up her mind about racial comments her husband made in an audio recording his 31-year-old girlfriend released over the weekend.

    Rochelle Sterling, who attended the Clippers game Sunday, told TMZ her family was devastated by the comments and they would support the team.

    “Our family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband,” she said. “My children and I do not share these despicable views or prejudices. We will not let one man’s small mindedness poison the spirit of the fans and accomplishments of the team in the city we love. We are doing everything in our power to stand by and support our Clippers team.”

    However within hours, she was defending her husband, saying he was not a racist.

    A photographer asked Sterling if he was a racist as he was leaving Fleming’s steakhouse in Downtown L.A. Sunday night with Shelly.

    Donald was silent, but 80-year-old Shelly screamed at the photographer, “OF COURSE NOT.”

    Her oscillating opinions come after the release of the infamous audio tape in which Sterling berates his girlfriend for posting a picture of herself with former NBA star Magic Johnson on Instagram and tells her not to bring black people to the games.

    The NBA is currently considering what action to take against Sterling after players including LeBron James and Michael Jordan said there was no place for him in the league.

    Meanwhile, it looks like Shelly will continue to take a stand-by-her-man stance. Insiders say she has no intention of divorcing Sterling.

    “Shelly has no immediate plans to divorce Donald,” an insider told Radar. “They remain the best of friends, and have been separated for years.” In fact, she was spotted out with him last night in Los Angeles.

    “One of the reasons Shelly has no plans to file is purely financial,” the insider said. “It would just cost them too much money — both are extremely cheap. Shelly is actively involved in the family real estate business and is a co-owner of almost all of the apartment buildings Donald owns in Southern California. They are the single largest owner of apartment building in Los Angeles County. For them to divorce, it would entail having all of those properties appraised, calculate rental income for each unit. It would be extremely costly and time consuming.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Al Sharpton: Remove Sterling or ‘We March’

    Al Sharpton: Remove Sterling or ‘We March’

    Reverend Al Sharpton is threatening to protest the NBA if L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling is not dealt with immediately for his racist comments.

    “No one should be allowed to own a team if they have in fact engaged in this kind of racial language,” said the civil rights activist to TMZ Sports.

    Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, is calling for the league to make an investigation into Sterling immediately and said, “We are prepared at National Action Network to rally in front of the NBA headquarters if this matter is not immediately dealt with.”

    Sterling is under heavy fire after berating his girlfriend for hanging out with black people in public and telling her not to bring black people to his games after she posted a photo of herself with Magic Johnson on her Instagram. The comments came in a recording taped by his girlfriend.

    “I’m totally outraged that they are stalling on this,” Sharpton said in a telephone interview to Bloomberg. “It does not take an investigation. Either he is the man on the tape or not. And he has not said unequivocally that he is not.”

    NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that everyone should be allowed due process.

    “All members of the NBA family should be afforded due process and a fair opportunity to present their side of any controversy. The core of the investigation is understanding whether the tape is authentic, interviewing Mr. Sterling and interviewing the woman as well and understanding the context in which it was recorded,” said Silver in the statement.

    An outpouring of disgust over Sterling’s comments is rampant on social media.

    Image via YouTube

  • Donald Sterling: Los Angeles Clippers Owner’s Racist Rant Angers Many

    TMZ released an audio clip of a racist rant yesterday that was allegedly made by Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. In the clip, which has outraged the masses, we hear a man telling a woman that he doesn’t want her to bring black people to any of his games or post photos of Magic Johnson on Instagram.

    Among other things, Sterling allegedly told his girlfriend V. Stiviano, “You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that…and not to bring them to my games.” According to TMZ, a photo Stiviano posted to Instagram of herself with Magic Johnson sparked the rant. You can hear the male in the audio clip say, “Don’t put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”

    Listen to the racist rant allegedly made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling below.

    Magic Johnson has tweeted about the rant, and as you can tell, he was not happy to hear about the comments:

    LeBron James has also chimed in on the situation, and says that if Sterling really made the comments, he wants to see the NBA ban him. “If the reports are true, it’s unacceptable. It’s unacceptable in our league,” James said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, Hispanic, whatever, all across the races. It’s unacceptable and as a commissioner in our league, they have to make a stand, and they have to be very aggressive with it.”

    Sterling has denied that he is the person making the rant in the clip, but due to his checkered past regarding racism claims (including refusing to rent apartments to black people), not many people are buying the denial. Sterling and the Clippers organization released a statement saying that they don’t know if the audio is legitimate, but that it doesn’t represent how Sterling feels:

    We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered…Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life.

    The timing of this controversy with owner Donald Sterling couldn’t be worse for the Los Angeles Clippers, as they are in the middle of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Clippers will play Game 4 of the first round on Sunday night; the Clippers lead the series against the Golden State Warriors 2-1.

    Image via Twitter

  • Cleveland Cavaliers Excuse Andrew Bynum

    Cleveland Cavaliers Excuse Andrew Bynum

    The Cleveland Cavaliers have indefinitely excused mystifying center Andrew Bynum for “conduct detrimental to the team,” after temporarily suspending him on Saturday. Bynum was subsequently banned from all team activities, which hints at an end to his two-year, $24.79 million contract he’d signed with on July 19. Cleveland will seek to trade the 7-foot center.

    Bynum got off to a rocky start with the Cavaliers, scoring only 3 points with 3 rebounds in 8 minutes during his October 30 debut. On November 30, Bynum logged his season highs with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in a 97-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

    Bynum’s indefinite status isn’t too shocking, considering his lackluster, seemingly disinterested play – Bynum didn’t play at all during his stint last year in Philadelphia, and had spoken openly about retirement, due mainly to troublesome knee injuries.

    Bynum displaying a glimmer of reclaiming dominance as a center with the Cavs against the Bulls:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_r-8z-QQXg

    Bynum, of course, will still be paid by Cleveland, while not actually playing:

    The Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat are rumored to be interested in acquiring Bynum:

    NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has something to say about the Bynum situation, but one has to check his Facebook page, as 140 characters isn’t enough:

    Cleveland coach Mike Brown commented on Byrum’s status, “He’s on an indefinite suspension and I’m not trying to be funny, but you know what indefinite means – We’ve got 14 guys in that locker room who are very focused and determined and ready to take on any challenge that’s in front of them. They’re great guys, they’re focused guys and they know how to play the game the right way and that’s what I’m focused on, just helping those guys win.”

    The 26-year-old Byrum spent 7 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, after being selected 10th overall in the 2005 NBA draft. Though with the Cavs, he is averaging only 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 24 games this season.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Lamar Odom’s Father Bashes the Kardashian Family

    Lamar Odom, 33, has been in the tabloids lately, with magazine headlines reading, “Lamar and His Dark Time” with pictures of him and his wife, reality star, Khloe Kardashian plastered on them. But what’s all this fuss about? What is this “dark time” that has been taking over the professional basketball players life?

    It seems that the former Clippers player who’s kept very silent about his alleged drug use problem, took to Twitter on Tuesday to fire back at the person that’s been seemingly causing Odom such stress…his father.

    The entire post reads as follows:

    “Won’t continue 2 speak on this but I have got 2 let this out real quick. I have let this man and many others get away with a lot of shit. He wasn’t there 2 raise me. He was absent ALL of my life due to his own demons. My mother and grandmother raised me. Queens raised me. For the first time since they left, came a blessing of a FAMILY that I married into. FAMILY. That man wasn’t even invited to my wedding. He has never met my mother in law and some of my other family. How can a man who has NOT once called me to check on my well being have the nerve to talk so recklessly about his own “son”. He is my downfall! His own demons may be the ONLY thing he gave 2 me. He disrespecting the ONLY FAMILY that has loved me without expecting anything in return. They are the ONLY ones that have been here consistently 4 me during this dark time. Only person 2 blame is myself. Say what you want about me but leave the ones who have done nothing but protect and love me out of this! This goes to out to everyone!”

    Odom tweeted this out on Twitlonger yesterday.

    It seems it was a pretty angry tweet, but Odom’s father said some pretty nasty things in his interview with Radaronline.

    “They don’t give a f*ck about my son. It’s more about the damage they do to the Kardashian brand. They brought him down. He’d be better off without them. Let him go, get his life together,” said his father, Joe Odom.

    Odom received a DUI last month.

    Photo Credit: YouTube.com