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How's this for irony ... V. Stiviano said a bunch of racist stuff about black people -- and TMZ Sports has the footage. Among the lowlights ... -- "I don't understand black people. You give them a little bit of money, they don't know what to do with it." -- "[Black people] just act crazy ... they're like, 'Yo, I wanna put extra rims on top of my rims. And my rims are gonna turn around. I'm gonna call them spinners.'" The footage was shot back in 2011 as part of a reality show pilot about gold diggers -- V....

Before former Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) CEO's just-announced deal to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, the previous record high price for an NBA team was the $550 million paid earlier this month for the Milwaukee Bucks. The amount Ballmer is paying makes it look like former Bucks owner Herb Kohl had his pocket picked by new owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry. Yes, Milwaukee is the fifth smallest market in the NBA, but it's hard to imagine that being the second most important team in Los Angeles is actually worth nearly $1.5 billion more. When the Bucks deal was announced...

The U.S. stock market is trading at all-time highs, the yields on U.S. government bonds are at eye-popping lows and the nation’s professional basketball teams are selling for more than most observers previously thought possible. That the U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of the year is the disturbing backdrop for this stunning surge in asset prices—call it the basketball bubble. Forbes first reported early on Thursday that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had submitted a $1.8 billion bid for the Los Angeles Clippers and that the team could go for $2 billion before all was said and done....

That’s $2 billion with an uppercase B! Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has apparently won the bidding war Thursday for the Los Angeles Clippers with a staggering $2 billion offer for the NBA franchise, according to the L.A. Times. The frenzied battle to get the team from Sterling drove the franchise’s price sky high for a team that Forbes estimated was worth at $575 million in January of 2014.

Forbes reports that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who was once part of an unsuccessful bid to acquire the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle, has put in a $1.8 billion bid for the Los Angeles Clippers. Reports indicated that Shelly Sterling, who may, or may not have been authoized to sell the team depending on who you talk to, put a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline on bids to be entered. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has offered $1.8 billion for the Los Angeles Clippers, according to a person familiar with Ballmer's interest in the NBA team. Ballmer, who...

The poll, conducted by E-Score, found 92% of the 1,1000 surveyed a disdain for the racist owner of the NBA team, ahead of such notables as O.J. Simpson and Bernie Madoff. Also among the most hated men were former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, former Patriots’ tight end Aaron Hernandez and pop star Justin Bieber. Move over O.J. and Bernie Madoff: America’s new No. 1 most-hated man is racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. A stunning 92% of the people asked in a recent poll ranked Sterling as more reviled than any killers, con men, politicians — or even Justin Bieber....

Shelly Sterling has had inquiries from at least six serious buyers interested in the Los Angeles NBA team, including former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Following reports on Thursday that Shelly Sterling will negotiate the forced sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling's wife has already received inquiries from six potential buyers, according to ESPN. Among those interested in the NBA team is former Microsoft CEO and multi-billionaire, Steve Ballmer, who met with her on Sunday to discuss a sale. It is not the first sign of interest that Ballmer has shown in a basketball franchise. He was part of...

The Los Angeles Clippers are not yet for sale, but two former NBA All-Stars are among the various parties assembling ownership groups to potentially buy the franchise, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Once competitors on the court, Grant Hill and Yao Ming now will be among those vying to purchase the Clippers. Sources told ESPN.com on Friday that Grant Hill and Yao Ming are working separately to line up investors to lodge bids for the Clippers when the team is ultimately made available. Donald Sterling has agreed to allow his wife, Shelly, to negotiate a sale of...

Let's say tha someone owned a chain of hotels (be they whatever number of stars), and this individual was caught on tape uttering a string of racial expletives. Let's say furthermore that this individual had signed a contract that if they were to ever bring harm to the company or impugn its name, that within the contract clause for owners this individual could be forced to sell. That I could see and understand. But let's say that this individual sold his string of fancy hotels, and later wanted to rent a room in a hotel that was far away from...

Donald Sterling is no longer the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Clippers ... TMZ Sports has learned he just surrendered control to his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, and she is now secretly negotiating with the NBA to sell the team ... ON HER TERMS. Sources close to the Clippers organization tell us ... Donald made the decision because he saw the handwriting on the wall -- as long as he remained in control, the NBA would order an involuntary sale of the team. Our sources say Shelly and her lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, have been secretly meeting with NBA Commissioner...

The Los Angeles NAACP chapter that withdrew its lifetime achievement award to embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling last month honored Al Sharpton with its “Person of the Year” award on Thursday evening, in Sterling's absence.

A letter from Donald Sterling’s lawyer reveals that the Los Angeles Clippers owner is refusing to pay the $2.5 million fine levied against him by the NBA. USA Today reports that his attorney, Maxwell M. Blecher, wrote in a letter to the NBA that Sterling has no intention of paying the fine. Moreover, the letter argues Sterling doesn’t deserve "any punishment at all" for his racist remarks that were made public last month. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is currently working to force Sterling out of the NBA.

If the NBA were really all that serious about the "race" problem with the Clippers they should: 1) cancel the series and advance their opponent or 2)not televise the series and deny the Clippers the money.

EXCLUSIVE: Donald Sterling vows to take his fight for the LA Clippers to the Supreme Court and calls Obama 'flippant' for attacking his racist views Disgraced LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling insists that the NBA has no legal right to force him to sell his beloved basketball team and fine him $2.5m – and he’s willing to take the fight to the Supreme Court.Sterling’s resolute stance is revealed for the first time in recordings obtained by MailOnline in which he lays bare his true feelings towards basketball’s governing body. What’s more, the 81-year-old says he won't pay a $2.5million fine...

Clippers basketball team owner, in interview billed as apology for racist remarks, slings insults at HIV-positive former NBA starIt was billed as an apology for racist comments that created a firestorm – but the Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has unleashed a new row by launching a searing attack on Magic Johnson and wealthy African Americans. The tycoon used an interview aired on Monday to apologise for the tirade against black people caught on tape last month but then depicted Johnson, who has HIV, of being a womanising disease-carrier. In what may become a case study in how not...

For the past several weeks, Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been at the center of several NBA stories regarding racist comments captured on tape, his subsequent banishment from the league and other owners' early moves towards removing him from ownership. On Sunday night, the public heard some of Sterling's first interview on the situation. His comments are not likely to change many opinions. In a preview of an interview set to air on "Anderson Cooper 360" on Monday night, Sterling spoke about the comments recorded by V. Stiviano, his future in the NBA, and several other topics related...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda says he's not surprised by his friend Donald Sterling's racist remarks. The former Dodgers manager tells West Palm Beach station WPBF after 30 years of friendship with Sterling, "It doesn't surprise me that he said those things. And he shouldn't have said it." Lasorda also offered his thoughts on the woman Sterling was talking to on the tape, V. Stiviano, saying: "I don't wish that girl any bad luck, but I hope she gets hit with a car."(continued)

Donald Sterling may be down, but he’s not out and he’s out looking for a law firm to help him sue the NBA, who are attempting to force him to sell the LA Clippers. According to media reports the combative and controversial Clippers boss is preparing to sue the NBA and fight attempts to make him sell the lucrative franchise. The reports are not entirely authoritative, coming from TMZ, but they are likely true given the nature of Donald Sterling, 80, and his humiliation over what has occurred in recent times. For him, the issue is of his own making...

<p>Americans are outraged by old, sick and pathetic Donald Sterling’s racist rantings—and the manipulative con-artist mistress who recorded their conversation.</p> <p>But consensus ends after the expression of furor. Who among us is without sin to offer the first bid for his franchise?</p>

It's Jew Vs. Jew as Battle Over Team Heats Up.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Sunday he expects Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling to put up a “long, protracted fight” to retain ownership of the team after being banned for life from the National Basketball Association because of racial comments. Garcetti, appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program, was asked about a potential boycott of Clippers games if Sterling balks and said, “I would certainly keep that arrow in my quiver.” Last week NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million and imposed a lifetime ban after...