Judge rules Steve Ballmer can buy the Los Angeles Clippers

Our favorite second-CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer has just been cleared to buy the Los Angeles Clippers. They're the professional basketball team that Ballmer has been trying to buy for $2 billion. Former owner, Donald Sterling, has prevented the sale with a lawsuit. Today a judge has ruled against Sterling and Ballmer is cleared to buy the Clippers.
Here's the NBA on the Sterling ruling:
"We are pleased that the court has affirmed Shelly Sterling's right to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer. We look forward to the transaction closing as soon as possible."
Ballmer has always been an energetic guy. We can't wait to see the energy he brings to L.A. Now we just need the team to be renamed to the Los Angeles Clippys.
Source: ESPN (opens in new tab)
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At the very least let me buy a parody Clippys jersey. I'd wear that to Clipper home games all the time.
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Thumbs up! :D
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+Clippy +Office 2003
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+XP
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You could sell them all day!!
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I'd love the name "Seattle clippys"
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You know you want it. http://www.customink.com/designs/proofs/dym0-0012-bqq4/front.jpg http://www.customink.com/designs/proofs/dym0-0012-bqq4/back.jpg
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I've been a daily visitor but not a regular poster on this site for 6 months now and I'm still sometimes baffled what stories like this have to do with windows phones. I know the guy used to have something to do with windows/windows phone but i thought his current ventures wouldn't impact my life. Shouldn't this article be on a business/sports site?
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Looks like you're buying a jersey. Need help with that?
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Ow my sides
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Go Ballmer!!!!
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Good, the clippers deserved better than Donald.
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A Microsoft, and a Clipper fanboy dream come true.
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Donald was no peach but his critics were worse than him.
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Brick Squad
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Cool. Now move them to Seattle. It's too many sport franchises here in LA.
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+925
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He will. I give it five years.
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Nope! Love the Clippers here in Los Angeles. I think part of the deal was that he wouldn't move the team. Besides, the term has a sweet deal sharing the Staples Center. It's a money maker here and he needs to get back a couple of billion. :)
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Clippppppppyyyyyyy! :D
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Now flood the NBA with Microsoft stuff
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Every player shall use a Surface Pro 3 and a Lumia 1520 whether they want to or not!!! Mwahahaha!!
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Re-name them the Seattle Sonics!
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Ballmer is that you??
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when he heard the news:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc -
He a crazy guy.
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How about we come up with some clever names for the team.... I say we call the team The L.A clouds services
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That will be when Nadella buys a team, Ballmer will probably name it the Seattle developer's.
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Players, Players, Players, Players, Players, Players, Players, etc.
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Doesn't sound as good as developers :)
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No it doesn't, that's for sure!
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If it sells more windows phones then great. Otherwise pointless
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This
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Not this.
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Honey boo boo and hitler will destroy the world
Heeeelp -
Thot the honey boo boo crap died out ... Don't bring her up.. Might resurface
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+521
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I really don't get it... One judge ruled, in sure there will be an appeal. This whole thing is weird.
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Why? He is a retired man with a lot of money, I'm sure he can do whatever he wants.
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Still baffles me he can be forced to sell his team over a taped conversation. I don't feel bad for him but dont think its right.
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I also don't necessarily agree with his comments. But being forced to sell his team through I believe a deal his (ex?) setup? Riiight. Because the whole thing doesn't sound fishy to anyone? I don't follow sports really anyways so doesn't effect me. But damn if i was forced to sell my company id find a way to destroy it all first. Every last bit of it.
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Not sure I agree. What Sterling said was reprehensible, but to force a sale of ownership because of what someone says seems just as reprehensible. .......... I may not like what someone says, but I will defend his right to say it. This is the United States and free speech should be defended regardless of what content that speech takes. It's a right that shouldn't be taken for granted. It's right most people in many nations do not possess. .......... So to say I'm excited about Ballmer winning in what amounts to nothing less then the consequential punishment of an ignorant mans free speech, would be completely false. Sterling should be dealt a consequence, but not like this. Not in a way that appears to punish free speech. .......... So I'm happy everyone else is happy but I fear this sets the scene for future violations of the 1st Amendment.
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Exactly. Plus, he didn't say it publicly, but the media ran with it and blew it up more than it needed to be, creating more division.
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Try recording the police in NY or NJ... You'll go to jail for it. But this man is recorded then forced to sell. Americas laws are so corrupt.
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I'm black and have expressed the same view. People look at me like I'm crazy.
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Same here. I've gotten looks of disgust like I said what he did. It sounds like he has grounds to sue over this. I know I would. Just because someone says something in an illegally recorded convo, doesn't make it ok to take away something they legally purchased...a property. They could have went to him and said, hey, ticket sales are down over this, lets arrange a sale in the public eye and we have our brand image back. He chooses.
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I'm with you. He was a scorned man and said whatever to push her buttons and hurt her feelings. They should have taken the team from him years ago when he refused to pay any good players to be competitive. He consistently put out a bad product, on purpose, because it was cheap and he was still making money.
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Yep. And many of us have all said things in private that we wouldn't want public. Should we lose something we own if those words came out? This guy was a dirt bag long before he said what he said about blacks coming to his games with his whor...mistress. But he shouldn't lose what he owns over it or at least not have it taken from him.
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Fuck u u stupid cunt.... Now now free speech u dum fuck
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Xmarklive - Yes that's right even you have a right to free speech....i served for your right to say what you want... Doesn't mean I have to agree with it or with what Donald said either, douche!
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White guys stop saying duche.... I was saying Donald deserves to lose his team. I also said free speech is a joke
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At the end of the day, the NBA is a business. And it will do what it needs to do to protect its brand. Especially when a large portion of the employees and fans of that brand are of color. I mean, I agree we have the right to free speech. But we also have to deal with consequences that come with it.
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I'm pretty sure he broke some code of conduct agreement. That could be the reason behind the force sell. He already cost the NBA money and tarnished its image a little. There are other Associations that would kick someone out for less.
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i see a great opertunity for advertising!! :)
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Yes
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Hell yes..come on Ballmer
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He'll move them to Seattle
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Seattle Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers!
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Yay for the US! Zillionaires have to go through the courts to do business. Lawl...
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The NBA has always protected their image, which is associated with their business. If their image as well as business is clean, then it allows a larger customer base. This is what Silver and the NBA are focusing on, which is all that matters. They aren't kicking Sterling out based on the words he said (this is arguable), they are giving him the boot because it does not benefit the league... Oh yeah, IMHO :-D
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As some pointed out on twitter, (maybe Peter Bright), with Microst's increased stock price, Ballmer is basically getting the clippers for free.
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ZOMG!!! WHY IS THIS ON WPCENTRAL?? I DIDN'T COME HERE FOR THIS!! **RAGE*** WHAT IS THIS NBA.COM???!!!! /s (I'm kidding for those that don't get the sarcasm tag)
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I'm English, I can spot sarcasm from 3 miles away ;-)
We practically invented sarcasm -
Haha! Too right... I find it quite amusing when people of other nationalities struggle to detect sarcasm and get extremely pissy as you've apparently expressed a reprehensible opinion. That's pretty much the reason for the existence of the '/s' tag, in my opinion...
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Oh its not like this is the first time that dick said some racist shit... So stop with the bs
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Yeah! Seattle Developers!
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F*ck Donald Sterling. Not because of his remarks, but he tried to prevent Ballmer from giving himself a fun retirement present. Seriously, F*ck that guy.
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OMG I would actually buy a Betsy with that logo.
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Right are rights untill some group decides its not.
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People get denied for housing because of credit. Also people get denied jobs because if their facebook profile
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The LA No Kia Loo Mias
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Great. Now that he got it and i dont really care because its just irrelevant and it has nothing to do with WP maybe we get some new update or 8.1 or a candy?? Like, something?? No?? Nothing? Ok..good luck with your billions and lets move on to news related to wp since i am on wpcentral.. Or am i??
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In case you're too ignorant to notice, Ballmer is Microsoft's ex-CEO; in other words, related to Windows Phones. If you don't like it, you should have known by the title of the article that it wasn't directly about Windows Phones and you should have kept scrolling. But, NOOOO, you had to click on it and whine that you didn't get news about a phone OS with 3.5% market share. You can't expect breaking news every single day...
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Well i do know he's ex ceo and all that. But nba and PHONE, again-NBA and PHONE has nothing to do with each other. Lets see how a Microsoft ex janitor is doing... Who cares. I dont expect "braking news" every day either. I expect windows phone related news every day since i paid for this app. I love basketball but also believe it must be discussed somewhere maybe like "nbacentral"? Lol. 3.5 market share you say. Hmm. I think its getting better with every single day on market share topic. Maybe consider moving to ios, or android? Their market share is bigger.. I am not ignorant either.. I work my ass off every day in a city. I want,i rather expect to get what i pay for. So therefore when i click on angry birds i get angry birds and when i am looking for fun news about wp i click on wpcentral and i should get news about wp not the NBA. So much for my ignorance.. But at the end of the day i like wpcentral and i look at this nba sh@$ like nothing more but a minor problem to me. And all of that was just in case you didn't know
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"But at the end of the day i like wpcentral and i look at this nba sh@$ like nothing more but a minor problem to me." I rest my case. Whining over nothing.
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Not entirely... It is still a bump on o road, just minor. If i am whining and you are not, why the hell you are arguing then? You like to whine and proof your believes to others?
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Ballmer in the top photo: "Hell yeah, I made it!"
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Finally. Maybe we can quit talking about it now since it has absolutely nothing to do with technology.
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LOL I second the motion ! But I'm happy for Balmer though.
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Or you could have simply ignored the stories
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Hey, wonderful idea! Except... I wake my phone. There's a live tile notification on the WP Central app. Great! I wonder what kind of new Windows/Windows Phone news they have for us now! Open the app. But wait, it's not what I was expecting at all. It's another story about the Clippers that I don't give a single damn about and I've just lost 30 seconds of my life I'll never get back because I wasted it opening the app to see a story that has nothing at all to do with topics I installed the app for in the first place.
So I guess what I'm really trying to say is - mind your own business. I have a right to express my opinion just like you do, and given some of the insignificant crap that people complain about around here I'd say that my gripe is more or less pretty legit by comparison. If I want alerts for sports stories I'd have Scorecenter installed, but since I could care less about it I don't. Its kind of like going to a rock concert and then having the band suddenly throw in a random country song, it makes no sense and that's not what you're there for. Comprende? -
I couldn't agree more!!!
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All fair, I guess WPC has the right to post w/e articles they deem related to their field of coverage. So freedom for everyone: WPC, you, TonyDedrick and Donald Sterling. Now let's all move on past this!
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Whatever. You don't see iMore following Steve Wozniak around and reporting on stuff like his participation in Dancing With The Stars. You know why? Because it has NOTHING to do with tech, just like this article. This obsession with Ballmer and/or the Clippers just because he was a former CEO is simply ridiculous and beyond fanboi.
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http://www.imore.com/steve-jobs-get-us-postage-stamp-2015 Let's just move on man!
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So you're seriously going to compare honoring the dead to a retired guy buying a basketball team? Big difference IMO. If Ballmer died and the government was going to memorialize him, yeah I'd make an exception for that. It's kind of a big deal, unlike this trivial BS.
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Don't move the goal posts. Your issue was that the article has nothing to do with technology and you've mentioned it multiple times "it has NOTHING to do with tech". So being dead makes it more relevant to technology? I'm not trying to disrespect Jobs or anyone that has passed, but putting his name on the stamp has nothing to do with technology and contradicts your statement about iMore. Bottom line is I think you are overreacting greatly here and I'm sorry to break it to you, but they won't stop their coverage of this, just because you are continuously posting about it. You complain that you lost 30 second of your life trying to open this article, yet you opted to comment on it multiple times resulting in more seconds of your life lost. So I think your best bet is just to try and ignore these articles. You are free to do whatever you wish, but for someone who feels as strongly about this situation as you do and as concerned about losing second of your life, I'd say that would be the most rational thing to do.
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You worded it better than I would have. xD
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Actually, it's more like going to a rock concert and then having the singer tell you a funny story that happened to them real quick while they take a breather before starting the second half of their concert. OMG, I lost 30 seconds of my life! QQ
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Or maybe you can quit whining that a technology site is *gasp* keeping up with the former CEO of the company that makes your phone! Wow!!!
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Or going to a rock concert and getting beaber instead
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Nice graphic Sam. lol. If the shirt exists, I'm getting one.
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Im a Lakers fan since 96... (Kobe era, also 6th grade, so I finally knew what basketball was) but if Steve Ballmer bring some type of msft to the Clips... I may have a nee post Kobe second team... I already liked them because of there "Lob City" energy they bring... But with Stevey Ballm at the helms... Should be fun lol
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Great another fatass team owner that couldn't lay it up on a 7ft ring is gonna takeover.
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Hopefully we won't have to hear Siri at the Clipper games anymore.
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Nah you'll get Clippy instead. That's the reason Ballmer wanted the Clippers.