Steve Ballmer is officially new owner of Clippers, NBA says

NBA announced that Steve Ballmer’s $2-billion purchase of the Clippers had closed on Tuesday, making the former Microsoft CEO the undisputed owner of the team.

The transaction ends a fractious period of nearly four months in which owner Donald Sterling fought to retain control of the team he had presided over for three decades. A judge affirmed the right of Shelly Sterling, Donald’s estranged wife, to wrest control of the team from her husband and sell it to Ballmer.

Ballmer’s lawyer, Adam Streisand, said the agreement to sell the Clippers quickly finalized after Judge Michael Levanas signed the final order Tuesday morning permitting the sale.

“Within minutes, the deal was signed, sealed and delivered,” Streisand said.

“I am humbled and honored to be the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,” Ballmer said in a statement. “Clipper fans are so amazing. They have remained fiercely loyal to our franchise through some extraordinary times. I will be hard core in giving the team, our great coach, staff and players the support they need to do their best work on the court. And we will do whatever necessary to provide our fans and their families with the best game-night experience in the NBA.”

However, Donald Sterling has not given up in his fight against the sale of the Clippers.

Hours after the announcement of the sale, Sterling petitioned an appeals court to overturn the move.

“An immediate stay from this court, and an order halting or unwinding the sale, is necessary,” the filing said, “to allow meaningful review of the novel and erroneous legal determinations made here, and to restore public faith in our justice system.”

Sterling’s petition asks the court to set aside the final statement of decision Tuesday issued in the probate court case that cleared the way for Steve Ballmer’s $2-billion purchase of the franchise.

The petition wants the “consummation of the sale” and “all orders of the trial court” halted pending the appellate court’s review. It's unknown when the appeals court will make a ruling on the petition.

The league’s board of governors previously approved the sale of the team to Ballmer, who will meet with fans during a festival at Staples Center at 12:30 p.m. Monday.

“I am thrilled that the Clippers now have such a wonderful new owner,” Shelly Sterling said in a news release.

“I am confident that Steve will bring the city a championship team in the very near future. I cannot wait for the new season to begin.”

As part of the sale agreement, Shelly Sterling receives the titles “Clippers Number One Fan” and “owner emeritus” and a variety of perks that include game tickets.

“I am very excited about Mr. Ballmer’s purchase of the Clippers. I’ve had a chance to meet him and his excitement for the game of basketball and our team is going to be great for the league, the city of Los Angeles and Clipper fans everywhere," guard Chris Paul said.

“Today is a great day for the Clipper organization and fans everywhere. I look forward to having Mr. Ballmer as an owner and continuing our pursuit of a championship,” forward Blake Griffin said.

"Today was a very important step not only for our team but the NBA. I know Mr. Ballmer has the passion for succeeding and I am excited about him being the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,” guard JJ Redick said.

“I cannot wait to play this season knowing Mr. Ballmer is our owner. Today was a great day for the Clippers,” center DeAndre Jordan said.

Stiviano sparks Sterling love child rumors: This girl will not go away

V. Stiviano, the alleged mistress of L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling who exposed the scandal that cost him his team, sparked an Internet frenzy this weekend with an Instagram post that hinted she might drop another bombshell.

Stiviano posted a photo of her sitting with a young girl who's wearing a Clippers hat and the same face-covering visor that Stiviano has worn in public. According to reports, the photo was accompanied by this caption that later was deleted:

"I didn't really wanted to do this but you left me no choice. It's been four years since we met; so she says. Madison is going to be four soon. I think we should celebrated it, at a big event. Perhaps opening night of the #laclippers game or we can decide and wait till NEW YEARS to bring in 2015 with incredible news. I was thinking more in the sense of dropping hints until they - they (meaning the people of the 'UNITED NATIONS') get it. And when they do get the message, via #Instagram Their all going to know your the father and I'm the mother. There would be no reason for a paternity test; because we already have one. Then now - meaning NOW, we would all be in trouble. Wouldn't we? LET THE GAMES BEGAN!!! Can anyone guest who's the father of my beautiful daughter Madison V Stiviano ?"

Stiviano previously wrote "LET THE GAMES BEGAN" a couple of weeks before her recording of Sterling's racist remarks was released on TMZ, according to the LA Times, which reported that it coincided with the deterioration of her relationship with the Clippers owner.

In March, Sterling's estranged wife, Rochelle, sued Stiviano, claiming she had received more than $2.5 million in lavish gifts from the Clippers owner and they needed to be returned. A big piece of the suit involves a duplex Stiviano purchased in December for nearly $1.8 million with money that Rochelle Sterling claims Stiviano received from her husband. Stiviano's name appears on the deed, and Rochelle Sterling is asking a judge to transfer the property to her and her husband.

In the filing, Rochelle Sterling accuses Stiviano of engaging ''in conduct designed to target, befriend, seduce, and then entice, cajole, borrow from, cheat and/or receive as gifts transfers of wealth from wealthy older men whom she targets for such purpose.''

Stiviano's attorney has filed documents to dismiss many of the lawsuit's accusations and denies that Donald Sterling was taken advantage of. ''Nowhere in the complaint is it alleged that defendant so acted nor that the feminine wiles of Ms. Stiviano overpowered the iron will of Donald T. Sterling who is well known as one of the most shrewd businessmen in the world.''

Rochelle Sterling's lawsuit claims Stiviano met Sterling at the 2010 Super Bowl.

Since then, the pair had been in a relationship and Stiviano has received a Ferrari, two Bentleys and a Range Rover from the Clippers' owner, the lawsuit alleges. The vehicles are worth more than $500,000 according to the suit.

Donald Sterling and Stiviano's alleged dispute apparently was sparked by the businessman's displeasure with Stiviano posting pictures of herself online with Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp.

The Johnson photo has since been deleted from Stiviano's Instagram account. Several of her many photos include her posing in front of Clippers signs or with team memorabilia, including a pair of jerseys emblazoned with her last name.

Her bio lists her as an ''artist, lover, writer, chef, poet, stylist, philanthropist.'' The Los Angeles Times reported that Stiviano's name appeared as the director of the Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation in an ad for a 2011 luncheon, however she is not listed as having an official role with the foundation in tax documents filed between 2010 and 2012.

Donald Sterling files new suit in attempt to block Clippers sale. Go away Donald Sterling!

Donald Sterling, who vowed to sue the NBA until the day he dies, filed a new legal action Tuesday in his effort to hang onto the Los Angeles Clippers, a lawsuit in which he asserted he is the only one who can determine the team's future.

The new suit, which was filed even as his attorneys were in a courtroom in the same building fighting to scuttle his wife's effort to sell the team, asserts that Sterling is the only shareholder in the corporation that owns the franchise. As a result, Donald Sterling contends that he alone has the power to sell the team.

Sterling named the NBA, league commissioner Adam Silver, his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, and the corporation that owns the Clippers, LACBasketball Club Inc., in the suit.

The new suit by Sterling, who's under fire for his racially charged comments to an alleged mistress, is his latest effort to block the sale of the Clippers negotiated by Shelly Sterling, who accepted a $2 billion bid from former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer.

Shelly Sterling took that step after removing her husband from decision-making authority in the family trust that held the shares of the team, a move she made after two doctors examined him and concluded that he was mentally incapacitated.

Then she went to court seeking a judge's confirmation of her right to do that, sparking the trial that is ongoing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

One of Donald Sterling's attorneys, Bobby Samini, denied that the new suit was simply a last-ditch effort to scuttle that deal out of fear that Sterling is going to lose the ongoing court fight.

"It has nothing to do with derailing the sale or not," Samini said. "I don't think we've been coy about this: We've always said we're going to fight and we're not going to sell the team. We're not the ones who filed the probate petition. They filed it. We started in this courthouse by their action. So we're not the ones running to court proactively."

But Samini also acknowledged that he believes the sale of the Clippers to Ballmer, which must be completed by Aug. 15 under the terms of the contract he signed with Shelly Sterling, cannot be concluded until the new suit is settled.

"I don't think you can have a sale until the issues in our corporate lawsuit have been adjudicated by a jury," Samini said.

Attorneys for Shelly Sterling and Ballmer already had left the courthouse when the clerk's office confirmed the filing of the new suit, but attorney Pierce O'Donnell released this statement late Tuesday:

"Donald's latest lawsuit is a frivolous, last ditch act of desperation by a
delusional, bitter man. This action shows once more how obsessed he is with
ruining a record-setting $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers — a sale that
would solve the problems his racist rant started three months ago. As
testimony established today, Head Coach Doc Rivers doesn't want to coach for
him, the players don't want to play for him, the season ticket holders are about
to bolt and the major sponsors aren't willing to spend another dime until
there's a new owner. As Clippers CEO Dick Parsons made clear on the witness
stand: Donald's continuing ownership will put the franchise into a 'death
spiral.'"