"In this business everybody has injuries," Sterling said, "and you can't use that as an excuse. What you have to do is bring in new players, work on existing players. Maybe we won't have same record, but you can't offer it as an excuse."
STERLING OFFERED a joke at his own expense, telling the story about a party at his house years ago and comedian Milton Berle saying, "Anyone waiting for the Clippers to win a championship, leaves the porch light on for [Jimmy] Hoffa."
The blame, he said, for the Clippers' failures is his own.
"It's all my fault," he said. "How did I allow all those years of losing? There's a statement, 'Some people know how to win.' I don't know how to win. I know how to win at everything else, but not at sports.
"But I'm prepared to do whatever is necessary to win."
This year, the Clippers are $10 million over the salary cap and with bonuses kicking in -- approaching the NBA luxury tax.
Asked if he breaks out in a cold sweat spending that much money, Sterling said, "I'd probably break out in a cold sweat if we won a couple of games in a row."
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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.
