Donald Sterling

Elgin Baylor testified Monday in his wrongful-termination lawsuit against the Clippers, saying he felt  "insulted and humiliated" after receiving a letter in August 2008 that the team wanted him to become a consultant and retire after 22 years as an executive in the organization. "I felt sick to my stomach. I felt crushed," Baylor said as a seven-man, five-woman jury heard testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court. Baylor, 76, is suing the team, Clippers owner Donald Sterling and President Andy Roeser for wrongful termination based on age discrimination.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling testified Tuesday about his past deep loyalty and trust for former executive Elgin Baylor despite an admission by the owner that he wasn't completely clear about the NBA legend he appointed vice president of player personnel in 1986. "You didn't know about his basketball career?" Baylor attorney Carl Douglas asked Sterling in his first day on the stand as Baylor's wrongful termination civil lawsuit against the team continued at a Los Angeles courthouse.

Come on, Bill Plaschke, you know why Donald Sterling gave free admission to 1,000 underprivileged children for a game against Houston, in March; the Clippers had only two home games in February, against the Bulls and Celtics, teams that people will pay to see. Would Sterling give up 1,000 paying customers to do something for charity? David Saw Diamond Bar :: How dare Bill Plaschke take on Donald Sterling! It would seem that Donald is single-handedly trying to ensure the financial well-being of The Times with his daily advisements touting himself and his rental properties.

Elgin Baylor on Friday dropped part of his wrongful-termination lawsuit that alleged the Clippers and owner Donald Sterling committed racial discrimination against him when Baylor was a team executive. Baylor, 76, is pressing ahead with the rest of his wrongful-termination claim that he suffered age discrimination and was unjustly fired. Baylor was the team's executive vice president and general manager for 22 years until August 2008. The defendants ? who also include team President Andy Roeser and the NBA ?

Their best player soars over the imagination, their young stars sprint past old stereotypes and, goodness, they were even athletic enough to kick out Baron Davis. If only the Clippers could stop tripping over their owner. When Blake Griffin roars, it is drowned out by Donald Sterling's heckling. When Eric Gordon shoots, it is overshadowed by Donald Sterling being sued. Nowhere is the tug between good and creepy more evident than in this newspaper, where, for every positive Clippers story, there seemingly appears an awkward Sterling advertisement, which brings us to the latest Donald T. Shame.

Trades have hit snags in the NBA, and even unraveled, but the Clippers were spared additional headaches when the Cavaliers informed them Sunday morning that Baron Davis passed his physical in Cleveland. That was the last piece of the puzzle for the deal to be completed and made official by the league, meaning point guard Mo Williams and small forward Jamario Moon can play at Sacramento on Monday night. The Clippers, who have lost four straight games coming out of the All-Star break, could have used the likes of Williams and Moon in Saturday's loss to the Boston Celtics.

An NFL spokesman said our very own poor guy, who owns the Dodgers, was given the chance to buy four tickets to the Super Bowl in Dallas. And Frank McCourt did so. No word if Fox advanced him the money. A friend on his way back from Dallas says he saw McCourt in the terminal for private planes. He thought it surprising McCourt was still running a G4 Net Jets private plane through the Dodgers as a business expense. As expensive as it might be, that would explain why he can't have both a private plane and a quality left fielder.

Sterling is askedfor opinion, unloads More tough love from Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling : If you can't tell from the results, Sterling is a demanding boss who can target bigger game than Baron Davis . ? Like Commissioner David Stern , the boss of bosses. Three sources describe an exchange in an owners meeting in Las Vegas a year or so ago: Sterling: You don't want to hear what I have to say. Stern. Yes, we do. Sterling. No you don't.

When the Clippers' team bus returned from a morning practice and pulled up to their hotel on a cold day in Detroit in mid-December, the coaches and staff stepped off and walked inside. The players stayed in their seats. They had something urgent to discuss ? privately. Even with young sensation Blake Griffin in their lineup and a new head coach in Vinny Del Negro, the long-suffering NBA franchise was staring at another miserable season. The Clippers had arrived from Philadelphia where they'd lost their fourth consecutive game.