Donald T Sterling

Donald T. Sterling, the son of a pushcart peddler, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He runs an empire from his gold-trimmed alabaster-and-marble building in the heart of Beverly Hills that was built by Louis B. Mayer and lives in a mansion on Sunset Boulevard that belonged to Cary Grant. So do they call him Sterling, the entrepreneur? Nope. Sterling is also known for lavish parties and charitable works. So do they call him Sterling, the fabulously wealthy bon vivant and humanitarian?

Scott Sterling, the son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, was found dead in his Malibu home in what authorities said Wednesday appeared to be some type of drug overdose. The Sterling family released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that Scott Sterling, 32, was suffering from diabetes. "Our son Scott has fought a long and valiant battle against Type 1 Diabetes," the statement read. "His death is a terrible tragedy, the effects of which will be felt forever by our family and all those who knew and loved him. We sincerely appreciate the warm outpouring of sympathy and support from so many of our dear friends.

Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald T. Sterling and his wife, Rochelle, have agreed to a record settlement of more than $2.7-million regarding allegations that they discriminated against African Americans, Latinos and families with children at scores of apartment buildings they own in and around Los Angeles. The settlement, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, is the largest ever obtained by the Justice Department in a housing discrimination case involving apartment rentals, officials said.

It was the sigh before the storm. During a joyous couple of hours on the Staples Center court Saturday, the Clippers rediscovered their alley and dug up their oop and sprinted their way to a 101-85 drubbing of the Memphis Grizzlies. Yet during a somber few minutes in his locker-room office afterward, the embattled Vinny Del Negro acknowledged that it might not matter. "We'll see," he said softly. "We need to win. We need to play better. But I don't worry a lot about it, because there are things out of my control.

Three decades ago, the Lakers had an unofficial mascot who got too big for his tuxedo. He was an entertaining fan who became so popular, he eventually wanted money to continue being that fan. The Lakers tried paying him but couldn't pay him enough to keep him happy, so he stopped coming to games and eventually faded into anonymity. Remember Dancing Barry? He's about to be joined by Clipper Darrell. The Clippers' unofficial cheerleader, the rotund dancing guy in a red and blue suit named Darrell Bailey, caused a stir this week when he issued a statement on his website claiming that the Clippers, "no longer want me to be Clipper Darrell.… I am devastated!"

The biggest lawyer joke in L.A.? Donald T. Sterling. JERRY M. MOORE Los Angeles

Clippers' Owner Settles Rent Suit: A spokesman for Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling said Sterling has settled a Los Angeles Superior Court suit seeking to evict him from his Wilshire Boulevard penthouse office. Sterling was sued Thursday for $66,298 by VMS Realty Management Inc. of Illinois, which claimed that he agreed in November, 1986, to monthly rent of $9,732.50--or $346.38 a day. But Robert Steele, chief financial officer of Donald T. Sterling Corp.

The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball franchise, Donald T. Sterling, said Wednesday after a meeting with Mayor Tom Bradley and Coliseum Commission President Richard Riordan that unless an $85-million new indoor arena is built to replace the Sports Arena, the Clippers will move to "a new facility elsewhere in Los Angeles." Sterling did not specify which site he had in mind. For his part, Riordan said he and the mayor had shown Sterling a new remodeling plan for the Sports Arena that was less expensive than those previously developed.

Everyone ostracizes team owners for paying millions to players and thus being responsible for the out-of-control spiraling rise in player salaries. But when someone like the Clippers or the Montreal Expos refuses to pay guaranteed millions, everyone comes down on them because they are not "committed" to win. Rob Hamers Irvine While second-guessing the Clippers' management and owner Donald T. Sterling has become so popular on these pages, there is apparently good reason for the team to remain under the salary cap. I don't recall any departed players who went on to prove the team wrong, and that includes Ron Harper, Danny Manning and the forward who demanded $68 million for a long-term contract and whose name I cannot recall (Maurice Taylor?

Clipper owner Donald T. Sterling said Thursday that North Carolina State Coach Jim Valvano will be in Los Angeles for an interview next Wednesday, but Valvano denied it. While saying that Don Casey, Clipper interim coach since Jan. 19, is the leading candidate to become head coach, Sterling said Art Kaminsky, Valvano's agent, called Wednesday and asked for a meeting. Valvano, in Rocky Mount, N.C., to address a North Carolina State booster club, said that he has no plans to meet with the Clippers.

Three decades ago, the Lakers had an unofficial mascot who got too big for his tuxedo. He was an entertaining fan who became so popular, he eventually wanted money to continue being that fan. The Lakers tried paying him but couldn't pay him enough to keep him happy, so he stopped coming to games and eventually faded into anonymity. Remember Dancing Barry? He's about to be joined by Clipper Darrell. The Clippers' unofficial cheerleader, the rotund dancing guy in a red and blue suit named Darrell Bailey, caused a stir this week when he issued a statement on his website claiming that the Clippers, "no longer want me to be Clipper Darrell.… I am devastated!"

Well, I guess the Lakers' holiday cards will now say, "We were dreaming of a Dwight Christmas. Now we just have to hope for Metta World Peace on Earth. " Talk about your lump of coal. Paul Feinsinger Agoura Hills :: David Stern? Yes, and also petty and vindictive. Jonathan Greenspan Westlake Village :: The only negative from the Clippers' acquisition of Chris Paul is that it probably validates, at least implicitly if not explicitly, the unprecedented and seemingly imperious, unconscionable and outrageous veto by David Stern of the Lakers' trade for Paul only days earlier.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury Wednesday unanimously rejected NBA great Elgin Baylor's wrongful-termination lawsuit against the Clippers. The jury of seven men and five women voted "no" to all of Baylor's claims that the Clippers, owner Donald T. Sterling and team President Andy Roeser oversaw a hostile workplace. Baylor, now 76, alleged he was harassed and subjected to age discrimination leading to his 2008 departure after 22 years as a Clippers executive. The jury deliberated for less than four hours.

Elgin Baylor's wrongful termination and age-discrimination civil lawsuit against the Clippers is expected to arrive in the hands of jurors Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In closing statements Monday, the team's attorney blasted Baylor's claim and urged the panel to deprive him of any financial payoff. Ridiculing Baylor's complaints against team executives who asked him about his birthday and how he was feeling in the years before the NBA great's split with the team as executive vice president, Clippers attorney Robert Platt told jurors, "You'd have to have police at every workplace saying you can't sing, 'Happy Birthday.' " Baylor, 76, parted with the Clippers after 22 seasons in 2008 when the team offered him a $10,000 monthly consultant's package.

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.

"Blake gets his first field goal in the second half. Don't go away, 89-77, it's down to 12. Don't go away!" It's Ralph Lawler's 2,513th Clippers game here and in San Diego, of which 1,613 have been losses, not that you can tell by his excitement level. Blake Griffin has just scored as they try to rally from a 16-point deficit in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, as Richard Jefferson fires off a three-pointer. . . . "Jefferson!" says Lawler as the ball arcs toward the basket, and goes in. "Go ahead and go away.

In his five years as commissioner of the National Basketball Assn., David Stern has probably dealt with Donald T. Sterling of the Clippers more than any other owner, although their time together does not appear to have bred mutual understanding.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury Wednesday unanimously rejected NBA great Elgin Baylor's wrongful-termination lawsuit against the Clippers. The jury of seven men and five women voted "no" to all of Baylor's claims that the Clippers, owner Donald T. Sterling and team President Andy Roeser oversaw a hostile workplace. Baylor, now 76, alleged he was harassed and subjected to age discrimination leading to his 2008 departure after 22 years as a Clippers executive. The jury deliberated for less than four hours.

Documents filed last week in Elgin Baylor's wrongful termination lawsuit against the Clippers, their owner, Donald T. Sterling, and the NBA offered an extensive look at Baylor's 22-year tenure with the organization. Baylor filed his civil suit in February 2009 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging race and age discrimination. A trial date is scheduled for March. On Nov. 5, Sterling's attorneys asked the court for a summary judgment to dismiss the case; a ruling is expected in January.

Mike Dunleavy, who resigned as coach and was subsequently fired as general manager of the Clippers this season, has filed for arbitration, saying the team has cut off his salary. Dunleavy's guaranteed five-year, $22-million contract, often cited as the reason owner Donald T. Sterling kept him through three difficult seasons, runs through the end of next season. Dunleavy resigned as coach Feb. 4, with the team announcing he would stay as GM. As GM, Dunleavy lasted until March 8 before he was fired, at which point, without announcement, the Clippers cut off his pay. Dunleavy was owed $1.35 million for the balance of this season and $5.4 million for next season, a total of $6.75 million.