UPDATE (Thursday August 12): Ballmer now officially owns the LA Clippers NBA franchise according to Bloomberg. The deal was initially agreed on May 30, but incumbent owner Donald Sterling took some shifting.
Original story continues below...
When Steve Ballmer stepped down as Microsoft CEO earlier this year, he seemed an unlikely candidate for a quiet retirement playing golf or collecting stamps... and so it has proved.
The brash and bombastic Ballmer has reportedly won the bidding to buy the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers franchise for a cool $2 billion (around £1.2bn, AU$2.15bn). Just to make the story a little more bizarre, he apparently beat out an Oprah Winfrey consortium in the process.
The team, whose stars include Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, came on the market after basketball authorities decreed that current owner Donald Sterling must sell up for allegedly being a massive racist.
So, what can we expect from Ballmer as the owner of a sports team? Well probably a keen interest in development and passion that can be measured in buckets of perspiration. Look out, Lakers... LA has a new sheriff!
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Via Guardian
