• A bikini-themed sports bar in San Antonio is all set to open for business - right next door to a prep school.

• A blown whistle blows the chances of the Detroit Red Wings tying up Game 3 against the Anaheim Ducks.

• NBA tells Buckeye benchwarmer Mike Titus to take his name out of the upcoming Draft, “or else”.

• The NAACP will honor L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a lifetime achievement award. Elgin Baylor must be thrilled.

• A lot of Pens fans are teased by a text message mistake telling them they won four free tickets to an upcoming playoff game.

Read more…

There have been many opinions about Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling during his time running the team. The most common one being that Sterling is cheap and couldn’t care less about whether or not the team was winning, just as long as he was running a profit. He never signed the big free agents, or kept any of the team’s young talent anytime they began showing some promise.

Sterling has quieted some of these complaints in recent years by trying to re-sign players like Elton Brand and bringing in others such as Baron Davis. Then after essentially firing longtime general manager Elgin Baylor last October, he was hit with another criticism after Baylor filed a lawsuit against Sterling saying that he was a racist and that he had a “vision of a Southern plantation-type structure” within the organization. Well, Elgin’s lawsuit just took a pretty big blow. The NAACP is honoring Sterling with a lifetime achievement award.

Read more…

Throughout most of the country our schools are named after important people in history like Presidents and generals with a poet or writer thrown in here and there for good measure. If not a person, then the school is usually named after the town it’s in or the township. Well, it’s like that in 49 of the 50 states anyway. Florida, it seems, would rather name their schools after sports figures.

We learned about some Florida schools that were going to be named after Dwyane Wade until he became a sex partyin‘, STD-givin‘ machine who didn’t live up to his end of the bargain. And now today we learn there’s a high school in Tampa named after New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Well, you can’t have a high school named after a sports figure without sports teams, and those teams need a mascot, but what exactly do you pick as your mascot when your name is Steinbrenner? The Yankees? The Disgustingly Rich? No, you name yourself the Warriors.

Read more…

• Congratulations to Bar Refaeli for making the cover of this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

• And we already have a suggestion for next year’s cover girl - Rick Fox’s foxy sister Jeanene.

• But will we soon see full nudity in the sports mag’s annual edition? That could be a reason why the Laker Girls turned down a chance to pose for a SI photoshoot.

• We expected to A-Rod to come out sooner or later, but little did we know it would be about past steroid use. And who spilled the beans first? An alleged SI stalker? His ex-wife? No wonder he needed an escape to the Bahamas with two hottie companions.

Read more…

• A few Philly Flyers pose for some photos with porn star Gina Lynn.

• What do you do when the whole world’s on your case for lying about steroids? Head to the Bahamas with two hot chicks, that’s what!

• Tyler Hansbrough may have defeated Duke four straight times, but he can’t beat the Blue Devils fans’ majestic mockery of him.

• NBA players Nene & Jason Smith get involved with a sister act.

Read more…

Want to make a lawyer’s ears perk up? Use the phrase “history of racial discrimination” around them, and it’s like asking a dog if they want to go for a walk. If you’re short on breath or time and want the same effect, however, worry not; mentioning Donald Sterling’s name will do just fine as well. As the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports, the owner of the Clippers was just sued by longtime Clippers GM Elgin Baylor, who accused the franchise, Sterling, and team president Andy Roeser of employment discrimination. The NBA’s mentioned too, but it’s Baylor’s allegations about Sterling that should (finally) place the Los Angeles-area real estate mogul under the national scrutiny he so richly deserves.

(Elgin Baylor, probably just hating Sterling, life)

If Donald Sterling’s name rings a vague bell to those outside Southern California, it’s probably due to his reign as the owner of the Clippers, where prior to the past few years he was notorious for maximizing profit at the expense of his teams, routinely unloading players before their level of play would force him to pay top dollar. It worked - for him. But according to Baylor’s lawsuit, Sterling’s motives may not have been strictly monetary; Baylor alleges that what Sterling really wanted, and this is an alleged direct quote, was “the Clippers team to be composed of ‘Poor Black boys from the South’ and a White head coach.” Oh, it gets worse. So worse.

Read more…

The NBA season starts tonight in SoCal, with the Lakers playing the Jazz in Anacrime in a preseason money grab game. Up the 5 Freeway this afternoon, the Clippers, like most of us at the moment, are tightening their financial belt by eliminating the NBA’s only million-dollar mascot (wait, the Phoenix Suns Gorilla makes what?!!).

Team GM Elgin Baylor was cut loose by club owner Donald Sterling, and he’s none to happy about it. Why, I have no idea, as Baylor has been on the free money gravy train for many, many years. He has been the team’s General Manager for the past decade in title only, and had about as much positive impact in the Clips’ court affairs as O.J. Simpson just did in Vegas.

Baylor to the LAT:

“There is a dispute, and on the advice of my attorney they did not want me to discuss it,” Baylor said. “That’s all I can say.”

There’s no truth to the rumor that Baylor has drafted Yale Galanter to make his case in the dispute.

It is kinda sad though that Baylor, who has his former Laker #23 hanging in the Staples Center rafters, won’t be around for Clips games this season. He was a fun, elder statesman type. And a pretty good dude, at least in my dealings with him. And most importantly, symbolic of the lovably futile nature of the NBA’s saddest sack franchise.

But that won’t stop me from hittin’ it with the Clips this season, and My Boy Barry has more season tickets for Clippers and Lakers than anyone on the planet. Including preseason.

So here in L.A., we’re all waiting for the Jojers and Fightin’ Phils to crank it up on Thursday. Today on local sports talk radio, there was a lot of crowing going on by Dodgers fans as they happily dumped on the fallen Angels. Out of that discussion, I heard the first funny thing come out of Tommy Lasorda’s mouth (kinda) since he claimed he didn’t patronize prostitutes. Read more…

Jonathan Abrams of the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports late today that Baron Davis, fresh off opting out of the clutches of the Golden State Warriors, will sign on a 5-year, $65M deal with the L.A. Clippers. The deal will be made official on July 9, when the NBA announces next season’s salary cap.

Abrams got his info from Davis’ agent Todd Ramasar, who said, “From a basketball standpoint it’s always been about winning for Baron. This presented a good opportunity to do that to pair him with Chris Kaman and Elton Brand is expected back.”

It’s all about winning, so that’s why he’s signing with the Clippers? Makes perfect sense.

Also keep in mind, Elton Brand will have to take a pay cut if he is to return to the club.

Read more…

A reminder from the LA TIMES: Los Angeles is not like where you live. While CPAs, real estate barons, and financial advisers with suspiciously gifted spouses may settle into floor seats for your favorite team to rub shoulders (or have them injured) with the athletically famous, Lakers seats are part of a multi-platform product launch, skewing to male 18-34 demos with disposable income.

(They’re also a huge ego trip. Say hi to the cameras you totally didn’t see there! I think the Lakers are the ones in yellow.)

If you want to reinforce your brand, remind your manager you’re alive, or (heaven forbid) see a Lakers game up close, the man to contact is Lakers SVP of business operations Tim Harris. (Assuming, of course, no studios want you in their seats, you’re dead to CAA, and Sony’s West Coast VP of acquisitions has never forgiven you for schtupping his daughter within TMZ camera view.)

Harris is the Lakers’ official VIP fixer, arranging last-minute tickets for the high and/or mighty that want a certain amount of presence and/or face time on the Jumbotron. Lose a parking pass? Need an invite to the private bar under the Staples Center? Want an opportunity to trip your own Spur? Contact Mr. Harris. (If you have to ask for his contact info, you’re not famous enough. Sorry.)

Read more…

• Is Jessica Simpson jinxing another Dallas team? Maybe Chad Johnson can come to the rescue.

• A word of warning to Philly fans: Don’t mess with Allen Iverson’s mama.

• Andrew Bogut is not stylin’ on the Bucks sidelines.

• Barack Obama & John McCain aren’t afraid to get in on the March Madness, but Hillary Clinton is hesitant.

Read more…