Sterling digging up dirt on fellow owners
NBA: Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has hired four companies to dig up embarrassing information about NBA executives and fellow team owners, according to a person familiar with the latest escalation in Sterling’s seven-week battle to maintain control of his team.
Sterling’s confidant claims the businesses already have uncovered allegations of racial discrimination by NBA officials that are as bad as comments Sterling made suggesting he did not want to see blacks at Clippers games. The ally, who declined to be named when discussing Sterling’s legal strategy, said he was not ready to reveal the early findings.
The league has repeatedly suggested it has done nothing wrong and that Sterling is trying to distract from his own failures. Sterling plans to use the investigators’ findings to bolster a lawsuit that seeks up to $1 billion in damages, alleging the NBA has treated him more harshly than others affiliated with the league.
He has spread the work out to four firms instead of just one in an attempt to expand and expedite the reach of his inquiry. Each has been told it can bill up to $50,000 to produce results over the next 30 days.
Sterling also hopes the “dirt” will cause embarrassment for the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver, his confidant said. Silver issued a lifetime ban and $2.5-million fine against the Clippers owner in late April after Sterling’s remarks about blacks became public.
Lalang wins 5K for 8th title
Track and field: Arizona senior Lawi Lalang out-kicked Oregon freshman Edward Cheserek to win the 5,000 meters at the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene.
Lalang finished in a meet-record 13 minutes, 18.36 seconds for his eighth NCAA title. Cheserek took the lead on the final lap but defending champion Lalang pulled back in front on the final 100 meters for the dramatic finish.
Cheserek, who won the 10,000 meters Wednesday night, finished in 13.18.71.
Bakelants wins Dauphine stage
Cycling: Jan Bakelants outsprinted Lieuwe Westra to win the sixth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in Poisy, France, while Chris Froome survived a crash to keep the overall lead. The race ends on Sunday.
Van Dyken-Rouen recovering
Miscellany: Six-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen is still paralyzed a week after severing her spinal cord in an all-terrain vehicle accident, though doctors are not sure if it will be permanent.
Van Dyken-Rouen posted a note on Twitter on Friday refuting a report that she was no longer paralyzed and another that said she will not need more surgery.
The 41-year-old swimmer was unable to move her toes or feel anything touching her legs after the ATV she was driving in Scottsdale, Arizona, hit a curb and launched her over a drop-off on June 6.
• Metta World Peace to coach high school girls hoops: While former Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks forward Metta World Peace remains a free agent, he’s signed on to work as a high school girls basketball coach.
Palisades Charter High School coach Torino Johnson said World Peace will be an assistant coach at the Los Angeles school.
• WAC basketball tournaments stay in Vegas: The Western Athletic Conference will play its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Las Vegas for the fifth straight year. The conference said the events are set for March 11-14 at the Orleans Arena.
• U.S. cities in running for 2024 Games: Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington are the cities still in the running for a possible U.S. bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee will award the games in 2017.