back to article Are we there yet, are we there yet? Ballmer 'like a small child' upon buying basketball club

Microsoft mogul Steve Ballmer was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning getting a new toy, according to the woman who sold him a basketball team. Shelly Sterling, the former caretaker owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, said that Ballmer's enthusiasm to purchase the NBA club was "like a small child." Speaking in an interview …

  1. James O'Shea

    Oh, my

    The Angel of Stern is very, very, VERY glad that he retired as NBA Commish _before_ Balmer became an owner. He had enough trouble dealing with Cuban. Cuban _and_ Ballmer? At the same time? Poor Silver's in deep, deep, DEEP trouble...

  2. DJV Silver badge
    Devil

    Probably the first inkling a player will get that he's been sacked is a chairleg mysteriously appearing in his ear hole.

    1. chivo243 Silver badge

      He needs to hire Bobby Knight as coach, they could volley chairs!

  3. FutureShock999

    I just want to see Ballmer get up in front of the crowds, in the Staples Center....in front of tens of thousands of sports fans...and take the microphone...

    and scream "WINDOWS, WINDOWS, WINDOWS!!!!" as I have seen him do so many times before...

  4. Truth4u

    i would buy all the basketball clubs

    and close them down and make the players play chess instead.

    1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      Re: i would buy all the basketball clubs

      That's an interesting image, basketball players snorting coke and playing chess. Some habits are hard to kick.

  5. BenM

    But LA to Redmond?

    So LA to Seattle is out but what about LA to Redmond?

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: But LA to Redmond?

      If Ballmer really wanted a team in Seattle, for way less than $2b he could start a new one. I don't know how the NBA works, but could he not build a team and work up to NBA level in a season or two? He could hire away the best players from other NBA teams.

      1. jaduncan

        Re: But LA to Redmond?

        It doesn't work like that, there's no promotion or demotion. You have to apply to run a franchise.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: But LA to Redmond?

          Oh, I see. So it really is just a business and not actually any form of sporting meritocracy.

  6. This post has been deleted by its author

  7. Captain DaFt

    What I'd like to see.

    And I mean really, really, REALLY want to see is Ballmer in a mascot suit, just being Ballmer at halftime!

    (Hell, I might even watch a game for once just to see that!)

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Screaming Ballmer

    Soon there will be videos of a screaming Ballmer watching the LA Clippers games. Can't wait to see it.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Love or hate Microsoft.... or his past there, Ballmer is a genius. It'll be interesting to see if he's successful in the basketball business. Personally, I don't really care one way or another. I hate basketball about as much as I hate soccer :) Now, if he had bought an NFL football team, my interest might be different.

    1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      Basketball reboot

      Interesting - I wonder if Ballmer will redesign basketball to give it a new look and feel? Going on past history the interface may resemble other sports.

      New "Metro" Basketball - the old hand interface is gone, players must now use their feet to move the ball around and the hoops at either end of the court are now larger, with a rectangular appearance and on the floor.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder what else 2 billion dollars could do

    At least Gates gave his billions away to improve the lives of others.

    Ballmer has always been a nobhead.

  11. I. Aproveofitspendingonspecificprojects

    Team B

    What's to stop him hatching a second team and hiving it off to his home town?

    Sounds like an excellent business idea rather like Windows 98 and NT. We all know what happened next.

    (The management threw the rule books out the window, bought in new players and made them run all over the place senselessly so every time they played Linux they were tired and slow in the second half but fortunately all the fans were Microsoft and all the governing officials were in the same league with the team managers.)

  12. SVV

    He was like a little child....

    "He was a like a little child. He was so excited, so happy. We sort of connected. I felt he would be good for the team"

    Not half as much as you felt he would be good for your bank balance I guess.

    $2000 million dollars. For a BASKETBALL TEAM! Go ask Bill G if he thinks that's a good thing to spaff your wealth on......... Truly you are a man of great taste and sophistication which was reflected by the quality of your company's products when you were in charge.

    Two thousand mill for a boy's netball team! Jeez, These people are really not like us are they? Next time your Windows computer crashes, just imagine this goon grinning like an imbecile as he watches some blokes bouncing a ball up and down thinking "I OWN THIS! IT'S ALL MINE! HA HA HA!" Losing all faith in the sanity and decency of human beings is an optional extra option.

  13. mrjohn

    Good for him and I can't believe you guys writing him off before he starts.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like