Judge orders V. Stiviano to return $2.6 million back to Donald Sterling’s wife: Report

A Los Angeles judge ruled that the wife of the former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is owed $2.6 million by V. Stiviano — the woman who was at the center of Sterling's NBA scandal which forced the ex-owner out of the league.

On Tuesday, Judge Richard Fruin Jr. awarded Shelly Sterling most of the nearly $3 million she had sought in a lawsuit against the young beauty her husband had showered with gifts.

Sterling had claimed that money used to buy V. Stiviano a house, luxury cars and stocks was her community property.

"Shelly is thrilled with the decision," attorney Pierce O'Donnell said. "This is certainly a victory for the Sterling family whose funds were dissipated by Donald to lavish millions of dollars of gifts on a conniving mistress."

Stiviano’s lawyer had argued the gifts were made when Donald and Shelly Sterling were separated and that Shelly Sterling couldn’t seek them from a third party.

The ruling comes nearly a year after Stiviano’s recording of Donald Sterling making racially offensive remarks forced him to sell the NBA team.

Shelly Sterling’s lawyers used other recordings to show he bought Stiviano a house, a $240,000 Ferrari and treated her to extravagant shopping sprees.

In the recordings on Stiviano’s iPhone, she and the 80-year-old billionaire are heard discussing how to shield the gifts from his wife.

“The truth is that everything that I have, you’ve given me from your heart without me begging or asking or throwing myself all over you,” Stiviano said in a clip played in court.

During the course of their 2 1/2 years together, Sterling gave her the Ferrari, a Bentley and a Range Rover, and paid the bulk of a $1.8 million duplex.

Sterling testified that he paid for the entire house, though Stiviano said she had contributed an unknown amount of money given to her in small bills by family members that she saved in a bedroom drawer.

Donald Sterling said Stiviano hadn’t contributed “50 cents” to the house and, noting that Stiviano is part black and Hispanic, said she illegally got her name inserted into escrow documents by befriending Hispanic bank and escrow employees.

Shelly Sterling filed the suit against Stiviano about a month before the recording of Donald Sterling telling Stiviano not to associate with black people created an uproar and led the NBA to ban him for life and fine him $2.5 million.

Shelly Sterling brands NBA as sexist for decision to take her Clippers shares away (VIDEO)

Shelly Sterling fired back at the NBA — for a decision to take away her shares of the Los Angeles Clippers — by branding the league as sexist and hinting that the NBA has its own sort of discriminatory issues.

The wife of Donald Sterling — the banned owner of the team — alluded to the S-word during an interview with the  Today show to describe how she is being forced to give up her 50-percent stake in the club by the league.

The NBA issued a statement on Sunday saying her shares would be forfeited if team owners voted to force her disgraced husband — who was recorded making racial slurs two weeks ago — to sell.

Asked what she thought of the NBA's decision and the perceived double-standard, Sterling replied:

"Would an owner's wife say the same thing and would the owner be asked to leave the NBA?" she asked back in the interview Tuesday morning. "Or would they say, 'Ah she's only the wife?'"

"Why am I the victim, when he's the perpetrator? If somebody kills somebody does the wife have to stand trial too?" she said to host Savannah Guthrie.

Sterling said she was shocked when she watched her husband's latest interview, in which he sparked more controversy by saying Magic Johnson had done nothing to help the African-American community.

He made a series of disparaging remarks about Johnson's HIV-positive status — mistakenly saying he had AIDS — dismissing his work in charity and business and saying he's not a proper role model.

Hours after Shelly Sterling said she would fight to keep her ownership of the franchise even if her estranged husband can't, the league said that wouldn't be possible.

"Under the NBA constitution, if a controlling owner's interest is terminated by a three-quarter vote, all other team owners' interests are automatically terminated as well," an NBA spokesman said.

"It doesn't matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team."

Shelly's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, responded to the NBA's statement.

"We do not agree with the league's self-serving interpretation of its constitution, its application to Shelly Sterling or its validity under these unique circumstances," O'Donnell said. "We live in a nation of laws. California law and the United States Constitution trump any such interpretation."

Sterling also told ABC News on Sunday that she "would love him to" consider transferring ownership to her if he is forced to sell.

TV 'sports hostess' becomes Internet sensation with boob adjustment (VIDEO)

A relatively unknown TV sports personality — who calls herself a 'sexy NFL hostess' — has gained worldwide fame thanks to her provocative wardrobe adjustment that a live camera caught at the Clippers-Warriors game Sunday. 

Rebecca Grant's hosting credits include modeling, acting as well as hosting, but she's almost instantly become better known for her performance as a boob-adjusting audience member in a low-cut red top at LA's Staples Center. Grant has since coyly taken to Twitter, where she re-posted the video while denying any knowledge there was a live camera two rows directly in front of her.

"LMFAO," the hostess later tweeted. "This is honestly the funniest thing I have ever seen! Every single person is animated. Had no idea I was on."

Whether or not the pouting and preening Grant knew what she was doing as she adjusted her breasts and fluffed her hair, her new viral fans have given her more exposure than ever before.

And funny,  it looks like everyone else around her knows the camera is on them.

George Costanza meets Donald Sterling in 'Seinfeld' parody (VIDEO)

There's really not a lot to laugh about in this whole Donald Sterling situation — at least not until you mix it in with Seinfeld.

We all remember when George Costanza worked for the Yankees and had his memorable one-sided talks with boss George Steinbrenner on the classic sit-com.

Now, Adult Swim has imagined Costanza as an L.A. Clippers employee on the receiving end of the disgraced owner's racist rant — and it's not only V. Stiviano that Sterling doesn't want hanging around with black people.

Even Georgie Boy looks like he's ready to say, "Can't-stand-ya."

Donald Sterling's ex-mistress shows up at court in wild get-up (PHOTOS)

The ex-girlfriend of Clippers owner Donald Sterling showed up at court Monday looking like she was going to do a little spot weld on her Harley after seeing the judge.

V. Stiviano wore a huge, multicolored visor to hide her face from photographers as she headed to a Los Angeles courthouse. She accessorized the look with Donald Duck T-shirt underneath a red leather motorcycle jacket.

Sterling's former mistress went to the LA County Courthouse in connection with a 2012 drunken-driving arrest during which actor Brandon Mychal Smith was in the passenger seat, TMZ reported.

Stiviano — who legally changed her name from Maria Vanessa Perez in 2010 — was reportedly behind the wheel of a red Ferrari that was a gift from Sterling.

The 31-year-old Stiviano is still on probation for DUI and had to appear in court to prove she had completed a sentence of community service, said TMZ.

A spokeswoman for the LA District Attorney’s Office said she couldn’t confirm that report and had “no idea” why Stiviano was at the courthouse.

A little Michael Jackson, a touch of Lady Gaga. All Hollywood.

Donald Sterling's ex arrived in court wearing a "super visor" http://t.co/DXCqGwDt2b pic.twitter.com/EhWNxTJ79l
— New York Post (@nypost) April 29, 2014

CNN shows Charles Barkley mugshot while he speaks about Donald Sterling (VIDEO)

CNN may want to update their photo image files — especially for some of their own.

The news network had TNT analyst Charles Barkley on the phone to discuss Clippers owner Donald Sterling's alleged racist remarks Saturday night. But as Barkley spoke, CNN used his mugshot from a 2008 DUI arrest on the TV screen, making the former NBA star appear slightly less credible as he gave his thoughts on the controversial owner.

CNN and TNT are both owned by Turner Broadcasting System, which means the only photo CNN could find of a fellow employee was a mugshot — making the error even more embarrassing.

Next time try using Google.

As for the outspoken Barkley's thoughts on Sterling, he said during halftime of the Pacers-Hawks game that this is the first big test for NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

"You can't have this guy making statements like that. He has to suspend him and fine him immediately...We can not have an NBA owner discriminating against a league that's...we're a black league," Barkley said.

Donald Sterling asks the girlfriend: 'How Can We Make This Go Away?': Report

While everyone from NBA players to the President have spoken out about the racist comments attributed to Donald Sterling, the Los Angeles Clippers owner reportedly contacted his ex-girlfriend Sunday and, in a far-fetched attempt to quell the controversy, asked her flatly, "How can we make this go away?"

Sources close to Sterling told TMZ that the team owner is keenly aware V. Stiviano is in possession of more than 100 hours of recordings — some of which are extremely damaging to Sterling's reputation. 

It was Stiviano's  Instagram photo (below) of her with NBA legend Magic Johnson that was apparently enough for Sterling to go off on his publicized offensive rant, according to the gossip site.

Stiviano insists that she had nothing to do with the recordings being released to the public.

The sources say Stiviano told Sterling to call her lawyer ... and thereby opened the door to settlement discussions.  It's obvious the incentive for Sterling is to make sure the rest of the tapes never see the light of day. 

TMZ Sports contacted Stiviano's lawyer Mac E. Nehoray ... who had no comment. 

We know Stiviano is extremely upset that the Clippers and Donald Sterling publicly embraced a lawsuit filed by Sterling's wife Shelly against Stivianio, claiming she stole $1.8 million from Donald. 

As for why Stiviano (whom Sterling reportedly showered with the cash and cars) taped so many conversations ... as TMZ Sports reported, she told friends the Clippers owner wanted her to record him and he knew he was being recorded ... partly because he frequently forgot what he said and the tapes refreshed his memory ... at least that's her version of the story, said TMZ.

And on a side note, Stiviano's Instagram page, she constantly tagged photos with "#RandomHouse" and "#Simon&Schuster" ... both large book publishing companies. 

Sources connected with Stiviano tell us ... she is in the process of writing a book "about life" — but she insists it is not about Sterling.

The National Basketball Players Association has demanded Sterling be barred from all playoff games this season. The players also want an accounting of past accusations of racism against Sterling and a guarantee that the league commissioner will work with the association; and assurance the investigation will be conducted swiftly.

Chris Paul's sweet moves leave Evan Fournier in a spin (VIDEO)

Clippers guard Chris Paul keeps doing things which are clearly don't seem humanly possible. Check out the sweet moves he put on the Nuggets' Evan Fournier Tuesday night.

Just a walk in the park for Paul.

Clippers win, 117-105.

Blake Griffin slams home thunderous put-back dunk (VIDEO)

Another day, another dunk. We're accustomed to seeing Blake Griffin make highlight-reels every night, but a different version of the slam dunk rocked the house on Wednesday.

During the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers' showdown with the Golden State Warriors, Griffin soared in from beyond the three-point line and jammed home a Danny Granger miss with complete authority. 

And it might be the best dunk of the season.

Yup. The Flying Lion does it again.

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Blake Griffin punctuates Lakers historic loss with epic alley-oop (VIDEO)

It might not have been the best dunk of Blake Griffin's career but the emphatic alley-oop that the Los Angeles Clippers star slammed down in the third quarter Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers punctuated what was the most embarrassing and historic loss in the Lakers storied past.

The acrobatic dunk, after a pass from Chris Paul, happened when the Clippers already led their Staples Center roommates 102-56 and knocked home the realization that there's a new show in town.

As Griffin admired his handiwork, en route to a lop-sided 142-94 Clippers victory, a chagrined Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak watched from sideline, looking slightly less than impressed with the 48-point deficit.

Jared Dudley destoys fan's beer in courtside collision (VIDEO)

Jared Dudley made a bit of a mess on Monday night during the Los Angeles Clippers match-up with the New Orleans Pelicans when he collided with a fan and knocked the beer from his cup onto a courtside seat.

In a last ditch attempt to keep the ball from going out, Dudley managed to get to the ball and keep it in-bounds — which is more than can be said for the fan and his 16 ounces of beer.

Lucky the game was in New Orleans or that drenched vacant seat would have had some celebrity sitting in it.

After being dried with a towel and checked to see if he was ok, the fan looked like he was ready for Mardi Gras.

Pacers’ David West ejected for elbowing Blake Griffin (VIDEO)

Blake Griffin is used to being the target of unnecessary fouls — with his reputation for high-flying dunks and all — but David West's totally uncalled for elbow to the Clipper's head warranted a stiff penalty. And he got it.

Although it seemed minor in real time, the referees determined that the act required a flagrant-two foul, which comes with it an automatic ejection.

Anytime something like this happens, it’s likely the result of a push-come-to-shove that’s taken place between the two players up to this point of the game. Nevertheless, West’s not-so-subtle elbow here was pretty stupid, and the referees likely did the right thing in removing him from the rest of the game.

The Pacers did just fine without the big guy, and went onto a 106-92 victory over once streaking Clips.

Clippers, Knicks considering Blake Griffin-Carmelo Anthony trade: Report

ESPN reports the Knicks have "discussed" the idea of proposing a trade to the Clippers that would send Carmelo Anthony to LA in exchange for Blake Griffin.

With the looming possibility of Carmelo Anthony departing New York as a free agent this summer, New York Knicks officials have discussed proposing a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers for Blake Griffin, according to league sources.

Sources say Clippers management has also had internal discussions about such a deal but that the clubs have not yet spoken to one another about a potential trade.

As of now, neither team is certain that it would make an Anthony-for-Griffin trade, the sources said, and talks still in the rumor stage.

The idea that New York would consider this isn't shocking. The team's been a disaster despite the surprising win over the Spurs Thursday and with Anthony a prospective free agent, they have to consider their options. 

While the high-scoring Anthony is likely to lean towards re-signing to keep the $30 million the team with his rights can offer him, there's also the possibility he leaves, or worse yet, opts in for next season and then pulls a similar trade demand as the one that landed him in New York.

But for the Clippers, it's a much more complicated problem. Their problem isn't offense, it's interior defense. Moving Griffin for Melo doesn't necessarily help them in the areas they need. However, a deal involving DeAndre Jordan along with Griffin gives the Knicks a young core and a move for Tyson Chandler along with Melo gives the Clippers the rim protector they've been desperate for. 

The close friendship between Chris Paul and Anthony should not be overlooked either, or the reports that Griffin and Paul don't get along.

Blake Griffin ejected after mixing it up with Andrew Bogut (VIDEO)

The tension between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors has been steadily building for a couple of seasons now and — after Blake Griffin and Andrew Bogut got tangled up in each other's arms while battling for position Christmas night — the rivalry has firmly established itself as one of the testiest in the NBA.

After some pushing, arm-bending and wrestling in their new short sleeves, Griffin was assessed a technical foul (his second of the game) and ejected from the game. Bogut was given a flagrant-1 foul and was allowed to stay in the game. He also earned himself a technical foul during the free throw attempts by Ryan Hollins.

What exactly did Griffin do during this skirmish that warranted the ejection from the game? That's not entirely clear, but he already had 20 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists during 33 minutes of action before getting tossed.

Griffin had some angry words for the Warriors and officials after the 105-103 loss.

"If you look at it, I didn't do anything and I got thrown out of the game. It all boils down to they (referees) fell for it," Griffin said. "To me, it's cowardly basketball. I don't know their intentions, but it worked. ... If I knew the answer I'd probably be in a different position. Tonight I got two technicals for nothing."

Ahh ... Christmas — that time of getting.

Deron Williams crosses Chris Paul ... twice (VIDEO)

For the past couple of seasons Deron Williams has let Chris Paul carry the title of "best point guard in the game" without any question. These two used to have a rivalry and on Thursday at Barclays Center, D-Will rekindled the conversation.

Williams began the night badly by falling to the floor after being victimized by a crossover from Paul. The fact that he stepped on the foot of teammate Brook Lopez was what ultimately caused him to tumble, but Paul’s action at least sent Williams plopping to the floor.

But in the second quarter, Williams seemed to regain his stride, crossing up Paul twice to get open for scores. Williams owned the end of the second quarter when the Nets took control of the game, putting up 12 points in less than 6 minutes.

Williams' overall numbers weren't that impressive — 15 points and 4 assists — but he put Paul  and the rest of the league on alert by leading the Nets to an easy win.

And for at least one night the debate raged on.

To be fair, here's CP3's move on D-Will.

Lamar Odom flies to NYC for meetings with NBA executives: Report

Even after Lamar Odom's reported crack addiction and recent DUI charge, it sounds like the NBA is willing to take another chance on the former Sixth Man of the Year.

Odom flew to New York Wednesday to meet with executives from several NBA teams, reports TMZ, and he's carrying what he claims is proof that he's clean and sober, sources connected the troubled player told the gossip site.

According to TMZ, Odom tested negative for blood and urine tests for drugs and supposedly brought the results with him to New York as evidence. 

Odom has reportedly been in private talks with the executives and potentially wants to make a deal. He also planned to visit his family to get away from the "negative energy" surrounding him in LA.

This is consistent with what other sources have told TMZ about his time with the Kardashians on Tuesday. They said Odom was lucid and showed no signs of being under the influence of drugs.

Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers were once interested in Odom, but when his personal problems became public, they stepped away from signing him.

Odom —who has refused to enter rehab — was told by the interested parties they could meet, provided he could show he was clean. The purpose of the trip is to possibly strike a deal.

Sadly, this wouldn't be the first time Odom said he was done with drugs and ready to restart his NBA career.

Get your DeAndre Jordan dunk on Brandon Knight poster now

LeBron James has called DeAndre Jordan's amazing monster jam over Brandon Knight the "Dunk of the year" and the game-stopping moment has taken on a life of its own.  The Staples Center slam, after an alley-oop pass from Clippers teammate Chris Paul, has been debated and shown ad nauseam on ESPN and already immortalized in The New Yorker.

Now you too can get posterized by Jordan and not feel any of the humiliating aftereffects and all you need is a credit card.

It didn't take long to find a photo — of what will become this Jordan's iconic image over the course of his career — to freeze-frame the play for eternity.  The photo of Jordan's dunk is already for sale at the NBA Store.com/photo and an 8x10 can be had for $14.99 ($69.99 framed).

Although there is nothing fancy about the dunk, the raw power of Jordan and the mismatched attempt to block the shot by the Pistons' Knight make it legendary.

Probably more so to Clippers fans.

Photo: Noah Graham/Getty Images

LeBron calls Jordan's monster slam: 'Dunk of the year'

DeAndre Jordan's unbelievable monster slam over Brandon Knight was his entry as the NBA's dunk of the year but — when it gets a nod from LeBron James — you know it is the the front runner.

King James made his nomination of the Los Angeles Clippers center's flooring of the Detroit Pistons defender public on his Twitter account and said, "DeAndre Jordan!!!! Dayyyuummmmm!! Dunk of the year,"

That's with six exclamation points.

DeAndre Jordan!!!! Dayyyuummmm!! Dunk of the year #littletikeshoop
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 11, 2013

The dunk came in the second quarter, off a lob from Clippers guard Chris Paul,  The play sent fans and teammates alike into a tizzy after seeing the force of Jordan.

Knight fell like a stone during the jam and Jordan just stepped over his prone body.

Carmelo to Knicks: Don't put Shumpert on trading block

Carmelo Anthony wasn't happy to hear about rumors surrounding Iman Shumpert that the New York Knicks were tendering trade offers for the struggling swingman.

"He shouldn't be worrying about that," Anthony said. "The Knicks shouldn't even be in trade talks right now."

Shumpert — who has had a rough time since his return from ACL surgery — was just plain dismal guarding guard Chris Paul in Sunday's 102-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.  Shumpert scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting in almost 21 minutes of play while Paul blistered the Knicks for 25 points and seven assists.

Talk about trading the young defensive stud to Phoenix for Jared Dudley and a first-round pick are getting louder.  So loud, head coach Mike Woodson pulled Shumpert aside before the Knicks debacle against the Clippers.

"He said, 'Don't worry about it,'" Shumpert recalled.  "Rumors are rumors. I just got to play ball.  something I can't control."

Woodson said a trade was out of his jurisdiction and up to Knicks brass.

"I don't think you can ever tell a player he's not [on the trading block].  That's kind of out of my hands," said Woodson. "If the owners came to me and said we have to do a deal, then you do the deal. I sat him down and I told him. He knows how I feel."

Shumpert discussed the Paul game and his recent slump.

"It's a challenge to guard a guy like Chris Paul when you're not in the best form," said Shumpert. "Sooner or later, I'll get back to where I was."

If it's up to 'Melo, it'll still be in New York.

Rex Ryan takes in Knicks-Clippers game with wife

Rex Ryan showed up at Madison Square Garden to take in the Knicks-Clippers game Sunday afternoon — and nothing happened.

The New York Jets head coach — who was last seen flaunting a No. 6 Mark Sanchez tattoo down in the Bahamas — watched the Clippers beat up the home team, 102-88, with his wife, Michelle.

Ryan, who had a blue and orange Knicks fleece covering the infamous ink job, sat a few rows up from the court.  He was among the usual bevy of NYC celebrities who braved the snow-covered streets of Manhattan only to see the Knicks falter in the fourth quarter.

Has a familiar ring to it — right Rex?

The big news.  The normally blustery Ryan sat quietly during the game and refused to be interviewed.

That's one way to avoid making news — or is it?