Crazy Consumer Electronics World: BLIP: Ballmer's ballin' as Big Steve reportedly wins battle to buy LA Clippers NBA team

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 bizzare, 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!