The Clippers after enduring "such an embarrassing time has been re-energized” by new Owner Steve Ballmer, who talks of the club as “one day becoming ‘America's team,'" according to Sam Amick of USA TODAY. But as Ballmer is “well aware, his seemingly endless riches won't be enough to take this team to the proverbial next level.” Ballmer said, “We'll focus in on our job, which is to try to have the best team we can, have the best experience enjoying the game, whether you're at home or in the stadium, on your phone, wherever you are.” He added, “We're going to work at it. Nobody's going to outwork us. Nobody's going to care more. Nobody's going to do more to make that successful than the L.A. Clippers. That I'll commit to.” Amick notes Ballmer knows the Clippers cannot become “America’s team” if it “can't even win the turf war" in L.A. Even with the Lakers' recent failings, it is “undeniable that the purple-and-gold's popularity still far exceeds” that of the Clippers. But Ballmer is “determined to turn this town, and the league at large, upside down.” He said, “How did the Lakers get to be 'America's team'? (It was) with Magic (Johnson) and championships in the '80s.” Ballmer added, “We've really got to light 'em up. We've got incredible superstar guys at the helm in Blake (Griffin) and Chris (Paul) and DJ (DeAndre Jordan). We're playing in a great market. We have this unfortunate situation (with Sterling), and yet all that's done for the forward-looking thing is put the Clippers on everybody's road map.” Ballmer: “Everybody wants this story to end with the guys who had to live through this succeeding!” (USA TODAY, 10/3).
