CLIPPERS RIP OFF FAITHFUL BY JACKING UP TICKET PRICES: Steve Hartman of KLAC-AM in Los Angeles relayed a screwy story from a 20-year Los Angeles Clippers masochist courtside season ticket holder late last week.

Bill Shupper is a former L.A.-area insurance agent now working in the pro sports representation biz. He told Hartman that the Clippers are raising the cost of courtside seats $300 PER GAME next season (to $1,500 total per game) and that a $48K deposit was required by last Thursday if those tix were to be secured for next season.

The ASSOCIATED PRESS has since picked up the story, with the rest of the Los Angeles media no doubt soon to follow.

After seeing the photo below of Team John Owner Donald Sterling from earlier this season, it makes you wonder how many people called the Clips’ bluff.

Then again, knowing that Sterling never checks the standings, I suppose the ticket price increase (and his blissful ignorance) makes perfect sense.