The Donald, West

Granted it took awhile, but real estate mogul Donald T. Sterling did indeed predict back in 1989 that his Los Angeles Clippers would become “at least a contender” in the National Basketball Assn.

Sterling’s prediction about his long-suffering team, which is in the NBA playoffs for the first time since moving to Los Angeles in 1984, came in a cover story in the now-defunct California magazine. (Sterling also predicted that the team he owns would one day be world champions, which for now still seems a little far fetched).

Sterling is lucky other parts of the article--especially the title--didn’t come true. Called “The Man Who Would be Trump,” the article noted that Sterling publicists were trying then to promote him as “the Donald Trump of the West Coast,” something the article said Sterling considered a compliment.

Since 1989, two of Trump’s Atlantic City casinos have entered bankruptcy proceedings. His love life is featured regularly in supermarket tabloids. Worse yet, Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana, just wrote a novel the embattled developer contends is a thinly disguised account of their marriage.

He Ain’t Me; He’s My Brother

The disclosure last week that California Bank Supt. James Gilleran is President Bush’s likely choice to be the nation’s top bank regulator was immediately praised by James Gilleran, who gushed that he is “delighted President Bush has chosen to go with the very best.”

Don’t think this is an inflated ego at work. The statement about James E. Gilleran’s expected appointment as Comptroller of the Currency came from James G. Gilleran, chief executive of Mission Viejo Co., creators of the Orange County city of the same name.

The reaction is understandable because the two are brothers. Older brother James Gordon Gilleran was named after their grandfather, while James Edward was named after their father.

A Woodstock Nation

Anyone is mistaken who thought that Woodstock, N.Y., stopped being a trendsetter once Country Joe and the Fish unplugged their amplifiers and went home.

The Socio-Economic Research Institute in its latest report advises marketing experts that after a decade of decline, Woodstock is now “showing renewed trend-worthy activity.”

Woodstock is the town near the famed 1969 music festival whose name became synonymous with the rebellious baby boom generation. The Rhinebeck, N.Y.-based institute predicts that Woodstock will soon set mainstream trends as people become dissatisfied with the political system and establishment again.

“Marketers wishing to gain a competitive edge by cashing in on major trends before they become part of the nation’s popular culture would be well advised to analyze new trends in music, art, fashion and entertainment that are making Woodstock hot again,” the report says.

Briefly . . .

The parent of World Savings, in a section of its annual report boasting about the Oakland thrift’s strong financial cushion, features a picture of actress Mae West with her words, “Too much of a good thing is wonderful” . . . Rumor control from the top: Unocal Chief Executive Richard J. Stegemeier is personally sending out letters debunking a false rumor that the Los Angeles oil company hired a board member’s daughter as a vice president . . . Pay cut: The 65 cents boxer and convicted rapist Mike Tyson makes per day in an Indiana prison compares to $219,780 per second he made in his 1988 title fight with Michael Spinks.